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ファイト／ステイナイト 
I have to admit that I'm quite surprised with the decision that the animation team made in regards to this adaptation. At first I thought they'd be staying away from all of the erotic part of the series but that's not true at all. This episode is particularly kinky with all the neck, blood, and finger licking good that each vampire does to another vampire or human. This also makes me realized how unfazed I am with this kind of thing anymore. A few years ago, I would be too embarrassed to include some of the screenshots that I took for this episode. Now, I just don't see the problem with it and sometimes they kind of amuse me. It makes me wonder if anime does lower my inhibitions or it just makes me shameless. XD Wait, maybe I shouldn't have wrote that because this is how the media over-exaggerates things and claims that anime is an evil influence that turns good people into the perverted types that anime fans are known for. :D
It looks like the animators finally decided to include some erotic scenes in the anime. It's been rather weird how the anime ends up being mostly comedic while the manga has such a dark and seductive tone to it. Even last week's blood sucking scene felt rather tame and rushed in comparison to the manga. This episode, however, does a good job in shooting the scenes in such a way that they appear erotic even though none of the characters actually bare much flesh (apart from their neck). The scene where Yuuki was pinned down by Zero is a good example of this. The shot of Zero's hand lingering down her neck is the kind of shot that usually never make it into an anime. Most anime usually are okay with a shot of an almost naked girl or something rather blatant like a girl straddling a guy. But it's quite rare to see one with subtle eroticism like the one shown in Vampire Knight manga.
Sorry for the late entry but I have another problem with my server. I'm getting really sick of this but I haven't got the time to research other good service provider. Anyway, this turns out to be quite good. The first half of the episode is actually an original work because the writers don't want to go beyond the 3rd chapter of the manga. Because of this, they create a humorous story where Yuuki and Zero gets to act as student disciplinary members (as opposed to their usual guardian roles). The second half of the episode is altered slightly so that it's more action-oriented and tense. Personally though, I think it could be a bit darker. I love horror film and I think the series can afford to be a bit more morbid. I personally am looking forward to the upcoming arc involving a certain woman. I hope the writers can make it as morbid as possible.
Wakeshima Kanon - still doll (22.2MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version
This is a rather nice gothic PV that features cello, chains, praying mantis, voyeuristic old man, and of course, a gothic lolita. The girl who sings the song, Wakeshima Kanon, was apparently found by Malice Mazer's member, Mana. As a result, her image in the PV is influenced by their Gothic-Victorian style. In a lot of ways, the PV reminds me of ALI PROJECT and their various Rozen Maiden OP and ED theme. It's also interesting to know that the lyrics have this purposely stunted style to it so that it reflects the song title. Thanks to its creepiness, the song becomes a perfect ED theme for Vampire Knight. The PV itself shows a girl whose legs are chained so she can't go anywhere outside the house. Outside the house, an old man uses a small peephole to take a peek at the girl who now plays cello. Even without the reference to Vampire Knight, the PV does a good job of being creeptastic.
This episode takes a slight nosedive in the animation department. There are moments where the face of the characters looks a bit off. I guess that's to be expected since thet anime design is still quite complex that a minor difference can be easily spotted. One thing that this series continues to impress me, however, is the soundtrack. This episode features a gregorian-chant-like soundtrack halfway through the episode and I thought it really fits the mood of the story. Story-wise, things seem to move faster than I thought it will. But this is probably a good thing since they have a lot to cover and at the most, the animators probably only have 24 episodes to go. This, however, makes me wonder as to how they'll end the series. Will they leave it hanging until the manga is completed? Or will they create a 'life goes on' ending like Fruits Basket?
ON/OFF - Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (video-ripped MP3, 2MB)
Even though the song's lyrics suggest a rather scandalous situation between two characters in the series, I really hope that I'm wrong about the two characters that I had in mind. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just ignore what I said up above but if you do and want to discuss it, please use the spoiler tag. The reason I'm doing this (even though the PV is not even out yet) is because I can't get the song out of my head and I can't stop playing the OP on my PSP. Maybe if I do an entry on it, I can get it out of my system. Besides, I wanted to do a full screencaps of the OP and I couldn't really do that in the episodic entry. While I haven't seen every single OP title out there, I think Vampire Knight's OP title is one of the best that I've seen so far. Granted, it's not fully animated but I don't think a good OP title needs to be fully animated to be effective and attractive. Sometimes the lack of detailed motions can be more exciting than fully-animated ones because what one's brain can imagine is a lot more stronger than what can be shown on-screen.
OP Theme: 「二つの鼓動と赤い罪」 - Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi by ON/OFF - AVI version (43MB) | PSP version (17MB)
Wow. Between this, Soul Eater, and Special A, I have no idea which one is the better anime. I personally love every single one of them. This one turns out to be far better than what I had in mind. It's actually quite funny and the animation/character design are gorgeous. I especially love the OP theme Futatsu no Koudou to Akai Tsumi. I have never heard of ON/OFF before but I'm very impressed. Their song really fits the atmosphere of this series. And the animation that accompanies the song just fit really well. The same thing can be said about the ED theme, which is quite eerie. If this is going to be a long-running series, I hope ALI PROJECT will get selected as one of the singers. The story itself is quite interesting and for some reason reminds me a little bit of Fruits Basket. Maybe because the female protagonists look like Tohru and the two male protagonists remind me of Kyou and Yuuki. Anyway, this is another impressive series that everyone must take a look.
