chibichatter!

Is it just me or does there seem to be an awful lot of vampire media around at the moment? From Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga to anime, manga, movies and other novels, it seems just about everything is sporting something vampire related. I am still undecided as to whether I’m enjoying this new craze or not. Certainly I am enjoying the new portrayal of vampires being beautiful and humane, but I’m getting a sense of de ja vu’ coming through in the storylines. I feel like I’ve been trawling through the vampire content trying to find a story that is truly original and addictive – not this dark, angsty crap that keeps invading an otherwise good story. Sure, vampire stories are supposed to be dark – they are creatures of the night afterall, but it seems these stories keep falling into the same old tale of forbidden love, dark obsession and love triangles. I want something different!

Here’s a rundown of my recent vampire run-ins:

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer (second novel in the Twilight series)

Sooooooooooooooooooo over this book. I was going to wait until I actually finished reading the novel before providing a comment, but it just can’t wait. I’m currently two thirds of the way through New Moon and it is the most tedious book I have ever attempted to read. Ever since I started reading, I have had to force myself to pick it up and keep reading. My simple dislike for Bella has turned into outright hatred. The last chapter I read involved Bella drowning and I cheerfully read along humming to the tune of “ding dong the bitch is dead” waiting for the final moment where Bella departs our lives for good – only to be thoroughly disappointed by Jacobs sudden and very unnecessary rescue. Sure, I really knew that Bella couldn’t possibly die being the books protagonist and all, but one can have a moment of fantasy, right? I am resigned to the fact that this near-death encounter with Bella is going to be the highlight of the story and can bring myself to read no further. In my opinion, Bella is a leech, sapping the happiness from those around her. I believe she must wear pheromone infused deoderant resulting in guys flocking to her like flies, as it’s certainly not her sparkling personality attracting all the male characters (unless guys truly like moody, bitchy girls who are only nice to them when they want something).

I truly like Jacob, who in all his naivete is a shining ray of light in all the doom and gloom Bella seems to emit. The story surrounding his wolf heritage is intruguing and the ongoing battle between werewolf and vampire could turn out to be something good. Unfortunately, poor Jacob has caught the Bella bug, and seems intent on torturing himself by falling in love with someone who wishes only to use him as a life-support machine until she can get what she really wants. Poor Jacob must be a glutton for punishment or is genuinely very stupid. Regardless, I don’t think there is enough pull story-wise for me to endure Bella just to find out how the story ends. There goes my $35.

Rant finished. I will say this, however. From what I’ve read, it seems most people either really love the Twilight series or really hate it, and right now I feel I am leaning towards the latter.  

Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight: Guilty (Anime Series 1 and some of Series 2)

Truthfully, I’m on a Ranma 1/2 kick at the moment, and thinking back to why I started watching Vampire Knight I realise I ran out of Ranma episodes and read a blurb for the Vampire Knight manga while desperately ordering additional box sets of Ranma online. Thinking it sounded pretty good (but wasn’t going to pay $15 a book for it), I went looking ‘elsewhere’ and stumbled across the anime instead. 

Overall I am quite enjoying the Vampire Knight anime. I suspect the manga is actually better (there seems to be plot holes in the anime), but I’m generally finding it to be an interesting story especially now I’m on to series 2. The first thing that really struck me is that the three main characters are almost identical to the Fruits Basket protagonists. Kaname is quiet, reserved and highly admired just like Yuki, Zero is like the unpredictable and prickly Kyo, and Yuuki like the peaceful, well meaning Tohru who pulls everyone together. The love triangle might be nothing original, but the emotional tensions are strong. Like Twilight, the vampires are portrayed as being very beautiful, and the character designs are stunning. I love the opening and ending music for both the first season and Guilty.

The setting is kind of weird – an exclusive boarding school which has daytime classes for human students and night time classes for Vampires. Few people on the school grounds know the night students are actually vampires, and school prefects (Yuuki and Zero) who know the secret are assigned to monitor interactions between the two. The school’s headmaster, a former vampire hunter, set up the school as an experiment to break down the barriers vampires and humans. Assisting his project is Kaname, a pureblood vampire who is regarded as royalty amongst the Vampires. Lower class vampires flock to where purebloods reside, and with Kaname at the school no one dares step out of line.

Yuuki is the adopted daughter of the Headmaster Cross, and has a close relationship with Kaname after being saved by him when attacked by an evil vampire 10 years earlier. Her friend Zero who is also in the headmaster’s care, is an orphaned child from a family of vampire hunters who were slain by a female pureblood. Where Yuuki is determined that not all Vampires are bad and idolises Kaname for rescuing her, Zero is the opposite and despises them more and more, as his encounter with the vampire who killed his family has left him with more than just a mental scar.     

Although Vampire Knight is a generally moody story, there is a lot of fun characters. Rima is a near emotionless vampire with a sweet tooth, and is always found munching on pocky or biscuits. Both Rima and her close friend Shiki work part-time for a modelling agency, and their disinterest and emotional dullness reveals a quiet understanding of each other which is so cute. Yuuki’s adopted father, Headmaster Cross is just crazy, and his antics and animated interactions with the very serious vampire hunter Yagari is hilarious!

Yuuki I find to be an interesting enough lead character though her obsessive need to repay Kaname for saving her is a little over the top. Kaname, as stunning as he is, is rather creepy and obviously has another agenda. His doting on Yuuki is quite disturbing. Zero on the other hand is my favourite. His hot-headed nature, cold disinterest in others and obvious care for Yuuki, waving a gun while dealing with his own problems is just cool. And dammit, he is just so dang kawaii! I do however, find myself constantly wondering how Yuuki and Zero function with so little sleep – going to school during the day and patrolling the grounds at night leaves little time for shut-eye.

I found the first series ending to be a bit anti-climatic, but Guilty is already proving to make up for the slump. Guilty gives a closer look into Yuuki’s past as she searches for the truth behind her missing memories, and introduces the fabled curse of the vampire hunter twins which leads to further crossing of paths between Zero and his twin brother Ichiru. It also seems the vampire council is taking matters into their own hands as their actions continue to clash with those of the ever more powerful Kaname.  

Vampire Knight is probably not going to make it into my most favourites list, but it is certainly proving to be a fun ride. Now I just have to wait for more episodes to be released!