Los apuntes de Vanitas

TLDR; At the bottom

Why culture? Show is deeply inspired by French culture, from the setting to how the characters behaves, going as far as to use French words and emphasize the cultures fundamental spirit.

Why artisanship? The show drips with an elegance. The dub performance is probably the best Ive ever seen, the VA of Vanitas brings the character to life like no other. From the delicate and purposeful movements of the characters with its finely drawn artstyle, to the Steampunk Age of Enlightment setting, and the plethora of detailed character expressions. It is a clear inspiration of an artistic nature.

The producers wanted to make the show perform like a piece of beautiful theatre, but in anime form.

Though there is a rather big caveat.

This show caters to a certain audience. Though it is a show of artistic style, intrigue and heavily character focused, it is fundamentally a romance comedy with a major theme of vampires, and that has a connotation with it. A show that will undoubtedly be of the sensual persuasion. So if that is amiable to you, this show should be completely fine.

TLDR; Phenomenal show for those who can appreciate its artistc approach, and superb voice acting delivery that truly enhances the performance(dub), without this appreciation though some may judge this show as mediocre.

I will admit I only picked up this series since I'm going through JOJO withdrawals (the wait for Part 6 will be hard), but I was pleasantly surprised. It's a fun vampire story with quirky characters and a beautiful rendition of nineteenth century France. The blend of fun characters, emotional themes, and storybook style motifs reminded me of my favorite anime series PRINCESS TUTU, so that's a bonus.

The heart of the show is the relationship between Noe and Vanitas. Their interplay is delightful and the motor that retains interest from episode to episode.

As of this writing, there has been about six episodes but they've all been great.

If you love fictional adventure, great world building, and memorable characters, Case Study of Vanitas is the series to look for. The way this show is directed, the magical background score, the way each character is given a moment to shine, it's all just perfect. The chemistry and friendship between the 2 main characters is brilliant. There's a lot that happens in this show. The universe that it builds is complex but undeniably interesting. There are so many characters to handle but they all have their own individual arcs that surprisingly blend together. I love the way this show gives each and every scene equal importance and the dramatic ways it chooses to present them. The voice acting is top notch and incredibly intense. Especially for a new character that appears in season 2. His character development and voice acting is so on point. The first season is just for character development and world building but the 2nd Season just used that build up to make an enthralling story.

One of the best animes I've seen in a long time. I got to the end of part 1 and couldn't bring myself to watch episode 1 of part 2 out of a fear of running out and a desire to draw it out - it's seriously that good. It's one of those animes that I'm now determined to turn others on to as well,, even my niece since it's appropriate enough. Plus, there's just so much depth, it's like watching an onion unpeel with every episode. I simply cannot wait to see how it all unfolds, but at the same time I never want it to end - and I've only ever felt that way about 6 or 7 animes out of the around 5 dozen I've watched (yes, I'm an otaku).

Oh yes suck my blood.

We have more and more vampires. Only from a couple of episodes in I already got Code Geass vibe from this anime. The plot was about an enigma claiming to save the vampires. The protagonist was a smart and determined man who accompanied an vampire that was still naive but starting to learn more about the world. The more I said it the more I see the similarity between the two anime.

However, the dynamic between the two main characters were different. Here, every character had at least one funny moment, and in every funny moment is a chibi moment. As much as I enjoyed the comedy, there were vampire moments that were just a bit erotic.

The animation was also done very well. From the first episode, I was amazed by the beautiful contrasting red and blue color. Probably the best part was when Vanitas used the power of the book. The fight scenes were also great.

Overall, a fun anime with interesting characters and beautiful animation. 8/10.