Field of Dreams

This was a tough review to write. Not only because Hino Matsuri-sensei's Vampire Knight is a popular, fans will write their own critiques provided a Comment button to press title, but more so because you can charge it with possession of plot.

Don't get me wrong; I adore shoujo, but you gotta agree that the genre is known more for character and relationship development than story. It's a defining trait, and you'd be hard-pressed to find shoujo manga bucking that norm. In fact, when I started hunting for titles that similarly transcend mere romantic subplot resolution, I could only come up with two others: Ono Fuyumi-sensei's Ghost Hunt and Watase Yuu-sensei's Alice 19th (and even then, the latter's a li'l iffy).

In any case, here's a third that tears through the predominantly-relationship drama stereotype. Vampire Knight or VK uses at least three master plots—metamorphosis, rivalry, vengeance— from the definitive list of 20 identified by Ronald B. Tobias (cited by TV Tropes Wiki) to underpin its tale. Not that writing by numbers detracts from enjoyment of this title; deft employment fulfills the expectation and surprise contract (that supposedly guarantees emotional investment) between reader and author in You go! proportion.

So while still populated with the requisite pretty boys (who at least don't walk around with bishie sparkles because they're just so pretty that light, like members of the opposite sex, behaves strangely around them), VK actually seems to be headed somewhere, with deliberation aforethought.

(I can't write the rest without SPOILAGE and further side commentary, so tread carefully. Scans and quotes are from the ChuangYi English translation, the VIZ Shojo Beat Online Manga preview, and Wikiquote.)

Cross Academy harbors a secret: during the night, it undertakes the academic education of vampires. Only the headmaster and two student councilors, Cross Yuki and Kiriyu (or Kiryu) Zero tasked to hide the truth from the human day students, are privy to this info bit(e).

Yuki and Zero's promotion to secret keeper accrues from first-hand experience with deadly vampire attacks. Both view their charge differently: Zero detests all undead because of the fatal strike against his family while Yuki, despite having lost her parents, was rescued by the regal true-blood Kaname and thus, inclined to be more open-minded about vampires. Additionally, she shares headmaster Cross Rijichou's vision—that of creating a peaceful world where the undead and not live and cooperate—a view reinforced by her savior Kaname. Kaname also believes that understanding is the key to coexistence and his position at the apex of the vampire social pyramid and enrollment into the boarding school persuades other brethren into giving Cross Academy a chance.

So where does conflict enter in this dreaming-of-ideal world? Beyond the obvious racial clash, it immediately bares its fangs (in the first chapter to be exact) in the introduction of the predictable but much-embraced love triangle. Yuki worships her deliverer Kaname and Kaname, in turn, cherishes Yuki. It's a relationship that rubs the arrogant followers of Kaname-sama the wrong way. Night class student Aido Hanabusa puts it ominously, succinctly: Who are you to Master Kaname, Yuki?

It is Kaname who, without dissembling, clues us in to who desires this closeness: You're always so polite. Your formality... feels cold, he chides Yuki in the first chapter. This attempt at expanded intimacy infuriates the anti-social Come on vampires. I've been pissed off lately Zero who only thaws in Yuki's company. In that same scene which has Kaname patting Yuki on the head, Zero steps in and forcibly removes Kaname's hand, much to the latter's amusement.

Secondly—and this is the more significant—humans bitten by a true-blood turn into vampires. While Yuki's attacker was a human-turned-undead, Zero's assailant was a true-blood.

So Zero, descended from a proud line of vampire hunters, has been turned. Yuki is unaware of this, until blood thirst forces Zero to sink his fangs into her oh-so-available neck.

To say that Zero overflows with remorse and self-hatred after would be an understatement. He loathes what he has done; abhors what he has become. But his refusal to drink the blood pills given by Cross Rijichou (Yuki and Zero's adoptive father now that the pair are orphaned) to prevent the thing that terrifies him from happening has backfired. The only avenue left open now is for Zero to entrust his weapon, the gun Bloody Rose, to Yuki with the directive, I want you to kill me.

Post shock and initial resistance, Yuki comes to accept a changed Zero, thereby ensuring that she's not about to blow his brains out. They grew up together, after all. Yuki even gave Zero, not Kaname, the sole Valentine chocolate she succeeded in making. Furthermore, much to Kaname's disgust, Yuki (Let the most unforgivable act of all be committed) decides to break that most forbidden of taboos—feeding a most reluctant Zero.

