Final Thoughts - Vampire Knight
I’ve finally caught up and finished the first season of Vampire Knight, and I’m Not Happy.
It’s not that I think it’s a bad series overall - I’ll probably watch the second season when it starts in October or whenever. The directing and animation are pretty crappy, the voice acting fairly one note and the rest of the production is nothing to really write home about, but it’s a fairly undemanding little show. It’s predictable as hell, and has precisely no character development, but it’s not BAD.
Except for one thing. That one thing which is a problem you don’t normally see in shoujo shows like this, but most frequently see in harem shows nowadays. The total pointlessness of the main character, basically.
Now, I know Yuuki has her angsty backstory about her family being killed by vampires or whatever it is (no doubt it’s wrong and we’ll have a twist later, hopefully something a little bit more surprising than the Maria arc that closes out the first series). She’s not a bad person, either, cut from the mold of a hundred shoujo heroines before her - not that great at work (not that you’d know apart from the last episode, given the almost complete lack of interest the writing has in the Day Class), a bit on the clutzy side, empathic to a slightly terrifying degree, the whole shebang. The problem is that she is barely ever allowed to do anything at all, and even when she does the focus of the scene is never on her, but on Zero or Kaname (mostly).
For instance (apologies for spoilers, but I don’t think anyone really cares), take the events of the Maria arc, which is the only real plot arc we get as the show spends so much time on setting up back stories and introducing characters. Maria/Shizuka gives Yuuki an ultimatum to stop Zero from becoming a Level E - either she brings her Kaname’s corpse or she lets Maria feed on her. Now, obviously she’s not going to kill Kaname, so she offers herself as food. Of course, this ends up being a moot point, as the choice is entirely taken out of her hands when Zero busts in to kill Shizuka later on in the series, and Kaname has his own plans entirely. Whatever Yuuki does, she’s just a pawn, an object to either be manipulated or loved. She’s got a great big electrified stick, and yet every time she gets in danger she needs a dashing bishounen to come in and save her…
Speaking of which, I know, girls like pretty boys. But would it hurt to give the female vampires something to do - other than have an evil one turn up halfway through the series? I don’t know any of their names. I don’t know if they have magic powers like the main male vampires seem to. All I know is one of them has a parasol, and I don’t know which one.
Anyway, the point of this is that Yuuki ends up like so many interchangeable harem leads. She doesn’t matter - it’s just the fact that there are guys fawning over her in some manner that seems to be the point. It’s like Angelique, but with vampires and a lot of black digital paint. What’s the point of giving your central character a mysterious past and SEEMING to make the show partly about her when it’s never about Yuuki at all?
Perhaps the second season will focus on her. I don’t think that’s a reason, however, for the first season to have virtually nothing to do with her except endless, mind-numbingly repetitive flashbacks to her childhood with Zero and Kaname - most of which was explained five times over the course of the first few epiosdes. Flashbacks are lazy, and here they tell us nothing at all because everyone acts in the same way they did four years ago!
I’m not really very angry about all this, as I say I’ll still watch season 2. The show really just needs to make Yuuki have more of a point to her. Make her more pro-active - rather than just pottering around going “oh, Kaname-sama!” and stumbling into situations that impact on other people, she should be trying to find ways herself to cure Zero’s vampirism (or at least stop him from becoming a Level E), or at least appearing to do something other than attend the occasional lesson, worry in her bedroom and hold back fangirls from time to time. I’m sure this is all wishful thinking, but what is a man without his dreams?
July 30th, 2008 at 4:16 am
I loved this show, but your interesting piece makes me wonder why, lol. Perhaps the fact that I am reading the manga gives me more context. And I know that Yuuki does have an important role to play, which you will see in the fall. I thought the two main male characters were excellent, and I enjoyed Yuuki through most of the show. I did feel that Horie Yui didn’t give her enough presence. But this show is mainly for girls, so the somewhat blank character one is supposed to identify with and see the story through is a girl, rather than a boy. In any case, the heavy atmosphere of darkness, blood, and desire was enough to carry this show a long way, for me. Those — and the strong underlying story — are what put it at a much higher level than Neo-Angelique, for me.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
haha this entry made me laugh - you’re totally right! “and I don’t know which one” pfft! This is good writing :D I agree.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I read the manga for a while before I got completely fed up with it and never saw the anime (because of the manga), but it seemed to me that Yuuki’s angsty past was more like something to give her a point of existence within an academy filled with vampires. Also, at the point I dropped the manga, she was still being rescued. From her angsty past.
