Vampire Knight-New Anime Series

Yuki's earliest memory is of a snowy night in winter, when she was attacked by one vampire and was saved by another, Kaname Kuran. Ten years later, Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, has grown up and become a guardian for the school, with two purposes: To protect the Day class (humans) from the Night class's (vampires) fangs and to protect the true identity of the Night class students from being discovered by the Day class students. Her fellow guardian, Zero Kiryu, a childhood friend who was born into a family of vampire hunters and whose hatred for the vampires that destroyed everything he held dear, is now determined to kill them all and never trusts them. Through a cruel twist of fate, Zero becomes a vampire himself, having been bitten by a pure blood vampire four years before.

Kaname, Yuki's savior, leads the group of Night class, with the help of Takuma Ichijo. As the story progresses, it is revealed that Yuki is the true daughter of the Kuran family, a family of pure blood vampires. She and Kaname were raised as siblings who are actually engaged to each other. Kaname awakened Yuki's 'vampire' side which was locked away by Yuki's deceased mother, who wanted Yuki to have a better future by being a human.




The vampires in Vampire Knight have the characteristics of a separate species, which contrasts with most vampire stories which portray vampires as transformed humans. In Vampire Knight, vampires can have children among themselves and with humans, and they age, albeit at a much slower rate than humans. Vampires are nocturnal and they dislike sunlight, but exposure to it does not harm them. They are likewise immune to most of the traditional vampire weaknesses such as crosses, garlic, and holy water. They can also regenerate quickly and easily when wounded, therefore, making them very hard to kill unless a weapon made especially for vampire hunting is used.

Vampires organize their society based on the purity of their blood. Level A are the Purebloods - a very small but very powerful minority. Only a bite from a Pureblood can change a human into a vampire. Pureblood siblings sometimes marry each other to keep the bloodline pure, which is not a rare practice. Level B refers to Noble vampires with advanced powers. Ordinary vampires make up Level C, by far the largest group. Level D is comprised of vampires who were once human; they are a small group, as turning humans into vampires is forbidden and only a handful of Level A vampires would dare to. The final designation, Level E, is separated from the others because it is reserved for former human vampires who have become violently insane. Falling to Level E is considered the inevitable fate of all former human vampires, who can never completely accept their vampiric instincts and their need for blood. Level D or E vampires are left in the care of Level B vampires, so they can keep them in check.

Vampires have warred with human vampire hunters for centuries, though the existence of vampires, and the war itself, is kept secret from most humans.