Sofie’s Reviews > The Case Study of Vanitas, Vol. 6 > Status Update

OOOOOOOOH one of the other random things i remember from this arc is noé briefly losing a hand and i wonder if his posture here is foreshadowing that.....he's adjusting the glove on his left hand, so we'll see if that's the one astolfo cuts off

the LOOK on vanitas' face oh my god shut UP he's so worried and noé KNOWS IT and reassures him????? i really love this side of noé cause it sets him apart from other sunshine-y, golden retriever type main characters. he's a great fighter and he doesn't like losing!!! he places a lot of moral value in fighting i think, so this chance at redemption is about needing his moral code to win over astolfo's

okay SLUT???? he did NOT have to wipe noé's blood and tug on his scarf like that, AND paired with him saying "convince me they're worth saving" with that smirk??????? vanitas really hard rebooted after the "i'm worried" incident and now he's back to full power and i LOVE IT. also love that he admits to knowing that noé WILL ultimately convince him, it's just a matter of how and exactly when

WOAH what a cool moment!!! noé doesn't disparage chloé for wanting revenge bc vanitas is after the same thing and he has come to understand and respect him and his motivations. a really beautiful way to show the growth in their relationship and how it's impacted noé's overall worldview

NO FUCKING WAY DID VANITAS JUST SLIP UP LIKE THAT OH MY GOD?????? this is not a fucking drill he literally just admitted that he was worried (which we all already knew but STILL) and had to do a full brain reboot afterwards to reset back to his usual moody-apathetic-facade.exe. noé i know you're going through a lot rn but you better file this away to overthink about later

PLS of course vanitas would slap noé to snap him back to reality aksdhakdha i'm pretty sure when vanitas was dazed after moreau mentioned mikhail, noé used motivational speaking to snap him out of it but it's much more vanitas' speed to resort to fists instead and yknow what? fair. put him on a leash next

no wait i'm not over this actually cause noé's hand reaching out to some unknown light as the wolves get closer and closer, and then it's vanitas who suddenly grabs his wrist????? and noé looks up at him in awe with tears still streaming down his face????? and vanitas is pissed cause he's been so worried for at least a day and couldn't possibly admit that

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO vanitas pulling noé out of the darkness AGAIN just like he did with naenia at the ball. AND just like noé did for him in moreau's lab!!!! they really save each other again and again specifically by dispelling the darkness of emotional pain and i just think that's neat. and the light, simple composition of this page really contrasts the darkness and chaos of the previous pages

this sequence is so incredible!!!! i love seeing how vivid noé's experience of people's memories is, and how that rush of emotional trauma is so debilitating for him cause YEAH OF COURSE IT IS. i understand why jean-jacques apologized after feeding him the blood cause this is BRUTAL. all the darkness and chaotic paneling really captures the panic and upheaval of the moment

something something those who have been physically abused often sharpen themselves into knives, and both vanitas and jean-jacques are two sides of that same coin. jean-jacques gave up a piece of his soul for a pair of actual claws, and vanitas wears fake ones in his gloves and wears pieces of luna's identity and jewelry as armor