Vampire Academy Explained

[Sourabh Doherty]

VampireAcademy is about an academy for vampires so obviously during the movie you wonder if Vampire Academy has rival schools that play them in sports and stuff, and think of additional schools such as:

The presence of who are now billed, apparently, as the Waters Brothers, suggests that one should take the movie itself seriously (because a team-up of the guy who wrote Heathers and his brother who directed Mean Girls seems so natural that it also seems like some kind of a trick) while allowing the movie itself to not take it too seriously (because Heathers and Mean Girls are both very funny movies that puncture high school melodrama with non-vampire fangs). Daniel Waters and Mark Waters are ideally equipped to make a movie that casually and charmingly tear down the romantic dopiness of the Twilight series and replace it with snappier expressions of adolescent angst.

But Vampire Academy is not so much a movie about smart-mouthed vampire teenagers at a boarding school as it is a budget would-be franchise-starter based on a series of popular YA novels. So yes, some of the vampires are smart-mouthed and some of them are teenagers and there is a boarding school involved, but those easily understandable descriptions are too meager for the complex, multi-generational, heavily detailed and completely fucking pointless mythology that this movie is built around.

It sounds cinematic, I know! Mythology! Maybe you picture Greek Gods or centaurs or minotaurs or Middle Earth when you hear the word! But mythology is not just the fun of centaurs and/or minotaurs. Mythology, if it is made into a crucial component of your movie, is actually just a form of exposition, or at least requires a fair amount of it. And exposition is usually non-visual information. And movies, at least in theory, are a visual medium. So while mythology may make your movie sound grand and epic, it may actually weigh your movie down with information about something that is so clearly made up that no one really needs additional information about it.

Following her discovery of Zero's awakened nature as a vampire and his subsequent struggles with blood lust, Yuki chooses to go against taboo and allows Zero to feed upon her in secret. In order to prevent Zero from running away, Yuki promises that she will be his ally and that she will kill him if he becomes a Level E vampire. Yuki then meets Shizuka Hiou disguised as Maria Kurenai, who offers to allow Zero to drink her blood, thus preventing him from falling to Level E, in exchange for either Yuki's blood or Kaname's life. After dancing with Kaname during the inter-class ball, Yuki decides that she cannot kill him, and that she will instead let Shizuka have her blood. However, Zero stops Shizuka from biting Yuki right in time, saying that he does not want Shizuka to take anything away from him.

Troubled by the gap in her memory, Yuki attempted to ask Kaname to reveal what he knew. Kaname bargained the answer in return for her becoming his lover. Yuki admitted she loves him and agreed to his proposal, but when she didn't get an answer, she attempted to remember on her own, causing herself halluncinations and waking nightmares, at one point almost suffocating Zero. Kaname then bit Yuki and reawakened her as a Pureblood vampire and drinking his blood brought back the complete memories of her past. Yuki was reunited with Kaname as his sister and his betrothed.

Returning to her vampire self, Yuki exhibited the uncontrolled return of her vampire powers and physical changes (her hair grew to waist-length and she grew taller) also occurred. After discovering that Yuki was a Pureblood Vampire, Zero declared her as his enemy. Yuki retained her friendship with her best friend, Yori. Yuki began to sense the danger of Rido's revival and Kaname attempted to remove her from danger. Yuki refused to leave the school, but convinced Kaname to continue his own mission. Yuki's ignored the Artemis Rod's attempts to reject her vampire nature until finally it morphed into a new weapon as a scythe.

Yuki finally confronted her uncle, Rido and saves Aido from him, but she is shaken by Rido confusing her with her mother. Zero interrupted them by attempting to kill Rido. Yuki reconfirmed her vow to be Zero's ally despite being called his enemy. Though Zero attempted to remove her from the fight, Yuki managed to score the killing blow on her uncle. When Zero announced his intention to kill all Purebloods, including Yuki, she decides to defend herself. Both fail to attack and Kaname interrupts their confrontation. Yuki prevents Kaname and Zero coming to blows and Kaname leaves.

Yuki confirms she is the same person she has always been and tells Zero that she only desires Kaname's blood. Zero confesses that he only desired her blood, and she allows him to drink her blood again. Zero reiterates his intention to kill Yuki and she declares she will run from him to give him a reason to continue living.

Yuki breaks down in despair over the position she is now in as Zero's enemy and she finally realizes Zero's true feelings for her. As she cannot change what she is, she resolves to lock up her pained heart instead. She collects her things including the Resin Rose, finally recalling Kaname's promise. She later thanks Kaname for remembering the promise she forgot. She leaves the Academy with Kaname but not before seeing Zero carrying his brother's body.

