Update 12/28/14

Hey guys! Can you believe that Christmas has come and gone? Or that the New Year starts in just a few days? It's crazy. Well I have a good one for you all this time. Okay...so I say that ALL the time, but they are all good ones to me. Haha. So let's get started.

Remember a while ago when I had posted about relationships in anime and manga. Well my little sister finally finished watching Free! last week (she also finished watching Kuroko...finally) and she said this with all seriousness. "I'm disappointed in the ending of this show. They never showed how they got together as a couple."

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Yes, my little sister ships HaruxRin. All I can think whenever I watch shows with my sister lately (especially shows like Free and Kuroko) is the line from Octopimp's 50% Off: "I ship them and them. They hate each other but they also fuck each other." It is so fitting because 90% of the time we will wind up talking about different pairings we would do for the show whether it is yaoi, yuri, canon, and what have you. It makes me a proud big sister.

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Okay...I couldn't resist this picture...it's cute. Anyway. Let's talk about manga!

SPOILER ALERT 

This review is filled with spoilers from the manga. Please read at your own risk. If you do not want to read, skip to the next title which is Anime ChristmasThank you.  

Manga Review: Vampire Knight

Art and Story by Matsuri Hino

So I know what you are thinking...that I have already done a Vampire Knight review. Well yes I did. For the anime. However...I haven't really done a manga review. Plus volume 19 and several short stories have been released over the last several months. So we'll do this review. 


If I did a top ten list of stories I have a love/hate relationship (including regular novels and stories) this series takes the cake. If I hadn’t have read this manga, I would probably just love it. However…I have read it. 


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Volume 1 - July 2005 (Japan), January 2007 (US)

Yuki Cross has no memory of her past prior to the moment she was saved from a vampire attack ten years ago. She was adopted by the headmaster of Cross Academy, and now works alongside Zero to guard the Academy's secret. Yuki believes that vampires and humans can coexist peacefully, but her partner has different ideas

Volume 2 - December 2005 (Japan), May 2007 (US)

Outside the safe boundary of the academy, Yuki is attacked by a vampire. Injured and unable to defend herself, two Night Class students come to her aid and kill the vampire. Yuki asks them why they killed their own kind, and they tell her to come to the Moon Dormitory at midnight to learn the answer

Volume 3 - April 2006 (Japan), October 2007 (US)

Kaname, the pureblood vampire, has kept to his room since learning of Yuki and Zero's forbidden act. However, the arrival of Ichijo's grandfather brings the entire Night Class together to greet one of the oldest vampires on the senate. Ichijo's grandfather says he's there merely to visit his grandson, but he's out for Kaname's blood.

Volume 4 - October 2006 (Japan), April 2008 (US)

Zero warns Yuki to stay away from Maria Kurenai, the new Night Class transfer student, although he won't tell Yuki why. Kaname is also wary, and he sends Ichijo to watch Maria so she doesn't start trouble. Who is this girl, and why does she have the entire Night Class on edge?

Volume 5 - April 2007 (Japan), September 2008 (US)

Zero is suspected of killing Shizuka Hio, the pureblood vampire who murdered his family. Incensed, the vampire senate sends assassins to Cross Academy to execute him. Will the Night Class intervene,  or will Kaname let Zero take the fall?

Volume 6 - October 2007 (Japan), March 2009 (US)

Yuki sneaks into an exclusive vampire party and sees Aido's parents introducing their daughter to Kaname. They, like many other Night Class parents, desire an alliance with the pureblood. Kaname is the most eligible bachelor in vampire society--but will he choose Yuki?

Volume 7 - April 2008 (Japan), August 2009 (US)

Yuki debates asking Kaname about her past, suspecting that he may have been the one who erased her childhood memories. Zero confronts Kaname to find out the truth, and the two come to blows over Yuki

Volume 8 - October 2008 (Japan), November 2009 (US)

After trying to recall her past, Yuki's hallucinations become more vivid and she tries to strangle Zero during a fit of madness. Locked in her room, all she can see is a world dyed in blood, but Kaname comes for her. He tells her it's time to wake up and sinks his fangs into her neck…

Volume 9 - November 2008 (Japan), February 2010 (US)

A war among vampires has started at Cross Academy, and even Day Class students are being attacked. Kanamefinally reveals his hidden plan to Zero, and Zero must choose on which side he will fight. But in order for Zero to defeat the enemy, he will have to take part in an atrocious act

Volume 10 – June 2009 (Japan), June 2010 (US) 

Rido is gone, but the battle rages on at Cross Academy. The Night Class is still under attack, and Headmaster Cross has joined the war to protect his students. Zero, however, has vowed to get rid of all the Purebloods--including Yuki!

