Vampire Knight ep.08

May 27, 2008 | 29 Comments

Once again, sorry for the slow crawl to episode review this week but I have no choice since I have to prepare for a presentation, which is due in the next 12 hours. I probably have to wait before I can review Special A. Anyway, this episode is so much better than I originally thought it'd be. First thing first, this episode have a lot of Shiki and Rima in it. I like both supporting characters and find it amusing that their day job is actually professional model. I didn't expect the anime writers to give longer screentime to showcase the fight between Shiki and that Level E vampire. To see Shiki using his power to fight that vampire was awesome. Moreover, the end of this episode suggests that we have finally reach the first major arc of the series. I'm really excited to see next episode because of one particular character. I just hope they don't botch her character design in the adaptation. I'm a bit cautious after seeing the color they used for her hair.

Episode 8

Ichijou visits Kaname and finds the guy looking depressed so he decides to leave Kaname to get some sleep. The other vampires are also concerned about this but Ichijou suggests that they go to sleep as well. The group is then interrupted a maid who's about to deliver a visit permission to Kaname. Ichijou decides to approve it since Kaname is not in good mood. Upon seeing the document, however, he becomes horrified because the person who's coming to visit is none other than his grandfather, a person who's very famous in the business world that there's no business which does not involve Ichijou Group. Even in the world of vampires, this person is a force to be reckoned with. His name is Ichijou Asatou, also known "Ichi-ou". In the council of ancients, Ichi-ou continues to be one of the most senior vampires. Ruka adds that the council of ancients is the highest body of command in their world but it doesn't really have a hold over them. Despite this, Ichijou doesn't want to disturb the peace of their dorm for Kaname's sake.

Later on that day, every single vampire students gathered at the dorm waiting for Ichi-ou. Ruka is amused with how afraid everyone seems to be. Shiki admits that he too is afraid but he wonders which one is more scary: this guy or Kaname? Aidou thinks that is yet to be seen. If things is not bad enough, Kaname also comes down to see Ichi-ou, claiming he hasn't seen the guy for a long time. When Ichi-ou arrives, he's amused to see the lively reception considering the fact that he's just there to see his 'cute' grandson. Tension clearly exists between Kaname and Ichi-ou because apparently Kaname once rejected Ichi-ou from becoming his guardian. Ichi-ou then bravely grabs Kaname's hand, hoping that one day he'll be able to share the later's blood. Ruka and Aidou immediately snap and push Ichi-ou's hand away from Kaname. Aidou asks Ichi-ou if he knows that drawing blood from pureblood is a vampire's greatest taboo. He promptly gets a slap from Kaname for saying this. I hope he keeps a counter for this.

Later on that night, Ruka comes to Kaname's room so he beckons her to come in. She wonders why he still hasn't punished her. Kaname finds it weird that she wants to be punished. Ruka then comes closer, saying how lately Kaname doesn't look happy. She offers her blood to him but he refuses, assuring her that he's okay. Ruka looks upset when she comes out of the room so Cain decides to console her. She explains how the only time Kaname wanted her blood was when she first arrived at the school. Ruka explains how despite her feelings, she's just a fool to Kaname. Meanwhile, Ichi-ou orders Ichijou to keep an eye on Kaname because after all, this is the reason that Ichijou is allowed to stay at school. Ichijou, however, tells his grandfather that he has no intention of harming his friend. Ichi-ou argues that Ichijou doesn't understand a thing. He believes that a friendship forged on the basis of hypocritical peace....but he doesn't get to finish his sentence because Yuuki, who waits outside, tells him that Cross Academy is peaceful.

It turns out Yuuki and Zero have been asked by Cross to ask Ichi-ou to come and see him. Despite his disapproval, Ichi-ou agrees to come with the two to Cross' office. Later on, Yuuki look happy because Kaname had just praised her hard work. When she goes to the bathroom, however, she finds Zero already in it. He wonders what Kaname could possibly want with Yuuki. In her defence, Yuuki claims that she has no intention on giving Kaname her blood. She points out that she intends on giving her blood to Zero therefore, she can't possible giving it out so easily to others. She wants a confirmation from Zero that they have indeed made up their mind. Upon hearing this, Zero push Yuuki against the wall, looking like he's going to draw her blood again. After staring at her for a while, however, Zero stops and tells her that she's a fool because she's the one who hasn't made up her mind. Yuuki becomes angry to hear this and proceeds to leave the guy alone. After she left, Cross comes into the bathroom and wonders why Yuuki is angry.

