Vanitas no Karte Part 2

Vanitas and Noé Archiviste head out to the town of Gévaudan in search of the "Beast," an enormous wolf-like creature that has slaughtered hundreds of people. Suspecting that the Beast is a curse-bearing vampire, Vanitas primarily aims to heal it using the powers of his grimoire.

Along the way, the two get separated and suddenly travel back to the past—to the exact moment the Beast is lurking in the woods. After a battle against the gigantic wolf and a vampire hunter, Vanitas decides to team up with Jeanne in order to find Noé. Despite being allies, Jeanne's goal is the opposite of Vanitas', as she was tasked to kill the Beast—suspecting it may be someone she used to know.

Meanwhile, a severely wounded Noé is picked up by the mysterious Chloé d'Apchier and her servant. Like Noé, Chloé is a vampire whose existence was erased from the public's knowledge. She has been a guardian for future generations and once tried to find a way to become human again. While Noé is grateful to Chloé for her hospitality, little does he know that she might be siding with forces far more dangerous than the Beast itself.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Vanitas Main

Hanae, Natsuki Japanese

Archiviste, Noé Main

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Jeanne Supporting

Minase, Inori Japanese

de Sade, Dominique Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

d'Apchier, Chloé Supporting

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Fortis, Roland Supporting

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Murr Supporting

Komaki, Miyu Japanese

de Sade, Louis Supporting

Shimabukuro, Miyuri Japanese

Granatum, Astolfo Supporting

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Vampire of the Blue Moon Supporting

Park, Romi Japanese

Odagiri, Narumi Producer

Komatsu, Shouta Producer

Itamura, Tomoyuki Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Wakabayashi, Kazuhiro Sound Director

Reviews

Apr 1, 2022

KANLen09

Recommended

Jun Mochizuki's epic vampire tale continues after a season's break, and is it just as good as the 1st Cour back in Summer last year? I mean, come on, it's gotta be good, and I assure you that it delivered the same and more.

In the 2nd Cour, right after the events of the Chasseur Hunters, the two main focal events are The Beast of Gévaudan and Amusement Park arcs, which covers the manga progression continuing from Volume 6 to the most recent Volume 10, meaning that the anime has fully caught up with the source material, which in my mind, sums up the perfect adaptation ... of an esteemed series by an esteemed author like Jun Mochizuki. Spoilers be warned for intensity.

The Beast of Gévaudan arc, which takes up 2/3rds of Part 2 / 2nd Cour, this arc really displays the magnificence of Vanitas no Carte's world-building as a whole, which combines both vampires, humans, Charlatan, Chasseurs, and the diabolical plan of the Beast: the Silver Witch known to all as Chloé d'Apchier. As the daguther of Marquis d'Apchier and being a "curse-bearer" vampire herself, she was the hidden vampire of the family, and her presence mattered because Jeanne's parents were Lord Ruthven's students when she was young, and Jeanne got to know Chloé because Ruthven introduced the former to her, taking care of her well-being until it was found out that she was the Beast, and you can imagine that all hell broke loose right after that fateful incident. And this time, the Book of Vanitas becomes a lot more relevant as it's used to create the Alternte Engine in an effort to make her human again, and there will be none to stop her, other than getting past her protector Jean-Jacques Chastel, which he is always prepared to sacrifice his humanity to play the scapegoat game as the Beast to lure people off Chloé from her oppressors. Along with the inner conflict of the Charalatan that continues to haunt people's past, makes for one hellish nightmare that requires a lot of sacrifice, reconciliation and realization to turn people to the truth, that like Noé friends turned curse-bearers before, it's the same story but on a larger, grand scale.

