Here we are, the last episode of this…first part of the season. For me, it went by in a flash. There were some shows that I was looking forward to finishing but not The Case Study of Vanitas. It feels like I just started the series. You know what they say, all good things…

Except not this good thing because there is more to come. And I couldn’t be happier.

It’s a good thing that The Case Study of Vantas was announced as a split cour all along and I know going into this episode that part 2 was going to air in January of 2022. Or else this would have been a disappointing finale.

Not that I didn’t like the episode. I did. I found Jeanne’s ongoing show of naivety absolutely charming. It made me smile this week just as it had last week. And the fact that Vanitas was aware of it all along sort of realigned the universe for me. All is as it should be. Also, Noé’s mini 4th-wall break complete with a spotlight on him and narration that was obviously not part of the narrative proper was just brilliant. Such a style clash and yet, so perfect for this show. It’s scenes like this that make me love adaptations so much. I don’t know, maybe it’s in the manga. But even if it is, there’s no way it could pull off quite this impact.

I even liked the bit about the return of this unknown beast coupled with the potential conflict that Noé’s new sinister allegiance with Ruthven might cause. And it seems Roland is stirring up trouble of his own.

Here’s an aside for you. I often look up the character list for The Case Study of Vanitas on Anilist in order to get the spelling of Ruthven’s name right. And it takes me forever. The characters are usually listed in order of importance, starting with the main cast, but Ruthven is near the very end. Nox and Manet are before him. Who are Nox and Manet you might ask? They’re Orlock’s maid and butler assistants that we’ve seen a few times. I know because I see their names every time I look up Ruthven. Even Astolfo Granatum is before him and he’s only been briefly mentioned and never makes an appearance. Heck, I’m not even sure he’s been mentioned in the show and that I don’t just know him from Anilist. I just found this a bit unusual.

But back to the episode. Like I said, I liked a lot of scenes and the episode added elements with tons of potential. But that’s just it. Potential. Not realization. A lot of this episode was set up for the second part.

I’m not mad about that. Not at all. I think it’s smart. But If I didn’t know about that part 2 and thought the show creators were just hedging their bets on getting picked up for a few more episodes, I would have been mad. Let’s face it, anime do get overly optimistic at times. Thankfully it’s not the case here.

So for now, this isn’t goodbye, it’s see you next time!

Previous episodes

• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.1 – Blue Moon Rising
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.2 – There’s Always a Jeanne
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.3 – What A Jerk
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.4 – Sexy
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.5 – The Sad Sade
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.6 – Salvation?
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.7 – Jeanne’s Walk of Shame
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.8 – Read the Room
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.9 – Everything is Math
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.10 – Birds of a Feather
• The Case Study of Vanitas ep.11 – Date Night