This was the story that got me into manga. Some arbitrary stroke of luck had me stumble across the j-drama when it was coming out and I watched the whole thing (the jdrama is much better than the older version so don't worry if you watched that and didn't like it). So after the first season I was kind of impatient and looked it up and found the anime, which is monstrously long, but worth it I guess, and I've been watching anime on tv since I was a kid so it was an easy transition, then I found out there was a manga... which began my current obsession that is manga.
The story is good. I'd like to think of it as one of the classic shoujos, especially compared to a lot of what's coming out today, over hyped drama. The drama in Hana Yori Dango was kind of angsty, as it was a high school drama, but I'd argue not overly so... or maybe there's worse out there, take your pick. There are quite a few problems the heroine faces, but there is a logic to them so her feelings make sense. Though sometimes you just want her and Tsukasa to get over themselves. The art is not my favourite but the story makes up for it, and to be fair I have seen far worse art out there.
Anyway, it'll be a trek no matter through which medium you go for the story (though I recommend the manga because it's always better and the anime/ dramas usually change things). It is long, but a lot happens so it's worth it, and if you get into it it'll feel a lot shorter than it actually is, and you'll wonder where it all went when you're close to the end.
Every shoujo aficionado should in some way or another acquaint themselves with this story because it's one of the good ones.
I love Vampire Knight!! It's one of my favourite mangas, I'm on volume 4. The plot is interesting and compelling and the characters are very likable and have sufficient depth to keep you interested. I really like how the characters are drawn and the layouts and just the art in general I guess. This is a definite must for all shoujo lovers AND it has vampires, what more could you want? This is the series that will turn you into a screaming fan girl... not something we would hope for, granted, but in this case I think we can give the fan girls a bit of credit.
I really enjoy this series, it's one of my favorites. I have seen the anime and am currently reading the manga (just starting) so I feel that I can't really talk about the series as a whole, but the elements I liked from the anime have presented themselves in the manga, so far.
The story is about a girl named Haruhi who gets into a very prestigious private school on scholarship, but is actually one of the few students coming from a poor family. She is only at the school to get an education and does not try to make any friends or pay any special attention to her appearance, so wears the boys uniform everyday. She looks for a place to study one day and accidentally goes into a room being used by the host club, a club where 'dreamy' boys from the school set up a cafe like place for girls to come and be pampered by the 'type' of their choice. Haruhi goes into this room and accidentally breaks a very expensive vase. She then finds herself working for the host club to pay off this debt, and eventually working as a host herself, as a boy. Everyone thinks that she's a boy, and the members of the host club eventually find out, but then try to keep this a secret from the rest of the school. Different members of the club start to fall in love with Haruhi and try to win her affections... but she's just so apathetic about the whole thing that she doesn't try to engage with any of them.
What I think draws me to this series is that its kind of a mockery of all shojou stories. You have all of the typical stereotypes that are played out ( manipulator, boyish, strong silent, etc) in an over the top rendition that just makes you want to laugh and then you have the heroine which plays the part of you, she is almost detached from the story, but fully integrated into it. There are times when it seems like she's saying 'are we really doing this right now?' but ends up doing it and having fun (like when you're fed up with the ridiculousness of a story, but are happy when the couple gets together). Lets just say she's the voice of reason, and for once A HEROINE WHO ISN'T STUPID!! As I feel that it is making fun of the genre, I must also say that that isn't all it does. It actually has a pretty decent story line and some good characters. I recommend!!
