To be clear before my next statement, I don’t dislike Vanitas. I usually enjoy his bombastic appearances, to a point. But I do find it sort of interesting that the best episode of Vanitas no Carte (for me at least) was last week – the one that had almost none of him in it. As portrayed so far at least (the performance isn’t helping) Vanitas has a way of undercutting the seriousness of the series by his very presence. It’s not as if it doesn’t work when he’s around, but it’s a very different sort of show. I quite liked the somber and tragic nature of last week’s episode, though it comes down to taste. And to be fair, the fact that it was a flashback may have been an equally important factor.
This ep was a bit of an emotional comedown after that one, but that was probably inevitable. Last week’s episode was about how we got here, and this was about setting things up for the future. That means the introduction of what seems to be an extremely important character, and a focus on the most important relationship in the series, Vanitas and Noe. As well, on showing us how very different these two men are – one could go so far as to say they’re opposites in almost every meaningful way (which may be the basis for their relationship being an interesting one).
What seems clear is that Charlatan is an organization, rather than an individual – or at least both. Naenia (Nazuka Kaori) is seemingly in charge of this party, for what that’s worth. They’re controlling the curse-bearers vis the “malnomen dissonance” – beastly orchestra if you like – which as best I can tell seems to happen when a bunch of curse-bearers are gathered in one place. Among those impacted is the young girl we met on the way into the ball, who’s already killed her mother and is begging to be dispatched before she can do the same to her sister.
The key takeaway from this is pretty clear – Vanitas was able to grant the girl’s request, while Noe was unable to do the same for Louis. To be fair it’s easier for Vanitas as he has no prior relationship with this child, but one senses that it wouldn’t have mattered – this is simply a difference in their characters. Noe is aware of this, and clearly unnerved by it. Indeed, he tries to stop Vanitas even though the latter assures him that the girl is beyond help at this point. It’s yet another way in which these two are polar opposites of each other.
Veronica, who we met two episodes back, is known as “The Queen’s Fangs”, and seemingly for good reason. Vanitas refuses to mount a defense against her false charges (though it probably wouldn’t have mattered) – the guy really seems to have a death wish. It’s the intervention of Lord Ruthven (played by Morikawa Toshiyuki in one of those performances that immediately makes it impossible to imagine any other actor doing it) that stays her hand – he’s clearly the one holding the leash. Ruthven is also Luca’s uncle, and one gets the idea that he’s a very important person in the larger mix.
This Yin-Yang dynamic with the two leads is the core of the story, it seems to me. Noe is transparent and straightforward, Vanitas all about posturing and obscured motives. Noe wants to understand why Vanitas does what he does – probably even admires him for having the steel he himself lacks. And Vanitas probably likes the simplicity and decency of Noe, which represents a much different view of the world than the one he sees. As long as their goals overlap, neither has any reason to push the other away, though you get the idea that Noe should be very careful about how far he’s willing to extend his trust in Vanitas.
