Vampire Knight Was WORSE Than You Remember

[@NegativeLegend]

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[@Cookie-ox9dd]

ooooh have you ever heard of the bionicles? 👀

[@aihoshinoirl]

yo!

[@princessravendiamond4288]

I can't wait for you to read the manga. It's honestly in some way better and worse than the anime

[@isabelblackwel6190]

Not sure if you already read the manga or not but just so you know Kaname IS AND ISNT her brother. See Rido, kaname and yukis uncle, sacrificed Kaname Kuran to awaken their ancient ancestor to eat him i believe or use him in some way (i cant quite remember the full details). So essentially Her older brother is dead and died in infancy however the ancestor was so week and starved was able to i guess in a way transfer himself into the baby and grow up in a neew body. So while the body he is occupying is in fact her older brothers the soul inhabiting said body is not.

[@marocat4749]

Enjoy the mage , muhahaha. Also did you cover madao mew mew or whats the funny bl demon story adoption. By an excellend fandub.

[@evilpenguinss]

When they revealed kaname wasn’t actually her brother but her ancestor who was resurrected in the form of a baby and he replaced her true brother who died as a baby, as though that made it less weird

[@Brogan_Balfour_Crescent]

To me it seems like a Targeryan thing the author was going for since Kaname is "a pure blooded" vampire from a long line of "undiluted" vampires.

[@Bucktoosa]

Didn’t Kaname also add that had he actually been her brother he would have been much happier? 🤣

[@maevav5645]

It sounds like something they make happen just because it was too creepy otherwise?…

[@Xxblossom-46]

That doesn’t make it any better..

[@random_meta]

@@Bucktoosa lol that's gross. inc*st in anime is weird in general but damn this is too much

[@shewolfinubaka]

I love how her two options in the love triangle were her biological brother or her adoptive brother that she grew up with as a sibling….so like……..her brother *OR* her brother

[@EsAndreita]

Literally like let homegirl live 😭

[@nalalalalala9946]

And then decides to go with her *brother* brother lmao

[@lynasworld2575]

​​@@nalalalalala9946she got both😅

[@kitty24]

They actually clarified in the manga that Kaname isn’t her brother, he’s her ancestor from 10,000 years ago

[@myheartwillstopinjoy8142]

​@@kitty24God that's worse 💀

[@luthientinuviel3883]

The fact that Kaname and Yuki's parents were ALSO siblings just...it just obliterated my brain. Its melting

[@ChaotixMinx]

Oh gosh I totally forgot about that!!!! This anime was something 😂

[@bluewolf6323]

The whole family tree is fucked...all of the bloodline is siblings....or uncles and nieces...or you see where I'm going

[@TheSapphireLeo]

And then them...

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

I know that is what pureblood is, but hate how they were trying to make incest sexy. What the heck? Yuki, zero was right in front of you.

[@hescutethough2419]

Ikrrrrr i remember thinking that as well,who Cares about the f*cking Brother (ew) what about Zero!!!

[@aclaudiamatias]

I genuinely died inside in the “ i didn’t came here for Alabama vampires” part 😂😂😂

[@Jiinx123]

'True Blood' was the original "Alabama Vampires," and they were messy af too. 😂

[@tyrant-den884]

Alabampires if you will.

[@aclaudiamatias]

@@tyrant-den884 😂😂😂 perfect!

[@Cheebie_108]

He's not wrong 😂 😂

[@haileyharmon5298]

​@@tyrant-den884😂😂😂😂

[@Yuukafromtheblock79]

Yuki: I fell in love with my brother Kaname: What’s wrong with that? Everyone: EVERYTHING!

[@Necroionutwiz]

what you dont like Alabama Vampire...Knight ?> >:C

[@NoahBerzerk]

Yummers

[@wallyyyy3554]

“Which brother?” Yuki: Both.

[@shadotarot]

This manga was such a weird ride to read through. Yuki being a vampire-turned-human-turned-vampire, Kaname who was her ancient-vampire-ancestor-turned-pseudo-brother, and Zero who was the angsty anime boy with a grudge and a twin brother with mommy issue. Yuki's parents and their incestuous love triangle WITH HER UNCLE. The homoerotic subtext from the blonde vampires. The side chick vampire that was the embodiment of toxic on-side love. And the one-eyed Kakashi. This is a telenovela waiting to happen.

[@AdzaanMaiiTso]

The one-eyed Kakashi! 😂 This comment explained so much and intrigued me at the same time. I only read a few chapters and was done with it, lol.

[@zizojaezekeom3565]

This is so chaotic 😂

[@springdemon.w.]

Perfect summary of the manga tbh

[@error-try-again-later]

That's not even getting into the bs with Yuki's daughter in the manga 😭

[@tilllkn]

let's be honest, it should have been a yaoi, no incest bullshit, just some classic vampire x vampire hunter enemies to lovers thing. Kaname and Zero were the PERFECT yaoi pair, no doubts.

[@bquncy550]

Okay but ‘Thank goodness it’s just his ADOPTIVE father, it would be extra weird if it was incestuous” and then that long pointed glare at the camera had me laughing like crazy. Oh… this anime was so weird.

[@-swxtchblade-]

I ran to the comments to see if anyone else appreciated that 😂, well done Negative Legend

[@Scourge275]

No it’s still incestuous Yuki and Kaname are siblings 😂🥲 oh wait I just understood the sentence properly add this to r/woosh!! this show was such a trip I always say its shit but good/addictive shit but still shit! 😂

[@Karmillina]

Honestly that just seemed like a half-assed attempt at a get out of jail free card

[@blackmuzicluver35]

Imagine being stuck in a love triangle between your adoptive bro and your bio bro💀

[@ange4154]

​@@blackmuzicluver35 Yuki's options really were to continue the original incest ladder she was born into or to start one of her own with her adopted brother. Also, really??? "Pureblood vampires are beginning to go extinct and that's why we have to marry our siblings"??? You'd think they'd go to arranged marriages first!!!

[@wilczekudly]

You know when i watched the first episode of vampire knight i was like 'huh, kaname and yuki look a lot like siblings. Weird design choice for love interests.'

[@clarehidalgo]

Even worse Kaname is like her great-great-great-great grandpa who has been pretending to be her dead brother who was named after him

[@wilczekudly]

@@clarehidalgo **flips table** WHO OKAYED THIS

[@DieAlteistwiederda]

To be fair all of the characters faces kind of look the same with different hairstyles and some differences when it comes to their gender expression.

[@wilczekudly]

@@DieAlteistwiederda yeah,thats what i told myself. But i was right the first time around

[@FrenkTheJoy]

I've seen so many manga/anime where all the characters look identical I didn't even register that these two looked especially alike. But if he's supposed to be her distant ancestor why WOULD they look so similar? How many of your ancestors from hundreds of years ago do you look similar to?

[@ZeroStako]

I just want to take a moment and add something immensely important: Vampire Knight's OST is a miracle. And I'm saying this with years of experience as a musician behind my back. This OST not being available on vinyl is one of the greatest musical attrocities on the planet. And yes, I stuck through the show and rewatched it just because of the OST. An absolute masterpiece!

[@humanbean4037]

What’s your thoughts on the old hellsing music?

[@BeautyInTheDarkness1]

I still have parts of it saved on my watchlist because it suited my inspiration to write yessss

[@boop99]

I listened to the soundtrack while reading the manga and it helped me get through it

[@laizycatt4674]

Thats fair

[@TheDoRoBouNeko]

Seriously tho., VK doesn't have the right to have an OST THAT good~ 😑

[@SiciliaVT]

"it'd be extra weird if it was incestuous" line hit and we stared at each other for those moments, both unfortunately knowing. love your work

[@vanveleca]

Really the biggest problem about the anime/manga is Yuki being the main character, if the story mainly followed and/or was told from either Zero's or Kaname's perspective every moment drama might actually be interesting But due to following Yuki whose personality equates to a untoasted, thin slice piece of bread it just becomes such a chore to sit through, especially whenever she gets sad over whatever once again

[@mk_gamíng0609]

Sadly due to how bad Japan is at writing female characters a lot of female lead media is pretty bad what makes it worse is that its such a easy fix, Just write good characters It really feels like as soon as a characters has a pair of melons the writers skills just disappear

[@sephychan9397]

u know, even sayuri would be an even better main character. sayuri is also a sweet and honest girl and she is also kind and courages. BUT she is not a damsel in distress WITHOUT a weapon ._. and she is into toga so she has a good type

[@luthientinuviel3883]

Kaname and Zero have all that sexual tension too, just make it a vampire bl

[@BreezyStreamy]

I think she was the reason why I couldn't get into it. Fruits Baskets was real big around that time too and I tried binging both the manga and the anime. I was half way through the first volume when I realized that that main was just boring and I took nothing in. Then people were talking about Vampire Knight and how good it was and it was just Fruits Baskets with vampires and I just couldn't. That and Twilight made me be turned off to them for a bit.