The shoujo concessions are apparent: the bishounen, the love triangle, the insertion of light-heartedness to relieve the bloodied angst, the sensuousness of the feeding—they're all here. As are the wonderfully pretty pictures that is Hino Matsuri-sensei's trademark. But the story remains the draw. Given that all human vampires eventually turn into mindless bloodthirsty beasts, what's going to happen to Zero? What is Kaname (I thought only you wouldn't betray her. That is why you're still alive, Zero. You're alive because I'm letting you live.) really planning? To keep Yuki "safe," will Kaname succumb to the temptation of turning her? Which vampire is the "Vampire Knight"? These are just some questions that endorse continued emotional outlay.

And it looks like protracted speculation will remain the order, seeing as the manga published in Japan by Hakusensha is up to volume 6 and still current. (VK is licensed for English distribution by VIZ (two volumes out) and ChuangYi Singapore which has already published volumes 1 to 5.)

Granted, VK is a more serious outing for the manga-ka who brought us MeruPuri and Toraware no Minoue (Captive Heart) but that's not reason enough to eschew, even if you're not a vampire fan (which I'm not, BTW, regardless of a 4 out of 6 VK read meter). And funnily enough, I think even the manga-ka surprised herself with this story. She reveals in the first quarter column:

I wanted to try writing a 'campus love story' or a 'tragic vampire love story', but somehow I just felt really awkward about the idea of writing such stories about vampires... And then I started writing Vampire Knight...

What she let remain unsaid may ultimately be the je ne sais quoi that resonates emotionally and explains why VK succeeds in pulling you in for the long haul. In my limited view, I can only squeak out, Plot?

Aside: I hope someone options this for anime adaptation and with the same cast as the drama CDs': Horie Yui-san as Cross Yuki; Kishio Daisuke-san as Kuran Kaname; and Miyano Mamoru-san as Kiriyu Zero *beams*.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 vampire-powers-sealing tattoos (the additional 0.5 comes from Hino Matsuri-sensei's phone call to her editor, shared in one of the quarter columns: Boss, I think I really like to draw comedies after all. Stuff like MeruPuri, which, like the Blood-drenched vampires aren't allowed on this page! fillers, introduces a bit of welcome levity.)

Wikipedia said:
The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.
Plot:

Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy, and Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir's father's servant, Ali, spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father (who is generally referred to as Baba, "daddy", throughout the book) loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories.

Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his brass knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge.

Hassan is a successful "kite runner" for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef's voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. Amir reacts indifferently because he feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan's saint-like behavior. Already jealous of Baba's love for Hassan, he worries if Baba knew how bravely Hassan defended Amir's kite, and how cowardly Amir acted, that Baba's love for Hassan would grow even more.

To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that "there is no act more wretched than stealing." Hassan and his father Ali, to Baba's extreme sorrow, leave anyway. Hassan's departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his cowardice and betrayal, but he still lives in their shadow and his guilt.

Five years later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba, who lived in luxury in an expansive mansion in Afghanistan, settle in a run-down apartment and Baba begins work at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets fellow refugee Soraya Taheri and her family; Soraya's father, who was a high-ranking officer in Afghanistan, has contempt of Amir's literary aspiration. Baba is diagnosed with terminal oat cell carcinoma but is still capable of granting Amir one last favor: he asks Soraya's father's permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and the two marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya learn that they cannot have children.

Amir embarks on a successful career as a novelist. Fifteen years after his wedding, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying from an illness. Rahim Khan asks Amir to come to Pakistan. He enigmatically tells Amir "there is a way to be good again." Amir goes.

From Rahim Khan, Amir learns the fates of Ali and Hassan. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba’s house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan’s request. One day the Taliban ordered him to give it up and leave, but he refused, and was murdered, along with his wife. Rahim Khan reveals that Ali was not really Hassan's father. Hassan was actually the son of Baba, therefore Amir's half-brother. Finally, Rahim Khan tells Amir that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage.

Amir returns to Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. In order to enter Taliban territory, Amir, who is normally clean shaven, dons a fake beard and mustache, because otherwise the Taliban would exact Shariah punishment against him. However, he does not find Sohrab where he was supposed to be: the director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official comes often, brings cash and usually takes a girl back with him. Once in a while however, he takes a boy, recently Sohrab. The director tells Amir to go to a soccer match and the man "who does the speeches" is the man who took Sohrab. Farid manages to secure an appointment with the speaker at his home, by saying that he and Amir have "personal business" with him.

