Vampire Knight Volume 15
With Kaname nowhere to be found and his murderous actions unexplained, Yuki is taken into custody by the Vampire Hunter Society and questioned by her former guardian Kaiden Cross. Yuki herself has no idea what Kaname is planning and is eager to go after him. However, she is quickly reminded that, with him missing and potentially dangerous, as a Kuran Pureblood, it’s now her place to step up to help maintain the peace between Humans and Vampires. Can Yuki overcome her lack of leadership skills and step up to the challenge? Meanwhile, Zero seems to be showing signs of descending to becoming a Level E vampire whilst – at all costs – avoiding Yuki, now living in the Academy.
Volume 15 of the gothic vampire teen drama is probably the most plot-packed book so far in the series. Within 200 pages Yuki goes from being in shackles, to hunting down an evil vampire, to rounding up the old Vampire Knight side characters and re-opening the Night Class. This doesn’t even include the vampires’ reactions to Kaname’s actions, Zero’s hunting mission, Sara’s sudden appearance at the school or Yuki’s reunion with her friend Yori. As a result a lot of the plot developments happen very fast and a bit too conveniently. Taking Yuki into custody was a bold move but the society seems a bit soft in letting her go easily and letting her do her own thing, considering that her fiancé is out on the rampage and Yuki herself has shown signs of instability.
Admittedly, I had warning bells going off in my head when the proposal of re-opening the Night Class came up, fearing that they’d be going back to old habits when Matsuri Hino was doing so well breaking out of it, but so far there’s been little to worry about. It’s made quite clear that the characters and situations are not the same as before. Yuki is now the reluctant Head of Night Class and everyone knows she doesn’t possess the charisma or control of a typical Pureblood Vampire. It’s helped that the focus is less on classroom antics and more on the political side of why they brought back the Night Class. Besides, it’s nice to see some old faces again such as Rima and Shiki, and Yuki does look good in the Night Class uniform.
For Kaname lovers out there, he’s notable by his absence in this volume. There are several scenes containing hints of his next move but there’s barely any detail as to where he is at the moment, let alone what’s going to happen next, or if he regrets his actions. Instead, this volume has more for Yuki and Zero fans; despite the large elephant in the room between them, Hino does a great job of slowly increasing the sexual tension between the pair, leading to a very nice final page that will make “Zeki” fans shriek in happiness. Maria’s interference between the pair and harsh dialogue was unnecessary but not an awful addition to the book.
Volume 15 is moving the story at a brisk pace with plenty more mysteries to uncover and emotional revelations hinting that matters will soon come to a head. Not to be missed if you’re a fan, even if it’s very angst driven.