[@caxtillo9876]

Agreed Yuki was boring, and even as a vampire, she was still boring.

[@vietbluecoeur]

9:50 A quick note that although _Yuki,_ written 雪, is a very common Japanese name meaning "snow," Yuki's name is actually _Yūki_ and is indeed written 優姫 with the kanji characters for "tender(-hearted)" and "princess."

[@waterywingz]

Was waiting for this comment 💯

[@tortxrra]

was just about to comment this!

[@soyjoyy]

She is not like other girls, her name is spelled differently🥴

[@vietbluecoeur]

@@soyjoyy I’m not sure that joke works as well when you try to apply it to Japanese naming conventions, unfortunately.

[@soyjoyy]

@@vietbluecoeur I think it does. Yuki is a common name, but spelling it differently was an intentional choice to make her a bit more special and unique. It's actually a very common thing in romance genre.

[@boop99]

Thank you for mentioning Kaname's casual gaslighting. So much of the fandom falls for it and always says, "But he's lying and being manipulative to protect herrrr!" As if that makes it okay

[@feel0197]

many see that he was able to protect Yuuki with this. If not for Kaname, she would have died many times or become a puppet of the senate.

[@boop99]

@@feel0197 He was able to protect Yuki, but he never should have made decisions for her or manipulated her like he did. Even if he did love her, he was extremely selfish and toxic.

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

​​​@@boop99 a manga Zero saved a random child similer to Kaname and Yuki exept he imidietly left her with her grand mother and left next time they meet was like 100 years later or some thing she was a old women with grand kids and a long and happy life behind her and she thot that Zero is his own grand son or some thing basicaly Kaname should of atleast give Yuki oportunity to live a normal life first and instead of imidietly making her a vampire why not just tell her ewery thing maybe the madnes thing was from all the trauma and mind games not because whe was a freaking human and lets not forget a disrispect for Jury who gived her life Yuki can have a human life that was for nothing just because Kaname a freaking 10000 years old man wants to bang a freaking child

[@boop99]

@@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq Yeah the story is very wacky haha

[@feel0197]

@@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq He always dreamed that she lived an ordinary human life. Therefore, he did not say anything, knowing what kind of person Yuki was. Her seal was already almost broken due to Zero constantly biting her (for her transformation into a vampire, thank Zero, who destroyed everything, If Kaname had not used Fangs, she would still have turned into a vampire, but very painfully). Where the hell did a white haired kid look like a yuki or a kaname? Why are you ignoring the fact that Yuki imprinted on Kaname from childhood, you can say and always dreamed of being his wife?

[@kellharris2491]

Actually as I have gotten older I feel more sympathetic of yuki. I also read the manga. Zero and kaname where so toxic and both told her that they would kill themselves if she left them. She basically became the emotional crutch of both men. And both guys where obsessed and controlling. She bumped back and forth between the both of them trying to keep them both happy. Yuki was always a mess because her powers and memories where suppressed and everyone around her including her adopted Dad kept her purposely ignorant to 'protect' her. She didn't even know why she was drawn to Kaname for most of the story. But the vampires are basically Targaryions with all the same baggage. And when she learned she wasn't for the relationship or continuing the cycle. But she felt like if she left him he would go off the deep end. ( Which he eventually did.) So she was always three steps behind everything that was going on in the story.

[@TheDoRoBouNeko]

She would've been better off with Aidou if you ask me. At least the guy grew up and be a better person. Actually, Yuuki would've been better off with anyone else far faaaaar away from her only two choices. Incest groomer or incest.

[@seleciaa]

Valid analysis.

[@girlscarf]

i feel like this is an undervalued take

[@k.k.l]

Kaname and Rector kept Yuki in the dark so that she could live a full, happy human life. I don’t think she would have grown up to be a cheerful girl if they had told her that she was being hunted by a crazy uncle who wanted to devour her and he could come in any guise. She would obviously become paranoid)). Yuki always wanted to be with Kaname and she experienced such feelings that Yuki even said that the beast inside her would like to devour Kaname (💀vampire love). She even sacrificed her body to revive him, and placed her soul inside Kaname. Yuki's feelings for Kaname were real. Facts.💀

[@mahaejaz1688]

​@@k.k.lthe funny thing is after getting railed by kaname she then goes to her backup zero she gave me the udders

[@blankkandy2474]

If I remember correctly, Zero’s brother was drinking that long white haired vampire’s blood because of an illness he was battling. So when Zero consumed his brother, he was also consuming the blood of the vampire that had turned Zero into a vampire in the first place, making him well again and more stable. I hope I’m remembering that correctly. I haven’t revisited vampire Knight in YEARS, but I think I remembered that much at least.

[@clarissat867]

I thought the same thing, I have never finished it and didn't even go to the point of weird incest part, but I was like : it make sens ? His tween brother drank that vampire blood ?

[@DarkMirria1]

That is correct.

[@squigglemonster2634]

This anime was one of the first animes I was obsessed with as a vampire lover. I had the entire 2nd season memorised. Later learned about how horrible the love triangle was but in middle school it was the shit. Looking back at it now it was so bad but I have such nostalgia for it 😭

[@yentlcloud]

same. i barely dare mention i watched this to others because its so bad. but tween me LOVED this anime. only anime i read the manga off. but honestly cant even say i recomend that either its not as bad as the anime but unless you LOVE kaname (i didnt) you are not going to care much about what happends

[@sapphireraindrop6925]

Same I still appreciate it for the fact it was one of the first series I got into. I still love the kiryu twins and dorky Yuki. But now knowing a bit about what happened after the anime finished but continued in the manga it kinda hurts my heart.

[@kitten0892]

SAME, I love it just for the nostalgia at this point 😭

[@nuclearseahorse]

It's camp fs if you watch anything before the self aware incest stuff

[@pasteladream]

Omg same! But I had no idea the anime existed, my middle school had the whole manga series so I read the crap out of it. ( the manga in the middle school wasn’t doing that well though so the librarian gave out all the manga to the people that actually read it ) so I own the series and re read it occasionally, yipEE

[@FMAxEdwin]

You know I think the reason why all the wild plots twists with secret twins, incest, and murder never really fazed me or weirded me out as a young tween watching this is probably because I'm mexican-american and grew up around soap operas and telenovelas always playing. Like all those tropes are super common, so its was just kinda like an "oh, okay" moment and the continuing for me. Also I watched Vampire Knight with subs, I didn't even know at the time it had a dub, probably wouldn't have been able to stand it if I did watch it that way. I had just watched what I could find during my early days of "sailing the high seas~"

[@silverpawjanny6729]

As a Puerto Rican who grew up on Telenovelas I a hundred percent agree with this comment.

[@tristantries9211]

I've actually come to realize that almost all tv shows are just soaps with a higher budget

[@FrenkTheJoy]

It's weird that people will pick up manga/anime/webtoons and be like "OMG THIS IS SO PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE SHE'S IN LOVE WITH HER SECRET TWIN BROTHER WHO'S ACTUALLY HER GRANDFATHER" or whatever but when soap operas/telenovelas do even more insane things nobody cares.

[@tristantries9211]

@@FrenkTheJoy because soap operas never try to present themselves as anything other than ridiculous entertaining trash. They are the 711 food of television. Anime is just a medium and many people don't realize how much trash anime there is and go into these series expecting some quality. Which hopefully they learn how to spot a soap anime vs a quality one later

[@gremlin8273]

I can definitely agree with this, telenovelas are so weird and there were some that I definitely shouldn't have watched as a child

[@GalaxyAngelo]

Omg my dudes gonna talk about vampire knight never thought I’d see this

[@GalaxyAngelo]

Also justice for Zero😤

[@aihoshinoirl]

ikr

[@sweetcandyhearts150]

I know!! I watch this as a child and it scared me. Btw I was always team Zero, I mean he was emo so he was better

[@realityisascam]

One of my favorite youtubers covering half of my beloved trash vamp anime is so much fun. Now I just gotta hope diabolik love(of my life)ers will get roasted someday

[@scarlet8992]

Same

[@kiko219]

I first started reading Vampire Knight in Shojo Beat and I distinctly remember thinking to myself before I dropped it "Oh hey. Yuki and Kaname have really similar hair. I wonder if they're related". Lo and behold about 3 years later it all comes to light lmao

[@lsdfarmer]

shoujo beat :'-)) good memories. i used to check volumes of it out at my local library and then convinced my mom to get me a subscription. they stopped publishing issues a couple months later, but i still have some of them saved at 24 yrs old

[@thewhelmedlife]

Please I was so obsessed with this anime 😭. I don't even remember the plot, I was just there for the hot vampires and yes, the openings and endings were straight-fire. I still listen to them occasionally and actually had a similar conversation with a friend recently. As much of this anime as I can't remember, I still know there were so many things wrong with it, and will be rewatching it for nostalgia if I ever do.