During the year timeskip, Yuki starves herself refusing to drink blood as a normal vampire, forcing Kaname to pierce his own wrist to feed her. Aido tutors Yuki in school lessons and Ruka teaches Yuki the etiquette of a noble lady. She spends much time on her own while Kaname is out conducting his affairs. She has no contact with Yori and Kaien during that time.

Yuki finally admits to Kaname that her thirst cannot be sated by his blood alone and she has been unable to sever her attachment to Zero, but desires to stay by his side. She is upset when Kaname allows this-telling her he welcomes anything from her-including pain. He then tells Yuki that she should drink his blood as the punishment she wanted from him. Yuki once more meets Zero at the vampire ball, only to find him as hostile as ever, but her spirits are lifted upon once again after seeing Yori. Following the suicide of a hunter who was bitten by a Pureblood at the party, Yuki swears to investigate in order to protect her loved ones.

Upon questioning the death of Ouri, Kaname impresses upon Yuki the problems caused by Purebloods and their failure in desiring to live. He returns the Artemis to Yuki to let her know that he was serious about his desire for Yuki to kill him, should she leave him. Yuki decides to take action and seeks out the Pureblood families, offering her services as an executioner for any that wish to die.

During her excursion takes a side visit to the cemetery, during which Yuki is attacked by an aggressive Pureblood, named Toma. Zero encounters Yuki and Aido, he takes the injured Yuki to a Vampire Hunter safe house to recover. Yuki however awakens before Zero sets her down and almost ends up biting him. An apologetic Yuki runs rushes off to find Kaname and go home.

As Kaname drinks from Yuki, he admits that he returned Artemis to allow her to be herself, yet hoping that she would realise that some things are lost causes no matter how hard one tries. Kaname's words trouble Yuki as she senses his depression and is at a loss at how to help him. Kaname admits that he fears her sacrificing herself for one of these lost causes and finally reveals that he is not her brother. Yuki is confused by his words and he carries her to his coffin and lets her drink his blood to reveal his memories of his awakening.

Yuki witnesses Kaname's past both as a watcher and participator. After awakening from his memories, Yuki is frantic to find Kaname, after Kaname assures and reminds her that its ok to call him "Onii-sama" since he took her real brother's life and took his place, she acknowledges that she understands and declares she will call him "Kaname" from now on.

When Nagamichi Aido asks Yuki if she is able to stop Kaname should she disagree with his actions, Yuki realises that she will not be able to do anything until she is Kaname's equal, she realises they still have a lot to talk about. She realises that in the past, while she loved Kaname from a far there was always a distance between them and she thought she would have time to address it, but then everything she wanted was suddenly hers. Her vampire self chides her, declaring that if she wants Kaname, she should devour him. Yuki berates the honesty of her inner self, her thoughts are interrupted when Yuki witnesses an upset Ruka and runs to Kaname to confront him over the cause. Kaname answers enigmatically and Yuki notes he still has more secrets.

Yuki has trouble referring to him as just Kaname and Kaname offers to let her change his name. As Kaname prepares to leave, he gives Yuki a mysterious key and then asks Yuki how she sees him. She answers that he was proud of him as her brother and her senpai, finally she knows him as her ancestor. He is like her, a beast inside a beautiful man, but he's also weak, shady, a liar and has too many secrets. Even though they promised to marry since they were children, she's not certain of his feelings for her, she amends that he loves her but there are various things mixed up in it. She asks if they can start over again and so she can watch him anew. Kaname agrees.[1]

When Kaname tells Yuki he has to go, Yuki senses something is wrong and begs him to stay. Kaname declines and leaves her behind. Yuki, frantic and upset, sets out to find Kaname. She reaches the train station and finds Kaien, she hijacks them and leads them to Kaname who is at the Hanadagi estate. They arrive in time to witness Kaname killing Nagamichi Aido. Kaname tells Yuki he has decided to carry out his plan, he apologises and thanks her and then flees.[2] Yuki is shocked while Kaien chases Kaname as she watches Hanabusa grieve, she runs out after Kaname wanting to know the reason for his actions after they had agreed to start over. She finds Kaien and desperate to understand why Kaname has left like this, her Pureblood power of butterfly wings develop. Kaien stops her before she can go any further and she finds she can no longer sense Kaname. She meekly returns with Kaien to the Hunters Headquarters, detained by him as per the law.[3]

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