Warning: This contains major spoilers for The Case Study of VanitasThe main character of TheCase Study of Vanitaskeeps things pretty close to the vest, but fans are slowly getting bits and pieces of Vanitas' life, and unfortunately for him, it’s not a pretty picture. Vanitas was born to a doctor and a performer, resulting in his mother dying in childbirth. He was raised by his father, a doctor, who traveled with his mother’s group of performers. While still a child, vampires attacked and killed everyone but him, delivering him into the hands of the chasseurs. Vanitas resided at the church and resolved to become a chasseur himself to slay the monsters that ruined his life. His training was already underway by the time he caught the eye of Dr. Moreau, a mad scientist that was determinedto turn humans into vampires.
Dr. Moreau had Vanitas kidnaped right off a battlefield, leaving behind the body of another boy that was roughly the same height as him in order to fool the other members of the church into thinking he died in action. It was deep underground the chasseurs' headquarters, in Dr. Moreau’s secret lab, that Vanitas was given the label test subject No. 69. It was here that Vanitas first met Mikhail, or Misha, as No. 71.
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Luna, The Vampire of the Blue Moon, Saves Vanitas and Mikhail
Dr. Moreau pushed the children throughmany agonizing experiments, Vanitas taking some in Mikhail’s place in order to keep the younger safe, all in order to use the two Books of Vanitas to change the World Formula. These books could only be used by the Vampire of the Blue Moon themselves or by members of their clan. Moreau injected the vampire’s blue blood into Mikhail and Vanitas in order to turn them into pseudo-kin. Before the final experiment was complete, the Vampire of the Blue Moon appeared and saved both children, taking them in as their own. When Vanitas asked what they wanted with him and Mikhail, they seemed confused and just stated that Vanitas called for help, much to his confusion.
The Vampire of the Blue Moon, whom Vanitas gives the name Luna, took care of the children for what appears to be a number of years. They lead them to the house of an alchemist friend of theirs and dealt with the children’s current injuries. In the throes of a fever, Vanitas explained how he ended up in the lab to Luna. Luna called him kind even as he desperately denied it. Luna takes it upon themselves to teach the children how to read, fight, and about the different Malnomen of curse bearers. It was during this time that Luna probably took him to Altus since that seems to be the only reasonable excuse for him to have gotten there previously.
As time goes on, it is stated that Luna brought the children with them in order to try and help their damaged bodies from going out. Dr. Moreau’s experiments pushed the children passed humanity and closer to what vampires are. This state is delicates; at any moment their bodies might give under the stain. Luna, as a last resort, offered to turn both of them into proper members of the Blue Moon clan. Mikhail agreed wholeheartedly, but Vanitas explicitly refused. He stated that even if he died the next day, he wanted to remain human.
Vanitas Kills Luna
This brings forth the mystery of why Vanitas accepted being made a vampire kin when he killed Luna. The details behind this situation have not been revealed yet, but Vanitas,thinking Mikhail is dead, kills Luna because they had become a curse bearer. Luna seemed to be aware of their curse and made Vanitas promise to never let someone see his memories. It appears that this spurred Vanitas to place that hypnotic suggestion on himself to kill anyone who ever tried to steal his memories.
Vanitas' relationship with Luna seems to be completely complicated. He seems to think of them fondly, but there is a deep-seated hatred for them at the same time. Vanitas is following their advice and remembering conversations with them, like when they promised that one day he’d find someone to love as long as he doesn’t close his heart. But at the same time, Vanitas has visceral reactions to Dominique de Sade’s implication that he worships Luna or when Mikhail wanted to bring Luna back to life. He has started multiple times that his greatest revenge on Luna isto save curse bearers, and that he has spent the entire time since he killed them trying to ruin their memory, and yet there is a certain kindness mixed into all of that.
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The mark of possession on Vanitas' arm allows him to wield the Book of Vanitas, allowing him to change the World Formula and save curse bearers. This mark seems to grow the more he uses his powers, consuming and changing him into something Dr. Moreau tried to create. There is an implication that usingthe book is slowly killing himand may be an explanation for the anime is told through Noe’s flashbacks after having killed Vanitas.
After killing Luna and believing Mikhail to be dead, Vanitas started healing curse bearers, and became a regular costumer of Dante and the other dhampirs' information network, and getting on the radar of the vampires of the Crimson Moon. Dante had stated that Vanitas hadother ‘shields’ before Noe, but he always got bored of them and ditched them eventually. Dante seems surprised by how long Vanitas has stayed with Noe, even going so far as to share a room with him.
That currently brings us to the setting of the anime, where Vanitas and Noe as serially going on quests to save corrupted vampires. Much about Vanitas' life is still a mystery, like his name only appearing as “xxxx” in the manga whenever not addressed by Vanitas. The details of his apparent death are one of the main draws to this anime, and leave anime-only fans mand manga readers on the edge of their seat for every new installment ofTheCase Study of Vanitas.
