The Case Study of Vanitas

What's fascinating about bringing a manga into anime form is the expression of its ideas onto the television screen. Jun Mochizuki is best known for her work, Pandoras Hearts and she's able to communicate her wealth of ideas to her fans. In respect, she's able to formulate together a fictional setting with colorful characters and ultimately create this piece of work known as Vanitas no Carte. Vanitas no Carte (or its English title 'The Case Study of Vanitas') takes place in France that adheres to a steampunk fantasy. Studio Bones helms the show with director Tomoyuki Itamura at the steering wheel. You'd think a guy whohas been involved with the Monogatari franchise to bring its witty dialogues this show. However, Vanitas no Carte sells its beyond talking and characer interactions. Watching the show equates to an elegant setting of fantasy, drama, and a whole lot of pretty boys. Based on the manga, we meet Vanitas, a young man with vampire blood in his veins after a certain incident. In possession of the sacred The Book of Vanitas, he claims to be able to cure vampires. Fate would have it as he crosses paths with Noe, a vampire who seeks the book for himself. And together, we follow their quest in Paris, France, a setting of mystery and secrets. From most people's point of view, it's easy to label the show as a supernatural drama. After all, we are introduced to vampires, one of the most overused monsters even in the anime medium. However, this show managed to captivate me through its sheer storytelling from the first episode. We got a seemingly elegant airship that turns into a nightmare with the presence of vampires. Blood is spilled and we realize the stakes of the story. On the other hand, Vanitas is confident enough to call himself a doctor for the vampire curse. Can you believe it? Maybe not from the first episode but as we learn more about Vanitas, the more we can understand what the author wants to show us. Vanitas himself is a confident character with a colorful amount of charisma. His personality is displayed as playful, sarcastic, and can be quite mischievious. He's a character who is hard to read based on emotions. Sometimes, you have to wonder if anything he says can be taken seriously. However, Vanitas' role shows he knows more than we think and has an important connection to his book. The relationship between him and Noe is perhaps one of the most entertaining element in the show for their conflicting personalities. Let's face it, the two fight like siblings and seems like they always have something to fight about. Although their relationship evolves throughout the show, it's still at times hard to see them eye to eye. But that's also what's entertaining about the show. Injecting toxicity into a relationship brings entertainment and it's the type of toxicity that doesn't rub off itself. Meanwhile, other characters emerges from the show with elegance of various degrees. Jeanne, aka The Hellfire Witch, attracts the attention of Vanitas who decided to confess to her upon their meeting. The aristocrat Domi shares an unique relationship with Noe and upon their on-screen appearance, she wants him a taste of her blood. Unfortunately, beyond Vanitas, Noe, Jeanne, and Domi, most of the other cast are overshadowed by their sheer presence. It's not that other characters are ignored by the author but that these four has much more aura and mystique. We also get a glimpse of Vanitas' past and Noe and Domi's peculiar relationship. On the other hand, Jeanne is cast into the show as perhaps as the most feminine character you can find. When you get an anime filled with pretty boys, there's also room for pretty girls, right? Of course, this anime isn't shy to give out kiss scenes and moments that make the fangirl in you scream. Despite the various degrees of light comedy, Vanitas no Carte is to be taken as a serious show. Beyond the humor lies an anime of dark secrets. We find out more and more about the origins of vampires, the purpose of the Book of Vanitas, and even secrets we may not want to know. However, do also realize that this is just the first season and it's meant more as a setup and introduction of the overall anime's themes and ideas. When the adaptation was announced, it was already set up to run more than one cour. In order to adequately tell its story, it had to be expanded this way given the amount of chapters and volumes from the manga. So yes, be patient. This first season isn't here to drop you into everything the world it has to offer. Anyone familiar with Mochizuki's past work will draw similarities in her character designs. Yes, this anime has very pretty characters. That's perhaps an understatement when we see the aristocrat society. The male cast has their bishounen look while the ladies draws you into with their elegance. Let's face it, most of the cast look attractive and it's just how the author wants you to feel when watching their every scene. We also behold our eyes on the beautiful setting that is France. It's a place of mystique and the first episode shouldn't take long for you to take it in. Take a deep breath because Vanitas no Carte is no shortstop in the visual quality department. Similarly, the voice actors does a phenomenal job at protraying their respective characters. From the playful voice tone of Vanitas to the lady-like mannerisms of Domi, you can truly believe the characters are who they are. I don't believe it takes an award winning writer to create a series such as Vanitas no Carte. Yet, Jun Mochizuki is able to convince me to follow her legacy. This show has proven itself that she can make a fictional world in a steampunk setting and create a beautiful cast. Whether you agree with her ideas is another thing. But let's face it, Vanitas no Carte is how a supernatural drama should be.