[@midnights2631]

I remember I enjoyed the artwork, the story was meh for me as a teenager

[@SilverRagaire]

“Classism exists even in vampires.” Yeah. There’s a reason all the iconic vampires in history are rich guys living in mansions.

[@DiegoBPiquer]

As a classic twit says: “if you’ve been alive since 1892 and still broke, just step into the sun.”

[@Itsrainingcatsyall]

And the oldest!

[@octogonSmuggler]

To be fair to the author, I think they were going with the whole Hellsing gimmick where if you get bit by someone who is not a pure blood you go crazy and aren't just poor? Kinda like how Hellsing had people who weren't virgins going crazy after being bit by a vampire...? I don't actually know tho. I'm only guessing.

[@SilverRagaire]

@@octogonSmuggler That idea has loooong been in the Vampire lore. The original Dracula was based on Vlad the Impaler, a Walachian (Romanian now) Prince. Vampires are historically tied to aristocracy.

[@octogonSmuggler]

@@SilverRagaire Yes. Thank you for stating the obvious. Alucard from Hellsing IS Vlad the Impaler. I was making the statement that the way it was set up was similar to the way Hellsing was set up in how vampires are made, the difference being that instead of needing to be virgin, you need to be bit by a pure blood. Oh you forgot about Elizabeth Bathory, by the way. The countess from hungary who bathed in the blood of young virgin women to stay beautiful. She was often considered a vampire. Maybe read what I said first before making assumptions and talking down to people like they're stupid.

[@ULTRAV1OLE7]

Funny story. I read this entire Manga in high school. I read the ENTIRE thing. I found out that Kaname and Yuki were related in the middle of my English class. I put the volume down and it took me 2 weeks to come back to it because I'm a completionist. I read it to finish it. And the ending sucked.

[@pinkitten1712]

Was the manga better then the anime at least? Or was it just as bad? I understand some anime’s don’t follow their mangas all the way and add different elements

[@evi.e]

@@pinkitten1712 honestly it was somewhat better but not by much lmao. a lot of unanswered questions in the anime are answered in the manga if you are interested tho

[@hetaliasweden]

You are a braver person than I am. Vampire Knight was one of the few mangas I rage quit and never finished. In this case it was just so boring and I made it bit past the incest reveal.

[@ULTRAV1OLE7]

@pinkitten1712 the Manga is more thorough I'd say. It does a better job of telling the story. The story is still not good though.

[@darkreunion7882]

@@pinkitten1712 The manga isn't really finished either way since there's a sequel named Vampiren Knight memories, it's still not finished and there's 8 volumes to date, it focuses a lot on the children

[@AnonimusQualquer]

On a different note, Vampire Knight is a perfect example of an author who is a skilled artist, but with the paradox of very limited “beauty” anatomy knowledge. The author makes beautiful art, the manga is breath taking, but after a while you start to realize that everyone looks very similar. The need to make everyone beautiful, and the limitation of the school setting making everyone wear the same clothes, the only way you can distinguish the characters is by their height, hair and sometimes eyes. Everyone has the same body-build, the same nose, ears, hands. Once you realize that you can’t unsee it. What I can’t tell os of this is a limitation of the style, a limitation of the artist or both. I don’t know other works from the author to have a better idea. There is a scene where Kaname was talking to his uncle and I wasn’t paying much attention (mostly quickly skipping the pages because I was done with it and just wanted to know the end of the story) and then I was flabbergasted that there was a two page-scene with an important conversation between the two characters and I couldn’t distinguish who was who. That scene was when it finally dawned on me that you can be really damn good and still have such great limitations when taking into consideration human anatomy.

[@berobero686]

author have severe case of shoujo art style syndrome and maybe same face syndrome too.

[@erenegg]

Great insight. Art can be both beautiful and uninteresting.

[@ccheart8574]

I mean. In-universe it kind of makes sense that everyone looks alike considering the gene pool is, shall we say, very shallow. >.>

[@SkyBlueHearts]

I'm... pretty sure it was the artist. Meru Puri (which, hoo boy, if the INCEST angle makes you uncomfortable here the age gap dynamic in this will be murder) and the other (unproblematic or just unmemorable?) short-run manga she had were very much same face syndrome.

[@ccheart8574]

Oh, it's definitely an artist problem. I was just suggesting that, ironic to the content, there's a justifiable reason for it in-universe, too~

[@morgan7866]

dont forget that the guy who was revived was their uncle, who was in love with yuki's mom. her mom and dad were siblings. in the manga he was obsessed with yuki because she looked exactly like her mom ☠️

[@miavika1074]

Idk if it was about looks, I’d say it was a bonus. The uncle went after kaname first and then wanted yuki. I think it was more due to her having pure kuran blood, which he really wanted for… reasons I guess. I never really understood why, maybe it was just that delicious, idk

[@Neku628]

Yeah, Yuki's parents were also full siblings and Rido, who is Yuki's uncle tried to seduce his own sister. Yuki's mom, Juri turned her daughter into a human to protect her from her uncle, she did also lose her firstborn, Yuki's full brother to Rido who used his newborn nephew to revive the ancestor of the Kuran vampires. Man, this story is confusing! Haruka and Juri were seen in some flashbacks in the anime.

[@meagancortez2568]

Yeah, the Yuki - Kaname sibling reveal was very weird. From what I understand, Uncle Raido took the firstborn as a sacrifice to raise Kaname back from the dead. Kaname felt bad about killing the baby, so he took over the baby's body and acted as the firstborn son, kind of like how Shizuka took over Maria's body. So, Kaname's spirit is Yuki's ancestor, but his body is very much her brother. Much like real world royals, the pure blood vampires were down for incestuous marriages. Matter of fact, their parents were also brother and sister. Vampire Knight was like entry level GOT before it became popular.

[@leek.3671]

This… hurts my brain

[@meagancortez2568]

@@leek.3671 Imagine trying to make sense of the relationship in middle school lol

[@leek.3671]

@@meagancortez2568 this and then finding out through other comments that in the manga she had kids with both Zero and Kaname before they die. And then those kids carried on the ‘sibling love’ and THEN apparently Kaname is raised from the dead and also gets a thing for one of them… THIS HURTS MY BRAINNN

[@meagancortez2568]

@@leek.3671 lol yup. Doesn’t help that my parents were social workers, so I was really like ‘wtf am I reading?’ 😂

[@leek.3671]

@@meagancortez2568 oh nooooo 😂😭 yeah that would have not helped to make it ANY less weird (not that I think making it less weird is even POSSIBLE 😂)

[@sophiemandese6989]

Really goes to show how semi descent writing, physically attractive characters and melodrama is more than enough to entertain most tweens/teens. But as you get older you consume more stories and your standards become higher until the show you were obsessed with when you were a kid is unbearable as an adult 😭

[@someguy2682]

Oh no, this was unbearable for me at the age of twelve. However, I had an infatuation with poorly written fanfiction around that age. It's similar to junk food, to me. Though I feel like I should also note that I liked very well-written fanfiction and obsessed over novel-tier writing the best, there's just something very entertaining about a badly-written, predictable romance. For Vampire Knight, however, I was only invested because of Zero's presence and some of the side character vampires. I intensely disliked Yuki and Kaname.

[@norasyikinali6283]

​@@someguy2682Zero is honestly the only bearable character in the manga. Everyone else is either not relevant enough, not distinctive enough, or they are Kaname and Yuuki.

[@natnat8393]

@@someguy2682 Same, I think I was like 15 way back in the day when I 1st saw it after my step sister was raving about it. It was incredibly cringe to me and the men seemed quite toxic to me for some reason so when my step sister was cussing after finding out about the whole sibling lovers thing I legit laughed lol

[@tyrant-den884]

Good animation and art messes with people's heads too. Just look at the deference between how people responded to to No Game No Life and Problem Children. Same basic plot, one with a better story and characters, one with better animation; guess which people remember.

[@mittenvonscrufflears7233]

Oh... so that's how Twilight became popular. I never understood it because even watching vampire knight as a 12 year old, I was appalled

[@clarehidalgo]

19:55 That's not why he's a weird creep. Spoilers: He's a weird creep because he's like 10,000+ years old and Yuki is like his great-great-great-great-great- granddaughter. Also him pretending to be Yuki's real brother, also named Kaname, who was killed to resurrect Kaname is also creepy af

[@Honeyin2013]

I read the whole manga to find out if they were really related just to have this be the explanation was not worth it because it’s still creepy

[@aster4jaden]

Actually due to how long Pureblood Vampires live, Kaname is more like Yuuki's Great-Grandfather (her parents were around 3000 years old).

