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Vampire Knight: Japan’s Vampires

Quali sono le creature oscure più affascinanti e temute di sempre? La risposta è semplice e scontata: i Vampiri.

Nell’immaginario comune il vampiro ha origine nell’entroterra europeo, ma forse pochi sanno che c’è una stirpe proveniente addirittura dal Giappone! Parliamo proprio di Vampire Knight.
ヴァンパイア騎士 (Vanpaia Naito) è un manga nato dalla penna di Matsuri Hino. Lei è specializzata nel genere shōjo-gothic e ha debuttato nel gennaio del 2015 sul numero di LaLa.
L’autrice ci regala una visione oltremodo romantica dei Vampiri. Splendidi agli occhi umani, si differenziano dai soliti “succhia sangue”. Loro stessi hanno sangue che scorre nelle loro vene, e bere il sangue della persona amata è un gesto di devozione senza eguali che disseterà il vampiro che lo compie.

La Cross Academy

In un mondo oscuro senza tempo né luogo, i protagonisti di Vampire Knight vivono in una prestigiosa scuola privata con un’insolita struttura delle classi. Gli studenti sono infatti divisi fra la Day Class, composta da normali studenti che svolgono le loro lezioni di giorno, e la Night Class, i cui componenti nascondono un segreto. Agli altri appaiono come un’élite di geni, mentre invece sono bellissimi vampiri. Solo tre persone della Day Class sono a conoscenza della verità sulla Night Class: il preside e i due “Guardiani”: Yuuki Cross, la protagonista, e Zero Kiryu.

Attorno a loro ruotano, tra gli altri, le figure di Shiki Senri, Hanabusa Aidou e Takuma Ichijo enigmatici e attraenti nobili vampiri legati da forte amicizia, oltre che dall’obbedienza imposta dalla gerarchia, al vampiro Purosangue e capoclasse della Night Class Kaname Kuran.

Da questo incipit si snoda la storia appassionante e ricca di colpi di scena. Le tavole che l’autrice ha sapientemente disegnato hanno un tocco dark attraverso il quale i protagonisti comunicano i tormenti dell’anima e il pathos che vivono giorno dopo giorno.
I Vampiri rappresentati sono creature ammantate di innata sensualità. Proprio come nella migliore tradizione letteraria, anche nei momenti più sanguinosi lo scenario è magicamente avvolto da un alone di fascino ed eleganza. Tutto questo riesce a rendere meno cruento qualunque tipo di scontro.

Tra Amore Eterno e Dannazione

Il tema caratterizzante di Vampire Night è proprio l’Amore Eterno. La lotta interiore dei vari personaggi per conquistare ciò che il loro cuore desidera, la non arresa nemmeno di fronte alle scelte più dolorose.
Su questo piano, la personalità di Kaname è quella più complessa. Autoritario soprattutto verso i suoi compagni della Night Class e spietato contro i suoi nemici. Raramente lo si vede sorridere o lasciarsi andare, ma il suo carattere cambia in presenza di Yuuki. È solo con lei che dimostra tutta la sua dolcezza e il grande senso di protezione di cui è capace. La metafora dell’amore tormentato, quel sentimento che comporta disperazione, dolore e lotta interiore, incarna nella figura di Kaname la determinazione, la forza e la capacità di oltrepassare i limiti pur di raggiungere il proprio obiettivo.

Anime, Drama CD e Novel

Una storia come questa non poteva certo restare solo scritta. Il primo episodio dell’anime di Vampire Knight prodotto dallo Studio Deen, è stato trasmesso su TV Tokyo l’8 aprile 2008. Il successo ha portato il direttore Kiyoko Sayama a lavorare anche sulla seconda serie, Vampire Knight Guilty. Questa è andata in onda il 7 ottobre 2008 ed una terza serie uscita nel 2014. Indimenticabili resteranno per sempre gli opening theme di entrambe le stagioni. Questi sono “Futatsu no Kodō to Akai Tsumi” e “Rinne: Rondo”. Assieme agli ending theme “Still Doll” e “Suna no Oshiro” saranno inseriti nel cd della colonna sonora di 30 tracce composte da Haketa Takefumi.

