Vampire Knight
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| Vampire Knight | |
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| ヴァンパイア騎士 (Vanpaia Naito) |
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| Genre | Action, Drama, Romance |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Matsuri Hino |
| Publisher |  Hakusensha |
| Serialized in | LaLa |
| Original run | January 2005 June 2006 – |
| No. of volumes | 4 (currently 23 chapters) |
Vampire Knight (ヴァンパイア騎士 Vanpaia Naito?) is a shōjo manga by Matsuri Hino. In Japan, Vampire Knight entered serialization in January 2005 in LaLa magazine, and entered serialization in North America in the June 2006 issue of Shojo Beat magazine.
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[edit] Plot
Vampire Knight primarily takes place in Kurosu/Cross Academy, a prestigious private school with an unusual class structure. The student body is divided into two classes: the Day Class, which is made up of ordinary students, and the Night Class, an elite group of 'beautiful people'. Unbeknownst to the majority of students, and even most of the staff, the Night Class is made up entirely of vampires. The heroine, Yuki, is one of the few humans who know the school's secret. She serves as a Guardian, dedicated to maintaining the peaceful coexistence of the Day and Night Classes with her childhood friend Zero, who lost his family to vampires at an early age.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Day Class
Yūki Cross (黒主優姫 Kurosu Yūki?): The adoptive daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, Yuki is a member of the school's disciplinary committee (in Japanese public morals committee), which is the 'front' for the Guardians. 10 years prior to the events of Vampire Knight, Yuki was attacked by a vampire, but was rescued by Kaname. She has lost all memory of her life before the attack, and Headmaster Cross took her in as his own daughter. Yuki has a cheerful and easygoing personality, and thanks to her work as a Guardian, she is good at keeping her cool in sticky situations. She has a deep affection for Kaname, but realized the implications of his vampiric nature when she witnessed him drinking the blood of another vampire when she was in junior high school. However, she still likes him, but also has a bond with Zero (she had let him drink her blood). There has been hints that she is special, given that vampires are especially drawn to her blood. Her weapon of choice is 'Artemis', an extendable staff she received from Headmaster Cross.
Zero Kiryu (錐生零 Kiryū Zero?): Yuki's childhood friend, Zero is also a Guardian and likewise on the disciplinary committee. Zero's family, a line of vampire hunters, was murdered by a vampire when he was little, and he was the only survivor. He harbors a deep hatred for vampires, and claims to have taken on the role of Guardian to learn to hunt them better. In truth, Zero was bitten by a pureblood vampire during the attack on his family, and is awakening as a vampire himself. His weapon is the gun 'Bloody Rose', and he had made Yuki promise that if he becomes a Level E vampire one day, she will kill him with that gun.
Sayori Wakaba (若葉沙頼 Wakaba Sayori?): Yuki's dorm-mate and best friend since junior high.
[edit] Night Class
Kaname Clan (玖蘭枢 Kuran Kaname?): He saved Yuki from an attack by another vampire, and is a pureblood vampire. Kaname is the class president of the Night Class, much feared and respected by the other Night Class students. While he is cold and authoritative towards his fellows in the Night Class, he is always kind and sweet to Yuki. He seems to know the pureblood Shizuka (he calls her by her first name), who bit Zero. He even states that they are the same in the way that they'll do anything for themselves, before stabbing her in the stomach with his hand. He has shown that he cares deeply for Yuki ever since he saved her, to what might be love in a romantic sense.
Lucca/Ruka Souen (早園瑠佳 Souen Ruka?): A blonde female vampire popular with the Day Class students, and was once Kaname's girlfriend. When Yuki first enrolled into the Academy, she accidentally witnessed Kaname drinking Lucca's blood.
Hanabusa Aido (藍堂英 Aidō Hanabusa?): Along with his cousin Akatsuki Kain, Hanabusa Aido is known among the Night Class as 'Kaname-sama's right-hand'. He can seem cheerful and friendly one moment, and cold and vindictive the next. He possesses an upper-class vampire ability to control ice. The Day Class girls have nicknamed him 'Idol-senpai'.
Akatsuki Cain (架院暁 Kain Akatsuki?): He is often seen with Aido, and his lackadasical attitude gets both he and Aido in trouble at times. His nickname is 'Wild-senpai'.
Takuma Ichijō (一条拓麻 Ichijō Takuma?): The vice-president of the Night Class, and nearly as powerful a vampire as Kaname.
[edit] Others
Headmaster Cross/Chairman Kurosu (黒主理事長 Kurosu Rijichō?): Yuuki's adoptive parent. Headmaster Cross dreams of peace between humans and vampires, and established the Night Class to promote understanding between the two races. He is eccentric and though he often comes off as a gag character, he has a serious side as well.
Tohga Yagari (夜刈十牙 Yagari Tooga?): The world's most successful vampire hunter, Tohga Yagari formerly trained Zero to be a vampire hunter, and comes back in Book 2 to revisit Zero, and attempts to wean him of his lust for blood, as Zero rapidly descends to a Level 'E' vampire, of which he will lose his senses, and have an uncontrollable urge for blood. He lost his right eye while protecting Zero from a level E vampire once.
Shizuka Hio (緋桜閑 Hiō Shizuka?): The pureblood vampire who bit Zero; even her fellow vampires are uneasy around her. She knows of a way to save Zero. She took control over Zero and made Yuki give herself to her (it was either herself or Kaname). She was stopped short by Zero's brother, Ichiru, who appeared for the first time (chapter 19), and who has served her since her attack on the Kiryu family four years ago. She was killed by Kaname, who also drank her blood.
Ichiru Kiryu (錐生壱縷 Kiryū Ichiru?): Zero's younger twin brother, believed to be dead. When they were younger, they were both taught by Tohga Yagari, though Ichiru seemed to be much less talented than Zero. However, the two were very close. He went missing, and appeared for the first time in the end of chapter 18. He has served Shizuka for the past four years, ever since she killed his parents and made Zero into a vampire.
[edit] Drama CDs
- LaLa Kirameki Drama CD - bonus with the Sept. 2005 issue of LaLa Magazine
- Vampire Knight Midnight CD-Pack - a special mail order item of the bonus CD in drama CD form.
[edit] Cast
- Yuki Cross - Yui Horie
- Zero Kiryu - Mamoru Miyano
- Kaname Kuran - Daisuke Kishio
- Hanabusa Aido - Jun Fukuyama
- Akatsuki Kain - Junichi Suwabe
- Takuma Ichijo - Susumu Chiba
- Senri Shiki - Soichiro Hoshi
- Headmaster Cross - Takehito Koyasu
- Sayori Wakaba - Kana Ueda
- Shizuka Hio - Keiko Sonoda
