A vampire attacked Yuki Cross ten years ago, but she had no memory of what happened before that. She’s adopted by Cross Academy’s headmaster and assigned to guard the school’s secrets with another student, Zero. Cross Academy divides into two classes: the Day Class and the Night Class. When Day Class students return to their dorms at twilight, they cross paths with Night Class students. The Guardians of the Academy are Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu, doing their part to protect the Day Class from the Academy’s dark secret: vampires rule the Night Class.

In this story, Yuki is the protagonist, and there’s nothing to like about her. There is an intriguing mystery surrounding Kaname’s strange obsession with Yuki, as well as the tragic backstory of Zero in which he seeks revenge against a powerful vampire. This results in some pretty dramatic stakes and tensions between Zero and Kaname.The world building in vampire lore was very limited. They revealed Kaname is a Pure Blood Vampire that can turn humans into vampires. There was a hint that a pure blood vampire had attacked Zero.

The book reveals Yuki was not informed for over four years of Zero’s vampire status. Zero wants Yuki to kill him with his gun is heartbreaking. There are several forces at play, but the main one is romance.

As far as the story is concerned, it’s sometimes tricky to tell what Hino is trying to do. Hino specializes in romantic comedies. In Vampire Knight, you can still see that influence, which is part of why this volume is so strange. It’s clear that Hino is trying to write a serious story, with dark characters, a dark past and lots of blood.

However, there are lots of panels in this first volume where Yuki and Zero are like some kind of comedy team. A big source of comedy is the headmaster, who teases Zero, exults over Yuki, and sparkles with his apparently naïve dream of promoting peace between humans and vampires. Lighthearted scenes are so rare that they become jarring compared to the darker scenes.

Can you see yourself continuing to read this series? Yes, I enjoy some parts of manga, especially when it turns dark.

Is it for anyone? It depends on your taste for dark vampire stories.