Vampire Knight : Series Info

Between this and Special A, I have no idea which one is the better anime. I personally love both of them. It's actually quite funny and the animation/characters design are gorgeous. I'm very impressed. The OP theme Futatsu no Koudou to Akai Tsumi, really fits the atmosphere of this series. The same thing can be said about the ED theme Wakeshima Kanon, which is quite eerie. Anyway, this is another impressive series that everyone must take a look.

I seriously don't like Kaname and find him a creep since the start of the story. I just think that between him and Zero, it's obvious for me who is the one to root for. One of the things that the anime does a better job more than the manga is emphasizing the individuality of the vampires. I am talking about Hanabusa Aidou, Akatsuki Cain, and Luca Souen. In the anime, however, they stand out a bit more for some reason than in the manga. Maybe due to the voice acting or because of the way the scenes were directed. The three characters that do stand out in the manga, however, are Takuma Ichijou, Senri Shiki, and Rima Touya. I think design-wise, they look very cool and their personality are interesting as well.

In the actual story, Zero is all about pushing everyone away from him because he's the king of pain and angst. There are, however, occasions where he reaches out to Yuuki in the series. It's this kind of humanity that makes him a much better character than Kaname because despite himself, he tries to be his best for Yuuki. Kaname, on the other hand, always seem to care about Yuuki's wellbeing. However, he does it in such a cold and possessive manner that most of the time, it ends up being creepy. At least Zero's personality is transparent. One can see easily when he's angry or sad or feeling protective. Kaname, on the other hand, never reveals any of these emotions.

I think at this point, you should know which pairing is my preference.  If you have the choice, which pairing will you root for? Zero/Yuuki? Kaname/Yuuki?

Opening Theme - Vampire Knight ~Guilty~ Season 2
Rondo clip
Performed by ON/OFF

Characters (MAJOR SPOILER COS YOU'LL KNOW THE STORY OF SECOND SEASON!!!)

Day Class

Yuki Cross [黒主 優姫] / Voiced by: Yui Horie
Yuki Cross is the adoptive daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy. She is a first year student, a member of the school's disciplinary committee and in that capacity acts as a Guardian for Cross Academy monitoring and protecting the Day Class. Yuki carries the anti-vampire weapon, the Artemis Rod. Yuki is generally a cheerful and comedic character, but has a fear of vampires that means she rarely leaves the Cross Academy grounds on her own.

When Yuki was approximately 5 years old, Rido Kuran attacked the Kuran family seeking to take Yuki. To protect her daughter, Juri sacrificed herself to seal Yuki's vampire side and erased her daughter's memory. Yuki's first memory is that of Kaname saving her from a vampire. Yuki grew up harboring deep feelings for him and the two had a close relationship. Yuki had troubled nightmares nightly until 4 years ago, when Zero joined their household and Yuki formed a strong attachment to the boy. Yuki's relationship with Kaname became distant after she witnessed his vampire nature as he feed on a vampire classmate and as a human, Yuki believed she had no chance with Kaname and began to fear him a little, but her attraction to him remained.

Following her discovery of Zero's awakened nature as a vampire and his subsequent struggles with bloodlust, Yuki chose to allow Zero to feed upon her in secret. In order to prevent Zero running away, Yuki promised that she would be his ally and that she would kill him when he became a level E vampire. She also attempted to bargain her humanity for Zero's life when Shizuka offered her a deal, but Zero prevented her from becoming a vampire.

Troubled by the gap in her memory, Yuki attempted to ask Kaname to reveal what he knew. Kaname bargained the answer in return for her becoming his lover. Yuki admitted she loves him and agreed to his proposal, but when she didn't get an answer, she attempted to remember on her own, causing herself waking nightmares, at one point almost suffocating Zero. Kaname then bit Yuki and re-awakened her as a pureblood vampire and drinking his blood brought back the complete memories of her past. Yuki was reunited with Kaname as his sister and his possible fiancee.

