The Case Study of Vanitas became an absolute fan favorite for tapping into the world of vampires, the ever-popular beings that everyone loves. It also garnered much attention because of its gothic atmosphere and historical setup, which almost reminds us of other vampire-centric anime like Hellsing Ultimate.
However, it has very different themes and even more different lore that definitely separates it from any other anime. But the most intriguing part of this show is the way it opens and alludes to its ending right from the beginning.
Usually, a story that is seriously navigating the worlds of cursed vampires already has a structure for a sad ending. However, here, the situations are so inevitable that an unhappy conclusion becomes absolutely apparent.
Vanitas’s tragic fate in The Case Study of Vanitas
If we explore the history behind the Vampire of the Blue Moon, we will understand the tragic connotations behind its legend. Here, we find about the book of Vanitas, touching which, turns one a bringer of death upon all of the vampire kind.
Vanitas, the protagonist of this story, now possesses one of the books of Vanitas. If he truly is a foe to all of the vampire kind, then his own fate should not be good because Noe will have a reason to kill him.
From the very first episode, we get a foreshadowing of the apparent death of Vanitas through Noe’s narration. Towards the end, Noe finishes his monologue by saying,
At the end of our journey, I would slay him by my own hand.
This stamps the fact that at the end of the series, Vanitas will die, that too, at the hands of his newfound friend Noe.
But how can these two, who would form such a good bond later in the series, come to this conclusion? There are some theories about how the situation can lead to this.
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One of the major hints is hidden in Vanitas’s past when he was still getting experimented on by Dr Moreau. He wanted to turn humans into vampires and to do that, he turned Vanitas into a pseudo-kin of the Vampire of the Blue Moon. Moreau injected the vampire’s blood into Vanitas’s body until he was not a human anymore.
Perhaps, rather than dying a proper death, Vanitas will turn into a true vampire, as the vampire mark on his arm is already spreading, indicating it is consuming him from within. Maybe the act of killing that Noe talks about is ending his humanity and not his life.
A tragedy that is not in anyone’s hands other than the author
A tragic ending does not always just come from character deaths, it can also come from an unfinished project. We can never see the true ending of Berserk because before it could end, the brilliant mangaka, Kentaro Miura, passed away.
This is why, if The Case Study of Vanitas remains unfinished and is left as it is without a proper conclusion, fans will be more devastated for being abandoned. The manga goes on frequent breaks and follows an irregular release schedule due to Jun Mochizuki, the author’s poor health.
Till now, only around 65 chapters are out, and around 40 chapters have already been adapted into the first and second seasons of the anime. This means that not only is the main story nowhere near its end but there is also no chance of a 3rd season anytime soon.
Whatever the situation may be in the future, one thing is clear; this story will leave its fans devastated. The best-case scenario will be the death of Vanitas’s humanity at the hands of Noe and the mangaka coming back healthier than ever to complete the story.
Watch The Case Study of Vanitas on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
