Vampire Knight

... is NOT anything like Twilight.

I just needed to get that out of the way before I even begin.

Vampire Knight is a vampire shōjo manga by Matsuri Hino and has become hugely popular, so much so that there are two 13 episode anime series already, Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty. Since the manga is ongoing I am hoping for more anime realeases. Don't read on if you hate spoilers.

It follows Yuuki, a girl who has no memories prior to being attacked by a bad vampire and saved by another 10 years ago. The one who saved her is Kaname, who is Yuuki's love interest as well as a pureblood vampire. Yuuki lives with her adoptive father who is the chairman of Cross Academy, a boarding school for humans (day class) and vampires (night class) alike. The chairman is an ex-vampire hunter who longs for peace between the two species, hence the school's existance.

Yuuki is a "guardian", meaning she must help protect the vampires' secret and keep the human students safe. She is aided by Zero, a moody guy who's family was also ravaged by a vampire. He hates the vampires fervently... which sucks cos it turns out he has been turned into one early on in the series. He ends up swearing that Yuuki will never become one either... except she was always one, a pureblood in fact. She's just had her memories erased and been able to live as a human for ten years to hide her away from the bad vampire. She winds up being Kaname's love interest as well, and they live happily ever after (according to the anime). Well, Zero doesn't.

It's nothing like Twilight, thank god.

Twilight has a pitiful teenage girl who decides that she can't leave well enough alone and fall for a gorgeous guy without knowing anything about him, then still loves him even when she finds out he could eat her. She needs protecting at every turn in the story.

The guy is just as pitiful. He's a freaking stalker! He also knows better than to get involved with a teenage human, but does it anyway. He doesn't drink blood, he wears body glitter and he whines. A lot.

And what about the third wheel werewolf who loves the human chick? He follows her around like a lost puppy (pun most definately intended), only to fall in love with her half vampire baby. Happy endings all round.

So how is Vampire Knight any different? For starters, Yuuki is a proactive character capable of fending off everyday problems for herself. Secondly, she's fully aware of the vampire world. Thirdly, she's had over 10 years to fall in love with the vampire guy, and lastly... she is in fact a vampire. Not to mention Zero, who loves Yuuki, doesn't get such a conveniently happy ending. We don't even know if Kaname is a good vampire or not, we have no idea about his intentions.

Vampires in the manga/anime drink blood.

They don't sparkle.

They actually have fangs.

It's awesome, the series doesn't try to suppress what a vampire's true nature is, there are bloody battles, vampire hunters are also badass, there is an actual heirarchy within vampire society, and humans are most definately in danger. You know, it follows the standard vampire mythos while still being original and entertaining.

Twilight is a romance story, which happens to have supernatural beings in it. Vampire Knight is a vampire story, which happens to have romantic elements in it. I've read both and I know which one I prefer.

So screw you Meyer for the worst written vampire fiction in history, because of you everytime I mention Vampire Knight I get "ew, Twilight" as a reaction. It deserves so much better than that comparison.