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I never bothered with the anime. I tried to read the manga but got really annoyed. For me all the characters are pretty lame, the plot cliche and overally angsty and the way vampires are portrayed also annoys me.
I agree with you too- Yuuki is pretty pointless. Then again the second season will probably have the oh-so-big twist where Yuki suddenly has a point, yet still doesn’t do much :P
August 19th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
quite honestly. i liked the show. i jsut think its a matter of if u read the manga and enjoyed it. if u didnt why bother with the anime.
September 27th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I love VK, and I even (kinda) like Yuki. But I totally agree with you.
Somebody please give that girl something to do >_>
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:43 am
Oh my God, is every one that comments on this site a massive suck up? Or do you just post comments yourself, pretending to be other people?
My my, how deppressing. Yet again, this has emphasised how your completely unable to see beyond the obvious, and that the rest of the time you strive beyond belief to rip a great series to shreds by picking at supposed weaknesses that, for the most part don’t exist, and blow them allout of proportion in order to sound intelligent and bolster your ego.
Firstly, the ENTIRE SHOW centres mostly around Yuuki, and we constantly find out what she is thinking and feeling about Kaname, Zero and Vampires in general. The story unfolds as a mystery, so naturally enough not everything is explained up front, and often things are repeated in order to create possible clues and further the storyline. It also renforces the idea that these things - such as the fear of vampires, her unknown past and her mixed feelings for Kaname - are constantly playing on her mind. Without Yuuki there would be no dynamic in the show at all, as the driving element behind it all is the potential love Triangle between herself, Zero and Kaname.
The reason she is so SYMPATHETIC to Zero, is because she has grown up along side him, and cares about him a great deal. She knows he will sink to a level E in all likelyhood if she does not provide blood, and she doesn’t want anyone else involved in case he is either sent to the Night Class or even expelled completely. It is rather odd how she seems all to ready to do this, and extremely brave about it, esspecially considering her fear. But then again, she doesn’t think of Zero as a Vampire, and it’s also refreshing to see a female character who doesn’t run away sceaming (as most others would in these situations).
The Directing and animation are crappy? I don’t think so. I was intrigued by the art style that has an excellent refined and dark element to it, and is also rather detailed when compared to many series such as Buso Renkin. It’s very atmospheric, and I thought the added feel of dimension to the background in various episodes, as it panned through the streets of the town etc was pretty good. Also scenes involving stairs, running and swift movement to be very natural and well animated. As for the Directing, each episode has been put together in such a way that it kept me and many many others very much involved froms start to finish. So it can’t be all that bad. Even you - the king of Overly critical artistically/emotionaly depreaved cynics - has watched the first season through.
And is hardly a warrior girl character, so it’s no surprise that she couldn’t fair very well against a Level E (which she clearly has issues about) let alone a Pureblood.
Pro-active? What you want her to go around vampire hunting or something? Her duty is to maintain order between the day and night class, her main concerns are her feelings about the two main male characters and her past. What would you expect anyway? These two things are the focal points of the story, and many girls of her age group spend alot of time romanticizing.
And who want’s to watch the day class when the story centres around VAMPIRES? It would deter from the main plotline to much, and would mean adding more none-vampire main characters which would potentially spoil the story’s very focused themes.
So not about her!? Oh dear dear me, have you actually PROCESSED THIS SHOW IN YOUR BRAIN or did you just sit there staring at it, taking in the odd word while stoned off your face??
Fukin Critics…
February 8th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
@ Airhersalderaz - Dude, you’re making yourself look bad =|. I actually agree with the blogger, and if you actually got your head out of VK’s ass and sniffed some clean air, there are much better, higher quality anime out there. The plot is very much TYPICAL and PREDICTABLE. That doesn’t make up to be a very interesting series.