Come se non bastasse, due Drama CD sono stati rilasciati. Uno è “LaLa Kirameki“ nel Settembre del 2005 e un secondo “Vampire Knight Midnight CD-Pack” reso disponibile esclusivamente attraverso ordinazione.
Inoltre Matsuri Hino in collaborazione con Ayuna Fujisaki, pubblicarono per Hakusensha due Light Novel nel 2008. Entrambe le novel si distaccano dai capitoli del manga, ma raccontano avvenimenti riguardanti alcuni dei personaggi della storia.

Nel novembre del 2008 venne pubblicato anche il Fanbook ufficiale intitolato: “Vampire Knight Fanbook: Cross”. Quest’ultimo regala ulteriori informazioni sui personaggi ed include le immagini dettagliate dello storyboard dell’autrice.

E la storia, non finisce qui…

Foto credit: Google images; Vampire Knight wiki;

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Vampire Knight: Japan’s Vampires

What is the most fascinating and feared creature of the darkness of all? The answer is simple: the Vampire.

Vampires are often thought to originate from inland Europe, but many do not know that there exists a race of vampires that actually comes from Japan! Vampire Knight is a manga series that draws on this.
ヴァンパイア騎士 (Vanpaia Naito) is a manga series that was written by Matsuri Hino. She is a true expert in the shōjo-gothic genre and this series of her’s debuted on the January 2015 issue of the magazine LaLa. The artist uses an extremely romantic image for her vampires. Beautiful in the eyes of humans, they are different from the commonly horrifying “bloodsuckers”.

They, too, have blood running in their veins as well, and drinking the blood of a beloved person is a sign of devotion like no other that will quench the thirst of the vampire who does it.

The Cross Academy

In an obscure world out of space and time, the protagonists of Vampire Knight dwell in a prestigious private school with an unusual class structure. Students are divided into two different sessions; the Day Class, attended by normal people that take their lessons during the daytime, and the Night Class, whose students hide a secret while attending classes after dark. To the Day Class students, the Night Class students seem like an elite class of geniuses, but they are, in reality, vampires. Only three people from the Day Class know the truth about the Night Class: the school director and the two “Guardians”; Yuki Cross, the protagonist and Zero Kiryu.

Around them, we find among others the characters of Shiki Senri, Hanabusa Aidou, and Takuma Ichijo, mysterious and charming noble vampires bounded to the Pureblood and head of the Night Class, Kaname Kuran by a strong friendship and obedience imposed by the hierarchy.

A thrilling story full of twist and turns takes place within this setting. The panels, that were skillfully drawn by the artist, have a touch of darkness through which the protagonists communicate the anxieties of their souls and the pathos they live day after day.

The vampires depicted here are creatures surrounded by a natural sensuality. Like in the best literary tradition, even the goriest of scenes is magically enveloped by an aura of charm and refinement. All this contributes to making every kind of fight less gruesome.

Eternal love and damnation

The characterizing theme of Vampire Knight is Eternal Love, the internal struggle of the characters to conquer what their heart truly desires, the will to withstand even the most painful choices.
Considering these aspects, Kaname’s personality is the most complex of all; authoritative especially with his classmates of the Night Class and merciless toward his enemies. He is rarely seen smiling or letting himself loose, but his personality changes in front of Yuuki. He shows all his tenderness and the great sense of protection he is capable of only with her. The metaphor of tormented love, an emotion that entails despair, pain and inner struggle. All of this embodies in the character of Kaname the determination, the strength and the ability to overcome every boundary in order to reach his objective.

Anime, CD Drama and Novels

A story like this certainly couldn’t be left only printed on the paper. The first episode of the anime series of Vampire Knight was produced by Studio Deen and was aired on TV Tokyo on April 8, 2008. Its success convinced the director Kiyoko Sayama to work on a second season, Vampire Knight Guilty. It was aired on October 7, 2008, and a third one aired during 2014. Unforgettable are the opening themes of both seasons, “Futatsu no Kodō to Akai Tsumi” and “Rinne: Rondo”, together with the ending themes “Still Doll” and “Suna no Oshiro”, that was included in the soundtrack album consisting in 30 tracks composed by Haketa Takafumi.

In addition to that, 2 CD dramas were released. One is “LaLa Kirameki” released in September 2005, while the second volume “Vampire Knight Midnight CD-Pack” was only available through online order.

