Vampire Knight ep.04

April 29, 2008 | 14 Comments

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.

Episode 4

While talking to Headmaster Cross, Kaname can smell Yuki's blood coming from somewhere. Kaname manages to track the whereabouts of Yuuki and Zero, telling the later that he's turned into a beast who lust blood and is therefore a disgrace to all vampires. Yuuki realizes that Kaname will kill Zero if she doesn't act so she puts herself between Kaname and Zero but she passes out before she can do anything else. Kaname tells Zero that his lust for blood must be insatiable because he drained Yuuki to the point where she can't stand. This makes him wonder if Yuuki's blood is really that delicious. In the aftermath, Headmaster Cross patched Yuuki's wound and asks for her forgiveness for not telling her sooner. He also explains that Zero was once a human but he got bitten by a vampire. The legend that humans turned into vampires when they get bitten by one is true. Only a few of these vampires exist and they are called Pure-bloods.

Cross, however, assures Yuuki not to worry since Zero is not pure-blood so she won't turn into a vampire. Yuuki, however, is more concerned with Zero. She realizes now that he's been living a life of pain and solitude for the past four years. While walking around the school, however, she hears Kaname asking Cross until when Cross will let Zero stay in day school. Cross, however, argues that there's no tradition of day class student moving into night class. Yuuki is appalled to hear this but later on realizes that she too has said cruel things to Zero regarding vampires. Later on, Yuuki decides to ditch class so she can talk to Kaname. When she enters the dorm, she finds Aidou having a meeting with researchers who wants him to work for them. Aidou, however, refuses because it's a daytime job and he wants to sleep during daytime.

After the researchers have left, Yuuki asks Aidou if she can see Kaname. While leading her to Kaname's room, Aidou notices the vampire bite on her neck so he asks Yuuki from whose fangs those bite marks came from. He explains that last night everyone was restless after smelling her blood. It wasn't until Kaname tells them to forget about it that everyone calms down. This, however, causes Aidou to wonder about Yuuki's relationship to Kaname. Because of this, he uses his ice power and freezes Yuuki's leg on the spot. He then tells her that she shouldn't give her blood to anyone else but Kaname. Yuuki is offended to hear this but before she can give Aidou a good slap, Kaname has already done the job for her. He then asks Yuuki to go back and never to come to this place unless he's accompanied by Zero.

Kaname thinks since Zero has taken something from her, he should be making himself useful at least. Yuuki is angry to hear this and asks Kaname why he said those things. Kaname tells her it's because his precious girl has been bitten by someone else. Creep. Yuuki decides to ignore him and asks him not to transfer Zero to night class. She explains that these 4 years, she didn't know Zero's pain despite being close to him. Despite her request, Kaname tells her that he can't fulfill her request because a human whose been bitten by a vampire, would surely turned into Level E vampire. Yuuki refuses to believe this and runs out of the moon dormitory. After Yuuki left, Cain asks Kaname why he is so attached to her so Kaname tells Cain that Yuuki is the only girl who is important in this world.

Meanwhile, Zero is in the middle of pointing a gun to his head when Yuuki bursts into the room, and pushes the gun away. Zero, however, pushes Yuuki into the bed then puts her hands around the gun, asking her to shoot him. When Yuuki refuses, he reminds her that he couldn't even stop himself from devouring her so if he turns into a Level E, he might killed someone. Despite Zero's attempt to convince her, Yuuki still refuses to shoot so he decides to leave the dorm. Yuuki, however, catches up to him and tells him things are going to be okay because she'll be his ally, even if Kaname won't forgive her. Meanwhile, Cross is being scolded by the head of vampire hunters association for not heading their call. They wonder if he's going to wait until the situation becomes too unmanageable. Cross, however, insists that Zero is still okay and hunters association should trust Cross Academy's peace treaty. In response, the head of vampire hunters tells him that they've sent someone to the school. If the report states that Zero is dangerous, they'll get rid of him.

Impression

I really like the way Yuuki ends up feeling protective of Zero instead of the other way around. I'd imagine that Kaname must be quite unhappy with this latest development since before this happened, Yuuki's affection mostly goes towards his way. Speaking of Zero, I remember there was a discussion on whether or not Zero will become a Level E eventually. I don't think this will ever be the case because Zero is one of the three main characters in the series. So while it may seem like an impossible feat, I'm pretty sure the author will go out of her way to ensure that this does not happen. Plus, when it comes to Zero, Yuuki actually takes some kind of initiative to help him instead of letting herself being protected all the time. This makes their relationship more reciprocal and balanced in comparison to her relationship with Kaname.

Having said that, I wonder if the author realizes that her story makes Kaname appears creepy most of the time. Even though he said that he does things for Yuuki, there's an air of possessiveness and arrogance that comes with every single thing that he says to her. I have to admit that I dislike character who tells another character that he/she is doing something for the good of another character. In real life, I'd find this to be insulting and patronising, because it implies that the other person can't take care of him/herself. It's true that Yuuki often gets into a problem but she's also an adult who can make her own decision. Therefore, I don't see why Kaname has to decide what's best for her. I want to like the guy and see him as potential rival for Zero but it's hard to do so when everything that he does looks like there's a hidden/sinister intention behind it. One can be protective of someone without controlling that person 24/7.

Also, while I understand that vampires usually has long life, and therefore it doesn't matter which partner a vampire decide to have, I still find it creepy when I think that Kaname was already teenager when Yuuki was just a little girl. It makes me want to give him the Pedobear seal of approval. Joking aside, after what happened in the manga, age is probably the least of most people's concern when it comes to Yuuki and Kaname pairing. Anyway, I can't remember if the vampire in this story actually lives forever or just lives slightly longer. I am wondering about this because I remember watching either a Vampire or a Dracula movie, which kind of cleverly suggested that Vampire/Dracula is actually Judas Iscariot who's been cursed to roam the Earth forever after he betrayed Jesus in the Garden of gethsemene.

© memento 2005