I feel like Zero x Yuuki is a much more organic relationship in that he lived with her for 5 years or whatever and they know each other better (atm). Kaname is like the mysterious creepy guy who is freakishly infatuated with her. As per the anime solely, I don’t see how anyone can ship Kaname x Yuuki.

Zero is a more 3-D character. He’s more tragic and dynamic. He’s more badass (imo), and as a female may I say.. He’s just prettier.

1. Yuuki sees Zero as a friend, somewhat close to siblings (since both of them adopted children of Kaien).. She cares for Zero very deeply but I don’t think there’s any romantic feelings towards him. On the other hand, I do think Zero likes Yuuki ^^

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3. Zero? Apart from the fact that he’s my favorite character, I found Zero to be a loner (or prefers to be alone), trust no one (even himself), mysterious (avoid to open up and discuss his feelings and such)..

RE: Kaname… As a Kaname fan, I just think he’s way cool. He’s the head honcho of the cream of the crop of the young vampires. Why shouldn’t he be able to to act like the bada** (excuse the language!) and do whatever he wants? The one thing most important to him in the world is Yuki and he’ll do anything to protect her. The anime (and manga) draw a distinction between how the vampires act and the humans act. Given the differences, I can accept the attitude that Kaname has.

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Zero too… but Kaname is the cool, uber-smart, commanding “prince”-type that I like. Heh… (Kyouya is my favorite from Ouran Host Club). But I will give Zero some love for being a bada** (excuse the language!) too. He holds his own against the vampires and is totally unimpressed with Kaname. Gotta love that…

In answer to your questions:

(1) I think Yuki feels more a sibling type affection/regard toward Zero right now. She definitely cares for him and has watched over him like an older “sibling” for the last four years with a strong sense of responsibility. Zero has strong feelings for Yuki as well, but I think a good part of his feelings are that Yuki is one of the few things (maybe the only thing) remaining that he can hold onto. He’s so horrified with what he is and given she didn’t know about his slow transformation, she was the one thing that could at least give him a sense of distance from the knowledge of his turning into the one thing that he was raised to think of as the enemy.

(2) I’d like to see more of Kain. I think he is one cool cucumber. Definitely the voice of reason in the group. Shiki is also one I’d like to see more of. They’re doing a lot with Aidou already, so that’s good.

(3) I sympathize with Zero in this episode. Zero gave into his “beast-like” urges and took blood from the one person who helped him keep his sanity. I think his reaction is quite understandable. To finally turn into the “beast” he’s always feared and to hurt and frighten the one person he cares about most? Yikes… That is naturally going to make anyone a bit “emo”, so I give him a lot of sympathy now. I like the fact that he doesn’t say a lot. They are doing a great job of expressing his inner anquish without him saying a great deal. Very nicely done that…

Thanks for generating such great discussion! I’m very happy that this anime at least is turning out quite well.

On the other hand, Zero is exactly as you say. It is sad that he is not considered to be a romantic target as yet (I ALWAYS SUPPORT THE UNLOVED CHARACTER).

I really feel that the anime tried its best to give the characters more flesh compared to the manga. You usually consider the manga, due to its medium, to have more time to flesh out the characters. However, with the reduced amount of time in an anime, Studio Deen manages to flesh out Kaname, Zero, Yuuki and Aidou very well. I am bloody impressed.

1. Just from how Yuuki acts towards Zero in the anime, protective and supportive, her feelings seem simply platonic. I just don’t see anything developing between the two of them due to her actions and feelings. She treats him more like her brother/best friend/companion than anything else. Zero, on the other hand, probably sincerely has feelings for Yuuki, but he knows that nothing will come of them. It’s farily obvious that he sees the way Yuuki blushes over Kaname.

2. I’d really like to see if they go about developing Shiki. I’m curious as to how they’ll fit his storyline into the plot of the anime, considering it plays a huge role in the more recent parts of the manga. I’d also like to see a little bit of Ruka’s storyline put into the anime. I think that’d add a lot more dimension to the Kaname and Yuuki relationship. Aside from that, I really like what they’ve done so far with developing Hanabusa.

3. More than anything, Zero came across as really troubled in this episode. He just seemed so detached and disgusted with himself and I think that was portrayed well. Since they’ve brought on his transformation so quickly, I’m really interested to see how the rest of the series is going to play out for Zero.

I think the reason why we have less Kaname fans in this blog is due to Reverse Vampire’s entries on manga, where she confesses her great love of Zero, and her deep hatred of Kaname. That caused quite a bit of negativity, lol. Nonetheless, Kaname’s attitude is perhaps something to do with the differentiation toward his devotion to something that he is willing to do anything.

People who cannot appreciate that straight devotion to just one person might consider him to be scheming. I can fully understand the Kaname lovers, because his love is one so great that he is willing to kill the world for just one woman. If you think of it this way, it’s pretty cool?

