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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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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