Returning to her vampire self, Yuki exhibited the uncontrolled return of her vampire powers return and physical changes also occurred. Yuki chose to break her friendship with Zero, aware of the new antagonism between them, however Yuki retained her friendship with her best friend, Yori. Yuki began to sense the danger of Rido's revival and Kaname attempted to remove her from danger. Yuki refused to leave the school, but convinced Kaname to leave and continue his mission after kissing him on the lips and promising him that she'll return to his arms. Yuki's ignored the Artemis Rod's attempts to reject her vampire nature which caused it to morph into a new weapon as a scythe.

Yuki finally confronted her uncle Rido and almost fell prey to his words. Zero interrupted them attempting to kill Rido. Yuki reconfirmed her vow to be Zero's ally despite being called his enemy. Though Zero attempted to remove her from the fight, Yuki managed to score the killing blow on her uncle. With Zero now intending to kill her, Yuki stands ready to defend herself.

Zero Kiryu [錐生 零] / Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
Zero Kiryu is Yuki's close friend and the only other Cross Academy Guardian. Zero is descended from Vampire Hunters and was trained as a Vampire Hunter by Toga Yagari. Zero carries an anti-vampire gun named "Bloody Rose," given to him by Kaien Cross. Four years ago, Zero was taken in by Kaien Cross as the sole survivor of a murderous attack on his family by the Shizuka Hio. Zero was bitten during the attack and has spent the last four year resisting turning into a vampire. Zero was tattooed with a symbol on his neck that helped suppress the vampire transformation.

Due to the attack, Zero developed a deep hatred and distrust of vampires. Zero kept his vampire secret even from Yuki until bloodlust overwhelmed him and he bit Yuki. Zero attempted to run away, stopped by Yuki, who pledged to kill Zero should he fall to level E. Following Zero's awakening as a vampire, his tattoo was used by Kaien Cross to allow Yuki to tame Zero. Zero's body rejected the blood tablets used to sate a vampire's thirst, thus Yuki convinced Zero to continue drinking her blood.

Zero harbored romantic feelings for Yuki, however he supported Yuki's feelings for Kaname Kuran. Zero prevented Yuki from becoming a vampire when attempting to trade for Shizuka's blood that would have saved Zero. He fought his master's compulsion and shot Shizuka to stop her biting Yuki. Zero swears he will never let Yuki become a vampire. Zero is prevented from drinking Shizuka's blood finding her already dead. In order to gain control and delay the fall into madness becoming a level E vampire, Zero was convinced to drink the blood of the pureblood, Kaname Kuran. Following Zero's discovery that Yuki is actually a pureblood vampire, Zero severed his friendship with her and likewise Yuki told him her vampire side "ate" her other side.

Though Zero regained his sanity, the Hunters Association have him locked up, arrested by Yagari. Kaname revealed that his purpose in strengthening Zero was in order for him to protect Yuki and defeat Rido Kuran. Zero is shot by his twin brother and finally completed the Twin Hunter fragment after he is convinced to "eat" the dying Ichiru. With this act, along with being a twin vampire hunter of excellent lineage who has become a vampire, within Zero is the blood of three purebloods, Yuki, Kaname and by proxy Shizuka, making Zero one of the most powerful characters in the series and saving him from becoming a Level E.

Zero's new powers are shown to be manipulation of vines within his body that are an extension of the Bloody Rose, which is capable of stopping Yuki's evolved Artemis Rod. Zero declared Yuki his enemy and attempted to keep her out of his fight with Rido. When Yuki struck the deadly blow to Rido's heart, Zero completed the destruction. Zero then turns the Bloody rose on Yuki and reveals his intention to kill all pureblood vampires including her.

Sayori "Yori" Wakaba [若葉 沙頼] / Voiced by: Kana Ueda
Sayori Wakaba is Yuki's dorm-mate and best friend since junior high. Yori is portrayed as a very perceptive girl who finds the aura of the Night class to be scary. Yori is one of the few girls who is not interested in the Night Class, she also is not intimidated by Zero and joins Yuki in teasing him, although she maintains that Yuki is the only one capable of dealing with him. Yori discovered that Yuki is a vampire during the attack on the school, but accepted her and appeared to be more worried over that fact that she would lose her best friend.

