The thickest Kuran blood

Welcome to Deranged, a small tribute to Rido Kuran, one of the antagonists of the manga, and anime, Vampire Knight, created by Matsuri Hino. Some may find him insane, and while I do see him in that light, I also see him in a light of amusement as well as loving his character to bits. What you will find here is how I view Rido Kuran. While it may not be encyclopedia material, it's straight to the point - which is how I roll. So, I hope you're up for it so just sit back, relax, and get ready to munch away the words like pacman.

The site was made for the One Page, One Month Shrine Marathon at Amassment since I wanted an excuse to make it for him as well as being one of the easiest on my to-do list.

Vampires, oh my!

Vampire Knight is the fourth work by Matsuri Hino that premiered in the January 2005 issue of LaLa magazine and it still continues to this day. It was then made into an anime series with the first season airing in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 8th, 2008 while it ended on July 1st, 2008. A second season was made, this name called Vampire Knight Guilty (no clue why), which was aired on the same station on October 7th, 2008 and ended on December 30th, 2008.

Summary: Cross Academy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At dawn, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy's dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires!

Became so twisted in love

Ø Basics: Rido is a little over 3,000 years old. He has one brother, Haruka, and one sister, Juri, who is also his love interest. Out of the three, he is the eldest. Rido is also the true family head of the Kuran family. Rido is an uncle (and master) to Kaname (who is revealed to be the Kuran ancestor later in the series) while he's really the uncle of Yuki. Rido had a fiance named Shizuka, who didn't love him back, much like Juri. Rido also had a relationship with Shiki's mother, probably because of the physical resemblance she is to Juri. This isn't said, but it's easy to see since Rido is obsessed with his sister. However, Shiki's mother calls Rido a demonic bastard for his dark ways of showing his...affections, as well as having fun.

Ø Appearance: Rido has mangled black hair that reaches to his shoulders that looks like little, sliced pieces of blobs because of the tips. He wears a ratty and torn long sleeve white high collar shirt that shows off his abdomen area and a bit of his hips. Over that, he has a black cotton duster that has a little bit of a tail design that shows off his slim figure. His facial structure is the same as the other Kurans yet his eyes aren't since he has heterochromia which can be inherited, due to genetic mosaicism, or due to disease or injury. His left eye is red while is right eye is blue, and while there is no information to how he had received it, it pretty much suits him. I think this because the blue sort of symbolizes of how he is secretly aided by the Ancient Vampire Council and the Hunters' Association while the red symbolizes his vampire side: Seducing, dangerous, and non-predictable.

Ø Personality: Rido Kuran is not someone you want to play pool with or anything of the sort. He is very dangerous, manipulative, and shows no mercy to those he fights against, even doing something sneaky by using a sword from Hunters' Association against his own kind - his own brother no less - to make them explode into dust. I assume the reason why he is insane is because he has been in love with his sister, Juri, so much that even though he was rejected, he still thinks to be with her.

Rido: Juri...
Yuki: I am not my mothe-
Rido: Why am I not good enough Juri...? Why...
Yuki: (thoughts) What...? What is this feeling...?
Rido: What is it that I am missing? What should I do for you to...
Yuki: (thoughts) I don't want to know...the depths of this lust that...
Rido: Even though I... Even though I love you so much that I feel like eating you whole...
Yuki: (stabs Rido through the with Artemis which is now a scythe)
Rido: Juri... It's not the weapon that I want...

Vampire Knight, Chapter 43 - Vampire Knight, pages 31-35

He also doesn't seem to comprehend that she's dead already by giving up her own life for her daughter, Yuki, to live her life as a human. His state of mind is rocky, even one to replace his love for his niece when he noticed the keen resemblance between her and his love.

Rido: Alike... You look like Juri.
Yuki: Don't touch me!
Rido: I've changed my mind. You will replace Juri and let me love you.

Vampire Knight, Chapter 42 - Bloody Rose, pages 17-19

Ø Abilities: Rido has the power to possess and take control over others just like he did to two vampire children and his own son, Shiki. There's one flaw and that is his eyes since they give him away, which he doesn't seem to care for. Of course, he can also call upon others to offer him blood or do anything he wishes into their mind. Rido also has the power to whip with blood, much like Shiki does, but in more grand scale. He's also been shown to heal quickly despite being harmed badly by his own brother's attack. It's also shown that Rido can also do blood related abilities like moving one place to another when Yuki fights against him.

