I love official translations. I really do. I should say, I love translations where those translating know they're going to lose money if they don't do an excellent job but who got into this business because they love translating in the first place.
I've done work for free. Even though my motto is to give it my best no matter what the compensation, it's harder to ignore that lazy imp in my mind that says, "Oh, just leave it alone. It's not like they're going to care about a misplaced comma. The character's motivation doesn't really have to be clear, either. I mean, it's not like you're doing this for money, you know?"
Seriously. Much as I hate to admit it, money really does give a person a touch more incentive.
So, I've been completely in love with my local library and its more-extensive-than-I-realized supply of manga. I've been especially pleased to find that they have several volumes of my favorite guilty pleasure, Vampire Knight.
Vampire Knight does not have the best protagonist. Yuuki Cross (now Kuran through a long and convoluted plotline) hasn't gotten much stronger since the series began. I don't hate her or find her annoying. On the other hand, I don't want to be like her or find her inspiring. To give an example, I love Melanie from Gone With the Wind. Some find her boring and too much of a goody-two shoes, but the strength of the book is her character as contrasted to Scarlet. Melanie is very strong, far stronger in some ways than Scarlet ever will be. There are moments Scarlet realizes this: when Melanie rides from Tara to get help, when they're attending the sick, when Melanie becomes the center of the women in the war's aftermath, etc. In spite of herself, Scarlet becomes friends with Melanie. It's the first real friendship with a woman she's ever known and it becomes a moment of growth for Scarlet's character when Melanie is no longer in her life. It also becomes the catalyst for the official end of her marriage and shows how distant Scarlet and Rhett Butler have become from one another.
In Vampire Knight, Yuuki tries very hard to do the right thing and her stupidity negates a lot of her good intentions, like when she decides to be a Reaper [rolls eyes]. Plus, she's never really shown as strong at any point in the story. Most of the time, things just kind of happen to her and she does the best (or sometimes not) with what she's got.
If I (in my incredible arrogance) were to ever write an adaptation for the screen for this story, I would definitely show her as being more capable around the girls from the Day Class. She would be equal to Zero in her ability to hold them back with only an occasional exception. She would have more charisma around the girls (this would also be a foreshadowing of later events) and they would treat her more as their leader...
or be more openly hostile to her position as their gatekeeper. As it is, she's always trying to hold them back with her arms while this massive horde presses against little ol' her and no one manages to slip by and no one really resents her for holding them back. It just doesn't make any sense.
Another thing I would change about her is her ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time because of her worry about others. I wouldn't change it too much and not just because it drives the plot. Her depth of concern and caring for both Zero and Kaname are endearing. They're her best points and the reason I haven't started hating her. However, there are times when you wonder why on earth she's running when nothing has really propelled her.
And then there's the bracelet. When Zero attacked her near the pool, why didn't she just use that on him? Headmaster Cross gave it to her for that specific purpose and yet it's like that doesn't exist within the story anymore. And it could be awesome in that scene!
While we're on the subject of stupidity, I have to admit Matsuri Hino did a fantastic job of showing why Yuuki would become a willing food source for Zero. That was set up so beautifully and the effect on their relationship was shown so well (they try to pretend nothing has changed when everything has) that I have to say I'm a Zeki fan.
The only other thing I would do comes later in the series. I would give Yuuki more oomph as a pureblood, or I would explain better why she is still so weak with her powers after a year with Kaname. Has he purposefully kept her from learning how to use them? Because so far, the only time I've seen her do anything with them has been when she's around Zero.
One final thing to say about this and then I'll stop. I want to make a prediction, now that I've read the beginning again. I really think Kaname will die and Zero and Yuuki will end up together, and that's separate from my Zeki tendencies. Zero and Yuuki have a very strong friendship at the beginning. It's strong enough that they are willing to do anything for each other, and I mean that literally. Yuuki offers him her blood, her protection (and for once in the beginning she actually does something smart by dunking him in a pool when he's about to give in to his instincts... though I still think using the bracelet would have been more awesome), and in a way that it's obvious Kaname doesn't fully understand, her heart. Zero as well, protects her, kills for her, nearly kills himself when he realizes he might be a danger to her, tries to leave when he decides he's too unstable, does whatever she asks, and only stays when he sees she'll try to follow him wherever he goes. And when he finds out she is a vampire as well, he doesn't kill her, even though he wants to see every single pureblood dead. Though Kaname helps keep Yuuki's nightmares away, they don't disappear until the night Zero comes to the Cross household: the night Yuuki finds someone with whom she can share instead of just receive.