Night Class

Kaname Kuran [玖蘭 枢] / Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio
Kaname Kuran is a pureblood vampire who saved Yuki from an attack by another vampire when she was five years old. Kaname is the class president of the Night Class, both feared and respected by the other Night Class students. As a pureblood Kaname is capable of controlling lesser vampires, he chooses not to exercise his powers earning the respect of the noble vampires. He shares the Chairman's hopes for a peace between vampires and humans. He worked with the Chairman to create the Night Class at Cross Academy and with his presence allows the Night Class to be kept in check despite Zero's distrust of him.

Kaname is normally a stoic and authoritive individual, thus his kind and gentle attitude with Yuki has puzzled his fellow vampires. He expresses discontent with Zero for biting Yuki and endangering her life. Kaname tells Zero that he only allows Zero's existence by Yuki's side to ensure her safety and is envious that he cannot protect her himself. It is said that Kaname is in love with Yuki, he tells her so in chapter 30.

Kaname kills Shizuka Hio, promising her that he will destroy that which destroyed the ruined the destiny of the purebloods. He drinks her blood in order to gain power to protect Yuki, but leaves some of her blood to save Zero. Kaname asks Yuki to become a vampire and live with him for all eternity by his side, but manages to stop himself from biting her. When Yuki starts to press Kaname for information about her past, he instead asks Yuki to become his lover. Shortly after this, Kaname bites Yuki in order to awaken her as a vampire and feeds her his blood in order to revive her memories as a Kuran, she remembers Kaname is her brother. Kaname reveals to Ichijo that he is not Yuki's brother, but was actually resurrected by Rido Kuran, who thus became his 'master'. Kaname was actually the first king and the founder of the Kuran family. Juri and Haruka Kuran raised Kaname as Yuki's brother, in place of the son that Rido took. Yuki and Kaname planned to marry as children, following the example of Juri and Haruka who were also brother and sister and married. Kaname convinces Zero to drink his blood to stave off insanity, slowing Zero's decent to a Level E vampire. He reveals that he has been preparing and strengthening Zero so that he can kill Rido and free Kaname from Rido's curse.

Kaname planned take Yuki away from Cross Academy, fearing for Yuki's life. Yuki's refusal to comply with his plan upset Kaname, but she kissed him to console him and convinced Kaname to leave her and complete his mission. Kaname went to the vampire council, where he summoned the vampire council members and killed all of them except Asato Ichijo.

Takuma Ichijo [一条 拓麻] / Voiced by: Susumu Chiba
Takuma Ichijo is the vice-president of the Night Class, he is a noble-class vampire nearly as powerful as Kaname, whom he is close to and respects. Takuma appears very un-vampire like with his cheerful and enthusiastic demeanor, he lacks the dark atmosphere that surrounds most vampires, making him appear more like a human. His favorite reading material is manga. Takuma maintains a close friendship with Senri Shiki, whose great grandfather is also a member of the council. He is also good friends with Rima Touya.

Takuma's grandfather educated him and has high expectations of him. His grandfather asks him to spy on Kaname, but he refuses out of loyalty and attempts to break free of his grandfather's mold. Takuma attempts to protect the possessed Shiki Senri, forced to go against Kaname in order to protect all his friends. Following Shiki's freedom from Rido's possession, Takuma has rejoined Kaname's side, where he appears in time to stop Kaname from killing his grandfather and instead insists on being allowed to handle the issue. It is strongly hinted at that Takuma intends to end his life along with his grandfathers, saying "Together, let us put an end to the Ichijo line."

Hanabusa Aido [藍堂 英] / Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
Hanabusa Aido, nicknamed "Idol" by the Day Class girls, he along with his cousin Akatsuki Kain, Hanabusa Aido is known among the Night Class as "Kaname-sama's right hand" and has a fierce admiration for Kaname that borders on zealousness. Aido is a noble-class vampire and possesses the ability to conjure and control ice. Though he appears cheerful and friendly one moment, he can quickly become vindictive and cruel the next. Though loyal to Kaname, he has a tendency to overstep his boundaries, which results in Kaname punishing him if discovered. Aido figures out Zero is a vampire, though he keeps this information to himself without any hidden agenda.

