Published Oct 28, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

A forbidden love triangle like no other

Vampire Knight is still the defining gothic romance guilty pleasure of the late 2000s

Image: Viz Media

Twilight became a cultural phenomenon in part because it tapped into the adolescent fantasy of all-consuming first love. The messy, often toxic love triangle at the center of Twilight only enhanced its appeal, with Bella Swan serving as a relatable blank-slate protagonist caught between a vampire and a werewolf.

The anime equivalent of Twilight also centers on a messy love triangle in a dark supernatural world, but it takes its story to even more controversial places. Based on Matsuri Hino’s classic shojo manga, the 2008 Studio Deen anime Vampire Knight is a unique relic of the late 2000s.

Like Twilight , it is a quintessential gothic romance that uses its dark academia setting to explore identity, class, trauma, and prejudice.…