Konnichiwa Hivers, it's me, your ridgette again! For today, I'm going to share a review of the story of a man who hates vampires, but for some unknown reason, he treats and saves them. With a special book that has the power to interfere with a vampire's true name, he was able to diagnose and save them. Weird right? Well, that's basically one of the mysteries of this anime. So join me as we delve further into the case study of the life of the adherent of the blue moon, Vanitas.
About the Anime
I still remember so vividly the colors of that sunrise we watched together. And those memories from the beginning all too easily bring back memories from the end, of the things that slipped through my fingers, and the people I couldn't protect. Of my regrets on that day I was unable to take your hand.
—6, Salvatio
The Case Study of Vanitas (Vanitas no Carte) is a shounen anime that first premiered in the summer of 2021. Later on, season 2 was released, and it premiered in the winter of 2022. Its two seasons were animated by Bones. Its genres are action, fantasy, and mystery. The main theme revolves around vampires and history. Each season has 12 episodes, and since it already had two seasons, it basically has 24 episodes in total. It's important to note that this anime is for mature viewers, preferably those who are 17 and older, because of the violence and profanity that are present in some of its episodes. This anime was an adaptation of a manga series written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki.
Born alone under a blue moon, the vampire of Sogetsu was hated by his own kin. Vampires were supposed to be born under the light of the blood moon, but by some ill omen, he's not. Feared by others, he was driven out of their village. Chilled and frightened, he wandered alone in the dark and snowy forest. This loneliness made him resent all vampires who were born under the blood moon.
"To all you foolish vampires who were cruel to me! When the time comes that this book is opened, may you be met with a curse worse than death!"
—1, In Case of Rusty Hopes
Filled with bitterness, he vowed that one day he would take revenge on them. The loneliness and hatred that he felt became the very reason why he created a book—a special one that has the power to interfere with the vampires' true names. With that book, he hopes that one day, an adherent of the blue moon, just as he was, will use it to punish and destroy the vampires that once plunged him to the depths of oblivion. But unfortunately, the new adherent of the blue moon chose the other way.
In the present, coincidentally with the rise of vampire sightings in the human world, Noe was sent out by his maitre to look for and study the nature of the book of Vampire of Sogetsu. While traveling towards his destination, he met a human who had unusual blue eyes. Upon seeing the book of the vampire of Sogetsu in the hands of that man, Noe confirmed his suspicion. That man was indeed the infamous Vanitas, but unlike the humor, this adherent of the blue moon doesn't punish vampires like him. Instead, he chose to deliver to those damned vampires the salvation that they've been wanting.
Curious, Noe continued to stand by his side—only to discover that Vanitas is far more mysterious than he's expecting him to be. A lot of questions came to his mind, but finding answers to those won't be an easy feat, especially when it is Vanitas who guards them. Will Noe find answers to those questions? Or will time come that, like his kin who were born under the blood moon, he too would also hate Vanitas, just as they did with the Vampire of Sogetsu?
After almost 4 days of watching it, this anime somehow made me feel satisfied. Yeah—not all mysteries were resolved, but at least some of them were. I don't want to spoil much for the ending, but for me it's satisfying in the sense that you don't want to watch another season of it for a while. The way the characters improved throughout the 2 seasons was, I guess, one of the reasons why it ended in a satisfying note for me. The story wasn't really wholesome because, as I've mentioned, it is a mature anime, and some of its parts have dark stories.
Despite its dark vampire theme, this anime still has comedic gags in it. It was pretty hilarious, and it did not look forced for me because it kinda relates well to the characters' soft sides. As for the mysteries, I like how each character has a mystery in them because it somehow adds depth to their characterization. I like how Vanita's emotions were portrayed as complex and mysterious, which was a juxtaposition to Noe's open-book-like emotions. These two really complemented each other: Vanitas, who is rash and often selfish in the sense that he doesn't share his pains with others, and Noe, who is calm and often selfless. Although their characters were pretty much opposite, they both were protective of the things and people that really mattered to them.
On the other hand, I can say that its visuals are really good. Honestly, it's one of the reasons why I watched this anime, because I really like the art style. I think it's pretty neat, and I like how the characters were drawn. Although I find it unusual that some of the male characters were drawn with a hint of feminine features and female characters with some manly features (the eyes, especially), nevertheless, they're interesting for me. Further, I also wanted to praise the way they portrayed the characters' emotions, for unlike some of the animes I've watched before, their emotions weren't bland; instead, they were well delivered in a way that we could sympathize with them. Also, the sensuality is oozing, especially in the scenes where bleep-bleep-bleep-censored—ok, I don't want to spoil further, but the sensuality in being a vampire was somehow utilized well (hehe).
The music also did a good job of intensifying the emotions. Since it's an action-genre anime, it is of 'course expected that its action scenes are decent, and I was indeed not disappointed with it. The movements were pretty fluid, and the effects during battle were well-placed, so obviously it did justice to its genre. Overall, I rate this anime 9/10 because it was really entertaining and satisfying to watch. My emotions while watching this were like a roller coaster ride, for it has a lot of ups and downs. For me, it's undoubtedly one of the best anime I've watched. So if you're looking for a vampire action-fantasy anime with a lot of mysteries and eye-pleasing characters, then you definitely need to watch The Case Study of Vanitas.
Before I end this review, I gladly share with you its trailer, so—
That's all for now, Hivers. I hope you enjoy reading my anime review. See you on my next blog!
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne minna-san~
The pictures that didn't have any source were from screenshots of the anime's episode, while the last picture was edited in Canva.