All good things must come to an end but in Vanitas case it’s just begun On A side note If you are looking for long shounen fights, an idealistic protagonist, one objective and goal for which everyone works for and if you dislike slow burners, dialogue Then drop down. This series is not for you! Synopsis is already there so I am not gonna bother with it. Each story has different strengths. In Vanitas case, it’s the writing style itself. The author Jun uses drip feeding technique and she is extremely talented in doing so and anyone familiar knows what I am referring to. and due to this Everythingin the world of Vanitas from characters to plot and the world itself is a mystery. Don’t let some common tropes mislead you!(The writer is pretty famous for that) Vanitas is not your typical vampire story In other words, Vampires are not blood sucking parasites which is pretty common in vampire stories. Turning into a blood sucking parasite though is a huge crime. But they are still vampires so yup there are occasional blood sucking scenes. The world building is unique and is done extremely well but at the same time not entirely revealed (Drip feeding). And You always learn something new while you are moving ahead in the story and that makes it intriguing to say the least. The power system of the series has to be interpreted through several hints and it is explained occasionally when it needs to be (World formula theory, vampire eyes and the book of Vanitas are based on altering the formula to do something) and it too is quite unique. As far as comedy goes (For now only) its either a hit or a miss but that being said, the comedy is actually good (Unlike Jujutsu kaisen, demon slayer or any other common shounen comedy you can think of). The author basically uses the comedic factors in order to balance the overall tone of the 1st cour/half of the story since after that its quite dark. With that being said it doesn’t become overdramatic or overly emotional and is pretty much balanced. The characters of Vanitas are very well crafted. They are not your Typical shounen protagonists or characters and majority of them including the mains are 18 or 18+ in other words it has primarily adult cast. There is no good or evil because every character has deep rooted motivations and ideologies which make them correct and their actions logical (With an exception of some). The best characters being Vanitas and Noe the 2 main characters of the series. The contradicting ideologies of the 2 main characters but how they are able to work together and make each other “whole” makes their dynamic a treat to watch/read. Other than that, the expressions and dialogues regarding the characters are extremely important. That being said the characters are a mystery and its extremely important to pay attention to their expressions and dialogues to learn about them. That gives hints to why they are like that in the first place. On a side note, the chibi is mostly Bones original with an exception of a few scenes. With that being said and done This is basically the beginning of the case or should I say the tragedy of Vanitas. What can first time viewers expect? The plot twists haven’t began yet so without counting that they can expect an original story with a few tropes here and there, good dynamics, Great Music(Yuki kaijura) and a developing mystery and several raised questions waiting to be answered later on while watching or completing the first cour So considering the writing style and everything about the series and how it executes everything, I personally believe it deserves a 10.

It’s been a while since I’ve managed to sat down and watch an entire vampire anime and enjoyed it at the same time. No disrespect to people to people who liked Mars Red last season, it just didn’t grab me. But how did this one grab me then? Well you set it in Paris, have some sexy men in there, make the two leads a dynamic duo and have an ED you don’t want to skip. But that is only the baseline, let’s go into more detail as to how this show was one of the bright spots in this okay summer season. Sit back,relax and get the weirdest arousal while being bitten by a vampire as I present to you the anime review for The Case Study of Vanitas. Let’s begin shall we? Story: 7/10 Set in 19th century Paris, we follow a vampire by the name of Noé who is searching for a grimoire called the “Book of Vanitas,” which was created by a vampire born under the blue moon rather than the red moon vampires are usually born under. During a vampire attack, Noé runs into a human who calls himself Vanitas with the titular grimoire in hand that is able to return the sanity of vampires who have become cursed. With Noé fascinated by Vanitas, he joins Vanitas in his objectives to save all vampires. It’s a solid baseline to go off as to how Vanitas will save the vampires and all the misadventures that Noé and Vanitas get up to. The story is comprised of small arcs that contain different cases related to vampires and there is usually a bigger picture to each of them. Each of them different as well which helps establish the world better as we discover more secrets and reveals that help get to know what kind of world where humans and vampires coexist. But I wouldn’t say the story of this show is a main selling point. Don’t get me wrong, it’s