Best Vampire Stories: Vampire Knight
It should be no surprise to anyone that vampires have always been a part of the culture in many places around the world. The stories of undead creatures of the night are in almost every culture, so it shouldn’t cause so much as a blink to see a Japanese manga story that centers on vampires. This particular series is worth checking out, as it has not only done spectacularly well in Japan, but the English language version that was brought to the US by Viz Media has also done quite well.
Vampire Knight began as a manga comic book, which in Japan tend to be introduced via monthly or weekly magazines where they run as continued stories. These stories are then collected into paperback books, and it was in this format that Vampire Knight really took off. The stories were eventually released as mini-movies on CD and it was the actors who did this almost radio-play version of the books that inspired the television series.
The basic story should be pretty familiar to anyone who has read Vampire Academy. Yuki has a very early memory as a child of being attacked by a vampire, and then being saved by Kaname, who is also a vampire. As a teenager Yuki attends Cross Academy which is divided into two main groups, the night school and the day school. It is soon apparent that the night school is for the vampires. Students in the Day Class don’t even know of the existence of the Night Class, until one day Yuki meets up with an old friend, Zero. This childhood friend has been struggling against his vampire side for years, and many of the stories revolve around Yuki helping Zero in this struggle. In time, Zero is able to help her friend recover his lost memories from childhood, and the story moves from there to uncover more secrets that are kept from the two teens.
The art is beautiful, the story moves quickly and if you have never been exposed to manga, this is a good place to start for anyone who loves a good vampire story. Lucky for us, the books have been reprinted in English and the television show was picked up by ABC3, an Australian broadcast network as well as Manga Television in England. All are available as CDs, or can be streamed online, which is a great way to watch just one episode and see if you like it.
Take my word for it, this is worth checking out. It is a whole new world of vampires, teenage heroes and a new look at some wickedly beautiful versions of our favorite bad guys – the undead. The first volume of the CD is called Guilty and is a great way to get into the story.
Not sure if you are going to love it enough to own it? I got you covered on that one. For a mere two bucks a pop you can stream the Viz series, Night of Vampires, which is wonderful to look at, and if you fall in love with it, get the whole darn season of shows!
So no matter what you are looking for, manga to read or listen to or watch, Vampire Knight is a great new way to enjoy a bit of Japanese vampire storytelling.