Moreover, Matsuri Hino, in collaboration with Ayuna Fujisaki published two Light Novels in 2008. Both were not specifically based on chapters of the manga but are side-stories about certain characters featured within the original story.
In November 2008 an official Fanbook was published too, “Vampire Knight Fanbook: Cross”. This latest work gives further information on the characters and also includes detailed images of the author’s storyboard.

And the story goes on…

Photo credit: Google images;  Vampire Knight wiki;

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Vampire Knight: Japan’s Vampires

Which are the most fascinating and feared creature of the darkness of all times? The answer is simple and obvious: the Vampires.

In the common imaginary vampires have their origins in the inland Europe, but probably not many know that there is a race of vampires that actually comes from Japan! We are talking about Vampire Knight.
ヴァンパイア騎士 (Vanpaia Naito) is written by Matsuri Hino. She is a really an expert in the shōjo-gothic genre and debuted on the January number of the magazine LaLa in 2015. The artist gives us an extremely romantic image of vampires. Beautiful in the eyes of humans, they are different from the common “bloodsuckers”.

They have blood running in their veins too, and drinking the blood of the beloved person is a sign of devotion like no other that will quench the thirst of the vampire who does it.

The Cross Academy

In an obscure world out of space and time the protagonists of Vampire Knight live in a prestigious private school with an unusual class structure. Students are divided in two different classes. The Day Class, attended by normal people that take their lessons during the day, and the Night Class, whose students are hiding a secret. To other students they are like an elite of geniuses, but in reality they are beautiful vampires. Only three people of the Day Class know the truth about the Night Class: the school director and the two “Guardians”: Yuki Cross, the protagonist and Zero Kiryu.

Around them, we find among others the characters of Shiki Senri, Hanabusa Aidou e Takuma Ichijo, mysterious and charming noble vampires bounded to the Pureblood and head of the Night Class Kaname Kuran by a strong friendship and the obedience imposed by hierarchy.

From this starting point takes place a thrilling story full of twist and turns. The panels, that were skillfully drawn by the artist, have a dark touch through which the protagonists communicate the anxieties of their souls and the pathos they live day after day.

The vampires depicted here are creatures surrounded by a natural sensuality. Like in the best literary tradition, even the most gory scene is magically enveloped by an aura of charm and refinement. All this contributes to make every kind of fight less bloody.

Eternal love and damnation

The characterizing theme of Vampire Knight is Eternal Love. The internal struggle of the characters to conquer what their heart truly desires, the will to withstand even the most painful choices.
Considering this aspect, Kaname’s personality is the most complex of all. Authoritative especially with his classmates of the Night Class and merciless toward his enemies. He is rarely seen smiling or letting himself go, but his personality changes in front of Yuuki. He shows all his tenderness and the great sense of protection he is capable of only with her. The metaphor of tormented love, that emotion that entails despair, pain and inner struggle. All of this embodies in the character of Kaname the determination, the strength and the ability to overcome every boundary in order to reach his objective.

Anime, CD Drama and Novels

A story like this certainly couldn’t be left only written on the paper. The first episode of the anime series of Vampire Knight was produced by Studio Deen. It was aired on TV Tokyo on April 8, 2008. Its success convinced the director Kiyoko Sayama to work on a second series, Vampire Knight Guilty. It was aired on October 7, 2008 and a third one aired during 2014. Unforgettable are the opening themes of both seasons. These are “Futatsu no Kodō to Akai Tsumi” e “Rinne: Rondo”. Together with the ending themes “Still Doll” and “Suna no Oshiro”, they were included in the soundtrack album consisting in 30 tracks composed by Haketa Takafumi.

More than that, 2 CD drama were released. One is “LaLa Kirameki” released in September 2005. The second volume “Vampire Knight Midnight CD-Pack”, available only through online order.

Moreover, Matsuri Hino in collaboration with Ayuna Fujisaki published two Light Novels in 2008. Both novels are not specifically based on chapters of the manga but are side-stories about some characters of the story.
In November 2008 an official Fanbook was published too: “Vampire Knight Fanbook: Cross”. This last work gives further information on the characters and also includes detailed images of the author’s storyboard.

And the story doesn’t end here…

Photo credit: Google images;  Vampire Knight wiki;

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