English Dub Review: The Case Study of Vanitas “Number 69”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Vanitas and Noe might not be welcome underground in the tunnels of the Chasseurs, but now that they’ve identified a common enemy, things start to change. Together with Roland, the two of them track down the lair of Doctor Moreau. They infiltrate the Doctor’s hideout along with a team of Roland’s cronies, and everything is going alright at first… but then Noe calls out Moreau for his crimes against ethics and the gang finds themselves in a battle for their lives.

Our Take:

We’ve been underground for a while now it seems like, but the tenth episode of Vanitas finally gets us out onto the surface again, if only in the last few minutes. The majority of the episode is spent in Doctor Moreau’s evil mad scientist lab, and it’s a nice little break from spending more time with Vanitas just wandering around the tunnels.

Doctor Moreau has obviously played a big part in Vanitas’s life, and so coming ‘home’ again puts the kid in a weird frame of mind. At first he’s just going along with the doctor in what could be seen as a ploy to get more information about Moreau’s recent experiments, but before long he’s acting like a child with a father and Noe can’t stand it. The feelings/dynamic between Noe and Vanitas seems to change depending on what the show wants in any given episode, but it’s clear that Noe cares about Vanitas a lot now, and his standing up to Moreau only serves as further proof.

Unfortunately it also kind of blows their cover, as if it wasn’t obvious since they just waltzed in accompanied by a group of Chasseurs. The resulting battle is definitely one of the more intense action sequences the show has done in a good while. It’s a fun fight, although nothing too surprising results from it. Of course, all the villains escape and we’re left with nothing more than what we began the episode with—although there is further proof that everything is connected and comes back to Charlatan.

We’re also treated to a few mentions of Vanitas’s fellow pupil who escaped with him from Moreau’s lab years ago. I’m sure that’s going to play a part in Vanitas’s mindset going into the finale. Speaking of his time as a test subject, why did they have to call him 69? The only explanation I can think of is that it’s supposed to be funny, but it’s more of a meta joke since none of the characters comment on it in-universe.

Number 69 is a solidly average episode of The Case Study of Vanitas. It’s got some fun fight scenes, a bit of vampire lore, and a very mad scientist. Doctor Moreau was certainly one of the most entertaining parts of this episode, and it’s sad that we’re going to be leaving him behind for now most likely. Roland, too, will probably be absent now, and that’s another shame. Episode 11 is going to have to work extra hard to overcome their absences.