Aido is not overtly fond of Yuki and dislikes the attention that Kaname gives her. He is temporarily troubled when he witnesses Kaname's killing of a fellow pureblood and runs away from the Moon Dormitory and imposes himself on Yuki and Zero. Agreeing with Yuki's assertion that he would remain loyal to Kaname even if betrayed by Kaname, he returns to the vampire's side. Aido has difficulty adjusting himself to referring to Yuki in a formal manner following the revelation of her true nature when he is appointed as one of her protectors.

Currently Aido joins the night class in protecting the day class students.

Akatsuki Kain [架院 暁] / Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe
Akatsuki Kain is Aido's cousin and another one of "Kaname-sama's right hand". His laidback attitude and his association with Aido sees him get into trouble alongside his cousin. His nickname is "Wild", despite the fact he is actually mellower than Aido. He also refers to Kaname as their "gang leader"[3]. He is incredibly perceptive and is frequently sensitive to others' feelings, most particularly with Aido and Ruka's. He first suspected Zero of killing Shizuka, but almost instantly realized that was not what had happened. Kain seems to have feelings for Ruka. Kain's ability is the opposite of Aido's which is the ability to conjure and control fire.

He is last seen with Ruka Souen, fighting the vampires who are attacking the day class.

Ruka Souen [早園 瑠佳] / Voiced by: Junko Minagawa
Ruka Souen is A female vampire popular with the Day Class students and one of those who are the most faithful and protective of Kaname. She seems to dislike Yuki because Kaname loves her. It was expressed in a flashback that even before she met Kaname, she had always had feelings for him to the extent of wanting to give him her blood. Although Ruka has strong feelings for Kaname, he does not reciprocate them. He only drank her blood one time to protect Yuki from his urge to bite her, and has since politely refused to drink it. She becomes upset with the fact that Kaname chose Yuki to be his lover, but finally accepts Yuki when she discovers Yuki is Kaname's pureblood sister. She even gives Aido shoes to give to Yuki to wear. She seems much more mature and level-headed now, recognizing the foolishness of her obsessive feelings for Kaname, though she still shows just as much dedication to him as before but with a new calmness.

Currently Ruka alongside Kain, works to defend the Day Class girls.

Senri Shiki [支葵 千里] / Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi
Senri Shiki is One of the youngest Night Class members. He works as a model with Rima Touya. When the Night Class is given orders to hunt down a level E vampire, Shiki is usually the one we see out hunting the level E vampires. He has a whip-like weapon which develops from his blood. His father is Rido Kuran, making him Kaname and Yuki's cousin, and his mother's uncle is part of the council. His mother was also a former actress, making the Shiki family well known. Shiki's body is currently possessed by his father's soul, who is supposed to be dead. Though possessed by Rido, Rido claims that having Shiki regain conscious is easier than he had let on. During his fight with Rima, Shiki awakened within himself and is seen trying to regain control.

After Rido's revival, he regained consciousness and after recalling the events that had taken place, apologizes to an unconscious Rima for letting Rido use his body and embraces her. He then protects Rima from a servant of Rido's. He carried Rima who is now conscious away from the building before it collapsed, seeing his father one last time before Rido's death.

Rima Touya [遠矢 莉磨] / Voiced by: Eri Kitamura
Rima Touya is One of the youngest Night Class students. She works as a model alongside Senri Shiki. Her exact relationship with Shiki is unknown, though they are almost always seen together. She cares deeply for Shiki and possesses a personality similar to his. Rima possesses either lightning or electricity powers.

After suspecting Shiki has changed upon his return to school, she confronts Rido and tells him to leave Shiki's body since she can tell that he is not Shiki. She is wounded by Rido, but is saved by Takuma. She tries to convince Shiki to snap out of his state and calls him an idiot for letting Rido control him. Badly wounded, she is sent back to the Moon Dormitory by Takuma. Protected by Shiki, she later awakens and they are forced to leave because of the building's collapse.