solid and there are interesting narrative beats, but it does lack that big overarching narrative that acts as a core pillar for the story. You do obviously have Vanitas wanting to save the vampires but the bigger picture of that doesn’t go very far. The story is best in the moment to moment scenes and how our characters interact with it. Now there is an interesting narrative reveal at the end of episode one that acts as interesting plotpoint but I don’t think that will be a major point in the story until season two. Another thing I want to point out is the tone of the series because I think some people might think it’s inconsistent. I think it strikes a nice balance and it is established early on it does have a quirky attitude which I do think gives the series its charm and gives it a good sense of humour. Now that it is carried by it’s great cast of characters to carry that humour. Speaking of which, let’s talk about them. Characters: 9.5/10 The characters are probably the best thing about this show (Well that and the ED but we will get to that). Noé and Vanitas really do make a very dynamic duo and their chemistry with each other is brilliant. Noé’s is a thoughtful man with a child like curiosity which leads him to be fascinated by Vanitas and his ambitions. Yet on paper, his character traits wouldn’t work with Vanitas on paper. You see, Vanitas is an arrogant, self absorbed s**tsterer who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Yet the chemistry between our two main leads is so good. They bounce off each other really well and the scenes where it is just them two make for some of the best in this show. They feel like two separate people and their personalities and moralities clash time and time again which helps each character grow and help both understand each other. This is also helped by the fact that this show has a great supporting cast around them, which also has personalities and traits that bounce of out main leads well and help with the show’s quirky tone. Characters like Jeanne, Domi, Roland and Louis have likeable traits to make them standout characters on their own. Jeanne for example is a very dangerous vampire with a lot of power but gets easily smittened by Vanitas’ words, leading to their chemistry work so well with one another. No matter how big or small their role, these supporting characters leave their mark really well and work well with our two main leads. Animation: 8/10 When you see Bones attached to an anime, you expect quality and that is exactly what we get. Vanitas looks great with good animation and some great art style. You can definitely tell by some shots that this is a Bones made anime. The animation itself is solid and does a good job with the photography to make a scene more dramatic. I do love the animation when Vanitas uses the Grimoire. Makes it look like he’s opening something that should never be opened. Then there are the vampire biting scenes which seem to make them more erotic than they need to be; which lead to me awakening some dormant fetishes (Stupid sexy Angel). Admit it, you got weirdly aroused by that biting scene at the end of episode 4. The show does have some really impressive backgrounds as well at times. Paris looks great, especially at night and very thematic for the time period. I also like the character designs that help make the character distinct. Vanitas in his big trench coat, black gloves hiding some claw like nails and with a hint of blue to go with his design, symbolising the vampire born under the blue moon. Noé’s all white look with the purple eyes that can glow red, representing the vampire born under the red moon and make it a sort of ying and yang look between Noé and Vanitas. Sound: 8/10 Well it certainly sounds very French, which is very thematic, considering the setting. While it can sound generic, it does at least try to vary itself so it does not blend into one another. While it may use the same instruments, it’s in how they are used that makes it more unique. It does match the tone of the scene by changing how fast or slow the instruments are; which is notable on some instruments like the accordion. So despite it sounding as you would expect, it is good and varied enough to like its soundtrack. This is done by Yuki Kajiura so you expect it to be good at minimum. The opening is alright. Actually no, it’s good, simply put. "Sora to Utsuro" by Sasanomaly, captures the quirky side of the show and shows off the character’s personalities very well. You can get a gage as to how the characters will interact with one another and the world itself. The song itself is alright but it is the visuals that carry this OP and it does do a good job at it. But the real star of the show besides its characters is its ED. In fact, the main reason why I wanted to do this review was to simply gush about this ED. It is really, really, REALLY good. "0 (zero)" by LMYK is easily best ED of the season. Quite possibly of the year but it’s got some stiff competition from Mars Red’s “On My Own” by Hyde. Which ironically, is another vampire anime. LMYK puts in a fantastic vocal performance with a rhythm that is so perfect, it’s easily to groove along to. Visuals are nice to with Noé’ reaching out to Vanitas like he doesn’t want him to leave his side. What’s also cool about this ED is that