[@Gxmwp]

Holy shit this is hilarious! Even as a child, when I got to the part where it revealed they were siblings and then sorta got married I just dipped. Who'd have thought the explanation would be even more wild! Edit: you made me curious and like 2 minutes on the wiki had me find out Yuki had a kid each with both Zero and Kaname only for the Yuki/Kaname child to develop feelings for Zero. BUT WAIT, he younger half sister (who is the daughter of Zero) has also kissed her???? WHAT IS THIS!? 🤣😭🤣😭🤣😭

[@laurenmungaray3912]

He wasn't pretending to be Yuki's older brother just to get close to Yuki. He did it because he felt guilty for being the reason he's dead. Yuki's uncle Rido adducted the real Kaname and sacrificed him to awaken the ancestor. It's not like Kaname wanted it to happen. He was planning to rust away in his eternal slumber because the woman of his dreams sacrificed herself for humans to be able to protect themselves against vampires.

[@6Euphoria6]

As a xianxia im completely ok with the age apart but the granddaughter part is just......

[@error-try-again-later]

The music carried this entire show on its back. I honestly thought they were building up Kaname as the villain, which was why I kept watching past the brother reveal bc _surely_ that would be the last straw for Yuki, right? Surely Zero would win the love triangle, right? No. I was wrong. Shit was absolutely _mortifying_ 😭

[@zampettedainsetto]

As a 13 year old in 2003 I was absolutely obsessed with this story. It's absolutely unreadable/unwatchable to me now, but my friends and I would spend whole afternoons talking about it. It was actually the first manga I bought! Man, this feels like so long ago. I don't remember much of it anymore, but what i DO remember is getting angry that they cut the kiss between Yuuki and Zero at the very end of season 2 because I shipped them so hard and the manga had a beautiful panel for it that I wanted to see animated😂

[@rose_blue1]

Same I also shipped zero and yuki

[@desireerivers4050]

I feel like no one talks about how much of Yuki's past she was missing. Her first memory, being saved by Kaname, was when she was 5 years old. The missing first 5 years of her life are what is making her so angsty. I don't know what memory recall is like for vampires, but humans don't form their first long-term memory and facial recall until 3 or 4 years old. I'm still going to call her human since she was a human from ages 5-15. (15 years old and she is already engaged, damn). That is 2 years of her human life that she would end up forgetting anyway. Yuki should be totally fine not knowing what she did the first 5 years of her life. Hell, I don't remember what I did at 10 years old.

[@NovaMuse111]

She was kinda engaged to Kaname the day she was born.

[@motheraiya]

I mean, human children are still profoundly affected by trauma even before memories are formed. That's how you end up with things like reactive attachment disorder

[@kellharris2491]

Her problem comes because she doesn't remember the night her family got slaughtered by her uncle. Its that memory more then anything that makes her angsty. That and everyone in the story purposely keeps her as ignorant as possible to 'protect' her. The vampires are like Targaryions with all their sibling and incest. The manga doesn't paint it as a good thing purse. Yuki wants to break the cycle but feels like kaname will go off the deep end if she leaves him. (He does.) This story is more of a tragedy then a real love story.

[@NovaMuse111]

@@motheraiya this is true. Even when those memories are lost, locked away by amnesia ect. They are still affected by that because their body and intuition never forget.

[@spareaccount1969]

Nobody would be fine after missing 5 years of memories on top of never knowing their identity or receiving any information or answers about their past - who they were, where they came from, what kind of life’s they lived, not knowing what happened to their family, if they died how it happened - or if there could be anyone left alive out there waiting to be found. Let alone the added trauma of the existence of literal monsters - and your first memory being a near death experience as an abandoned child.

[@irondragonmaiden]

Honestly, Vampire Knight was trying to be Angel Sanctuary and failed. Angel Sanctuary never hid the incest and was upfront about the gothic gore and really weird lore, so people who liked it already accepted that things like incest due to lovers being reincarnated as siblings trope. Vampire Knight wanted to have its cake and eat it, not understanding that Angel Sanctuary got to explore mind-screw plotlines because it was upfront about mainstream alienating tropes since the start.

[@genevievelok9496]

And hilariously the author of Angel Sanctuary LITERALLY WROTE A FAR SUPERIOR VAMPIRE MANGA AS WELL I always thought Angel Sanctuary was also trying to say…like, SOMETHING about the nature of sin that I couldn’t QUITE put my finger on LOL

[@clarehidalgo]

Not to mention Kaname is like Yuki's great-great-great-great grandpa who has been masquerading as her brother, also names Kaname because he named after him, this whole time makes it like unnecessarily confusing

[@xXxLovelyBloodxXx]

​​​@@clarehidalgowhy go for the easy incest route if you can go for the ultra hard setting with just a whole family tree full of it and then make a sequel series where you also have it. No one can escape it!

[@Wolfiechrm]

If I remember correctly they wrote a manga called Shuriken and Pleats and the main character gets with her master, who is much older than her.

[@elixir2984]

I never hear anyone talk about Angel Sanctuary. The OVA was terrible but the manga + art style is among my favourites. It’s messed up but it’s so good I can’t be mad.

[@manimations7007]

So true! Vampire Knight’s plot is a bloody mess! Kaname was so sus through season one I really disliked his character then finding out he was related to Yuki was the final drop. The ending of the anime was so weird?!? Like Zero making a vow to kill Yuki because she’s pure blood vampire at the end. Felt like the anime was sending that message out of “OK…bet but keep them crossing paths” Then there’s Yuki choosing to follow her creepy stalker brother Kaname?!? Honestly hoped Zero would find them and end Kaname

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

​@@feel0197 Kaname is responcibile for Zeros perents deaths and him being a vampire and meny more things and Klaus is iridimabe monster i do not care what eny one says and they both had lived for far to 2 long and ecually deserve to die

[@feel0197]

@@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq Have you forgotten that Zero's Parents killed an innocent man? He was the only reason for Shizuka's life, who was kept in prison by the Senate since childhood. You don't blame them because they are Zero's parents?

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

​@@feel0197Kaname orhestered all of that because he want it his vampire knight to protect his precios Yuki he would not save a random child from a vampire if she was not Yuki he would sucrifise any one for his precious Yuki Zeros all life is nothing but a Joke because of him and his precious Yuki and later he did not sucrifise him self for humanity but for his precious Yuki

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

​@@feel0197Zero is not just a vampire but a freaking vampire hunter first and for most and he did manage to later in a manga resist Kanames control and take back control of bloody rose and almost kiled Kaname only reason he did not is because his precious Yuki got in a way agein wich gived Kaname a chance to escape and a fact that before that Zero told her that it was Kaname who let Shizuka Hio escape for his plan to make Zero in to his wepon to protect his Yuki ageinst his will She still choose protect Freaking Kaname from Zero fact that Zero still wanted her after that makes me want to kill him my self tho

[@theSkin_of_a_Killer_Bella]

@@feel0197 Zero’s parents were also set up for that. They were told the “innocent man” was a Level E, if i recall correctly-thus needed to be terminated. Shizuka herself does note this, I’m pretty sure. She knew that the Kiryu’s werent at fault, but she was so very angry and “needed to take out her anger”.

[@Kim-ng4ti]

The only thing I liked about it in hindsight is the dynamic of Zero and Kaname's fangirls in school😂 Whenever he was doing his duty and was like "Back tf up girls" and they were like "Damn you Zero, you're no fun", I found it hilarious😂😂

[@enjisilverstone-nolongerac7533]

Fun fact: Based on the manga Kaname is actually Yuki’s great great *great* grandfather and the original character Kaname died and he replaced him through a different consciousness

[@Itsrainingcatsyall]

🤯

[@PeyloBeauty]

I can’t take this anymore

[@Ginpachirah]

WEIT!!When in the past that yuki and kaname were bouth kids ,young Kaname was this Kaname(the great grand father) or the REAL brother of yuki????

[@CrystalSanchez094]

the thing with Yuki, she was never meant to be in the story at all. the original author said they regretted putting yuki in the story and the way the anime portrays her is super annoying

[@965musiclover]

also the fact that the two male leads had more tension then Yuki had with either of them

[@K1LLR04D]

could i ask where to read more about this!! id love to know what the author would've preferred over yuki

[@Linnzy]

I followed this series when it was new and hot and the fanbase was alive and well. I watched it at least 3 times and yet I cannot remember the plot really. All I remember is that all vampires was in nightschool and had white uniforms, and that my fav vamp wasn't even the main character (the blonde vampire )...and remember that it seemed like both Zero and Kaname wanted Yuki.... that is literally all I remember....and that Zeeo seemed to have some 'disease'.... I'm also starting to doubting myself now....not sure if I ever watched season 2....

[@Code_Lune]

Was it the flirty one or the chill one? If it’s the chill one than I’m on board with you.

[@Linnzy]

@@Code_Lune I had to look it up, it was Hanabusa Aido.

[@greenjadey8976]

I remember I was waiting every month for those new scanlations that would pop up on Livejournal...those were the days

[@ripme123l7]

The only thing I remember was when I watched the ending of season 2 and went “what the actual living hell did I just watch…” after binging it for Halloween. Worst idea of my life.

