Sofie’s Reviews > The Case Study of Vanitas, Vol. 5 > Status Update

noé still being a rough sleeper and clutching anything within arm’s reach because he misses louis and domi so much??????? ouch but also vanitas hanging upside down in the window and fetching breakfast for them to eat on the roof together is so cute wtf

oh good now i’m emo about louis again WHAT THE FUCK??? he was such a good brother ouch, i love that we actually get to see what he was going to say before he decided against it to be more comforting than self pitying. and noé gnawing on him in his sleep?? funny ha ha but also OUCH he wanted him so bad

this kiss has none of the shojo-esque sparkles that the first one did, because then we were seeing the full scope of the act vanitas was putting on. but this one is much more romantic anyway because it feels more REAL. the light is coming from a warm fire, they’re half dressed, jeanne has the control but not in a nefarious way. what a beautiful page

OKAY so the first time they kissed, vanitas forced it upon jeanne because he wanted power over her. and now this time, jeanne is forcing it on vanitas (and is even higher than him in the frame which i LOVE) because she’s trying to HELP HIM. literally forcing him to receive her gratitude and drink the water for fucks sake

no i’m not done screaming about this page actually because vanitas saying “you’re all naive, you and noé” is so !!!!!! they’re naive in his eyes because they refuse to kill him. because they, to varying degrees, do not see him as this horrible, ignoble person unworthy of life. and that makes them naive??????? oh sweet vanitas your self loathing is showing

okay so even when jeanne is half naked in front of him he still finds a way to bring up noé uh huh yup good job vanitas!!! the way he immediately defaults to defensive and rude again after he’s given up another snippet of his past. and right after jeanne offers to give him something of hers BECAUSE HE SAVED HER AND GOD FORBID SHE PAY HIM BACK FOR THAT. god he really hates himself huh

MY HEART OUCH vanitas falling back into his past and instinctively calling out for luna when he’s weak and in need of comfort???????? he misses his parent!!!!! he didn’t want to kill them!!!!! just like jeanne doesnt want to kill chloé!!!!! SO WHY DID HE KILL LUNA I NEED TO KNOW

is vanitas the first person in jeanne’s life to ask her what she actually wants? to even bring up the idea that she could (and maybe should) defy her orders? i think this is when it really becomes clear how vanijeanne can help each other grow. they have both been seen as tools, but vanitas has gained a bit more agency in his role, and now it’s jeanne’s turn

vanitas allows jeanne to see his scars but he refuses to let her take off his right glove. there could be two reasons for this, one being that he wants to maintain the slightest illusion of power by keeping the claws in his glove as a self defense weapon just in case. and two being that he can’t bear to see luna’s mark on his skin rn when he’s already so compromised

oh how i adore a scene where the emotionally closed off character has to take off their clothes in front of someone else. AND love how jeanne sees the physical evidence of vanitas’ trauma, while noé has heard about his torture from vanitas and met the perpetrator of it. they each have separate puzzle pieces, showing that both relationships are vital to vanitas’ growth