And if you'd thought that was enough, the Amusement Park arc which displays the final 1/3rd of the 2nd Cour, is where I like to call: personal friends settle grievances towards each other. Vanitas's past is on full display this time, since we the audience never really got the chance to dive deep into his psyche in the 1st half, and it's forced through this little boy known as Mikhail. Not just Vanitas's, but combining Domi, Louis and his past, paints a picture of a moment in that time the human of the Blue Moon would not want to diverge and forget about all that's happened between him and Mikhail. If you remember the eccentric vampire doctor that is Moreau, he was employed by the Chasseurs to research on vampires, and declared Vanitas as No. 69. But, BUT, there was actually another person hiding in the sidelines: the young kid Mikhail, whom like Vanitas, is subjected to inhumane research. Why do I say this, is because both Vanitas and Mikhail were rescued by the original Vampire of the Blue Moon, being raised by him/her and teaching the young-uns all about the world of vampires consisting of the malnomen, astermite, and most importantly, the Book of Vanitas, which is why Mikhail has another copy of it as well. The past that Vanitas wishes not to be digged into, forces Noé to confront him and save those he cares about fondly, and ultimately understand Vanitas as a whole in his most vulnerable stage.

As I've said in my 1st Cour review, Jun Mochizuki really knows how to use character development to her advantage, and using that to course and piece the events of her epic story, it's just as well done as Part 1, if not on par with it since this is a continuation after all. Her stories are fearsome, yet have balance at stake to weigh the pros and cons, and this is the mark of a very talented writer that I honestly just have no words to say, but even more jaw-dropped at its capability to warp understanding even in the most intense manner. It's ambition at its most darkest, yet gleaming with light at the end of the tunnel.

Vanitas's core staff team from Bones are back, and the quality retains its action-packed violent gore that simply just is breathtaking to watch. The OST is just as great under the invincible woman of flare that is Yuki Kaijura, but I feel it's a tad under for Jun Mochizuki's standards when it comes to the OP/ED. Little Glee Monster's 2nd half OP isn't bad, but compared to the 1st half with Sasanomaly's, I really gotta take the latter's anyday. For the ED, I would like to believe that Momonkul's ED song is without a doubt, purposeful. As is by the song title of "salvation", this 2nd Cour's teaching point is that everyone deserves salvation, regardless of the right or wrong actions done addressed towards themselves or others' lives.

Vanitas no Carte a.k.a. The Case Study of Vanitas is more than just a work of art, it's about the allegory and juxtapositions of life, and the extent of putting others at risk just so that you could preserve your history. That's why this show is a play on the classic case study teaching quantum, and will be a Case Study worth examining that I will never forget.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jul 29, 2022

phantombild

Mixed Feelings

If you enjoyed the first season and are curious about how the story continues, then give it a shot. Personally, it wasn't for me, but many other people liked it.

STORY [4/10]:
Generally, you can split this season into two main arcs (The Beast of Gevaudan and the Amusement Park arc) with a filler episode between them.
I would say that the story of Vanitas no Karte is complex and the author has a habit of withholding information and giving it to us bit by bit when we need it. And normally, I’d love that (I liked that in the first season very much!), but in this second ... season, I just couldn’t handle it.
The Beast of Gevaudan arc was awfully confusing which made me zone out after a while because I didn’t understand what was going on (I could not explain the plot of the first arc for the life of me xD). The first episode was already kind of insane and I had a lot of questions about the plot (What happened with the book? Who broke the chain? Where is Noé? Where is everyone else?). However, it was fine because I thought the confusion would clear up after a few more episodes. But, no! I was lost in the plot! I was more and more confused and maybe it’s my fault, maybe I just didn’t pick up the clues. Still, the pacing was off in this arc and I think everything was horribly explained (maybe it’s better in the manga, but I probably won’t check it out).
The filler episode was okay. It was just to further develop the romantic relationship between Vanitas and Jeanne which I don’t care about. Though I have to say that I found it very funny and I giggled a couple of times.
The Amusement Park arc was much better in terms of pacing and storytelling than the first arc. This one focuses more on the characters and their dynamic which was quite engaging. I liked the conflict between Vanitas and Noé. Finally, we find out more about Vanitas’s past and he and Noé had a nice bromance moment at the end of this season.

ANIMATION [8/10]:
The animation and art are decent and of the same quality as the first season. The fight scenes are nice, not much to say there. But sometimes it felt like they put more effort into the fanservice, specifically Vanitas’s and Jeanne’s scenes.

SOUND [7/10]:
Fine. The sounds and voice acting are as good as in the first season. What I have to mention is that I love the opening and ending songs of this anime. They truly never miss!