[@vietbluecoeur]

@@Linnzy The flirty one then! Good choice, Aido was honestly based as hell throughout this entire series. Man just wanted a fun school experience and got…..something else.

[@CatieMannino]

I remember LOVING this anime..it really..REALLY..did not age well 😂 the story is a dumpster fire and Kaname is a literal 🚩🚩🚩🚩

[@CinderXiaoLong]

I absolutely loved this series until I realized that Yuki was absolutely useless

[@missstranger7697]

Same... watched the anime thought Yuki was an interesting character, until I got dissapointed.

[@ChiakiHatori]

Same! I was always Team Zero tho, must've been the little common sense I had as a child to sense that Kaname is a big red parade! 😂

[@tkparnian8415]

that was my first anime:)))

[@Mutedgyu]

Even if Kaname wasn’t her brother grandpa, he was a TERRIBLE person for yuki 😭 he gaslit and manipulated her AND ADMITTED TO IT MULTIPLE TIMES..

[@rose_blue1]

In the manga did yuki end up with zero?

[@jsp_lololol_]

@@rose_blue1 both, she ends up with kaname have a kid with him then kaname died, she then goes to zero and have a kid with him

[@kiikny3238]

@@jsp_lololol_bop lore😭

[@lynnapollo8831]

i was so obsessed with the show when i was a child that i memorised the episodes to the point i could watch them from my head. i kept reading and watching it over and over again, translated and learnt english. it’s the only manga i’ve collected from start to finish and i don’t think i can ever get rid of it because of this nostalgia i have for it despite all these things.

[@TheDoRoBouNeko]

Y'know I just re-read Skip Beat! Good read actually. Been ongoing for decades now. Though, I do have a feeling that the latest chapters doesn't feel like Skip Beat! anymore. But finally! They are pseudo-dating. 🥰 I got Shugo Chara, Daa!Daa!Daa!, Fairy Tail, Yamamoto Zenjirou to moushimasu, Shokora no Mahou, Shokugeki no Souma, Kaichou wa Maid-sama, Yamato Nadeshiko, NG Life, Shouri no Akuma, I Became the Mother of the Strongest Demon Lord's 10 Children in Another World (yes, *crack* for a title, but the manga itself is the most wholesome *crack* as well 🤣 I wish they'd adapt it to anime 😍) in my collection. If you want other reads.😉

[@bluesapphire170]

Man,I remember being in middle school and constantly wondering when Yuki was going to die from stupidity. She somehow never did. Another thing, we all know the love triangle sucked so bad, but we know it’s extra bad when the two love rivals have more (very toxic) chemistry between them then the actual main love interest of both. It’s weird but so interesting. To sum this up, the show would have been better if it focused on Zero, Kaname or both.

[@rhuonaChanel]

I'm glad my brain isn't toxic. I thought I was the only one thinking, if she weren't the main lead, shed have died earlier and maybe I could watch a more intense battle between the two guys 😅

[@Edramon53]

The ending song 'Still Doll' sends chills down my spine, so good. Glad I found this video, reminded me to add it to my playlist.

[@hazey_dazey]

I love Kanon Wakeshima's music. Discovering her was the only good thing this show did for me lol

[@patrycja2666]

Yees! To this day I have this ed in my playlist.

[@kathylingerfield9836]

I met kanon in London a few years ago. We used to be friends. I saw her live a couple of times My friends casually introduced me to her while she was playing cello and I said she reminded me of Kanon. It was her! Haha

[@CinderXiaoLong]

I watched this as a middle schooler, freshman at the oldest, and I still listen to Still Doll 12 or so years later

[@vietbluecoeur]

Kanon Wakeshima was the best part of this series for me, as her work shaped both a lot of my music taste (a lot of classical and instrumental interests!) as well as my personal fashion sense (Kanon was produced by Mana-sama, a gothic lolita icon, and wore a lot of lolita fashion in her early career as a result). Truly the only good thing that Vampire Knight did for me!

[@fridalighjemdallen7283]

So to answer your question on Kaname's being her brother and ancestor, YES, he was reincarnated into the body of her actual brother. So Kaname is Yuki's grandfather vampire and his lover (Yuki's grandmother) died and was reincarnated as Yuki (but,like, reborn? Think Kagome and Kikyo where she's both reincarnated AND her own person). So Kaname decided to reincarnate into his grandson/Yuki's brother. Technically speaking, that does mean he killed Yuki's brother to become her brother and then grew up with her. Yes, I also thought it was dumb and terrible 😂

[@Starswolfe]

Reading this made my brain hurt

[@TheDoRoBouNeko]

So technically, grooming at its finest 🤣

[@tinyetoile5503]

Apparently there's a japanese myth that lovers will be reincarnated as twins in their next lives, so it might've been riffing on that idea.

[@ーナオ]

Kaname ATE Yuuki's brother. Rido sacrificed Yuuki's brother to reawaken Kaname in hopes that he would be able to control Kaname -- Kaname decided to reform himself in the image of Yuuki's brother to give their parents back their child (although it's not actually their child). He did not actually want to kill baby Kaname -- he was starved after sleeping for so long that he ate the closest thing near him which happened to be a baby lmao. Haruka and Juuri knew that Kaname wasn't their true child but treated him as if he were their kid all the same.

[@esayem7746]

@@ーナオ They took him in and treated him like their son, despite eating their REAL baby?! 😭😭😭💀

[@sincerepeoples5689]

Omg I just realized Yuki is the anime version of Bella/Elena from Twilight/TVD

[@HappyNecromancer]

Jesus Christ I'm getting war flash backs from this haha. I spent year seven in an anime club and the guys were OBSESSED with this show. They made us watch it like three times. Her talking to herself with her head stuck in a water fountain still haunts me.

[@tychopanda]

I hate that I remember that scene perfectly

[@sephychan9397]

i honestly think that the main reason why ohshc works and vapire knight only does barily on some ends, is the fact that haruhi is actually a good character. hahuri is funny, she is not afraid to show feelings, she is straight forward and honest. she has amgency and if something is going on that she doesnt like, she will try to fix it. meanwhile we have yuki.....ya....

[@emilybarclay8831]

Haruhi is a good, interesting character and OHSHC isn’t afraid to make fun of itself and doesn’t take itself too seriously, as opposed to VK which is so edgy that it’s in danger of collapsing into a singularity of cringe and stupidity

[@sofakingimmature]

Haruhi works because her 'stale bread' personality is explained well and fits with the story. She not just the love interest but also works mirror or gauge for all the weirdness around her. Her blunt words and blase attitude cuts through all the prestige and gentlemanly facades the cast live with. It's why most readers can honestly understand why the Club likes to hang around her. Meanwhile, Yuki equivalent to a toddler trying to help by making their own cereal. She only makes the plot messier and more drama filled. Almost everytime she attempts to 'help' she ends up making a mess of things. Which is a bit ironic because, given that she's the main character, she should suffer the blunt of those mistakes. But no, they all become the issues of either Zero or Kaname have to fix. This makes her only redeeming quality being 'klutzy' but that is not something that would rouse such undying love for someone..

[@youthterrible7450]

Literally comparing two very different works

[@sofakingimmature]

@@youthterrible7450 Because they were always compared with each other. These were seen as 'similar' anime at the time and the fans overlapped. I found this show through Host Club recommendations.

[@darkmelodies2694]

I remember being so obsessed with this show when i was 13 (mainly because I was in love with Zero... yeah I know) that I ignored all the signs until I was finally hit in the face with "He's my brother". It didn't even occur to me that Yuki and Kaname had the same color hair and eyes until then. I promptly dropped this series like it was hot. However I still have the first opening on a few playlists because it's a banger.

[@gemmal2271]

Hey I was in love with zero too no shame haha

[@darkmelodies2694]

@gemmal2271 To be fair I feel like Zero would probably be a common answer for that time period

[@gemmal2271]

@@darkmelodies2694 tbh still kinda am his animation is 🔥

[@darkmelodies2694]

@@gemmal2271 Fair

[@fluffypeony-pony6790]

26:19 the reason Ichiru’s blood keeps Zero from becoming a level E is because Ichiru was a weirdo and, despite being human, drank Shizuka’s blood to make him stronger (health wise). This, thus, offers him Shizuka’s blood. And then later, when Kaname offers his blood to Zero, offers Zero both Kaname and Shizuka’s blood in a second round (yikes, lol)

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

Honestly i feel that all Zero and Ichiru thing is just a bad copy of Dante and Virgil from Devil my cry only not ewen closely bad ass

[@1AM1AM]

@@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq its the very limited budget shoujo version of them

[@Love-Sensibility]

​@@FriendlyGhost-rf7tqdon't even compare bruh. I still like zero better than kaname tho. Vergil is babe btw

[@eggrollz172]

Seeing Zero drink Yuki's blood at the ripe age of SEVEN completely altered my brain chemistry. Bro was my first love TT

[@MononokeLynn]

When it was revealed Kaname was her brother…I stuck around, hoping it was a plot device that wasnt true. When the anime ended, I was completely “What The %¥$& did I just watch??”

