Hino Matsuri - Vampire Knight, vol. 03-04 (Eng. trans.)

[oyceter]

I think coffeeandink covers everything (linking to tag to preserve spoiler cut), but I will attempt to write something.

In Mariposa, sophia_helix and sartorias were discussing Stephanie Meyers' Twilight, particularly focusing on the sublimination of desire and therefore having your cake and eating it too. I think Vampire Knight is an example of that done right; I cannot tell if having gorgeous art and pacing via paneling is what makes it work, given that both Yuki and Bella are irresistable to all sort of vampires, that Zero and Kaname and Edward all have difficulty controlling their bloodlust and/or desire to possess the heroine, and that neck-sucking substitutes for sex.

But while Twilight left me cold, this manga has me squeeing like an adolescent girl over Zero and Yuki and the biting and the hand-holding and the hair-caressing! And the angst, OMG, THE ANGST!

I think all the UST lies in the way the panels space out the action, or in how I have to fill in the emotion as the reader. Also, not having descriptions of jewel-colored eyes and hair helps, even though I am 100% certain that everyone in the manga has gloriously unworldly coloring.

When I asked Mely if I should read vol. 3 before vol. 4, she mentioned that she could not remember anything of note in it. But! There is wee!Zero being introduced to Yuki for the first time! Wee!Zero cowers in the bathroom while Yuki presses her hand to the bleeding wound in his neck! Wee!Yuki hero-worships Kaname!

There is probably more, but really, I am all about wee!Yuki and wee!Zero bonding over being vampire victims in the bathroom.

... it is less sketchy than I just made it sound, really.

And then! There is the evil seductress vampire whom I should loathe because she is every evil sexual woman cliche embodied, but I do not care because she is Zero's sire! And she wants to drink Yuki's blood!

And! And! Zero cannot control his bloodlust and Yuki offers him her neck for the bazillionth time, only this time he cannot control himself and presses her against a wall with her back to him and sucks on her neck and even though it is relatively PG-rated, I am still shocked that there is not a giant "Mature" label slapped on because the sex is just oozing from the page!

AND! ZERO HAS AN EVIL TWIN!

I could not tell at first, because when the Evil Twin was introduced, I just went, "Huh, looks sort of like Zero, but then, everyone in the manga looks sort of like each other."

But no! It is an EVIL TWIN!

The only way this could be better is if it were an EVIL TWIN CLONED FROM ZERO for nefarious purposes! Maybe with amnesia!

Oh gothic shoujo manga, I love you SO MUCH!

I should be critiquing the gender roles in this much more, but honestly, the UST and the angst and the pretty neck-licking have taken over my brain.

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

You know...when this first made it stateside, I absolutel adored it. But there's something about Kaname(the whole "sexy possessive vampire who views her as a possession" thing) that just squicks me out so much that I could barely finish volume 3. Which is a pity because I really like Zero and Yuki and Zero/Yuki.

[oyceter]

Oh, I mostly just ignore Kaname for the Zero/Yuki angst!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I managed that in the first two volumes, but I couldn't in vol 3 and just stared at Vol 4 when i saw it in the store. I so envy those of you who can just tune out that stuff and focus on the awesome...it's rare that I can manage that.

[oyceter]

Well, I don't think there's quite that much tuning out, since Kaname's canonically not the love interest, his creepiness is being hinted at, and most of the focus is on Zero/Yuki.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I keep telling myself that, and that it'll be OK, and then Kaname will show up and I'll be "EWW! SQUICK! NO! PEDOPHILE ALERT!"

The logical part of my brain tells me there's nothing to worry about as anyone can tell who Yuki will end up with, but then Kaname will have a scene with Yuki and my "DO NOT WANT! SOMEONE SAVE HER!" response goes into overdrive.

I'm thinking I'll check out the anime, and maybe it'll build up my defenses against Kaname. (Because I really, really like Zero and Yuki and Zero/Yuki. I even like the other vampires...)

[octopedingenue]

I love Aido. I think he practices being vampire-suave when he's in his room with the door locked.

[octopedingenue]

STAY AWAY FROM BLOOD ALONE although actually come to think of it there are no sexy possessive vampires viewing people as possessions, huh, but nonetheless STAY AWAY.

I miss my lost Zero Vampire Gunkink! icon so much.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

You know...I couldn't even see Kaname as sexy. I mean, I was obviously supposed to, but...I think it was the "supposed to be sexy" combined with the stalkery possessiveness that was somehow supposed to be positive that turned me off. I mean...the other vampires acted a lot the same, but I was fine with that. I think because I was supposed to get "ok, hot, but really wrong and they should stop" from them, and not "omg that is so hot and he loves her so much." If that makes any sense...

Hmm...from morbid curiosity, what Blood Alone?

[octopedingenue]

I have a weird deep affection for Kaname because of how A)he's so polite! and by extension B)without mocking or finding him pathetic, I cannot take him seriously as a romantic rival or villain AT ALL. "Oh, so you have a tragical past/destiny with your beloved sweet Yuki and also have an awesome sekrit plan. How nice for you. I bet with your nifty plan you'll even get one...MEEEEELLION dollars."

[octopedingenue]

Oh! Blood Alone: twentysomething novelist-cum-vampire hunter and newly-undead tweenage vampire live together in fluffy so-far-platonic-but-ha bliss and light and mouth-numbing sweetness, dotted with episodes of murder and cannibalism. Published by Infinity Studios with a very stilted translation. I was sucked in by the episodic slice-of-life vampire domestica and I start each new chapter chanting, "Please don't turn into lolicon, please don't turn into lolicon, why am I still readi–SOCUTE SOCUTE, please don't turn into lolicon."

(It is totally going to turn into lolicon.)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Gaaah...it's like when I refused to look at something calling itself "Pearl Pink" and then peaked and saw the cute little girl crawling all over Mr. I'm So Embarassed My Dad Makes Me Buy His Porn and now I have 4 volumes waiting for me...

[octopedingenue]

As a diehard Meca Tanaka fangirl, I will defend Pearl Pink to the death, as it is
- not lolicon (The heroine is badass and introspective! The hero is a perceptive and decent human being! SHOCK AND AWE)
- THE CUTEST THING EVER IN LIFE.
If more shoujo mangaka used sex cliches in order to twist them, I would read more shoujo manga than I do...which is a terrifying thought.

Unfortunately, while Pearl Pink's May-December romance will be meaningless once the the characters hit their twenties, Blood Alone's vampire heroine is going to be twelveish forever. Thanks soooo much, Fantasy Fiction Situations Impossible In Real Life. If When If it turns out she met the hero when they were of an age, I am going to cry.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

From the title and the pinkpinkpink cover and the description, I figured Pearl Pink would be worth flipping through for laughs, and then I saw him buying his father's porn and then I saw the heroine crawling all over him like a monkey and him letting her and then I had to get it and then I loved it. And then I never saw Vol 2, and so I didn't know it was out until I heard Vol 3 was out, and then I wasn't able to get them until Vol 4 was out and so I just added Vol 1 back into the backlog and they're all waiting for me. I also have the first volume of her penguin book waiting.

as far as Blood Alone goes...I think manga and fantasy fiction has warped our values for all eternity.