Seiren [星煉, Seiren] / Voiced by: Risa Mizuno
Seiren is A student of the Night Class, she is Kaname's unofficial bodyguard. She is usually the first to defend Kaname from anyone she regards as a threat. She barely refrains from killing Zero when he threatens Kaname with the Bloody Rose.

Others

Headmaster Kaien Cross [黒主 灰閻理事長] / Voiced by: Hozumi Goda
Headmaster Kaien Cross is Yuki's adoptive father, who also took Zero into his home for several years. Headmaster Cross dreams of peace between humans and vampires, and established the Night Class to promote understanding between the two races. Cross is shown to have a habit of provoking Zero and is eccentric in some ways, but he has a serious side as well. It is revealed in Chapter 27 that he is a former vampire hunter. He also seems to be close to Kaname, and knows Kaname's parents (both of whom are dead and founded the Cross Academy peace treaty), since he is indebted to them. He has always known that Yuki was a pureblood vampire, but chose not to reveal it.

In Chapter 39, it is revealed that his vampire hunter weapon appears to be some sort of a sword.

In Chapter 41, he refuses to kill any vampires and only intends to protect the Night Class who are protecting the day class. He also has no intention of letting the hunters have Yuki.

Ichiru Kiryu [錐生 壱縷] / Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
Ichiru Kiryu is Zero's younger twin brother. When they were younger, they were both taught by Toga Yagari to become vampire hunters. Ichiru, however did not seem to share Zero's natural ability and was often ill. Zero and Ichiru were very close as children, although later Ichiru claims to have hated Zero after overhearing that his parents preferred Zero over himself.

Shizuka let Ichiru drink her blood to strengthen him and cure his chronic ill health, although she did not turn him into a vampire and he remains a human. He now attends Cross Academy as a Day Class student by the orders of Shiki's father, Rido Kuran (and by Zero's permission). It appears Rido has promised Ichiru that he will kill those who killed Shizuka Hio, which is probably the main reason why Ichiru is working for Rido Kuran.

When Zero was locked up by the Vampire Hunters Association, Ichiru visits him and appears to have shot him due to hatred. However, it is revealed that Ichiru was terribly wounded because he tried to kill Rido, the person he was truly after because of his role in Shizuka's death. After he shoots his brother, he convinces Zero to drink his blood so they could finally become one as they were originally supposed to be. Ichiru stated that he was happy that he was not dead in Zero's heart and when they hug, he says that he feels comfortable to be in his arms, recalling a time when the brother's slept in the same bed often and were loved equally by their mother.

Toga Yagari [夜刈十牙] / Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto
Toga Yagari is The current top ranked vampire hunter, Toga Yagari, formerly trained Zero to be a vampire hunter. He lost his right eye trying to save Zero long ago. He showed up once at Cross Academy serving for a short while as a Day Class substitute teacher, also teaching Ethics to the Night Class, and to decide whether Zero is considered dangerous or not. He appears briefly in volume five, when he appears shocked about the Council of Ancient's decision to punish Zero. He also appears in the near end of chapter 36, giving the Bloody Rose to Zero. He joins Chairman Cross's side in protecting the Academy.

Yagari appears alongside the Chairman, and seem to be willing to help fight against Rido.

Shizuka Hio [緋桜 閑] / Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa
Shizuka Hio is The pureblood vampire who bit Zero; even her fellow vampires are uneasy around her. She is called "Madly Blooming Princess" by her fellow vampires. A manservant whom she loved (a former human vampire, falsely classified by the Hunter's Association as Level E) was assigned to be killed by a Kiryu vampire hunter. Enraged and vengeful, she attacked the Kiryu family, killed Zero and Ichiru's parents, turned Zero into a vampire, and took Zero's twin, Ichiru, in as a devoted servant. Shizuka's blood can prevent Zero from falling to Level E, and thus Yuki risked her life for Zero to be able to drink Shizuka's blood. However, to protect Yuki, Kaname kills Shizuka and drinks her blood, leaving only a small amount for Zero to drink. Unfortunately the blood was drunk by Ichiru who arrived at the scene first. Before dying, Shizuka warns Kaname that he will live in darkness and has summoned a sinister future for himself. She was Rido Kuran's fiancée, they never married due to his disappearance and finally her death.

