English Dub Review: The Case Study of Vanitas “The Incurable Disease”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After returning from their adventures in Gévaudan, Noe and Vanitas try to settle back into their lives in Paris. But Vanitas can’t seem to go back to the ways things were because he can’t get something out of his head. And that something is Jeanne. It seems he’s fallen in love for real with her now, and despite his friends trying to help him out, there’s no cure. And what’s worse is that it looks like Jeanne is in love with him, too.

Our Take:

The Case Study of Vanitas is one of those shows that struggles to carve out a spot for itself when it comes to tone. It jumps from one thing to another, giving viewers tonal whiplash in the extreme. Some people might be able to stomach this, but I am not one of them, and that’s why this week’s episode of Vanitas was one of the worst ones in a while. The Incurable Disease is accurately named, because I think I might be sick after watching it.

I kid, I kid, but honestly it was definitely a very dull chapter in a show that sometimes pushes things to quite the spectacle. The long and short of it is that Vanitas is in love, and it’s the kind of love that can feel at home in the adolescent target audience of the show, meaning that the whole episode is spent with Vanitas and Jeanne crying about how confused they are and trying to ignore their feelings.

Vanitas has been lying at home for like ten days since his return to the city, and Noe is worried about him. He tries to get him medical attention, but it turns out that his heart is just working more than usual thanks to his newfound love for Jeanne. Then Vanitas runs into Roland and his fellow Chasseur and it turns into one of the longest running scenes in the episode, consisting of Roland making funny faces and Vanitas telling about how Jeanne’s smile makes him feel. Folks who ship these two will be enjoying themselves, maybe, but the rest of us, not so much.

Jeanne’s portion of the episode is a little more tolerable, just because I don’t dislike her as much as I do Vanitas himself. Jeanne being fully prepared to consummate her love with Vanitas the next time she sees him is kind of fun; it’s nice to see someone like her, who has lived to serve others, finally feel more free to express herself and her own desires. I just wish, along with Domi and Luca, that she had picked a more deserving target for her affection.

The love stuff takes up most of the episode and makes it a major snooze fest, but there is a little tease of tension at the end when we learn that a vampire has been attacking citizens in their absence. And this strange boy named Mikhail might just be using Domi to do it. What does he have against Noe and Vanitas exactly? We’ll have to wait until next week to find out his true intentions.