Manipulating in the shadows

Over 3,000 years ago, this obsessive, dangerous vampire was born and, well, we don't know if it was a stormy night but that wouldn't change Rido since he loves Juri so much that he wishes to devour her. He still desired her even when he was rejected, but that didn't stop him from getting lovers and one being Shiki's mother, who he fathered Shiki with (thus his blood whip ability), yet Rido didn't marry her. However, he was soon engaged to Shizuka Hio, who didn't love him. After his two siblings married each other, Rido stole their first child, coincidentally named Kaname, and used him to revive the Kuran Ancestor after he accidentally killed the child. A few years later, he once again attacked his siblings to try and take Yuki, the Kuran princess.

Rido managed to kill his younger brother, Haruka, by using the cowards way: using a blade made from the Hunters' Association. Kaname, who had stepped in after Haruka was hit by the blade, watches him explode before trying to kill Rido with the same blade. Unfortunately, he can't because Rido being is his master since he revived him. After being obliterated by Kaname to the point that he could only be revived by a pureblood, Rido has been controlling other bodies for the past ten years (manga time) by using his soul possession ability, and thus managed to continue to interfere in everyone's lives. During this time, he managed to put Shizuka's lover on the hunter's list since Shizuka had refused to obey or cooperate with him. Shizuka was enraged with him and wanted more power to kill him herself, but was killed by Kaname before she had the chance to do so.

Rido also worked with Asato Ichijo, Takuma's grandfather and head of the Vampire Council, who had wanted to become Kaname's guardian after the death of his parents but Kaname didn't accept. When the time comes, Shiki's great-uncle shows him the family's secret: Rido's bloody and weak remains are stored in a coffin underneath the house. Rido possesses his own son, Senri Shiki, and attends Cross Academy with Takuma Ichijo, the vice president of the school, at his side since he is forced to protect Shiki. Rima is the first to notice that something isn't right with Shiki since she is quite close to him. Zero's twin brother, Ichiru, is soon revealed that he is following Rido's orders to get Yuki drink Rido's blood to awaken her memories, but that plan is thwarted by Aidou. Rido then meets Kaname and thanks him for getting rid of Shizuka for him since he found her obedience and co-operation lacking.

Rido starts to taunt Kaname, which results in Kaname running towards Yuki's side before awakening her, a fact that doesn't bother Rido. He is soon confronted by Rima who tries to get Shiki to control himself, which causes Rido to harm Rima and reveals to her that he could start Ichio's wish to dispatch the resistance to the Vampire Council. Shiki starts to fight against his control over him before Rido lets go just in time for Kaname to reawaken him fully with his blood. After a day passes, Rido's body is fully recovered and his servants start to invade the school to capture victims for Rido to feed upon. Ichiru takes his sword and tries to kill Rido in revenge for the one he loved, Shizuka, even though he knows that it is a futile attempt. Rido finds him boring and weak before attacking him with a fatal blow. Rido starts to find more prey and along the way, he finds Aidou above him and commands him to come down, a special ability only purbloods have, which Aidou falls for before being saved by Yuki.

Yuki is then commanded by Rido to come to him after he sees her but she is saved by Aidou. Yuki starts to fight Rido just as Zero suddenly comes in and attacks Rido at the same time she does. Rido reveals to Yuki that Zero has eaten his own twin brother and calls him his prey. Yuki and Zero both attack Rido without mercy before Zero tells Yuki to not kill his prey and throws her off the building so that he can finish Rido off himself. Zero and Rido destroy the building and as it comes down, Rido spares a glance to his son, Shiki, who is carrying Rima somewhere to safety. Yuki and Zero start to fight Rido off together before Rido desires Yuki because of her resemblance to her mother. Rido is soon stabbed through the chest by Artemis's blade, which is now a scythe, since he was distracted. After this, Rido is shot by Bloody Rose from Zero, and Rido caresses Yuki's cheek for a moment before he explodes.

Rido is still alive, but only as a phantom-like conscience that only Kaname can see and hear, as seen in chapter 58 when he taunts Kaname about his precious Yuki. It's also mentioned that Rido cannot die since he is Kaname's master, yet we still do not know how Rido revived Kaname, the Kuran ancestor.