Volume 11 – December 2009 (Japan), December 2010 (US)

The Night Class at Cross Academy has been abolished. Zero still attends the Day Class while carrying out his duties as a vampire hunter. Yuki now lives hidden away at the Kuran residence with Kaname, but can she embrace the life of a pureblood vampire?

Volume 12 – July 2010 (Japan), June 2011 (US)

It's been one year since Yuki left Cross Academy with Kaname, and tonight is her first vampire soirée as a pureblood. Her best friend Sayori has snuck into the party to see her, but will Yuki and Zero be able to protect a human girl amid a bevy of vampires?

Volume 13 – December 2010 (Japan), October 2011 (US)

Yuki is attacked by another pureblood outside a graveyard for meddling in the ways of the vampire society. Injured, she returns home to Kaname, who shares with her his past memories and the truth behind the Kuran family.

Volume 14 – June 2011 (Japan), July 2012 (US)

The Vampire Hunter Society has imprisoned Aido in order to interrogate him about Kaname’s connection to Sara Shirabuki. Meanwhile, Yuki wants a fresh start with Kaname, but circumstances arise that may force them apart.

Volume 15 – December 2011 (Japan), November 2012 (US)

With Kaname missing, Yuki must now step in as acting head of her clan to maintain the fragile peace between the human and vampire societies. Will she be able to regain the trust of the vampire aristocrats, much less Aido?

Volume 16 – May 2012 (Japan), March 2013 (US)

The Night Class is back in session, but Yuki finds herself quickly becoming second fiddle to Sara Shirabuki. With Kaname gone, Yuki is now desperate for blood, so Zero offers her his own. Will she break her promise to Kaname and drink from Zero?

Volume 17 – 2012 (Japan), November 2013 (US)

Kaname has returned to Cross Academy to kill Sara Shirabuki. Zero has joined forces with Sara, leaving Yuki in the middle of the conflict. Even if Kaname’s ultimate goal is to kill all purebloods, is Yuki ready to fight him?

Volume 18 – 2013 (Japan), May 2014 (US)

Yukio and Zero team up to go after Kaname. Yuki and Kaname fight each other in the headquarters of the Hunter Society while Sara tries to control Zero through her blood. The female progenitor’s origin metal intervenes, and Yuki realizes there is only one way to stop Kaname

Volume 19 – 2013 (Japan), October 2014 (US)

Kaname vows to sacrifice himself. Yuki vows to sacrifice herself to stop him. Zero takes a weapon in hand to protect what is dear to him. Whether parted for eternity or close enough to touch, they each will always desire their beloved…


The anime doesn’t follow the manga a lot. Just the basic story. They cut out key elements. Thus starts my love/hate relationship. It particularly centers around one Kaname Kuran

The whole basis of Vampire Knight is a love-triangle between Yuki, Zero, and Kaname
It doesn’t stop there. Nineteen volumes of this tug-o-war romance and we finally gain a conclusion…sort of. In 2013, Japan released the final Vampire Knight chapter, which dropped a huge yet very unexciting ending. Kaname sacrificed his heart to stop the fighting telling Yuki and Zero that they should be together. This pissed me off to no end. If he had been planning on dying he should have just let Zero and Yuki be together instead of being a selfish asshole. Now 1000 years later (I may be exaggerating or I may not), two people alongside Yuki appear before Kaname’s body. Yuki gives up her life to turn Kanameinto a human so he may live and see the world she loved. After her death and Kaname’s rebirth, the two people step forward as Yuki’s children. The end. 

