In Vampire Knight Vol. 9, Yuki has finally become herself again, while still being awakened.  Rido Kuran has some of his followers attack Cross Academy, as a distraction for the Night Class.  Kaname meets with the vampire Senate in order to do something he should have done before things got messy.  Meanwhile, Rido and Yuki face off, but not for long; Zero has managed to break free from his cell (with help from Kaname and Ichiru) and has now taken on the job of destroying EVERY vampire, starting with Rido. 

Highlights

YAY! The story didn't stay on the path to destruction!  The last volume was pretty weak; I was delighted to see it pick back up.  The plot is progressing steadily, and the three main characters are back to their old selves.  Yuki is still the stubborn amazon, Zero is still the pity-craving whiner, and Kaname is still the mysterious Batman-ish guy.  It's nice for the gang to be up to their old antics.  The story is also back to the original tone of things, except with a little more action.  

The main characters are all getting new and more powerful abilities/weapons.  While this subject really isn't explained, it’s acknowledged.  Vampire Knight is quickly becoming an action/adventure series, instead of the Comedy/Gothic/Romance it started as.  It does have the potential to be a great action series, but it just wasn't set up to be.  With weapon upgrades and a war developing amongst the vampires, there is now more to the plot then a boring love triangle.  I'm liking it.  

Overall 

I'm happy that the characters are back to actually doing something, physically.  This volume is more of a set-up for the great battle to come, but with a twist.  What you thought was going to be an epic battle ends before the volume does. That was indeed depressing.  It makes me think the one defeated is going to come back, but there is NO evidence that the defeated is coming back.  I wish more was explained about Yuki's weapon, which came out of nowhere.  There is a prominent sense that the author has too many ideas for this series.  I do like the idea of where the series is going, I just don't like how it's getting there.  It's taking all possible detours to get to one destination, and at time it seems to be heading away from the ending.  

Overall, volume 9 is much better then volume 8, but that isn't saying much.  It's still moving too fast for its own good, and is losing its place in the world of manga.  I am seriously hoping that Matsuri Hino is able to get the series back together.

ComicsOnline gives Vampire Knight Vol. 9, 2.5 out of 5 Pure-blood Vampires.