I use everyone like a tool

Juri Kuran ◊  There's no explanation why Rido loves his sister, which isn't considered weird for vampires, especially purebloods, since they want to keep the line pure. Truth is, Juri was courted by Haruka, her other brother, and didn't like him at first before finally accepting him. It is known that Rido had drunk Juri's blood. Rido soon destroyed the last respect from his sister by stealing her first child, Kaname. Of course, this didn't stop Rido from desiring her nor does her death since he still wishes to be with her.

Haruka Kuran ◊  Even though they're brothers, they hate each other so much that Rido killed him for not getting out of the way so that he could take away his and Juri's child, Yuki. It's assumed that they hate each other because of their rivalry over Juri's love. What's really ironic is that Haruka kept pursuing after Juri and eventually earned her love while Rido did not. So, you can imagine how much hate is between these two brothers.

Kaname Kuran ◊  If you thought Rido's relationship with his siblings was bad, think again, because this one is fucked up. Kaname is actually the ancestor of the Kuran Family and it was Rido that resurrected Kaname from his grave which means that Kaname cannot kill Rido since Rido is his so called master. Kaname fought against Rido after Haruka was killed doing so and obliterated Rido's body so that only a pureblood could revive him. Kaname is the one that does so later on. It was also recently revealed that Rido had stolen Juri's and Haruka's son to use him as a sacrifice to revive Kaname and that child was also, ironically, named Kaname.

Yuki "Cross" Kuran ◊  Rido thinks Yuki is Juri, which is easy to see because of her close resemblance, and eventually tells her that he will replace her for Juri and that she should to let him love her. Rido knows that Yuki is his siblings' daughter, thus his niece, and wishes to suck on her blood in order to gain more power. However, his desire for his sister causes him to hold her and caress her before he explodes from the Bloody Rose, which, in fact, does not kill him.

Just a shadow conscience

Ø Why Rido?: I remember first seeing his form when Vampire Knight showed him finally and I just fell for him. Not like a fangirl mind you, I fell on the "wow, this character is kickass and makes me wonder what he's doing next" boat, as well as other boats when I soon found out more about him. I find everything about him interesting, mostly because of his personality and that I'm a huge vampire fan. The classical ones mind you, not the ones that sparkle like a fairy or a diamond, because he is a great example of what a vampire is: Dangerous, not to be messed with, creates fear in other vampires and humans alike, psychotic, obsessively in love with his sister, and a downright sneaky son of a bitch. He's sort of like a vampire side of The Joker in the Batman series, with changes of course.

Ø Why "Deranged"?: The name Deranged wasn't the first title I came up for him since it was, at first, Psychotic Blood, which sort of fitted him, but I wanted something short and easier to use to make a design out of. After I searched for synonyms over at Dictionary.com, deranged popped out to me because of how well it fit - and not just with the one brushes - but how it alone describes Rido in one breath.

Ø Design: The design you see is version one of Deranged which features a scan of Rido in Chapter 38, page 10, while he is finished healing himself after Haruka attacked him. This very chapter is what started to make me interested in him. The look he gives shows that he has a plan up his sleeves while he still has that dangerous feel about him. I had to vectorize some areas because of where the speech bubbles were, while I fixed the contrast and brightness before putting on a gradient. Cutting out the background did take time but it was worth it. Putting on the brushes was loads of fun while still keeping a balance. At first, I didn't want any on Rido's face, but when I tried the huge blood brush, it was simply perfect. The reason why I didn't make that brush darker than the others is because I wanted it to stand out even though it's been said that red on gray is a no-no.

The fonts used are as follows: "D" - Jellyka Castle's Q, "eranged" - Dali, "this site has spoilers unmarked!" - Broken Planewing, "proceed with caution." - Brush Script MT.

The time it took to make this design in Photoshop was five and half days because of how difficult it was to think up of a design for him, especially for a one page shrine since it was a challenge to not use navigation. I'm quite proud of the outcome and it's one of my top favorite layouts.

Ø Credits
Adobe - Photoshop CS2 & Dreamweaver CS5
Corel - Paint Shop Pro 8
Mime Cuvalo - FireFTP
DWYNS & Sagakure - Manga Scans.
Matsuri Hino - Creator of Vampire Knight
Brushes: Hitokiri147, Earl, Denny Tang, & one other place that is no longer on the web.
Aerin - My good friend for beta reading this site with her iron fist.
You - For coming :D

Servants of mine everywhere

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