Title: The Case Study of Vanitas
Genre: Vampire, Fantasy, Historical
Where: Funimation
Synposis: There once lived a vampire known as Vanitas, hated by his own kind for being born under a blue full moon, as most arise on the night of a crimson one. Afraid and alone, he created the “Book of Vanitas,” a cursed grimoire that would one day take his vengeance on all vampires; this is how the story goes at least.
Vanitas no Carte follows Noé, a young man travelling aboard an airship in 19th century Paris with one goal in mind: to find the Book of Vanitas. A sudden vampire attack leads him to meet the enigmatic Vanitas, a doctor who specializes in vampires and, much to Noé’s surprise, a completely ordinary human. The mysterious doctor has inherited both the name and the infamous text from the Vanitas of legend, using the grimoire to heal his patients. But behind his kind demeanor lies something a bit more sinister…(CREDIT:https://myanimelist.net/anime/48580/Vanitas_no_Karte)
It has vampires. That, in itself, is the reason why I wanted to watch this show. However, I am not disappointed!
**POTENTIAL SPOILERS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION**
It is true. The only reason I wanted to watch this show was because it has vampires. The description of the show didn’t exactly pique my interest. But, now having watched the first two episodes, I am glad I gave it a shot.
We are introduced to the story of vampires. Most vampires are born on a crimson moon. However, there was one born on a blue moon. His name was Vanitas who was basically exiled by his own kind. In response, he created a powerful grimoire that could corrupt a vampire’s name turning them into an uncontrollable beast. Or, at least, that is how the story goes.
We’re introduced to Noe, a vampire that believes the blue moon is beautiful. As he grows, his teacher tasks Noe with seeking out the grimoire and finding its true purpose. In that search, he boards an airship to Paris. Noe is absolutely adorable. He’s kind of an airhead, and speaks exactly what’s on his mind. Noe meets a woman on the airship who appears to be very sick. This woman is a vampire, but is corrupted. This is how we meet Vanitas. Except, Vanitas is not who we expect. He’s human and instead of using the grimoire to corrupt vampires, he is actually treating them with the grimoire to restore their names.
Vanitas is immediately taken with Noe and wants Noe to join him in his battles to which Noe tells Vanitas he doesn’t like him. Vanitas quickly changes Noe’s mind by reminding him that by tagging along and helping him, he can also accomplish his mission. Noe, making it absolutely clear that he dislikes Vanitas, agrees.
The interaction between Vanitas and Noe is actually quite funny. Vanitas is also a character. He’s quite arrogant and it is understandable why Noe doesn’t quite like him.
At the end of the first episode, we discover that the proceeding events are Noe’s memories before he had to take Vanitas’ life. That is what makes this show even more exciting. What led to Noe taking Vanitas’ life despite growing closer through their travels? I’m intrigued and can’t wait for the rest of the season!
Filthy Casual for Life 