Series: Vampire Knight Guilty: Part 1 – Episodes 1-4
UK Release date: 4th April 2011
Distributor: Manga
Certificate: 12
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Kiyoko Sayama
Starring: Yui Horie, Mamoru Miyano, Susumu Chiba, Jun Fukuyama, Hozumi Gôda
Genre: Anime
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Japan
Language: Japanese
Matsuri Hino’s dark shoujo manga, Vampire Knight Guilty returns to our screens for a second outing, with long-term director Kiyoko Sayama at its helm. Retaining its mysticism, Vampire Knight Guilty opens with the instability and uneasiness left as a result of the tragedy at the end of series one.
We return to Cross Academy, an institution secretly divided into Day and Night classes of humans and vampires, respectively. It is up to the main protagonists, Yuki and Zero to maintain balance and protect the human populous from the insatiable thirst of the vampires.
Episodes 1 to 4 see the return of Zero to the academy after his shadowy disappearance at the end of season one. His return is shrouded in doubt and confusion and unsettles the love triangle between himself, Yuki and pure-blood vampire Kaname.
This series continues to delve into the mysterious pasts of both Yuki and Zero whilst shedding light onto the childhood of Kaname. Zero continues to contemplate his identity as he struggles to cope with his deteriorating transformation into vampirism, and the effect this has on his relationship with Yuki and his rivalry with Kaname…
The series retains its sense of dark, brooding gothicism, but in a far more contrived way. The constant barrage of imagery from the title and end credits is sickeningly clichéd. The sequences featuring blood-soaked roses, butterflies, glistening spiders webs and shadowy forests works clearly as a means to heighten the romanticism of vampirism. And to those watching the series after a certain vampire franchise will immediately see its similarities with the twilight fanaticism of recent years (however, Vampire Knight was first to establish the vampire/human romance story). From the credits alone, Vampire Knight Guilty is a fangirl’s dream series of handsome, brooding vampires and lovesick schoolgirls.
The cast of the original series return, some with more relevance than in the previous season. In episode one, the Vampire Council invade the school grounds to kill Zero for murdering the pure-blood Shizuka. They finally emerge as a powerful entity after remaining shadowed through much of the first season. The series does well at integrating a huge cast of protagonists and supporting characters, including the return of Ichiru, Zero’s twin brother. It just begs the question will these individuals get enough screen-time for them to be relevant to the overall story?
Yuki’s character is yet again searching for the answers to her blurred past, as she tries to piece together her feelings for both Zero and Kaname. This series pushes the mystery surrounding her character up a notch, as her flashbacks and visions intensify in episode four – it would seem she has a much closer connection to vampirism than first thought. Her research in the Hunter Association’s records end in the book bursting into flames - it seems someone or something doesn’t want her to remember her past. She retains her cutesy and bashful personality, but with far fewer comedic scenes her sudden anime gimmicks seem out of place for the mood that is set up around her. As for the bishonen characters of Zero and Kaname, they seem to hold greater depth, perhaps due to the fact they can remember their tormented pasts. Kaname’s stoic and cool demeanor is a fresh outlook on the vampire mythos, whereas Zero’s moody ‘emo’, comes across annoying rather than convincing as he wanders from scene to scene moping like a spoilt teenager.
The series has an interesting plot point in that both humans and vampires inhabit Cross Academy, but this potentially intriguing concept is scarpered before it even begins. The Day Class students, who we are introduced to at the start of episode one and the end of episode two, are hormonal teenagers infatuated with the elite Night Class. The animation between the two factions is also interesting here, whilst the Day Class students all have the same chibi facial expression and brunette hair, the students of the Night Class are beautifully drawn, each with his/her own particular style. Similarly, they are the only students, apart from Yuki and Zero, to be seen outside of the school grounds. The Night Class’ pretentious cliché at being the cool, good-looking crowd feels more American high school rather than the mysterious ethos the series establishes around vampire folklore.
Repression becomes the key word in understanding the love-triangle between the three leading characters. The romantic scenes are poorly executed and come off as corny attempts in trying to establish the vampire as a brooding individual who would rather protect the female’s humanity rather than exploit her sexually. After seeing the hormone-fuelled actions of licking necks and heavy breathing and grunting across several episodes, it becomes clear that Vampire Knight Guilty is trying to build some kind of romantic tension at an achingly slow level that becomes more of a hindrance than a satisfying narrative choice. Instead of accepting this choice, one is yelling at the screen to get over your temptation and just bite her! With hints of homoeroticism thrown in for good measure, Vampire Knight Guilty plays to fangirl ideology, which is completely fine for fans of the genre but for a fan of anime new to this particular sort of series, it plays out like a poor attempt to flesh out a now tiresome genre.
Rather than building tension, the love-triangle becomes tedious at the lack of action between the three of them - the action is subconscious in that it never reaches physical expression. This is certainly not directed at their relationships sexually but in general; they seem to lack the ability of conversing and telling each other how they truly feel, instead it becomes a series of dull facial expressions and over-articulated inner monologues recounting that characters repressed emotions.
The start to this series does have its redeeming features, far from rushing through the narrative, the series does not falter in the details. The back-stories and previous situations are integrated well through flashbacks, (although you do feel like you are having them pummeled into you) and the series does well to make sure no stone is left unturned, whilst maintaining the overall mystery of the story.
The animation is good, although it does rely heavily upon anime clichés; far too many times do chibi-esque facial expressions and mannerisms occur that don’t quite fit. This is fine for fans of anime, but a little childish for those expecting to watch a more adult-appropriate series. Aside from the annoying opening theme, the music is surprisingly well thought out, providing the right amount of atmosphere and mystery to help the narrative along. The same goes for the well placed sound effects that enrich and enhance the mood.
Episodes 1-4 open with the uncertainty left by the events of the previous series, and opens this series out with premises of the dark mysteriousness that made the show successful in the first place. It seems as Yuki’s past memories intensify, so too do the audience’s questions. Who is the mysterious man, the Vampire Senate call lord in episode four? What is the story behind the ‘Cursed Twins’? How is Yuki connected? For each the slight answers these initial episodes give, the series throws another five back at you. It is what guides the series and obviously enthralls the viewer, although at times achingly slow and drab. The romance is there, the action is there, the characters are there, all orchestrated within an interesting narrative, it is just a shame that it all seems a bit complacent and lackluster. However, the series has time to develop and hopefully bring about an impressive and well-executed conclusion. LF
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