Vampire Knight OP - Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi

April 13, 2008 | 73 Comments

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.

I also think any OP that can make me want to read the manga until I finish all of the chapters has served its purpose well. It means the OP is good enough to intrigue me with what's presented on screen that I ended up wanting to know more about the world and its characters. The only problem with these imageries is that while they are cool (they remind me of those James Bond 007 opening title), most of the scenes are either cryptic or doesn't make sense whatsoever. The first scene with Yuuki in the background and Kaname in the foreground is easy. It's probably how Yuuki always sees Kaname: as this figure that she admires from a far. Ditto with Zero looking at Yuuki from a far. Despite his grouchy attitude towards her, Zero clearly likes Yuuki but prefer to stay behind. The reason for this has been hinted at in the anime and anyone who is perceptive enough can guess the reason. Unfortunately, the next scene after this doesn't make much sense. It looks like Zero is hold captive by the group of vampires and then start to face them one by one.

If I hadn't read the manga, I would have thought that these vampires are the major enemies that Zero has to face but the truth is, they are hardly enemies with one another. At least not at this point in the manga's storyline. Moving along, one of the things that the anime does a better job more than the manga is emphasizing the individuality of the vampires that usually don't register much in my radar. I am talking about Hanabusa Aidou, Akatsuki Cain, and Luca Souen. In the manga, I rarely pay much attention to them. I just don't think they stand out enough. In the anime, however, they stand out a bit more for some reason. Maybe due to the voice acting or because of the way the scenes were directed. The OP does an especially good job of this by staging a 'mock' fight between Aidou and Zero and letting Cain and Luca to jump out of screen. 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.

I really wish the manga had used Takuma, Senri, and Rima a bit more than just as puppets that the major players get to use. I really want to see Senri and Rima in a major battle with someone, for example. And after seeing the OP title, I just want to see this even more. I do hope that if Rima ever gets into fight, she gets to use that umbrella of hers since she carries it so often. For some reason she reminds me of Shinku from Rozen Maiden probably because her personality is that of gothic cool. Shiki is also a cool character but as I said before, he's not used much in the series. At least not as as character in his own right. I was actually surprised to see him biting his hand and then attacks Zero with his blood. Maybe I'm wrong here but I don't remember Shiki having that sort of ability in the manga. What is his blood supposed to contain? Acid? Last but not least there is Ichijou. I always think that apart from Yuuki, Ichijou is the only other person who can control Kaname in case the later goes insane or mad with power. And with Kaname, you know that's a possibility!

The next shot is that of Yuuki looking at Kaname's blazing red eyes. That's probably a symbolism for his black heart....just kidding but I seriously don't like Kaname and find him a creep since the start of the story. I just think between him and Zero, it's obvious for me which one is to root for. But I'll get back to this a little bit later. Anyway, I was joking about Kaname having a black heart but I certainly couldn't pretend that I saw his shadow turns into a monster that chases after Yuuki. That's definitely not me imagining things but the animators putting it there for a purpose. I don't know why they put it in there but if I have to guess, I think it's supposed to represent Yuuki's feel of unease towards him. After all, there was this guy who saved her 10 years ago. Why the hell was he there in the first place? Why couldn't she remember what happened beforehand? Isn't it likely that maybe Kaname was also one of those 'monsters' that she's so afraid of? That his kind demeanor is just a mask to get closer to her? Because of this, she tries to run but it's obvious that she's going nowhere.

The reason for this is because her past is tied to Kaname's and her present is tied to Zero, who has yet to reveal his real trouble to her at this point in the story. However, after he does that, there's no other way for Yuuki but to stay. I think this is the reason why the animators chose to show her drinking the blood from the vial because if it had been done by other method, it'd be too obvious and spoilery for others who haven't read the manga. They did, however, include the shot of Zero pointing his gun as Yuuki drink the vial of blood. Surely it's not hard to make association between the two scenes. And this is the point where the chorus about crimson swaying beyond dreams kick-off. In other words, the nightmare starts to become reality for Yuuki. It's also interesting to see the crimson in question being drawn as spider web instead of blood in the OP. Having said that, I do hope that the second chorus about how fate starts to turn after they met refers to her and Zero instead of her and Kaname. Unfortunately the 3rd line puts me into doubt because from what I can remember, she and Zero doesn't seem to have any kind of secret that they keep away from others.

