English Dub Review: The Case Study of Vanitas “Night of Mocking Masks”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Noé and Dominque make Vanitas a bit uncomfortable with their steamy blood sucking session. Later on at the ball, Dominque takes Vanitas aside to question his loyalty to Noé and Vanitas decides to reveal his identity to the entire party of guests.

It doesn’t go quite as well as he expected, and he is whisked away by Jeanne in the nick of time. The two of them end up alone on a rooftop and Vanitas convinces her to suck his blood. Meanwhile, some suspicious gate crashers have arrived and battle with Noé and Luca.

Our Take:

The Case Study of Vanitas is a pretty dramatic show. Even its title is a bit over the top, but when you’re dealing with gothic vampires and luxurious ballroom scenes, maybe that’s just the way it has to be. This week’s episode of Vanitas has a lot going on in terms of both inner and external conflict—plus it includes what might be the most sensual blood sucking scene I’ve ever had the privilege of witnessing.

The episode opens up with Dominique and Noé together, as she consents to giving him her blood. You see, Noé is a sensitive vampire boy who only drinks the blood of others as long as they’re okay with it because it allows him to see their memories. Domi is more than okay with it—in fact, she’s given him her blood before. But Vanitas isn’t so sure about how strange they’re being together.

Later on at the fancy ballroom party, Domi actually gets Vanitas alone and grills him on his intentions for Noé. It’s pretty cute just how much she cares about him, but we’ll have to wait and see if her talk had any effect over that particular dynamic. What her words do effect is Vanitas’s plan of action. He realizes that he just needs to go public with his identity and decides to make a very dramatic leap onto a chandelier from which he addresses the crowd of guests and reveals that the Vampire of the Blue Moon gave him his name and his grimoire.

It doesn’t really go as well as he apparently thinks it will. Before the shocked and alarmed vampires can attack him, Jeanne whisks in and carries him away to safety. It’s funny to see Vanitas so unhinged in this episode. One minute he’s yelling about his powers, the next he’s making a joke about getting swept off his feet by Jeanne. It’s not really a joke though, because the two of them end up giving into temptation and Vanitas, who apparently wants to know what it feels like, convinces her to sample his blood. From the close-ups of crimson bite marks to the shots of Jeanne on top of him, this was definitely a very steamy vampire scene and I felt a little embarrassed just watching it. Definitely interested to see where their relationship goes.

The party comes to an abrupt end when Luca and Noé, who have met up again, are attacked suddenly by a pair of mysterious masked intruders. Noé is able to fight them off at first, but when he questions their identities, they chillingly inform him that they are Charlatan. And now we have to wait a whole week to find out what happens next!