Vanitas no Karte
The Case Study of Vanitas

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This is a story about a man named Noe who write notes/memoir/手記 about his journey with a man named Vanitas. How they lose and gain many things. How they regret something. And how their journey will end (Chapter 1 and chapter 11). So most of the time, the story revolve around the two of them.

1. Story:
It starts with character introduction, concept introduction, and hint what will happen. Personally I am not confused at all with Vanitas no Carte, this type of story telling is not strange but since Jun Mochizuki's world sometimes really different with real world, there are a lot of information we need to remember. The thing is: if you are confused, don't lazy to read again. It's okay to be confused with new concept like you are learning new information at school. The story is interesting. There are cases in Vanitas that become the ground to reveal their past and what happen to the world and the characters. You will be given hint every chapter about their past and the world. So the most mysterious part of Vanitas no Carte is the world, the characters and the connection between each characters. There are many plot twist so prepare yourself.

2. Art:
Beautiful. Nothing less. And she is always detailed to show us emotion of the character from face, shading, background, etc. Just from looking at their face, I already know the complexity of their emotion. And the colored version of her manga always so beautiful.

3. Characters:
Many character in Vanitas is complex. Almost all of the characters made by Jun Mochizuki have backstory this is why all of their behavior, way of thinking, and perception can be traced back to their past. Jun Mochizuki loves characters and make characters that have certain exterior until you know what's deep inside their heart in later chapters (You will know this information from her interview). This is why your impression about the characters in the beginning maybe different with your impression after you read many chapters.
Both of protagonists are really different but they match each other and their interaction is interesting. Except mad scientist, Jun Mochizuki always create conflict in which we can't really take side. The reason is because we understand why the other think like that and we can't really blame them. So the conflict often appear from clash of purpose and way of thinking. Even if this is shounen which is for teenager, I personally think you need maturity to be able to see this story from each character perspective and not blame them.

4. Enjoyment:
I enjoy it a lot! I don't really like detective story kinda mystery but I really love this type of mystery in which the world and characters themselves are mystery.

Again, this manga by Jun Mochizuki become really personal for me. As someone who have similar personality (We are ENTP lol), decision making, way of thinking and have the same problem with Vanitas (Chapter 44), looking at Vanitas make me know more about myself. I never acknowledge this side (I don't even realize it affect me a lot and it's something wrong) until I meet him. Characters in Jun Mochizuki's manga is relatable. Some people maybe relate to Dominique, Jeanne, Noe but for me it's Vanitas.

Jun Mochizuki's world is full of despair, loneliness and darkness but there is always hope and salvation. We will be shown a lot of ugly side of human, greedy, jealousy, hatred, betrayal, and how human is so fragile, easily influenced but also strong. This story also question, "What is salvation?" so I believe in the end of story, We will be shown salvation. I know by reading this story, it's like I am walking at my own route toward sadness especially since I love and can relate to Vanitas so much (We already know what happen to him in chapter 1). But I know I won't regret this journey.

"Please... no matter how much despair awaits them... Let what remains at the end of their stories… Be like that sunny day… Full of gentle light."
-Xerxes Break, Pandora Hearts-

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I saw there were no reviews about this manga (no surprise, only two chapters are out right now and they are very hard to find for free), and I wanted to say what I thought about it so far..

Story : 8

Those first chapters were… Confusing. Like, really. There are a lot of informations, this is not a bad introduction but you can’t tell exactly where the story is going to go, even though you know the end at the beginning. There is a good background universe : steampunk, vampires, early 1900, Paris. I’m curious about the way Jun is going to put all these ingredients together. As for the first chapter, action begins very quickly and the main characters are both introduced right from the start. There is humor as well, and mystery starting the very first chapter, and the end of a chapter makes you want to read the next chapter. To put it clearly, the story is confusing BUT it is catching. You might need to read the chapters again to understand the point of some things, but this is okay. There are more good points than bad points and I noticed a few things when I read it for the… 3rd, 4th time ?

Art : 10

This artwork is simply amazing. Details, colors, for the colored pages, character’s outfits… everything is gorgeous, you can see it for yourself on the pictures given !

Characters : 9

This is only the beginning of the story and we can already see the main character’s personalities, be it Noé or Vanitas and I think this is good. Plus, there is a special relationship that is already being developped between the characters and we can see, by ourselves, that this realtionship is going to evolve into a veeeeeeeery complicated relationship, you understand it right at the end of the first chapter !

Enjoyment : 9

I didn’t wait months for a new manga of Jun for nothing, the story is still a little bit confusing, but this is probably going to become great, reading such a beautiful manga is a gift and I can’t wait for the first volume to be published !

Overall : 9

I’m very curious about how the story is going to evolve, but I think these first chapters have a good potential to make a great manga. So overall I give a 9, because being able to master so many things with so few chapters is just amazing.

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When I first picked up the series, I was still a bit bitter about Pandora Hearts ending. Part of me expected this would negatively affect the experience but how could I hate it? It's a Mochizuki manga. There wasn't much information when it first came out-- all we knew about the series was the genre, setting, and it had vampires--but I paid for the chapter anyway because it's Mochizuki. I fell in love with the characters easily and could barely wait for the next chapters to be released.