Her relationship with Kaname, on the other hand, is as full of contradictions as Kaname himself. One of the characters pointed out (I think it was Aido) that Kaname has been tainted ever since the night his parents died. There is a feeling in the manga that Kaname has a larger purpose to his existence, even beyond Yuuki and though he is kind and considerate, he's also manipulative and willing to take advantage of the awe Yuuki holds him in. She has never argued with him like she can with Zero. The level of honesty in their relationship is all on Kaname's side because he's the only one who feels he has a solid footing. Yuuki doesn't feel that she can tell Kaname the deepest feelings of her heart. She feels he's so much more powerful than she is, so much more amazing that she feels shame when she can't live up to what she thinks he deserves. She still feels like a little kid around him, even after becoming a pureblood. Though she does disobey him, it's never openly like with Zero, with debate and consensus and deals.
I feel this shows up most clearly in Yuuki's battle between what remains of Human Yuuki and the vampire she now is. Kaname isn't really part of that struggle. To be fair, Zero isn't either but that's because of his choice not to ever be near a pureblood (though I find it fascinating how he's transformed on that issue... there was a time when even the thought of something that had once touched a vampire touching him would send him into a rage... not so much now).
Though Hino does a very good job of trying to give equal weight to the sensuality of the scenes between Yuuki and Kaname and Yuuki and Zero, the ones that have the strongest emotion and that have the most frames are (if I'm looking correctly) the ones between Zero and Yuuki.
As for Kaname's death, I say that because he's set up from the start as a tragic figure. The more the series progresses, the stronger his tragic nature becomes. He loves Yuuki and wants to see her become strong. He loves her and wants to keep her in a cage where only he can possess her. He loves her but there's a sense that (as her ancestor) there was someone else he loved and waits for. He loves her, but there are kingdoms to win and politics to play. She is his prize and his treasure and the only thing it seems is not in his power to possess completely... unless he can shame her into it. Therefore, he is eternally alone. That, combined with the canker in his soul that's been growing ever since his "parents" died, will overwhelm him and, like other purebloods before him, make him wish he could go back to sleep. Or turn to dust.
Now, if she wants to satisfy the Yume fans, the mangaka (in my arrogant opinion) should break Yuuki's illusion of Kaname as the wonderful, perfect protector... and realize she loves him anyway. Show that he's willing to change for her, to become weak, vulnerable. Show that he's truly willing to let her have the upper hand on him. Better yet, show that she already has the upper hand on him and that's he's powerless to stop it and actually enjoys not being in charge of the relationship all the time. Show him truly weak before her and have her realize she loves both the strong and weak Kaname. Let her feel useful for once in the relationship instead of weak and helpless. Or perhaps have her realize that that's her strength and have her become just as manipulative with Kaname as he is with her. Personally, I think that ending would cause her to lose a lot of her charm. Better to have the illusion broken because then it's all about finding equal footing. You don't need to search for that with Zero, but he has so much pain he has to set aside before he can even approach her that I can see why Yume fans get frustrated with the Zeki relationship.
(Personally, out of the two, I think Zero is the most likely one to change and become what Yuuki needs since he's already changed so much for her.)
In the end, I really feel, based on the way the characters began, that Kaname will die somehow, Zero will get over his hatred of purebloods and Yuuki will admit that her love for Zero is stronger (and purer) than her love for Kaname. I also think it would be great if Yuuki becomes queen of the vampires (after becoming much stronger than she is now) and Zero leaves the Hunter Association, just like Headmaster Cross. And if, as it seems everyone has pointed out since volume one, Yuuki's blood is even more powerful than Kaname's (even as a human her blood had a distinct draw), I wouldn't be surprised if she continues to share it with Zero to keep him from falling to level E, or, best of all, discovering that if he drinks from her as a pureblood, she can change him into a permanent level D. It would be more interesting if Zero stays with the Hunter's Association and starts up a relationship with Yuuki, but I don't think it's where the story's going.
Then again, who knows? When I first read Vampire Knight, I was impressed by how Matsuri Hino kept the plot twisting and turning. At times it seemed a bit much and the set-up could be a bit much at times but I have never been truly bored reading this.
Enough rambling. On to the next post.
