The case study of vanitas is nothing short of a complex story done right. From small wholesome moments to complex character relationships and psychological moments not to mention the mysteries themselves.
The strength of this Cour particularly lies with the progression of plot and unexpected revelations and character moments.
What the author basically excels at is balance. Mostly complex stories dont take there time and throw a bunch of stuff at your face(I am only talking about the majority here) However Mochizuki is basically devoid of that. Taking a slow but pre planned approach not only makes it intriguing but immersive at the same time.
However that's where the main complain lies
Vanitas is "slow"
The first Cour is needed to establish your link with the characters for delivering the main flavour in the 2nd one.
For the most part, the story has still Just begun
Strengths:
Character relationships: Its very common for people to actually misinterpret the relationships between the characters since the writer is fond of writing complex, eccentric yet extreme relationships. Her approach is basically related to psychological trauma and self worth of the characters. However due to these things even friends can be mistaken for love interests since the depiction of "love" in her stories is completely different from what one might expect. Which kinda explains why people often ship Vanitas and Noe and of course some people due to their misinterpretation or biasness use it to criticise the series. Sadly people who actually do that dont understand her works or what she tries to potray however
But back to the question, why would you consider it as a strength? It establishes an emotional connection of the viewer to the degree they might not expect, if you truly understand their bonds and psychology that is. If there is one thing the anime was able to depict properly, it was these relationships.
Simply put, the writer explains the extent of a bond, whether its between siblings, friends or something entirely different in its most pure yet extreme form and that is its main appeal. The characters have conflicts but what results after that is nothing short of a worth it pay off due to these "relationships"
Characters: OfCourse these relationships are great because the character themselves are written well. Every character in the story has a unique distinct personality that develops gradually and also they are always opposite of what a viewer might initially expect them to be(most of the time. For example
Spoiler, click to view
Jeanne was shown to be quiet submissive in the drama of the "supposed" relationship between her and vanitas only to be proven false when they actually develop feelings for each other.
Same goes for Vanitas. Who was actually the exact opposite of "the cool quirky character" he was shown in the start.
And some characters are written in such a beautiful manner that you cant help but love them(yes i am talking about you Noe)
From the mysterious "teacher" and creepy yet adorable Mikhail to the lovable "Vampire of the blue moon" every character has interesting characteristics and they are not just empty shells (Except Doc he is pretty annoying an i just want him to suffer)
However the anime did not do justice to some characters(Mainly dominique)
Plot and Worldbuilding: No work is great till the writing itself is something to behold. Vanitas as i mentioned above vanitas is still developing and even then the twists, conflicts are planned and executed with care. (the anime was a bit fast in depicting that however so it did not give the same experience in contrast with some parts of the manga)
Its unpredictable, different and intriguing, opposite to a Typical mystery. The careful approach with all the things done with drip feeding, not to mention unique world building which takes inspiration from real historical events(Beast of gevaden, de sades and several other things) makes you realize how much care is put into the plot. And well that's all there is to it
Final Judgement:
Surprisingly the adaptation was good since i truly believe that Mochizuki works are hard to adapt. Even though the anime rushed at some parts. However i should mention that the beast of gevaden could have been much better considering the amount of cut content.
However even though the Manga is still much better, the anime did a great job(especially with the last arc) and i would obviously recommend it.
If you read it this far then thankyou and have a great day