At the house, Amir has his meeting with the man in sunglasses,who says the man who does the speeches is not available, due to the fact that he is participating in wrongful acts of adultry. The man in sunglasses is eventually revealed to be his childhood nemesis, Assef. Assef is aware of Amir's identity from the very beginning, but Amir doesn't realize who he's sitting across from until Assef starts asking about Ali, Baba and Hassan. Sohrab is being kept at the home where he is made to dance dressed in women's clothes, and it seems Assef might have been sexually assaulting him. (Sohrab later says, "I'm so dirty and full of sin. The bad man and the other two did things to me.") Assef agrees to relinquish him, but only for a price - cruelly beating Amir. However, Amir is saved when Sohrab uses his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye, fulfilling the threat his father had made many years before.

Amir tells Sohrab of his plans to take him back to America and possibly adopt him, and promises that he will never be sent to an orphanage again. After almost having to break that promise (after decades of war, paperwork documenting Sohrab's orphan status, as demanded by the US authorities, is impossible to get) and Sohrab attempting suicide, Amir manages to take him back to the United States and introduces him to his wife. However, Sohrab is emotionally damaged and refuses to speak or even glance at Soraya. This continues until his frozen emotions are thawed when Amir reminisces about his father, Hassan, while kite flying. Amir shows off some of Hassan’s tricks, and Sohrab begins to interact with Amir again. In the end Sohrab only shows a lopsided smile, but Amir takes to it with all his heart as he runs the kite for Sohrab, saying, "For you, a thousand times over.".

Really, when I m Elementary School, my parents bought me a set of new comic model, different as usually i read. At this age I have favourite comics consists of Smurf, Tin Tin, Lucky Luck or Asterix. But this comics really really different. Then I knew it called manga.
My first impression about Candy-Candy, with sarcastic tone of myself... omg....this kind of comics! roll of my eyes.

Describing of this kind of manga:
The mysterious boy, the romantic boy, the fashionable boy, plus the geeky one, and the much despised spoiled-rich brat; all in one story. But the one I heart the most is the rebel one with a darker image. This is the colorful world of Candy, a cheerful orphaned girl. This is “Candy Candy”.

What are you talking about?
“Candy Candy” is written by Kyoko Mizuki (her real name is Keiko Nagita) and was first published as a novel in 1975 before it was published as a manga illustrated by Yumiko Igarashi. The manga ran for almost four years (1975-1979) in a monthly magazine Nakayoshi (from Japanese publisher Kodansha) and resulted in a total of nine volumes of manga originally. There was also a 115-episode of anime based on the same manga aired initially in 1976.

Are you talking about some three-decade old manga? Gosh, I’m not interested.
And that’s exactly what I had thought before. I read it during middle school, and by then, “Candy Candy” was already almost twenty years since its first publication. I was truly reluctant at first considering I hated the cheesy, wishy-washy love story (you know, shoujo manga, they are for girls). Come on, I’d rather have read Tin Tin or more interest comics series than manga (“Manga is for kids, I’m NOT a kid anymore 'cos i m almost teen you knew!”).

But , I was so wrong as usual. During a stay in my place and nothing to do , my blank holiday with my parents busied with their bussines, and you know you wouldn’t want to go to bed even if you’re told to (particularly WHEN you were told to), I gave “Candy Candy” a try. After all, reading reduces the noise after everyone else falls asleep so the chances of getting discovered that you are not sleeping is also reduced. I was never sleeping all of 'blank holidays' night finishing all nine volumes of the (should I say it again) shoujo manga.

Wow, all the red-eye reading session …
Exactly! And literally my eyes were read when I finished the story since I was crying so much.

Ah, the wishy-washy …
Yes it was, but for a good reason. When you think about most love stories, boy meets girl and they fall in love with each other, and like a fairy tale, they live happily ever after, right?

“Candy Candy” is not so much a love story by that definition. I would consider it as a LIFE story of this orphaned girl called Candy. I don’t want to spoil the story (and rob that first time reading experience from you), but I will say this: true love means wishing the happiness of each other even if it means you have to sacrifice the relationship itself; and happiness does not mean you have to stay together with your true love; and friends and family are the precious gems of life. I guess I spoiled it anyway.

Huh!? So, no happy-ending?
I will say that there is no conclusive ending, but a happy one otherwise. I think what makes it different from most of the shoujo manga out there is that Candy’ love life evolved with her as she grew up just like our own love life (you know how many crushes you have and how many times you change love interests).

And thus, it was easy to be emotionally attached to Candy. I felt her joy and her pain at the same time. She grew up in front of my eyes and I fell in love with the people around her. Somehow, during reading her story, I was pulled into her world with my own world dissolved away. I was living her life then.

Phew, what a nostalgic moment, recalling the time I read “Candy Candy” for the first time. The sweet old days.