[@ariannadesaint-leon9790]

This was the very first anime the got me into anime, setting certain things aside I hold Vampire Knight very dear to me

[@lemonshiplusc5180]

Sameeee

[@iwouldlikemycoffeewithanon622]

Honestly, this is one of the few exceptions of where an anime would legit be better as Yaoi bc the you would have the engines to lovers dynamic for zero and Kaname but also Yuki wouldn’t be the main character, which is an automatic improvement.

[@saint-juste]

I love Vampire Knight. It's garbage, but it's my garbage. It's that special brand of bad that makes me like it that much more. I've seen it like 3 times. Also, justice for Ichiru!

[@lostmoonchild9735]

I remember to hate selfish Yuki and psychopath Kaname, I was so angry that I wrote a whole fanfic to myself (I'm a writer), I mixed books and Castlevania series, my own stuff and I actually like it, it's not perfect, it's not for a movie or a Nobel prize, but, I'm in peace with it. I'm older than everyone here, I'm soon to be 30, but I wanted to share my experience with Vampire knight... By the way, memories is worse 😅 greetings to all from an unknown writer from Chile.

[@thesuccinsuccess]

Idk if anyone else corrected it, but Yuuki's name isn't Yuki as in snow but 優姫 using the On reading Yuu ユウ and Ki キ and it roughly means tender princess as the dub said

[@mousesnow3900]

I loved this anime as a kid and I had a massive crush on Zero- I found Yuki insanely annoying though- kinda wish Zero or the headmaster had been the main character instead tbh-

[@Lboogie0711]

Zero and Yuki were so cute! I felt as sorry for zero after his family died and hated yuki for just abandoning him for Kaname. Also zero was voiced by Vic Mignogna! Plus Bryce papenbook was also in hack://legend where he wasn’t a blonde heartthrob, it was blue haired heartthrob and he was in attack on titan!

[@RandomSwiftie13]

Isn't Vic like a predator? He literally got fired from fumigation studios for creeping on minor fans of his.

[@Lboogie0711]

@@RandomSwiftie13 yeah there were allegations but so far some of the accusations have been dismissed by the court

[@LinguaLinguistics]

​@randomswiftie8825 this....made me so sad 😢 he was the dub goat.

[@Lboogie0711]

@@LinguaLinguistics yeah he really was. I remember when I first heard him in Ouran high school host club and then in miraculous ladybug and Rwby

[@piticofuentes635]

@@Lboogie0711 what were some that weren't dismissed? If there is any? (Sorry if my questioning is bad wording. Or sound rude. ^^;)

[@RandomSwiftie13]

I can look past all the story flows except just one - I just hate the fact that there are both female and male vampires filled in their school but we only have an option to choose a ship between Yuki's adopted BROTHER and her blood related BROTHER/great great great+.... GRANDFATHER... like??? Just WHY?? they could have so easily just not made them related to each other. IT WAS NOT THAT HARD TO DO THAT. Why the incest? 😭 That's so nasty. As someone with an adopted brother and an older brother, I just could not watch past that reveal in this anime.

[@luthientinuviel3883]

I cant help but hope ppl who have a thing for incest dont have siblings cause then they'd get how freaking weird it is

[@CerridwenVids]

It is kinda weird that the only supposed 'human boy' is Zero, and we don't see any other human boys in the Day School.

[@LittleDergon]

I got into Vampire Knight because my friends were obsessed with it, but after the reveal of Kaname and Yuki's real connection (spoilers) just could not read anymore. Its actually really reassuring to hear you say that you and many others also dropped it at this point because I felt so alone in my friend group at school 😅

[@flamevix]

Oh my gosh, thank you for making this video. I used to be absolutely obsessed with this anime and manga...and then I grew up. (Manga spoilers below) I would get irrationally angry whenever I thought about how the manga ended. And the character dynamics. And Yuki, she has no personality or emotions. And she knows one guy is in love with her, but goes to the other one and then has his kid, THEN he goes into some sort of long sleep, so then Zero ends up marrying her and THEY have a kid, and he's forced to essentially raise the daughter of the other guy he was fighting over Yuki with. Then Zero dies because he's basically human and then Yuki sacrifices herself for Kaname to wake up, then Kaname basically has two adult kids waiting there for him. (And big shocker, the kids hardly have emotions, either, and they practically seem incestuous as well). There's just too much pain in this, and Yuki is a horrible person. That's all. Thank you for reading my rant.

[@M0n0chr0meHue]

Ughhh all I could do was sign in disappointment when they revealed the relationship of Ai and Ren. A few hundred years difference with your half sibling ain't as bad as 10,000+ years with your ancestor but, just...ew.

[@humanbean4037]

I haven’t seen it but thank you for saving me the trouble(and pain)

[@carla3693]

Agreed yuki is a terrible selfish person and deserves no one

[@metrovalleyeats]

no frr idk who thought this was a good plot idea 😭

[@Lunapple1]

Oh my gosh yes! I remember buying the manga box set several years ago as I was excited to get into what I thought was as an old favourite series of my teenage years. I had started vampire knight but never finished it, but had enjoyed what I had read so far. Then it got…all the plot points and so icky. And that ending pissed me off so much too! As soon as I closed the last book, I immediately took a photo of the box set and listed it on eBay. I thought someone else can have this cursed series😂

[@bobi200samatar6]

I wish the anime industry would make more Shoujo adaptations again. We get like three harem isekai per season as well as a billion Shounen anime in a year, and I think it's worth it to reinvest soke kf that energy into the other half of your potential audience. I'm enjoying Sacrificial Princess a lot amd am incredibly excited for the second part of Sugar Apple Fairy Tale. If you guys are going to actively over work people to push out like 60 shows in a year, at least make some of them for people who don't like that kind of fanservice 😞

[@_partico_vale_]

25:47 - Ok, I kind of remember why and if you want to NOT understand anything hear me out Basically Rido stole Juri and Haruka (Kaname and Yuki's parents)'s first newborn son, Kaname, to sacrifice it and revive the ancestor Kaname (we'll call it OG Kaname), but he was so weak he became a child, while keeping his old memories (I'm guessing that being Rido the one who awakened him the author applies the same rules of humans-turned-into-vampires) SO, if I remeber correctly, Kaname knowing this orchestrated everything so that Zero's family killed Shizuka's lover, so that Shizuka would go kill the family in revenge SO THAT Zero (or one of the 2 kids) would grow with so much hatred for vampires to be used as a pawn from Kaname to kill Rido I srsly don't know why they had to add this detail tho, since now the entire Vampire Knight's plot can be riassumed in a simple "Kaname playing chess with actual ppl for years because yes) Ah, and don't remember if it was said but Rido and Yuki's parents are all brothers and sisters and the author kinda "explained" that they tend to marry each other "to remain pure blood" (yeah, like Targaryens in GOT) ...still really disturbing and gross honestly ...how do I remember all these things? Cause I remeber I had gotten SO curious over the why and what the plot was supposed to be that I actually bought the manga (going through the incest parts was a pain, the 2 of them even had a daughter-wtf?) and when I tell you that if you find the anime part "confusing"... the manga part will melt your brain (I guess you can find scans online, but in short "Kaname keeps playing chess irl, kill all the pure bloods, is a bad person, Yuki for NO REASON still loves him, he goes in a coma and Yuki turns him into a human and dies, leaving him with a child and a half-child" (gosh it was so messed up and I really sat through it all, I was a masochist, if I could I WOULDN'T do it again)

[@clarehidalgo]

What a Xanatos gambit Kaname pulled, goddamn. But yeah Yuki having a baby with both guys after joining Kaname for no logical reason and like betraying Zero only to get back with him was indeed brain melting

[@ivypanduh]

Also I felt like Yuki's personality gets completely changed by the end of the manga. Like I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing???

[@Honeyin2013]

Omg I did the same thing! I read all the manga online just because I NEEDED to know

[@hazey_dazey]

Now i'm REALLY glad i stopped reading the manga holy shit

[@Reyofsunshines]

One child is zero's right?

[@PocketLeaves]

OMG, this video brought back memories from 2009. I had been really into Vampire Knight during my Twilight phase (shocker) and the manga was more enjoyable than the anime (maybe due to lack of early 2000s voice acting) To be fair, the manga has a lot more story than the anime did. But BOY Kaname is a weirdo through and through. The oop not the brother but ancestor thing IS explained in the manga! And it's so weird. Very fun video though!!! Thank you for diving into such a fever dream!

[@SemekiIzuio]

The art was really what drew me in, manga is definitely better

[@Shiruvi]

my favourite thing about vampire knight is that people can justifiably shred it to pieces for hours but NOBODY will ever shit on the opening or ending themes.