Unless, of course, this refers to that 'favor' that she offers to Zero. I guess that can be counted as secret even though it's a bit stretching. At this point, however, I don't care because it's a much better option than imagining her with Kaname. I love that the animators put that scene of Zero stretching out his hand towards Yuuki because it's very different from the attitude that Zero normally displays. 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 like he does in this scene. It's this kind of humanity that makes him far 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. It actually brings some kind of deja-vu feeling for me. The reason for this is because the VA for Yuuki, Horie Yui, also voices Honda Tohru in Fruits Basket. Anyone who has seen that show would know that the character attracts the attention of two male characters, Kyou and Yuki, both of whom are pretty identical in personality to Zero and Kaname. For some reason, I took an instant dislike to both Yuki and Kaname right from the very first frame. I think their arrogance was just a bit too much for me. As a result, I'd rather not see them getting paired off with the lead female character, Tohru and Yuuki. It's interesting to see the animators being vague about the hand that slowly awakens Yuuki in the OP. I guess since the manga is not even completed, there's no way for the animators to know which pairing the original author will choose later on in the story. If you have the choice, however, which pairing you'll root for? Zero/Yuuki? Kaname/Yuuki?

Kanji/Kana version

赤く赤く赤く揺れて
夢の夢の果てへ

もう何度も諦めては　押し殺すたび
行き場の無い感情が　目を覚ましてく
穢れの無い　その微笑み　残酷なほど
遠い存在だと分かるよ

もう何度も諦めては　押し殺すたび
癒えない傷　心　蝕むだけなのに
闇の中に　今も宿る　思いを抑えきれない

赤く赤く赤く揺れて
夢の夢の果てへ

出会ってしまった　運命が廻りだす

誰も誰も知らない　秘密
堕ちて堕ちて堕ちて　もう戻れない

罪を刻んでも　きっと

Romaji version

Akaku, akaku, akaku yurete
Yume no, yume no hate e

Mou nando mo akiramete wa, oshikorosu tabi
Ikiba no nai kanjou ga me wo samashiteku
Kegare no nai sono hohoemi, zankoku na hodo
Tooi sonzai da to wakaru yo

Ienai kizu kokoro mushibamu dake na no ni
Yami no naka ni ima mo yadoru omoi wo osaekirenai

Akaku, akaku, akaku yurete
Yume no, yume no hate e

Deatte shimatta unmei ga mawaridasu

Dare mo, dare mo shiranai himitsu
Ochite, ochite, ochite, mou modorenai

Tsumi wo kizande mo, kitto

English version

Crimson after crimson sways
Beyond dreams

Even after repeatedly giving them up, crushing them
Emotions with no-place-to-go awaken
That untainted smile is very cruel
Because I know its presence is distant

Even though the wound that can't be healed only eats away at my heart
In the darkness now dwell thoughts that can't be suppressed

Crimson after crimson sways
Beyond dreams

When we met, fate begins to turn

A secret that no one else knows,
We're falling deeper and deeper and can't go back anymore

Even if we cast away our sin, absolutely.

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Posted by Garten

Comments

April 13, 2008 | Laryla wrote:

I love the opening sequence too. It's fast pace and cryptic~ D; Totally awesome. And to answer some questions and voice my opinions~ (cue spoiler mode~ Read at your own risk...)

Rima and a possessed Shiki do fight each other very briefly way later on in the manga. but Ichijou intervines.
And Shiki's power is the ablitiy to manipulate his blood as a piercing whip. He's used it a couple times throughout the manga.
And I always thought that that evil shadow popping up from Kaname was something like a memory of that first vampire that found her in the snow ten years. =/ Just my opinion at least. xD
And I like the bottle placed there for Yuuki to (about to) drink. It definitely say it's gonna cover the arc that's still running in the manga. Since that bottle is the same bottle a certain person carries that's of a certain vampire in order to feed it to a certain someone.
And with the 3rd line, I do think it's Kaname and Yuuki that's being referred to since he's the one keeping all these secrets from her. xD
As for the hand in the final scene. I think it's Kaname based on the events of the manga and the fact that the hand is somewhat tan--as opposed to Zero who has been animated to be freakishly pale. And while I've started this series rooting for KanamexYuuki I'm slowly starting to turn towards ZeroxYuuki. And I think that those two will be the final pairing because currently in the manga there is SO much KanamexYuuki-ness that the balance is so thrown off. So Zero better jump in the game and steal Yuuki dammit! D;