Series: Vampire Knight – Part 4: Episodes 14-17
Release date: 28th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 72 mins
Director: Kiyoko Sayama
Starring: Daisuke Kishio, Mamoru Miyano, Yui Horie, Fumiko Orikasa, Hiroki Yasumoto
Genre: Anime
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Vampire Knight – Part 4 sees Matsuri Hiro return with a revelatory series of events taking place at Cross Academy, a dangerous place where vampires mix with normal students - some having accepted their night-time existence, others forging a battle to control the beast within. Fast paced and emotional, this gothic romance takes the viewer on a bumpy ride.
In episodes fourteen to seventeen, pureblood vampire Kaname still stalks the shadows of our heroine Yuki Cross. We watch as the love triangle between Kaname, Yuki and Zero complicates, with the tension rising when Yuki is offered a solution in her quest to prevent Zero from descending into Level E status. She is asked by pureblood vampire Shizuka to choose between the two brooding men. Will she be able to sacrifice Kaname to save Zero?
Zero’s twin Ichiru returns to cause trouble and reveals the cause of his anger, which has so far tainted the relationship with his brother. Shizuka and Kaname are cast against each other in a power struggle where they icily disagree over the protection of Yuki. Meanwhile Yuki’s turmoil continues as she tries to remember the memories which have been hidden from her past, questioning Kaname as to his motives for suppressing them.
Yuki’s father Kaien continues to prove a mysterious figure, turning up on the sidelines when least expected…
Hiro has a talent for transferring beauty onto the screen - the students at the academy seeming impeccably groomed with glassy eyes and choppy layered hair. The tailored jackets could be convincingly haute couture designs. The inclusion of a ball at the academy offers the chance for some teenage angst as the plainer students dare to hope to break into the circle of these beautiful people.
This is not a relaxing segment of the Vampire Knight story as there a constant threat of violence running alongside the hasty exchanges of conversation, which occasionally does lead to fighting and, as expected, the drawing of blood.
Hiro has a strong tendency to play to the emotive side of the plotline and as a result relationships between the protagonists are fraught with jealousy and there is no shortage of emotional confrontation.
Interestingly, the scenery is used to convey drama, such as when Kaname finds it hard to control his frustration, the Academy’s glass windows shatter, and later a chess piece crumbles as his powers increase. Kaien Cross’s hyperactive reaction to Yuki in her ball gown, however, perhaps crosses the line into madness. There is an excellently animated scene when Ichiru and Zero come to blows in episode eleven, with a swift sword fight between the brothers, involving beautiful airborne kicks and clashes of metal.
Hiro’s ability to convey the movement of wind throughout is also very realistic and impressive. It mirrors the story’s twists and turns, a metaphor for the inability for the characters to find security, their lives also being mutable.
Although full of drama and constantly surprising, the speed which the story moves at means no one theme or shock to the viewers is explored for very long, so entertainment takes priority over depth. Each conversation is a jigsaw piece in the Vampire Knight puzzle - quickly snatched moments used to reveal shocking truths. This can make the episodes seem jumbled rather than progressing naturally, although it does ensure those with a short attention span will be kept hooked. Due to this muddling of the plot, there is a heavy reliance on the use of flashbacks to keep the viewer from losing track on how each chain of events could have started. This will be useful if you are coming to Vampire Knight for the first time, but may seem like filler for those who are already aware of the storyline.
As mentioned, there are moments of great beauty, both in the animation itself and in the love shown by Yuki towards Kaname, and the tenderness Zero still maintains for Yuki, despite his desire to feed due to increasingly dominant call to his kin. The colours used are quite muted, though, and there are few changes of scenery, with the majority of the commotion taking place in the Academy.
After the shocking ending to episode twelve, the direction and mood changes to hinting at what could be to come in Vampire Knight - Part Five. The vampire senate is discussed, the worry being their anger at developments which have taken place so far in this volume. There is a sense of a move from looking inwardly at the love between Yuki and Zero to the larger vampire world, which is one of strict rules and greater power. The impression is given of calm before the storm. and it seems the themes of the series are coming together to hint at a stronger episode to come in the next series.
As a romantic drama, Vampire Knight doesn’t disappoint. It draws you in and keeps you entertained and shocked, if only to lose structure slightly as a result. Hiro stays true to traditional vampire folklore and effectively keeps a balance between the darkness of the vampire’s torment and the lightness of Yuki’s love, and so prevents the plot becoming too heavy or comedic. There are plenty of loose ends and a threat of involvement from the senate, so with these grand events on the horizon hopefully further work from Hiro will deliver the same level of beauty, but with a greater sense of depth. AT
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