▪	RELEASED BY:		VIZ MEDIA
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		MATSURI HINO
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		200
		▪	RATING:		T+
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		10/02/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		10/01/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

Zero is becoming a vampire and all Yuki can do to help is give him her blood…and promise to kill him. The pureblood vampire Kaname who saved Yuki as a young girl knows this and it has caused him to retreat from his vampire classmates. Unfortunately he is not allowed to brood for long when a vampire elder visits the school with designs on Kaname’s pure vampire blood. To make matters worse, Zero has received orders from the Vampire Hunter Guild to go and stop a serial killer vampire. Faced with another human turned killer, will Zero see his own fate and choose to seal it?

The latest revelations about Kaname’s feelings, Zero’s suffering and Yuki’s decision change everything between these three people and affect those around them. Aware of the precarious peace held at the school hosting the vampires and the humans, none of them wish to tip that fragile balance. But as each of them wars with their own desires, can they hope to fulfill their promises? These questions help layer the characters substantially. Yuki isn’t just a good girl mindlessly following orders to those who’ve saved her, she is torn by her feelings for Kaname and Zero. Kaname has his own reasons, but when a new female vampire joins the class, again it raises the question of whether Kaname’s motives are good or ill. He is enigmatic and makes a wonderfully intriguing character, just as a vampire should be. And as for Zero, his anguish is terrible, but jealousy over Yuki and her blood rise within him. Now this new transfer student elicits a seemingly uncalled for violent reaction from him. Just who is she and what is she to Zero?

Intrigue, danger and mystery, all wrapped into a deadly love triangle. It makes for enthralling reading. This volume also offers a rich background showing readers how Yuki first met Kaname and their lives together before the school changed and why it did. It also offers Zero’s early story on how he first came to meet Yuki and his life at the school before everything changed. It seems this triangle has been forming for some time, like a draught of poison taken, where each breath brings those closer to their Fate.

Manga extras this volume includes a character relationship chart, a bonus story, comic panels, and character notes.

IN SUMMARY:
Splendidly dark, romantically tragic and beautifully Gothic, Vampire Knight is a compelling story.