Vanitas

Vanitas

Vanitas (ヴァニタス, Vanitasu) is a protagonist and the titular character of Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas. Contrary to the legend of Vanitas of the Blue Moon, Vanitas claims to be "an average human being" who happened to inherit the Book of Vanitas. It is his stated intention to save the Vampire race by any means possible, using the Book of Vanitas not to spread Malnomen but to cure it. As such, he refers to himself as a doctor who specializes in Vampires. He commissions the help of Noé Archiviste, a Vampire sent by his teacher to research the Book of Vanitas and the series' narrator, in finding cases of Malnomen and curing them.

appearance

Vanitas is a slender, androgynous young man of average height. He has pale skin, large, expressive eyes, a round face, and a small chin. So blue are his eyes that they are used as an immediately identifiable trait, compared to the color of copper sulfate. An upper left canine tooth is especially pronounced, giving the appearance of fangs when his teeth were visible, though they are not as pronounced as vampires' fangs. His hair is long, black, and irregularly cut, his bangs falling into the center of his face. On either side of his face, his hair is straight cut, the left side to one level and the right side to two. Though he at times appears to wear a ponytail, his hair usually sits freely, the hair on either side of his head cut shorter than that down the middle. One cowlick sticks up from the right side of his head. Both of his ears are pierced, a simple stud worn in his right ear, while his left ear is pierced with a silver (gold, in the anime) hourglass-shaped earring that he inherited from Luna, and two rings through the helix.

outfit

While Vanitas wore several outfits over the course of the series, he usually wears a white shirt over black pants, a dark blue striped vest, a large blue bow tie, and an oversized black coat. As accessories, he wears a long, wide ribbon tied into a bow as a belt, short boots with white spats, and black gloves with claws embedded at the fingertips. His coat is long, with a wide collar and a single button, large enough to frequently fall over one shoulder. At its hem, it takes a baloon-like form, and is joked to float "through some mysterious power." Its sleeves are someone based on those of a furisode kimono. To his belt, he straps the Book of Vanitas, two knives, and two tool cases. His outfit is called "the outfit nobody understands."[5] As a child, he looked much the same, though his hair was less cleanly cut. He was thin and physically diminutive, despite his active training as a chasseur. Prior to being Marked by Vanitas of the Blue Moon, his eyes were a darker shade of blue.

Personality

Vanitas seems to take nothing seriously, and almost always has a playful grin on his face. He acts impulsively most of the time, and his plans are normally reckless. Vanitas carries a mischievous air around him. He finds utmost amusement in Noé's abnormal reactions to things. However, he is capable of showing seriousness when the situation called for it, as well as anger. He is very flirtatious, as seen in the way he behaves around Jeanne. Beneath his flippant attitude, Vanitas is a broken man who despises both humans and vampires, but hates himself more than either. Vanitas hates being vulnerable around people, refusing to go to sleep around anyone he doesn’t trust. He likes high places and is often seen hanging around rooftops.

meow

As a mere human, Vanitas is more often than not significantly less powerful than those around him who are Vampires, at least physically so. While he is demonstrably fit, athletic, and spry, his strength, speed, and endurance are only that of an average human being and no more. The exception is the rate at which he heals from injuries, which is accelerated due to Doctor Moreau's experimentation.[4] To compensate for his generally inferior physical strength, Vanitas is extremely sharp, clever, and resourceful in battle. He can analyze situations and come up with appropriate solutions and counterattacks very fast, even in the middle of a dangerous battle. He makes use of every resource available to him and is not afraid to use underhanded tactics, to the dismay of those around him.[6]

battle

Vanitas's main weapons are a pair of knives whose hilts are rigged with wires. In addition, stored in some pockets on his belt are various "cheaters' implements" which he uses both in and out of battle. He has a tendency to try and keep his weapons and tools hidden, to allow himself the additional element of surprise should he need it, adding to his devious trickster-like fighting style.[5] He is also skilled in gathering information about his enemies and putting that to use in battle against them.[7] He favors being prepared and constantly having the upper hand against his enemies.

Book of vanitas

The main source of Vanitas's power is the Book of Vanitas and his control over it. The main method in which he uses the Book is in healing curse-bearers with what he calls an "Inverse Operation" (逆ぎゃく演えん算ざん, Gyaku Enzan). Contrary to Vampires' common belief and fears about the curse of the Blue Moon and the related Book, Vanitas uses the Book to interfere with True Names and heal them, extracting the Maladies that warp them into Malnomen.[1] He can also, before doing so, use the Book to identify exactly what Malnomen it is, though just as often Vanitas can name said Malnomen at the top of his head. This inverse operation requires a high amount of proficiency from the user, as the only other to own a Book of Vanitas cannot interfere with True Names on such a level.[11] On rare occasions the Malnomen will be too strong for him to heal on his own, and he will require the curse-bearer in question to reject it of their own volition and call upon the power of his Mark of Possession to complete the operation.[12]

Book of vanitas 2

Vanitas does not only use the Book for saving however, it is also his main weapon in battle. As the Book of Vanitas is able to rewrite the World Formula at will, he can use it to a variety of purposes. He can stun Vampires and render them immobile for a short period of time,[13] though a Vampire strong enough may be able to gain mobility sooner.[6] He can also interfere with Astermite, which allows him to manipulate automatons to do his bidding, go haywire,[14] even explode at his will.[15]