Of Similar Worlds: Twilight and Vampire Knight

I’m probably going to get flamed for comparing the two fandoms which people either love or hate, but this was something that I’ve noticed ever since I’ve read the second part of Vampire Knight. Similarities between the two series go beyond the fact that they exist in Vampire Worlds, and this was confirmed when I finally sat down to watch the first movie of the Twilight Saga.

I’ll try to explain this as best as I can without spoiling too much about any of the series, so please hear me out before commenting anything hateful in my blog.

Symbolism

The original covers of the Twilight Novels, particularly New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn have photos of a rose, a red ribbon, and a white king (or white queen?) chess piece respectively. These symbols have appeared numerous times in illustrations made by Hino. However, the red apple which became a signature illustration of Twilight, has never appeared in Vampire Knight as of yet.

Setting

Set in modern day, peace and harmony reign the two worlds so different from the ignorant human race. In Twilight, we see them as Vampires and Werewolves while on Vampire Knight, they are known as Vampires and Vampire Hunters.

The Werewolves and Vampire Hunters will kill any vampire who dare to hurt the humans, but their origins are somewhat different. Werewolves in Twilight are from people who descended from wolves while Vampire Hunters are said to be humans who ate the flesh of a Vampire Ancient in order to attain the powers to kill vampires.

Twilight's Volturi has a Vampire Knight counterpart known as the Vampire Council of Elders. Similarly, Twilight's werewolves are ruled by the Alpha Male, which is the same for Vampire Knight's Hunters' Association.

The Characters

Both series have teens as their main protagonists. However, the similarities do not end there:

Bella Swan/Cullen and Yuuki Cross/Kuran

The main heroines of both series; not only do they share hair styles and hair colors, but they also have very similar problems: loving two boys at the same time and refusing to choose one over the other. They also act differently when they are with one or the other boys they are choosing from. Bella is more like her human-self when she is with Jacob, which is the same with Yuuki when she is with Zero. The girls do not act like themselves when they are with the one they “truly” love.

As much as I like love triangles, the angst flowing from these two princesses made their respective series somewhat redundant and predictable. However, there is one thing they do not have in common (as of yet)… Bella has chosen Edward, and from what I gather from the fans, she will stay with Edward. Yuuki, on the other hand, still hasn’t chosen what she truly wants and stays with her Ancestor, Kaname for the time being.

There was also the fact that Bella insistently wanted Edward to change her into a vampire. Although Yuuki only wished to become one in order to stay by Kaname's side and/or help Zero, she was also very persistent with Kaname regarding her forgotten past.

Last but not least? Both girls are extremely tempting and tasty. This goes for vampires and werewolves/vampire-hunters-who-are-also-vampires.

Edward Cullen and Kaname Kuran

One thing struck me as the most obvious about these two: their Family Names. “Cullen” and “Kuran” are very, very similar in the way they are read. Although Kaname was revealed to be the ancestor of the Kuran Family and Edward was only turned by Carlisle, the two long for their demise and live only for the one they love. Both boys also seem very distant and have a tendency to fall into mood swings whenever they are with Bella and Yuuki.

Edward confessed to Jacob that even if Bella chose Jacob over him, he would not kill Jacob, because he doesn't want to make Bella miserable. The same promise was mentioned by Kaname, who couldn't bare the thought of Yuuki hating him.

There was also the fact that Edward did not wish to change Bella. Kaname wanted to keep Yuuki "in her box garden" for as long as he could. Edward asked Bella to marry him first before he would change her... Kaname did not mention the same but asked Yuuki to be his lover before he would reveal everything about her past to her.

There were some parts of Eclipse that made me think Edward is similar to Zero Kiryuu as well. For one thing, both characters wished to be apart from the one person they loved because they thought “she would be better off without me”. Both were, of course, coerced to return by the ladies, but I will not spoil any more than that.

Jacob Black and Zero Kiryuu

Both Jacob and Zero are childhood friends of Bella and Yuuki respectively, but these two do not have the same personalities at all. In fact, Zero is much sadder and angrier than Jacob who smiles a lot more. However, it was their lines that caught my attention.

Jacob wanted to stop at nothing to keep Edward from turning Bella into a vampire. This was the same for Zero until it was later revealed that Yuuki is actually a vampire to begin with. Although Jacob openly confesses to Bella about his feelings for her, Zero is more reluctant to do so, but appears to be incapable of hurting Yuuki and, quite possibly, will wait for her to return to him as well.

Rosalie Hale and Ruka Souen

Similar in appearance and in attitude, both Rosalie and Ruka do not like nor do they accept the main heroines of their series. Blonde, beautiful, and regal, both characters come to terms with the heroines as the series progresses, and eventually end up as friends.

Carlisle and Esme Cullen; Haruka and Juuri Kuran

Parental figures of the male protagonists, Carlisle and Haruka share a common compassion over humans, while Esme and Juuri are both passionate individuals. Esme and Juuri have also had the same hair styles and hair colors, just like their “daughters” Bella and Yuuki.

Carlisle may also share some similarities with Headmaster Kaien Cross. Although Kaien is far more out-going when he’s relaxed, the two are quite fearsome and capable when threatened or serious.

Publication

Both Twilight and Vampire Knight were first published in the year 2005. While Twilight has ended in 2008, however, Vampire Knight is still an on-going series. The tiles of each publication rhyme too.

Authors

Stephanie Meyers and Matsuri Hino both have three syllables in their first names and two syllables in their family names; fives syllables each in total.

Conclusion

I am not an expert on Twilight or Vampire Knight, and while these similarities may be purely coincidental, it is still quite interesting to consider. And please take note that I am not accusing one or the other of plagiarism. I was a huge fan of Vampire Knight, but I did not like reading Twilight at all. Now that I’ve written the similarities down, I begin to wonder why I loved one series and hated the other.

One thing is for certain though… I am losing interest in Vampire Knight, because of the amount of fan-bashing and storyline angst. I really just want Yuuki to choose Kaname or Zero and let it be the end of it.

And no, I don’t think I’ll ever convert to Team Edward or Team Jacob. Vampires just don’t sparkle in my book.