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Vampire Knight Guilty
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Animation - 7.0 |
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Sound - 7.5 |
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Story - 6.5 |
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Character - 5.5 |
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Value - 4.5 |
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Enjoyment - 6.0 |
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Average - 6.2 |
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Amaryl |
(2009-01-29 10:36:29) 2009-01-29 10:33:39 |
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| Average |
7.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Having watched Vampire Knight, I instantly picked up the second installment: Guilty. I expected some closure (Vampire Knight has no real ending) and more of the same, since I liked most of it. My expectations were certainly correct, but not in the way that I had imagined.
The animation didn't really improve , instead, we got some kind of regression. The already rare fight scenes are simply boring in this installment, there is simply no choreaography whatsoever. For the rest, it's just a copy/paste from my Vampire Knight review, which I'll simply put in this review's details.
Same goes for sound, except the OP and END were superb! Nice to listen to and perfect for the series.
The story starts not far from where after Vampire Knight left off. It doesn't really bother with re-introductions or explained flashbacks, so if you haven't seen Vampire Knight, Vampire Knight Guilty will be quite impossible to follow. Several background plots enfold and the main plot becomes clear about halfway through, although in no way predictable. There is actually a lot going on and just like the first season, Guilty suffers from bad plot pacing. On a brighter note, Guilty does feature a somewhat unpredictable ending, one that left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. All the loose ends of the first season are tied up nicely and there is still enough room for a sequel with a new story arc (I haven't read the manga though).
The character section was way too underdeveloped. Although Vampire Knight has quite a cast for a series with 13 eps, Guilty didn't feature any character development expept for one of the main leads, and that development was somewhat dissapointing. Considering that Guilty had no need for introducing new characters, or reacquainting us with the existing ones, the character section remained quite static. Even the fact that Yuuki has the power to defy common sense and the poor, wasted attempts at comedy. If another sequel follows, I'd like to see some improvement here.
Although I didn't enjoy Guilty as much as it's predecessor, it has to be said that Vampire Knight + Guilty should have been one 26 ep series, instead of 2x13 eps. I'd rather rate them both as one, but that isn't going to happen anymore. As a standalone series, Guilty would fail, but as a sequel/2nd season, it gets the job done. The end leaves a bit of a strange aftertaste, but here's hoping for a third season.
If you've watched and liked Vampire Knight, then pick up Guilty as well, as it's actually the rest of the series. If you haven't seen Vampire Knight, then Guilty will be a waste of time.
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| Average |
5.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| For a series that started out with so much potential, Vampire Knight really didn't measure up in the second installment of the franchise, Vampire Knight Guilty. I was uber disappointed that it turned out to be yet another series that fell victim to its genre cliches, and with a lackluster/easily resolved ending, there wasn't much of a climax to speak of.
The story continues from where the first season left off in some respects, with Yuuki encountering Zero for the first time in a while. Zero and Kaname have their own respective secrets that unfold as the series comes to fruition. Kaname has a role that is notably clouded until the series progressively unveils them - his motives, the reason behind his devotion to Yuuki, among other matters. In the meantime, Zero struggles against his transformation into a Level E vampire and notably squares off against a brother who moves in the shadows of a large organization.
It might have been that the series ends on a note where the manga is still ongoing, but the story terribly weakened in this portion of the series. I think it suffers from similar series where the main female lead is constantly needing rescue, and Yuuki wasn't necessarily a great lead in the first installment, but the second really struggles with her character. She simply marches into battles while knowing she's not strong enough to face off against the level E Vampires that want to drink her blood, and thereby providing a reason for someone to swoop in and save her. Not to mention Kaname and Zero's respective roles - Zero's backstory and face-off with his brother, also noting his conflict when he finds out the reason behind Yuuki's repressed memories is worth merit, but I found that he sulked far too much this season compared to the last where he was actually fighting against his fate. Don't get me wrong, I did find some of the questions from the previous season were well answered, but I feel like it repetitively referred to events from last season, and it took far too long to truly get to the point where things started moving along with the plot. Not to mention the greater part of Night School cast seemed to simply be there instead of having more significant developments. There were a few Night School attendees that were suddenly brought to the forefront and they weren't properly transitioned for that change for it not come from thin air.
Another measure, much to my chagrin, were that the fight sequences were so poorly directed and easily resolved that they had no climax within them at all. Granted, if you're watching Vampire Knight, you're not really watching for the action sequences as much as the story, the characters, and the overall vampire environment, but at the very least I thought it would measure up to be more than what it was. It sequenced something similar to 1-2....battle done. That's it. No sense of heightened suspense or anything. I thought the ending would have a much better battle to bring the conflict to a head...and I was sorely disappointed. It was done within a matter of a few minutes, if not seconds.
Animation standards are similar to last season's, and the character designs and cel backdrops are well done for the most part, if not as smoothly noted as peer series. There are plenty of bishounen characters to note in this season as was the last, on a visual notation.
The music for Vampire Knight Guilty isn't as immediately engaging as the first season, but the more you listen to it, the more it grows upon you. The opening theme is a bit more melodic and less dynamic, though on/off sports great vocals and style fitting to the series in collective measures. The ending theme has more of an understated vocal with dynamic strings and pulses that make it eerie and fitting to the mood of the series, but it's nowhere near as pretty as the first season's ending. The OP/ED visuals fit the songs nicely overall. BGM fits the setting and respective scenes well, and provide a moderately engaging listen when taken on a stand-alone basis.
Overall, I personally don't hold any rewatch value for Vampire Knight Guility and would recommend it notably to fans of the manga or those who absolutely want closure to the first season. It's worth watching to close up the gaps that the first season left, but beyond that depends on the viewer.
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