@Chey: Heh, I think that Zero’s emo behavior is well justified. Nonetheless, your explanation shows the flip side of the coin that I described above. It is his “so far, yet so near” feeling with Yuuki. He stays geographically near to Yuuki but his body and soul in a metaphorical sense is so far away.

Although I can’t help but feel sorry for Zero too. He did need some way to release stress, who knew it meant hurting someone that has always treated him as a sibling like figure. (Yeah, here I go saying that yes indeed, I think that at the moment Yuuki thinks that Zero is a sibling like figure in her life.) Poor Zero indeed, although I think I’m forever going to remain a Kaname fan. Zero’s earlier emo-ness - that lasted even longer in the manga chapters - has thrown me off way too badly. ._.

Kaname is getting quite unpopular here. It’s suprising though that Kaname himself was ranked as the first popular character in Japan. It’s not as if Kaname started scheming recently - he’s been doing that as early as chapter 2. I dont know how he has remained such a popular figure so far… and if the recent revelations will bring down that popularity. I get the feeling sometimes that Matsuri is trying to bring down Kaname’s popularity but it seems to be having an opposite effect ^^;;
Although if you read her “author’s talks” she is supposed to have Kaname based on her own traits and he is *her* favourite too ^^;
Though I sometimes wonder if it’s a cultural thing. The West might find him pretty cruel, scheming, not trustworthy, but from the other’s perspective, it might be the strength to survive, the go-get-it attitude. It’ll be interesting to see where Kaname stands in the popularity poll, a further few chapters down the line. I hope Matsuri does one of these.

@Myu: Heh, it’s a pity you cannot mention manga spoilers. It will be a bit evil for other readers of the blog who wants to gain insight only on anime. Ya, it’s a bit sad, but try to restrain yourself yes?

Oh, I do not like his methods myself. In fact, I consider him to be a true beast in human form. His scheming behavior and rather vicious efforts to get what he wants is a bit desperate and despicable. Nonetheless, Kaname is much more of a divide between those that like cold, calculated and bad guys, and those who hate them.

Zero is more human to Yuuki despite being a vampire. Zero, due to his heritage as a human, has feelings of a human. He has not lost that empathy to life (which vampires cannot, since they destroy life to gain their own). That is why Yuuki feels closer to Zero. Zero feels the same way.

@D.J: -.- I AM A GUY, OF COURSE. DUH.

@Emmi: Heh, I think that Kaname is on the backseat for Zero, since Zero’s transformation is the focus. Blue eyes??? Aidou? He is just a fanboy

@Mercfh: you are talking to one right now. ^^

Up to these episodes, I think Kaname didn’t really get much spotlight, so he didn’t really catch my attention that much. On the other hand, Zero is like the center character, and I am already kind of a fan of him. I like his arrogant but caring attitude and of course his pissed off face is cool too!

But to answer your question: about YukixZero, I am all for it, but to me Yuki seems to be in love with Kaname, it might be admiration but hopefully it isn’t. Zero is more like a best friend… not any kind of romantic feelings. I want it to change!

Oh, and so far I have only liked the character of the vampire with blue eyes (oops.. I forgot his name)

I’d rather hug him and try and make it all better

Albeit highly debatable, in my opinion, this whole love business does not allow him to manipulate other people and their feelings. Even if it concerns the safety and well-being of his loved one, he isn’t allowed to make decisions for that person, nor is he entitled to use personal knowledge of the other as a bargaining chip. That’s exactly why I called him possessive. He might care for Yuuki greatly - that is quite clear already - but he tends to use faulty reasoning and disregard her opinion and feelings on many occasions.

As for Zero, I admire most of his traits and think that he is more than suitable for a serious relationship with Yuuki. For starters, Yuuki’s feelings towards Kaname at the moment are that of eternal gratitude and admiration more than anything else. He’s the man that rescued her, that cared for her, he’s her earliest memory. Of course she has a crush on him. But now Zero, he is the person that she wants to understand rather than simply admire. She thinks of him as a friend, she confides in him, and in return, he knows her completely. He can tell when she’s feeling lonely or confused, he can support her when she needs it.

Damn, if only this was a discussion where I could point out manga-related events.. Meh.

Well, the general idea is that even if what Yuuki feels for Zero currently would be more accurately titled as “friendship” rather than “love”, the two have a mutual bond. They trust each other, they understand each other. And that is a much stronger base for a relationship than whatever Yuuki harbors for Kaname.

Speaking of Zero, he’ll be fine. Something similar had happened, not so long ago, but he survived fine then. So, I think he’ll be fine now too. If Kaname’s words are anything to go by.

I was unfortunately bored at work ^^;; They ran out of work ^^;; So everyone is playing or surfing the net. I thought I’ll catch up on the episodes.. but luckily, I’ll be heading home soon now ^_^