CHARACTER [6/10]:
This season focuses more on the backstories of the most important characters like Vanitas, Domi, Jeanne and Noé with newcomers like Chloé and Mikhail. Furthermore, Vanitas’s and Jeanne’s romantic relationship grows which is fine. I don’t see the connection between them except if we’re talking about lust (because let’s be honest: it’s mainly based on that aspect). The romantic feelings feel just too forced to be believable to me. I’m also not one of the people who would want it to be a BL anime/manga because I like the friendship Vanitas and Noé share. It reminds me of platonic soulmates or something like that and I think that it’s well written.

ENJOYMENT [5/10]:
The first half wasn’t it. I couldn’t care less about what happened in the first arc and as it turns out, it doesn’t even matter that much because it never came up during the second arc. The Amusement Park arc kind of saved the whole season for me since I enjoyed it though I don’t see myself reading the manga or even watching the next season (but who knows… that could change). The comedy relief in this season wasn’t always for me. A lot of times I’ve found it to be misplaced and it took me out of the moment on more than one occasion (there’s a serious situation/talk and it cuts off to some chibi-styled comedy).

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 1, 2022

SingleH

Not Recommended

When I reviewed part one, I talked a lot about the director, the studio, the production—that was a mistake. Because who cares? That shit is boring. And fuck the “plot” too. What people really want to read about is hot goss, and Vanitas no Karte continues to deliver. This show reminds me of Gossip Girl. There was always stuff going on at the school, and there was always some pretense that what you were watching was a young woman’s coming of age story, but the only reason people really watched it was for the juicy teen drama, and I think Bones putting less effort into ... the fight scenes than they put into the kissing scenes says a lot. The user Sarwan111 created a forum thread where he asked a question which, whether intentional or not, served as a scathing critique of this show’s flawed characterization. What he asked was, “Can anyone explain me who is the protagonist in this?” And no one could give him a straight answer. After all, there isn’t one.

If this were a boys’ love manga adaptation structured like a shoujo manga, especially one written by an author like Jun Mochizuki, then the answer would clearly be Noé. At the end of the day, you experience most of the story with essentially the same information he has, and most of the internal monologging we get is from his perspective. Shoujo protagonists are typically introduced living very reserved, plain, innocent lives, and the story begins with a dashing, mysterious, domineering older male love interest suddenly appearing out of the blue, spicing up her mundane life, and sweeping her into a new world of wonder and passion. This handsome heartthrob would of course be Vanitas. Initially, the plot usually focuses on her arc of self-discovery, and the story usually then moves on to her new boyfriend’s hidden past and the melodrama that comes with resolving it. The problem with this understand of the story, though, is Vanitas and Noé don’t fit these roles.

The author is merely shoving them together to make the audience ship them and draw yaoi doujins. The real love interests are Jeanne, who Vanitas just sexually harassed until she liked it (which is actually great, but don’t pretend it’s anything more than a fanservice device), and Domi, who’s whole existence is frustrated by the author’s deliberate refusal to explain why Noé hasn’t fucked her yet. They both like each other, and they have seemingly no reason not to hook up. The result is an awkward story with no real protagonist, but rather two “main characters” who compete for the right to undergo even the slightest bit of a character arc. To top it all off, despite the shoujo-style characters, the actual plot progresses much more like a weekly shounen manga, with no well-defined goal and endless meandering between tensionless fight sequences, tactless exposition dumps, and meaningless reveals to nebulous mysteries which could’ve come at any time.

The term “comedy relief” is a literal phrase; if executed correctly, jokes add levity & help scenes flow. This show, however, uses chibi regardless of the tone or atmosphere, even cutting into life or death situations. This art style is obviously being abused so Bones can put as little effort as possible into the drawings. The overuse of chibi screams laziness, and considering that whole incident back in part one where just episode nine itself needed eighteen different animation directors working on it just to stay afloat, the state of the production is obvious. People were impressed when they saw a show that didn’t immediately and outwardly look like total trash and then overpraised it before they could realize it was just any other inconsistent, otherwise decent-looking romp. Ultimately, the visuals continue to look mediocre at best, and despite all the show’s actual attempts at comedy, that CG book continues to be the funniest, most memorable thing on screen.

Thank you for reading.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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