[@aw878]

When I found out Yuki and kaname were siblings I remember screaming and throwing the manga across the room. Never finished it… 😢

[@sleepybatteriezzz]

You mentioned Ouran Highschool Host Club a few times and with the main topic being vampires, I'd like to mention that the creator of OHSHC also created a vampire manga called Millennium Snow. I loved reading it in middle school when everyone else was obsessed with Twilight. If you haven't already, you should definitely check it out. It doesn't have very many volumes but it's really good imo. I might go back and reread it again if I can actually find it. As far as I remember, it didn't have any of the problematic tropes like Twilight and Vampire Knight either.

[@sober_katz]

oh yeah she did! i finished the ouran manga recently and i really wanna read that one next :D

[@gensalinas72]

I do hope you talk about the manga and the sequels beyond it too. 😭 it’s even more wild

[@katsurakureha998]

I dropped the manga around where the anime ends and found the sequel by chance some time later. Reding it was like a fever dream. The saddest thing was, it felt like the charachters had not grown at all from where I dropped the original manga.

[@gensalinas72]

@@katsurakureha998 exactly

[@od.777]

Can you spoil me what happens after that?

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

@@od.777 spoil manga is not that better i mean it had some potential but it was a trash from a begining to a end for me personaly

[@katsurakureha998]

@@od.777 I only remember some parts. Feel free to correct me or add stuff. So spoilers ahead: Kaname died at the end of the original manga and Yuki is pregnant with his daughter. Zero is still in love with Yuki and takes care of her, but they are never really shown as a cuple. Yukis daughter grows up and her first love is Zero though she knows he is still in love with Yuki. Zero dies at some point protecting Yuki together with their unborn son. Hundreds of years later Aido (I think that was the name) manages to revive Kaname as a human at the cost of Yukis life and he meets the to Kids. That is all I remember and it sounds so absurd, that I feel like I must have dreamt up some of it, but I'm pretty sure that is what happens😅

[@xXxLovelyBloodxXx]

Ah yes, the manga that was my huge teenage crush because i loved the school setting and the mystery behind the vampires. Until it became Incest with a side of vampire and the most annoying insanely stupid love triangles i have ever seen. Edit: This video was amazing! I really, really hope you will make a video about the insane manga and sequel!!!

[@faboul467]

Omg I was obsessed with this show . I was so pissed that she didn’t pick zero. And the theme and ending song kicks ass! I had the characters on my computer,iPod , etc. omg I can’t believe I forgot about this. Ty so much

[@mimibreyes3532]

I remember being sp mad at Yuki not ending up with Zero😭

[@DarkMirria1]

She does by the end of the manga.

[@lucielkatsuki3743]

this was THE vampire anime for me when I was in middle school, the openings and outros were always and still are banger. Unsatisfied with how the second season ended I did research about the rest of the anime since I probably wouldn't be able to get my hands on the manga, I was absolutely HEARTBROKEN with how the love triangle went and how it ended. I'd love it if you could do a video about your thoughts on how they closed the love triangle!

[@M1SSC0RPSE]

Yuki is in my top 3 of most hated anime protagonists along with her fellow vampire heroine and also equally dumb Yui from Diabolik Lovers and the MC from Amnesia who has less backbone than a boneless chicken. I absolutely DESPISE all of them. And couldn't believe it could get worse but Yuki turning into a vampire proved me oh so wrong, she became just so unimaginably insufferable. Honestly, Zero was the only thing that made me finish the anime for the sake of just finishing it since I was already more than halfway through it. My boy deserved so much better, he was too good for that universe he existed in...

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

Yes i alweys feelt Zero was in a wrong anima guy is a if a Dante and Blade had a child and you put that child in Twilight

[@Starsim99]

The only credit I can give Vampire Knight is that the manga was so beautiful to eleven year old me that it made me want to learn how to draw. And here I am, still drawing! So thanks, I guess

[@boop99]

The art is the only redeemable thing about it, though I find the expressions unreadable at times

[@Dimension2364]

I’m so happy that somebody FINALLY mentions how passive the main character remains! Yuuki is written as a damsel protagonist who doesn’t have agency - and the plot just happens to her. She would have died multiple times if it wasn’t for some handsome guy being there to save her and the plot seems to be so exhausting that she dramatically faints in HALF OF THE CONFLICTS! At one point I pitied the girl so much, that I just wished the youth welfare office would pick her up and find her a good therapist.

[@lenaschmidt1407]

You speak from my heart! 😄 I mean, I get it: Yuuki is written as the fairytale stereotype of the “maiden in distress” and she is deliberately characterless so that all the early pubescent girls can dream themselves into her place. All of that worked great for me when I was about 11 or 12 years old. But, years later, when I attempted to watch the anime again, this fact annoyed me soooooo much… I could only keep it together for 3 episodes.

[@miavika1074]

Even more annoying when you remember that she was literally trained to fight by one of the greatest vampire hunters, and when attacked, she just freezes?!

[@animestorm3204]

In the Japanese version Kaname is Yuki's older brother, and their parents were also siblings,. Apparently it's tradition for pure blood vampires to marry their siblings.

[@Tokolope]

I cannot stress how many of my friends loved this show when nothing was being translated during the recession. I remember almost every one of my afab friends had one of the school uniforms. You should look into Loveless if you want to torture yourself.

[@pmeal8800]

Stoop i loved Loveless, i didn't know what was happening everv, lmao.

[@TheSapphireLeo]

​@@pmeal8800 Same. 😭

[@kaylaroo710]

Yoooo that's a blast from the past. I remember reading Loveless in middle school and while a majority of it went over my head, I remember being interested in the series. Couldn't tell ya the plot though, it's been years.

[@dewdropmushroom]

I fell in love with the Vampire Knight manga as it was serialised in Shoji Beat and I bought that religiously! I started losing interest in it when Yuuki was made into a vampire and Shoujo Beat was discontinued soon after. I still own the first 6 or volumes, they live on my bookshelf in my room at my parents' house.

[@kiyomi_kamimoto]

~ 4:43 From what I got from this scene, Yuki was just panicking to be alone. The main issue with her character is that she's overly dependant on people. She has this desperate need to feel useful, and help people because that's the only thing that filled the void she felt in her life. So when she's all alone, she becomes lost, doesn't know what to do, where to go, doesn't feel safe anymore and let her fears overwhelm her. This is why the second she sees the boy being in trouble with his balloon, she jumps on the occasion to help him. She's not really helping others by kindness, she does it for herself. It was the same for Zero, as she told him a big before Kaname turns her back into a vampire I think, she tells him she gave him her blood not out of generosity, but because she felt like it was the one thing she was useful for, and she just hung to that. Now, I didn't read the manga (I think I will though... one day... it's been many years since I've first watched this show but anyway lol) but I know a little what's happening next. But I'd have liked this series to be Yuki's learning on how to be truly independent. As she was trying to convince herself she was in the first part, then admitted she wasn't middle part, and in the last part (manga) finally becoming independent. I would have liked to see her finally deciding for herself when she became a vampire, as, technically, she's at the same level as Kaname power-speaking. Given he planned everything in her life from when she was a child, her gaining her new powers could have been the moment where she starts stands for herself and stops being dependent on one guy, whether it's Zero, Kaname or anyone else.

[@boop99]

Edit: slight manga spoilers Your comment is spot on. I agree: I would have loved for Yuki to find independence. In the manga she had a few moments where she almost did. The most notable moment for me was when she cut her hair to protest Kaname's hold over her. It was important bc he never let her cut her hair. I wish the story more actively protested the toxic shit Kaname and even Zero did to her, like lying to her CONSTANTLY

[@kiyomi_kamimoto]

@@boop99 Ah I'm glad if there are at least a few moments where the author tried to explore that idea as you say. That seems like an interesting scene to read, but from what I've seen, it's just too bad that in the end, it doesn't really change much the outcome. Quite long talk about the ships now that you mentioned them again lol : I just despise the Kaname/Yuki relationship and how the author handled it until the very end. Outside of the weird incest-like going on, which is already a huge red flag, their relationship is just so toxic and unbalanced. I have a little less complaints about Zero, though I didn't hear much about him concerning the manga except about how the ending goes for him or something so I may be missing a few things. I mainly give him points for not being as overly controlling of Yuki as Kaname is, even though it's still not perfect : He mostly puts himself in a lower position than Yuki, whereas Kaname is always the superior one. Zero lets his life in Yuki's hands, while Kaname has Yuki's life in his. Granted, it's not any better, it's the same exact issue but reversed, yet at least Yuki is more attentive to Zero's feelings and needs than Kaname is for her, which saves the relation a bit to me. He also won't try to forbid Yuki from doing things that he considers dangerous. He may advise/ask her not to do that one thing, but won't punish her if she does it anyway and won't give her a straight "no, you won't do that". Instead, he'll prefer accompanying her to make sure she'll be safe. Meanwhile Kaname will just tell her "No", and she won't have any other options but to obey. Not a big fan of how quick his opinion of Yuki changed once she became a vampire again though. Yes he hates all vampires and all that, but still, that was still your friend/crush a few minutes ago dude come on.

