Twilight became a cultural phenomenon in part because it tapped into the adolescent fantasy of all-consuming first love. The messy, often toxic love triangle at the center of Twilight only enhanced its appeal, with Bella Swan serving as a relatable blank-slate protagonist caught between a vampire and a werewolf. The anime equivalent of Twilight also centers on a messy love triangle in a dark supernatural world, but it takes its story to even more controversial places.
Based on Matsuri Hino’s classic shojo manga, the 2008 Studio Deen anime Vampire Knight is a unique relic of the late 2000s. Like Twilight, it is a quintessential gothic romance that uses its dark academia setting to explore identity, class, trauma, and prejudice. The lore gets creepy and convoluted, deliberate in its intent to shock and entertain.
A girl named Yuki is attacked by vampires one winter night, but she is rescued by Kaname Kuran, a charismatic Pureblood vampire. Years later, Yuki becomes the guardian of Cross Academy, which reserves its Day classes for humans and Night classes for vampires. As Principal Kaien Cross’ adopted daughter, Yuki takes on the responsibility of protecting the Day class students in service of preserving the peace between the two species.
Yuki’s friend and fellow guardian, Zero Kiryu, seems opposed to this notion of peaceful coexistence, harboring resentment towards vampires. As a tense love triangle forms, Yuki has to deal with repressed memories while trying her best to preserve inter-species harmony. If you think the Bella-Edward-Jacob love triangle is toxic, wait till you witness Yuki, Kaname, and Zero’s dynamic in Vampire Knight.
Yuki is susceptible to manipulation and is constantly treated like a pawn in a messed-up game of chess. This severely limits her agency, adding fuel to her turbulent bond with the two men. Yuki and Kaname share a problematic relationship that spills over into pseudo-incestuous territory, which is further complicated by romantic ideation.
Zero, on the other hand, wrestles with internal turmoil to protect Yuki, evolving into Kaname’s angst-ridden archenemy. These relationships are defined by drama, chaos, and eroticism, forever changing the definition of adolescence in a shojo romance. It’s tempting to dismiss Vampire Knight as yet another genre entry that dabbles in disturbing shock value.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
