Creator: Matsuri Hino
Translation: Tomo Kimura
Adaptation: Tomo Kimura
Publisher: Viz
Age Rating: Older Teen
Genre: Drama
RRP: $8.99
Vampire Knight v7
Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane

It had been a while since I last checked in with Vampire Knight (back around volume 4), so it was nice to have a chance to catch up on what's been happening in the series. Since my first exposure to VK, I've also had a chance to read a few volumes of Hino's earlier series, Captive Hearts, and I have to say I find Vampire Knight much more interesting.

Here in volume 7, we find Yuki attempting to regain her repressed memories and figure out if Kaname had anything to do with making her forget her past, while (in the grander scheme of things) plots are thickening in the world of vampire politics and seem to be coming to a head. As always, there's an awful lot going on in here: Yuki is having bloody hallucinations, an unexpected transfer student arrives on the scene, Zero may have lost his only chance at holding onto his sanity, and both Zero and Kaname are trying to find ways to protect Yuki. (It's likely a sign of how serious the threats facing her are that Zero seems willing to go along with Kaname's efforts to protect her, unpalatable as they are to him.) I find it can all get a bit confusing at times, but it's safe to say there's never a dull moment.

It's easy to get caught up in the story while reading, but I find that the impression I'm left with after closing a volume of Vampire Knight has more to do with the gorgeous artwork than the sometimes-blurry stream of events. Hino's art style improved dramatically between Captive Hearts and Vampire Knight, developing from perfectly serviceable but unmemorable to its current slightly overblown gothic beauty. It's not a look that would fit every story, but it suits Vampire Knight very, very well.

I'm not madly in love with this series, and there's more than a little tang of "guilty pleasure" to it, but I can certainly see why it's so popular. There's something about it that aims straight for the id, and it's infinitely more appealing than certain other vampire stories taking the world by storm.

Volume 7 of Vampire Knight includes a six-page bonus comic and several pages of editor's notes on the characters' names and a bit of terminology.

Review copy provided by VIZ Media.

Think you could have written a better review of Vampire Knight v7? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC


29 September 2009
St. Dragon Girl v4



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