[@boop99]

@@kiyomi_kamimoto It's so weird bc it seems like the author is thinking about these themes of female strength and getting away from abusive relationships, but she can't quite get there bc "the ships have to work out!" and "Kaname is hot"

[@boop99]

@@kiyomi_kamimoto I agree 100%. The only thing that frustrates me about Zero is what you said, how much he pushes Yuki away when she's really his only true friend.

[@kiyomi_kamimoto]

@@boop99 Yeah I feel that too. It's a shame, because as Negative Legend said in the video, that show/manga had potential, but it was only wasted more and more as the story progressed.

[@sobersaber494]

My name is literally Yuki. I was listening to your video while drawing and whenever you say Yuki i literally turn/have the urge to look at my phone lmao

[@jeshieldbarroga6122]

I remember watching this anime!! I’m anemic and I have to take iron pills to help but I always forgot to take them which didn’t help me progress.. and watching this convinced me to take them because it was like I was a vampire and taking blood tablets to survive… lol obviously it didn’t last long… I only watched some of it

[@drawsfelix]

Vampire Knight: Choose your lover!!!!! A: Your Adoptive Brother B: Your Vampire Not- Brother-Brother

[@dilldes]

This had me as dead as the vampires. I'd love to hear what you'd have to say about the vampire anime, Diabolik Lovers. It'd be a field day

[@msk-qp6fn]

The anime made me hate vampire romance sooooooooooooooooooo much 😂😂😂 and made me realize a horrible personality that is so horrible cannot be salvaged with a pretty face, although apparently the game is better than the anime 😂

[@Lioness006]

I was thinking about Diabolik Lovers when I realized tbe stories were kinda similar in a way.

[@midnights2631]

I remember seeing images of the artwork, thankfully I looked it up thanks to me getting hit by Vampire Knight.

[@addisonwild1132]

Ima be honest……when I was a kid I hated yuki and I didn’t know why. I loved the series but just didn’t like her. She was so useless and annoying, everything just fell on her lap and she really didn’t do anything interesting, also the whole sibling thing was also weird to me but what kept me going was kaname and zero. I just kept going back every once and a while to just look at them and I now know why lol, they had more tension then yuki being with any of them. Every once and a while I would just find a story about them lol.

[@Magatsu_Butter]

The only thing I remember from this show aside from the horrendous incest plot twist it's that they did Zero dirty when he was the best character

[@ariannamiller9846]

The same artist has a manga called Meru-Peri and its even weirder please talk about it 😭 these books had me in a chokehold in middle school

[@pasteladream]

You need to understand how OBSESSED I was with the manga of Vampire knight as a kid! ( I own the first whole series ) and YES IT IS VERY DIFFERENT THEN THE ANIME! Because the anime cuts off right before it gets REALLY interesting, and annoying honestly lol

[@berserkagain7976]

And the incest gets even worse somehow 😂

[@pasteladream]

@@berserkagain7976 and grooming 😭 ( the fact kaname is yuki’s extremely old ancestor that retained all his memories when he was reincarnated is extremely gross )

[@LittleGameDev]

God I remember reading this! I suppressed this so hard in my memories. I know the full plot So basically Yuki and Kaname parents are related. Pure blood vampires are usually always related kind of like the royal family keeping it in the family. (Vampires don’t have genetic defects when marring close) Yukis mother and father got together, Redo was in love with Juri and hated the fact that she chose Haruka (the middle child). Mind you he was already engaged to Shizuka and was messing around with Senris mother. Also he was obsessed with becoming the strongest vampire (the vampire Council was in on it) when Redo found out Juri had a son Redo used the baby in the ritual to wake up Kaname. Redo plan was to devour Kaname and become the true ruler of the pure bloods since the kuran where the first pureblood vampires. They where the ones that created the vampire ranking system, and the vampire hunters along with the vampire hunter wepons. Kaname after being dormant for Millennia devoured Redo but couldn’t kill him due to Redo using his blood and the soul of a baby to resurrect him. Due to this Kaname was unable to hold his adult form and being reverted back into his child form taking on the appearance of Juri now dead son. He also lost his memories until Yuki was born. Redo was then placed under arrest by the vampire counsel as a way to cover their tracks. Years go by and then Yuki is born. Redo hears word of this and decides to try to take over again he also plans to take Yuki and use her as a way to keep the other purebloods in line. He along with a few grunts sent by the counsel are sent to kill the Kurans. This backfires as Haruka kills them all off but get injured in the process during his death he revealed to kanname that he knows he is not truly his son but as his last request he tell kaname to protect Yuki. Kaname tried to kill Redo but failed do to the conditions of his awakening. Juri uses her life to power a spell she had been working on to turn human on Yuki (she wanted to be human to excape bing a pureblood vampire) Yuki looses her memories and is saved by kaname and brought to Juris friend Cross the ex vampire hunter who shared Juris dream of Vampires, hunters and humans co-existing. Around this time the Council was using the chaos to kill the other pureblood. Zeros family was sent on a mission to kill Shizuka lover the Level E vampire. Though killing him it would give the vampire Council a valid reason for killing her as attacking the Vampire hunters would brake treaties. (Note Redo never wanted Shizuka as a wife. He simply sent out the order to kill her lover just to prove a point) Zeros and his brother where always compared to each other by their parents and the hunter association. So when Shizuka came and befriended zeros brother he went with her. Shizuka saw her dead lover in him so let him live (yes very creepy since he was a kid) Zero gets bit and then is taken to cross. Also Shizuka was already known for being crazy and creating level E vampires as lovers due to Redo being a horrible match for her. Aido and the other side characters where gathered by kaname to be used in the war against the Council and Redo. They are all related to Council members. Kaname can’t kill Redo and he has to protect Yuki so he use them and Zero to do it. The whole story is just one whole chest game of a bunch of power hungry people trying to make it to the top. This story could have been so much better but we got this hot mess. The only real good outcome I could say came out of this would be the Fanfics and crossovers.

[@beccangavin]

I can’t help but imagine how much better the story could have been without the romance and told from Zero’s perspective.

[@nelsama0881]

I thank you for your comment! A big detailed dumpster fire explained (...I still dont really get it. Damn you Vampire Knight.)

[@talynhastime9343]

My biggest problem with the Vampire Knight series is that they all talk so cryptically. Perhaps it’s an issue of Japanese being vague even if translated accurately, but there was so so so much of that fake-poetic melodrama that no sane human being would talk like.

[@ariannamacduff8386]

Speaking of Brace Papenbrook. Did you know zero is voiced by the same Guy, who voices Ed from Fullmetal alchemist

[@japanesemangalover]

This breaks my heart. I remember being so interested in this and then the end of the anime came and i bought the manga. I got curious and read the end... disappointment doesn't even cover how i felt and how i feel now that it's brought back up. *shiver* so much pain

[@peolin]

My first anime was Vampire Knight. My first manga was Vampite Knight. Many many years later my first cosplay was Yuki Cross from Vampire Knight. My heart is full thanks to this video about a truly beloved series!

[@ashlynbrown3728]

It was my first entry to anime itself (even though I watched pokemon does that count as an anime)

[@bquncy550]

Oh my god, I’d forgotten about the twin brother plot point with Zero. If anything, it’s like many of the theories around the Ciel twins in the Black Butler manga today. Except… reversed, kinda. Not really. But sort of.

[@Selena-fq6px]

I used to love vampire knight, even have some manga’s (also from the memories line), and I realized a little too late that so much was so messed up in the story. The songs are absolute bangers tho.

[@lucyheartfilia9077]

I’m beyond dead I legit just screamed at 24:17 😭💀💀 Somebody had to voice that lines AND they got paid for it😩💀💀

[@bree554]

I remember it being 2008/2009 and how my sister and a friend I had at the time was so excited about Vampire Knight and how popular it was. I remember how I said something about how badly written the characters and storyline was and how some people tried to grill me for it. I guess I was ahead of the game.😂

[@wilczekudly]

Good god i remember this dumpsterfire of an anime. The op was sick tho.

[@neaosmt1562]

The op was good The anime was not

[@wilczekudly]

@@neaosmt1562 yeah, i swear i only watched it for the soundtrack and the aesthetic. Also because my mom recommended it to me.

[@kapaz50]

This was one of the first anime I watched, I did NOT think i'd see it brought up again

[@faimist8993]

Fun fact, this anime/manga has a sequel called Vampire Knights Memories which mostly about what happened between the ending of the main story and tiny bit about what happened after the story ended.

[@ItsJazJones]

I remember I made a TikTok awhile ago talking about the plot twist and I’ve never seen so many people agree about how weird it was 😭