That is it. Like seriously. Well don’t fret. Some short stories were released shortly after volume 19. An exclusive chapter called Vampire Knight: Life which depicts what happened between Kaname dying and Yuki dying. A lot of bombs are dropped. Sayori, Yuki’s best friend, married Aido (is the assumption) and he grieves with his grandchildren over her grave (he offered to find the cure for vampirism so he could grow old with her – this is why it is assumed that it is Aido who she married). 
Wouldn’t that be a cute story to see?? Aido and Yori. *sigh*

Next we find out Yuki is pregnant. Just a few months after Kaname’s death. Yep. He procreated with her. The girl in chapter 19 is Kaname and Yuki’s child. That means the boy (who I thought was a girl) is Zero’s child. This fact urkes me. 
Then you have Vampire Knight: Fleeting Dreams. A collection of short stories that depict the time from when Yuki left to the end of the manga. With the exception of one story which takes place during Yuki’s time at Cross Academy. I thought reading this would put my mind at ease. Yep…no. It only irritated me (with the exception of the story Gifts for Yuki because it made me fall in love with Aido even more). I mean for crying out loud the one story was written in a horse’s POV. 

Out of all her series I was most disappointed by this one. The next would be Wanted. It just sort of ends. These last few years haven’t been too good for her manga endings. I was hoping for something along the lines of Captive Hearts or MeruPuri. This definitely knocks Vampire Knight down several spots in my book. 

I give this series 7 out of 10. 

Did you like the ending? How would you have ended it?


Anime Christmas

So clearly I am an adult now and I don't mean my age...I am talking about my Christmas presents. Let's take a peek at what I got. 

From Mom and Dad: 
- Tupperware
- Pizza Cutter
- Blanket
- Wine Opener
- Reusable Rubber Wine Cork
- Nail Polish
- Nail File
- Cat Ear Barettes
- Mini Bottles of Vodka
- Chocolate
- Ornament
- $5 Target Gift Card

From Chelsie: 
- Maleficent

From Brittney: 
- Taco Bowl Molds
- Quote Canvas Pictures

From my Godmother: 
- Wine
- $25 Barnes and Noble Gift Card

From my Grandma: 
- Homemade Chex Mix

From my 5-year-old cousin Kennedy: 
- Hello Kitty Brush and Hair Clip Set

From Erynn: 
- CNBLUE 'Can't Stop' Minialbum

With the exception of a few things...those are rather...adult of me. However you came for the good stuff. Anime stuff. So no one actually bought me anime related items (Erynn bought me a Korean mini album and Kennedy got me a Hello Kitty thing) BUT I did get a Barnes and Noble gift card. Yep. Paired with VizMedia's Buy 2 manga get the 3rd free deal...so I purchased some manga.

- Seraph of the End volume 3
- Millennium Snow volume 4 
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 1 (volumes 1-3)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 2 (volumes 4-6)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 3 (volumes 7-9)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 4 (volumes 10-12)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 5 (volumes 13-15)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 6 (volumes 16-18)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 7 (volumes 19-21)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 8 (volumes 22-24)
- Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume 9 (volumes 25-27)

Thank you Godmother and Merry Christmas Kat!

What did you get for the holiday season? What's your favorite present? Did you buy anything from Barnes and Noble? 

SPOILER SECTION

SPOILERS! - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK - SPOILERS!

Bleach

Ichigo is back and tasked with stopping Yhwach. 

Yhwach has stabbed the Soul King and called him Father. 

I just don't know anymore. Plus these sixteen page chapters really bore me. Is anyone else slowly coming to hate Bleach? *sigh* Please Tite Kubo...do something interesting for this last stretch. 

Fairy Tail

Ugh. Same damn thing. Is this arc over yet? Everyone but Libra, Virgo, and Snakey have been sent back. Liberum is in full force. I can foresee one or two more episodes in this arc. Hopefully. 

Now let's back track a sec. Leo vs Natsu. HE WHOOPED HIS ASS!! Natsu beat the crap out of Loke. It was kind of cool. Let's hope the end of this arc is just as kind of cool. 

So guys...that is it for this week. I was going to do a review of the new Kuroko no Basuke chapter, but I will do that later. I just haven't had the time to write the review yet and  I just can't do it. 

I hope you guys have a good and safe New Year. See you all in 2015. (yeah that was cliche...so what?)

Ja ne. 

xx Kat
=^.^=

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