Maria Kurenai [紅 まり亜] / Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
Maria Kurenai is A very distant relative of Shizuka Hio. She allowed Shizuka to possess her in exchange for being allowed to drink Shizuka's blood, which would strengthen her sickly body. Due to Shizuka's untimely death, this promise was never fulfilled. Maria has returned to her family after the Shizuka incident, but has asked Yuki to tell Zero that if he sees Ichiru, to tell him Maria wants to see him again.

Asato Ichijo [一条 麻遠]
Asato Ichijo is Takuma's grandfather and a member of the Vampire Council. He wanted to become Kaname's guardian after the death of Kaname's parents, but Kaname did not accept. He has allowed Takuma to attend Cross Academy for the purpose of spying on Kaname. His age and demeanor brings fear to many vampires, though Aido and Ruka openly confront him when Asato implies his desire to drink Kaname's blood. Many people call him Ichiō-sama (First Elder).

Rido Kuran [玖蘭 李土]
Rido Kuran is a pureblood vampire, Senri Shiki's father, elder brother to Haruka and Juri Kuran. Shizuka Hio is his fiancée. According to Asato Ichijo, he is the true head of the Kuran family. Ten years ago, seeking to take the Kuran princess, Yuki- Rido killed his brother, Haruka. Kaname attempted to kill Rido, but found he was unable to and a triumphant Rido revealed that as the one who revived Kaname, he is Kaname's master[5]. Instead Kaname reduced Rido to the state where he required another pureblood vampire's blood in order to revive fully.

Secretly aided by the Ancient Vampire Council and the Hunters' Association, Rido manipulates events from the shadows by transferring his soul to other bodies and taking control. Rido possesses eyes of two different colors (crimson and blue), and when his soul is transferred to a different body, that body has eyes of two different colors. Rido's takes possession of his son's body and returns to Cross Academy. After a brief confrontation with Kaname and later Rima, Kaname gives his blood to Rido's body in order to restore Rido to his original body.

Ichiru reveals that Rido is the one who added Shizuka's ex-human lover to the list of Level E vampires to be liquidated by the Hunter's Association. Following his true body's revival, Rido's vampires sense his revival and begin to attack the school students, in order to capture prey for Rido to feed on. Ichiru attempts to kill Rido as revenge for Shizuka, but instead is mortally wounded by Rido. Rido attempts to compel Aido to feed upon him, but is thwarted by his niece. Seeing Yuki's resemblance to her mother, Rido changes his original desire from eating Yuki in order to gain power to instead taking Yuki as his lover as a replacement for Juri[6], who never wanted him. Rido's life comes to an end when he is defeated by Yuki and Zero.

Juri Kuran [玖蘭 樹里]
Juri Kuran is Yuki's mother and a pureblood vampire who resembles an older version of Yuki. Juri was the wife and sister of Haruka Kuran. Ten years ago when Rido Kuran (her oldest sibling) appeared, she erased five years of Yuki's memories because she wanted her to live a normal human life at the cost of her own life. Headmaster Kaien Cross stated that he is in debt to her. Her last wish was for Kaname to look after Yuki. It is also revealed that she is the sister of Haruka Kuran and that it is not uncommon for pureblood vampires to marry their siblings.

Haruka Kuran [玖蘭 悠]
Haruka Kuran is Yuki's father and a pureblood vampire. Haruka was killed by his older brother, Rido Kuran, in his attempt to stop Rido from killing Yuki ten years ago. He revealed that the Vampire Council is trying to use pure blooded vampires status and the powerful blood to serve itself. He is the brother and husband of Juri Kuran. Before his death, he hugged Kaname and said that as a loving father, he did not want his child to enter the fight. It was stated that Haruka had been alive for nearly 3000 years and has known Juri for almost as long.

Vampire Knight Official Site