there is both a Japanese and English version of the song. Both are fantastic so pick what you prefer. This ED outshines all other EDs this season. I think it is that good. I expect a bloodbath between this ED and Mars Red’s ED for ED of the year. So yeah, best ED of the season. Conclusion: I would probably consider The Case of Vanitas to be my anime of the season and why not? Everything it does is at least good and there are things here it excels at doing to give that edge over other anime this season. It’s cast of characters, art direction and its ED are the main selling points that make this show enjoyable while the other aspects of this show aren’t holding it back either. It looks great, Noé’ and Vanitas are likeable characters and have great characters and again, that ED is so damn good. I’ve already added it to my playlist of personal favourite OPs and EDs. It really is just a great show all round and in a solid but underwhelming Summer 2021 (when comparing to the previous two seasons), this is easily one of the standouts. It’s worth a watch if you haven’t already and it’s nice to have a second season to look forward to as well. Do I think it could be better? Well the overarching story could be more interesting but the rest would just be simple nitpicks that wouldn’t be worth discussing. This show is great and is certainly worth your time. Now we will see how season two will pan out. My Personal Enjoyment: 9/10 Overall Score: 8.3/10 Recommendation: Watch it

There's a French saying, "On ne connaît pas la vie, jusqu’à ce qu’on connaisse la mort!", which contextually translates to "One does not know life, until they know death!" This saying does not actually exist (if it does, then wow), and is a reminder that you should not take to heart any piece of information without even the smallest scepticism, especially when it is from online. Ok... what a way to start a review. What's the actual reasoning for doing such? The first reason. Enthusiasm. Or should I say, «————— ༺ ༄ ✨ 。*・✫ 𝓔 𝓷 𝓽 𝓱 𝓾 𝓼 𝓲 𝓪 𝓼 𝓶 ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ✨ ༄ ༻—————» (∩ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)⊃━☆ﾟ. * (wow much sparkle) The Case Study of Vanitas is this drama with timely enthusiasm to its name, for what it aims to be, at least, on a functional level, I believe it does well at presenting its name under such light. The narrative, set in the 19th-century world of vampires and humans. A human doctor, Vanitas, sincere but selfish, sets himself on this mission to save all vampires living, despite bearing the cursed moon's name. Accompanied by Noé, who is basically the Pinky to the Brain, the two go on this ambition Vanitas set for himself. Overall, the story is easy to follow, with it not being too much of a hassle to actually understand what is going on. It's a pretty linear narrative too, so I wouldn't go into this looking for anything elusive or secretive as that is a matter of non-existent material. Sure, you can look into characters, and I too try and guess why these characters do what they do, but overthinking this may not profit one, making things unnecessarily perplexing tends to backfire. Though, it brings to question, how exactly The Case Study of Vanitas plays in the realm of anime. Before I get onto that, I will comment on how the characters are indeed pretty good in themselves. Looking back on it though, they each have personality, yet are each devoid of intrinsic value, that's mostly true for anyone who isn't Vanitas or Noé though, the former being unnecessarily enigmatic, the latter being that dude whose entire life we spectate. Though everyone's gimmicks, predominantly the conspicuous Vanitas, they were something I always found fun is looking forward to viewing. So, I (possibly) tricked you into believing the earliest statement in this review, for a second reason, that reason is fraud. So I don't mean to shun down Bones by misinforming anyone that they are plagiarists or something silly like that, but the production of this anime contains nothing but Shaft vibes, in fact, the director (Itamura Tomoyuki) and one of the main musicians (Omnipotent Goddess - Kajiura Yuki) have literally been associates of large titles from Shaft (Monogatari, PMMM and more). Now, Bones does a good job holding the style, it is just that they aren't the style. It was close for sure, but it isn't what it isn't. Still, you can expect some A-tier animation from the studio that didn't really manage to make me raise eyebrows in correlation to inconsistencies to the quality. As for the sounds. It's Yuki Kajiura; 10/10. Also, Hanae Natsuki needs a raise, now. Overall, this anime was quite enjoyable and fun to watch, or if you like, you can feel that enthusiasm whilst viewing such. I would recommend this to all looking for something of a clean modern historical anime. It may hide behind facades, though, despite the misleading sins, I looked over it, and it was fun for sure. I am looking forward to season 2, waiting to see what that rapscallion Vanitas and his frivolous nature will bring. Since I have nothing of importance to touch off with, I am going to slide in another recommendation, "Gosick", just because of the aesthetic this anime beholds, if you enjoy this and won't complain on a critical level, you might like that as well. Bon voyage.