Regardless of what happened between the two, Cross is happy that Zero is alone because he has something to discuss with him. Apparently hunters association has sent them a profile of a Level E vampire and they want Zero to hunt said vampire. Zero has no choice in this. The next day, Yuuki notices Zero sneaking out of the school so she decides to follow him and end up seeing him entering an abandoned building in the city. At the same time, Shiki and Rima have arrived in the same place. Rima reminds Shiki that he's forgotten to carry an umbrella to protect himself from the sun. Their agent tells them to do whatever they need to do quickly or else they'll be late for shooting. She also urges Shiki to share Rima's umbrella since he gets sunburned easily. Moreover, she wants them to act more like the professional models that they are. After the agent left, Shiki wonders why they have to hunt an ex-human on a daytime. Rima explains because the Senior members don't want the vampire hunters to catch the guy before they do.

In the garden, the two bump into Yuuki, who's still lurking outside the mansion. Meanwhile, Zero has found the guy in question but before Zero can shoot him, the guy already bolts out. Yuuki, Shiki and Rima hear the gunshot so they decide to go in to investigate. Yuuki ends up facing the vampire but Shiki asks her to step aside. He then bites his own finger, causing it to bleed. The blood, however, defies gravity and looks more like a whip as it pours out of the small wound. He then uses his blood whip to attack the Level E in question. After a while, the guy decides to flee again so Yuuki uses the opportunity to find Zero. Unfortunately for her, the Level E shows up again and drags her feet. Before he can do anything else, however, Zero appears and kills the vampire. Yuuki thanks Zero, unaware that a crow has been watching them, relaying the vision to a mysterious girl who's glad to know that Zero has grown up to be such a good-looking guy. She then decides that she would like to attend Cross school as well.

Impression

I always think Ichi-ou looks kind of unusual for a grandfather. He looks like a young, silver-haired guy who simply has grown a beard, or an older version of Dante (front right) from Devil May Cry. I think the weirdness also comes from the fact that this seemingly young guy is supposed to be Ichijou's grandfather. Does this mean that not only vampires live longer than normal humans, their aging process is also comparatively slower to normal humans? If this is the case, is it also applicable to humans who are turned into vampires? It's also interesting to hear what Cain said about drinking the blood of another vampire. On the one hand, this can sound like a weird love potion kind of effect. Having said that, it looks like the author wanted the act of drinking blood to be an allusion to exual intercourse. Although sexual intercourse usually starts out as a response to lust, sometimes feelings go together with it. As a result, people become jealous when their sexual partner, or in this case, blood-sucking partner, doesn't seem to be interested in them anymore.

This is why the discussion between Zero and Yuuki in the bathroom sounds very amusing because Yuuki tells Zero that she can't possibly give her blood freely to others since she intends on consistently giving hers to Zero. I know the literal meaning of the sentence is that she can't possibly giving blood to every vampires since she'll then run out of blood herself. But it can also be interpreted as Yuuki not willing to give herself around to every vampire out there and only will do it with Zero. Speaking of which, I wasn't impressed with Zero's rudeness in that scene. I know he's jealous but what he said was pretty rude considering that Yuuki does give her blood without asking for anything in return. The least that he can do is to be nice to her. Moving along, I have no idea why Aidou puts up with Kaname's antics. It seems no matter what he does, he always gets slapped by Kaname and yet he takes it over and over again. Slapping is also far more humiliating than a punch because it implies that the person who gets slapped is far beneath the one who struck against him that he doesn't even deserve a punch.

Overall, I really enjoyed the episode. I love how the writers gave more screentime to show that fight between Shiki vs Level E vampire. IIRC, their fight in the manga is very brief. It's interesting to know that Shiki and Rima work as a model because it means they have to actually work during daytime. Their scene together also confirms what I suspected last week: vampires in this series can walk around in daytime. The catch is that they have to wear protective gear to protect themselves. Next week looks to be more fun because my favorite character, Kurenai Maria will make her first appearance. To be honest, I didn't actually expect her voice to be that girly so that's a bit disappointing. I thought she should sound more mysterious just like Rima's voice. I was thinking someone like Noto Mamiko as her VA. Also, what's with the purple hair? I thought she'd be blonde. Oh well, I just hope the character design still looks nice even though they're not exactly what I had in mind. Moreover, we'll get to see a new character who actually is closely related to one of the existing character in the series.

Vampires characteristics in "Vampire Knights"

I'm compiling lists of characteristics of vampires in this series. Feel free to add something that I miss and I'll add it to the list.

1. Vampires sleep during daytime and do their work at night. This is not an iron clad rule but what most vampires prefers.
2. Vampires can go out during daylight but they must wear protective devices (overcoat, sunglasses, umbrella, etc) to protect themselves from exposure to direct sunlight.
3. Vampires live longer than an average human. The difference between a human lifespan and vampire lifespan is not known yet.
4. Vampires seem to have slower aging process than average human beings. It's not known if this is also applicable to humans who are turned into vampires and Level E.
5. Vampires have unique power. List of known power thus far are: Aidou: Ice, Cain: Fire, Shiki: Blood Whip.

© memento 2003