Story: 9

A lot of detailed information necessary for world building is explained early on, however, the chapters don't feel heavy with exposition. Transitions are fluid and the reader is only told what is necessary to understand the basics of the world. It's clear Mochizuki is keeping many secrets. However, retrospection and subtle foreshadowing keep the story cohesive while the plot remains complex and unpredictable.

Art: 10

I'm convinced Mochizuki is constantly intimidating her assistants with her ideas for the next chapter. The scenes are so detailed. Through Pandora Hearts, we've seen her art improve. VnC definitely benefits from her past experiences. Everything from the background and character design to clothes and facial expressions is amazing.

Character: 9

The complex characters was a major reason why I loved Pandora Hearts. Characters influence the plot which pushes characters to act and develop. There were clear protagonists and motivators but the story was much bigger than themselves and almost everyone at least had a chance to make a terrible mistake. Readers could remain emotionally invested in the characters even as their opinion of the character shifts. The expectation was high but, so far, Mochizuki doesn't disappoint.

Noe is both relatable and likable, absentminded and thoughtful, the perfect foil for the volatile and impulsive Vanitas. Their interactions feel genuine. I love that they could be dorks one minute and serious the next.

Enjoyment: 10

I'm enjoying the series.

Overall (so far):
9

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I'll compare this a little with Pandora Hearts, for those readers who've loved Pandora Hearts and aren't sure if they should read this. No major spoilers though, so I think it'll be alright.

Vanitas no Carte has been really engaging since the beginning. First chapter in and we get a glimpse of the main characters, and what little we get is already very interesting. Mochizuki-sensei is great at making things seem mysterious, and this begins from the very first chapter. There's the feeling hanging around that there's more to things than is revealed, which might either annoy or engage readers. The only way to know if you'd like it or not is to try it.

Characters:
Let's talk about the main characters, Noé and Vanitas.

Noé is easily likeable, and rather cute at times. He's the one whose story we are following, so it's a huge plus that he's easy to like. The gap between us readers and Noé doesn't seem that different, so it's not too difficult to follow his actions and thought processes. That's extremely relieving, because Vanitas, on the other hand, is an enigma.

We're introduced to Vanitas early on, but we know little to nothing about him. That makes for a very fascinating character, because his actions are unpredictable. Mochizuki-sensei does a great job in potraying his character in an unusual way, and he feels very unlike the usual protagonist. His motivations are unknown, and his actions crazy. Many main characters in stories have mysterious backgrounds, but we're usually able to get a sense of the character even before we find out what it is. With Vanitas though, it's difficult.

This causes two things:
1) Vanitas becomes a extremely fascinating character to watch.
2) We don't feel all that connected to Vanitas because we can't understand him.

Compared to the mangaka's other work, Pandora Hearts, I don't feel all that concerned for the wellbeing of Vanitas' main characters (of course, I'm only 13 chapters in, so I'll have to see). But at the same time the mysteriousness of the characters makes me more interested in the background/personality characters here than in Pandora Hearts. In short I just mean the characters here are more interesting but difficult to relate to and thus like on a personal level. It's both good and bad, so it's difficult to say what most people feel about it. Luckily, Noé exists as our main character, so readers can at least feel connected to him and view the story from his lens easily.

Art:
The art is amazing as expected. It really fits with the tone of the manga, and the character expressions are fabulous. The mangaka can convey things with not only words but expressions, which really makes for better storytelling. No complaints here.

Story:

This is pretty difficult to get a good grasp of right now (as of chapter 13). It does feel that the mangaka knows what she is doing and where the story is heading, but similar to early on in Pandora Hearts, the reader might feel a bit lost as to what the main story is right now.

But that doesn't mean it's an incoherent mess. It never feels like the story is just being made up as we go along. There's the feeling that everything happening has an importance to the story - except we don't know what it is yet. That might be frustrating to some. It certainly is frustrating to me. But I'm really looking forward to seeing how things play out, to have this story be revealed to me in bits and pieces. Considering the story setting, which feels more limited, I'm not sensing any upcoming crazy twists like in Pandora Hearts, but I'm sure whatever the author has in store will surely be interesting. For now, the frustration of not understand only makes me more curious rather than annoyed, so it's all good. It helps that the characters are interesting enough for me to keep on reading now.

Enjoyment:
This is difficult. I certainly do enjoy it, but not the mindless easy type of enjoyment. There aren't really slice-of-life moments for me to enjoy now, but so far the characters and their interactions with each other/how they react to situations is keeping me hooked. It's probably a manga not easy to enjoy if you read lightly and only look at the surface. But with all the interesting elements glaring at you in the face, I also think it's quite easy to be interested in this manga. It's too early for me to have an opinion on the overall plot, but there is potential for things to shape up well. Hopefully I have time to edit my review then.

(the review got too long, I'm sorry ;_;)
tldr;
Overall, an interesting manga, though too early now to see how it goes. Definitely should give it a try. The story moves fast, so it's pretty exciting, but there's also a lack of slice-of-life moments. Also be prepared to be lost and feel like you know nothing about the story/characters. Art is beautiful and story elements have the potential to lead to an interesting story. Characters are fascinating.

Pandora Heart fans should definitely check this out, but you might not feel too attached to the characters at first. But if you've enjoyed the characters in Pandora Hearts, I'm sure you'll find this interesting too. The setting doesn't give me that much hope for similar crazy plot twists, but the mysterious feeling is thick in the air and the characters are a joy to watch.

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