REVIEW/ANALYSIS: volume 9 - case study of vanitas (manga)

NOTE: this review/analysis is about the manga series, not the anime adaptation. despite this, please take note that there are spoilers mentioned in this entry for scenes that are also adapted in the anime.

REVIEW #7: Volume 9

Content Type: Manga 

Media/Franchise: Case Study of Vanitas 

• WAAAHH this volume was charged with so much angst and loaded traumatic backstories!! 😭 I remember watching these episodes in season 2 of the anime and simultaneously feeling a heavy weight in my chest and a void in my heart... 
• I felt so so bad reading Misha's backstory like he was literally just a baby 💔 I also can't get over the way Misha kept on a sunshiney demeanor and always exhibited childlike curiosity at everything no matter how much hurt he's been thru :[ 
• I absolutely love the early dynamics between Misha and Vanitas, tho 🥺 as much as it pained me that Vanitas would sacrifice himself so that Misha won't be subjected to another ruthless experiment, I still adore how Vanitas looked out for him and cared about Misha in his own way, even if Vanitas didn't openly say it 
• man, fuck that Morreau guy. super messed up in the head to think that experimenting on children is okay and that they're just expendable like that (I'm so glad that Misha and Vanitas escaped him eventually) 
• OMGGG LUNA APPEARANCE!! 😭🩵 AAAA THEY'RE SO SO PRETTY!! I absolutely love the way they're illustrated in the manga, so ethereal and otherworldly... also I remember seeing them animated in the anime, I'm so happy they were all sparkly and graceful 
• the Misha and Luna duo is sooo cute!! I love how Misha just tags around Luna like an overexcited puppy + it's so funny when Misha and Luna radiate the same astonished vibes whenever Vanitas does something for them 💖 (Vanitas really took one look at Luna's place and said "damn bitch you live like this??" 😭)
• Luna saying at first that they don't have a permanent name yet because they haven't found one that they'd like is so real. non-binary struggles. 
• speaking of non-binary, Luna explicitly stating that they're neither "male nor female" just sent my heart in a frenzy because oh!! beautiful creature is canonically on the non-binary spectrum!! go off liege!! 
• I haven't watched the anime in about two years so I forgot how the Misha/Vanitas/Luna lore turned out (i.e. why Vanitas killed Luna, why Vanitas and Misha split ways, etc.) + those scenes in the anime just fr broke me that I didn't want to remember them 💀 so I'm really intrigued to learn more about their lore. my heart aches at how Misha turned out to be this way, like he just wanted to be with his adoptive older brother and parent for forever 😭 
• I also feel sad about how Vanitas' trauma has been ingrained in him for forever that him as depicted in Misha's flashbacks & him depicted in the current scene remains similar... especially considering how this arc came after the Beast of Gévaudan one (where Vanitas was starting to be more emotionally vulnerable with Jeanne and Noé!!) it's so heartbreaking to see him suddenly closed-off and even being willing to hurt Noé and sacrifice Domi if it means protecting himself 🫠
• I can't blame Vanitas, tho, and I won't say that he's 100% wrong in this situation - he is wrong in the eyes of Noé, who is fighting against him with the intent to save someone dear to him, and in the context of Domi, who, even if they're not close, is still an innocent person who has nothing to do with his current conflict. to an extent, Vanitas may be seen as selfish. but then that's who Vanitas is for the most part - he explicitly has told Noé that they're only a duo because their "values and goals align with each other," he has initially pursued Jeanne despite her resentment for him, and he enacts plans without consulting anyone. so this scene is authentic to his character, just in a scarier and more intense way. while Vanitas (more lightheartedly) has told Noé before about not wanting his blood to be drunk (because then Noé would be able to see his memories), we only truly understand the magnitude of his aversion for it in this scene, when he's willing to harm someone "close" to him and other people as well 
• I found Johann's monologue about the difference between Vanitas' and Noe's fighting styles so interesting - in connection to the previous point, Vanitas still holds validity for the way he's behaving because he's out for survival. he's spent his whole life being hurt by people, being chased down, being belittled, that he would do anything to protect himself. on the other hand, Noé is someone who's still burdened by the memory of "not being able to save" someone close to him, and in general he's someone who greatly values the people in his life. he doesn't want to lose Domi either, so he fights for her - but he also doesn't want to lose Vanitas, so he prevents himself from directly killing him. I find it fascinating how their values and personalities clash in this moment - they're both fighting for very different things, with Vanitas being more centered on the self and Noé being more centered on others 
• I also find it interesting how Vanitas' intense focus on self-preservation has harmed many others, too, first of all being Misha. Misha just wants to know why Vanitas killed their parent and now Misha's traumatized too 🫠
• OHH BUT IT HURTS!! it HURTS to see Vanitas and Noé like this, like y'all were literally goofing around a volume or two ago... 😭 I hate how Vanitas' eyes are blackened out too, like they're soulless cesspools, as he gazes lifelessly at Noé... (and imo eyes are such a distinct/essential character feature of Vanitas because they capture his emotions so well). and Noé appearing like a scary beast with his fangs bared at full mode and his claws out (I didn't even know he could have claws like that)... it's so ironic how although this fight heavily symbolizes themselves (as mentioned in the previous bullet point) they are just totally NOT themselves 
• AND DOMI!! oh my girl 😭💔 I remember feeling so much pain for Domi when watching these scenes in the anime, I was so scared for her... also I can't get over how despite her being stuck in a seeming trance (her eyes look soulless too + she's all the way up there on the Ferris wheel), she could sense Noé's presence 🥹 like GIRL YOU HAVE TO STAY STRONG FOR EACH OTHER
• overall, I'm incredibly distraught about this part of the story - but I think that's also a good sign that the manga's evoking these feelings so vividly (it sure is bringing up all of the traumatic memories from seeing this in the anime adaptation the first time loll). the haunted expressions on Vanitas and Noé, the intense action scenes, the interspersing of narration lines with panels (which I absolutely adore about the manga's layout) are all so profound and I can really feel the emotions (or lack thereof) of these characters
• side note but Jun Mochizuki-san is my favorite mangaka for so many reasons and I adore the ways she's chronicling Vanitas no Carte 💖