The Case Study of Vanitas: Things to Remember

Pre-Memoire 58 Official Art Analysis

Good day to you, everyone! After a year long hiatus the manga is back, baby! So, seeing as the previews for the chapter include a lovely piece of official art I thought I'd assuage some pre-chapter excitement by doing a rudimentary analysis. Here is the lovely artwork in question:

Because of Misha's inclusion I'm going to treat this as a general analysis that won't necessarily have anything specific to do with the chapter it will be attached to. Seeing as Misha disappeared a few chapters prior and is unlikely to be included in this one.

First observation is that Misha's inclusion in itself is odd. Having the two main characters  be the centrepiece after a year long hiatus is to be expected but including a relatively minor villain? That's unusual. He even looks a little out of place in the illustration itself.

While Vanitas and Noé are entwined Misha's body is almost entirely obscured. We can tell he's leaning his arms on Vanitas on either side of one of Noé's leg, almost as though he's trying to get between Vanitas and Noé. But he's obviously being unsuccessful. Not only is he a relatively minor figure in the illustration itself (being covered by the two larger characters) but Vanitas isn't paying him any mind at all.

While Misha has all of his attention fixed on Vanitas, Vanitas himself only looks at the viewer, as does Noé. It communicates Vanitas and Noé are on the same wavelength, focusing on something larger while Misha is only fixated on Vanitas. Still not sure Misha has reached Vincent Nightray levels of brocon vibes but he's certainly close. Art like this does not help his case.

It's also worth noting that Vanitas and Noé's clothes match in the sense that they're equal and opposite. On the other hand Misha is completely disconnected from this coordination - almost jarringly so. The one thing he is matching is that all three have an earring in their left ear, with Vanitas's being his iconic hourglass (though it has been blued out to a silhouette). Misha's earring seems almost like an imitation of Vanitas's rather than reflecting any individuality like Noé's.

If we look at Vanitas and Noé's positioning itself it's pretty interesting. Both of Noé's legs are positioned in such a way that they are between Vanitas and the outside of the frame. He is physically keeping Vanitas inside the picture. He could be doing so because he is the narrator of vnc and thus he is figuratively preserving a picture of who Vanitas was. Although a small part of Vanitas pokes outside the frame, perhaps because Noé will never truly be able to understand every part of him even if he can get close.

Noé's pose is a lot less relaxed than Vanitas's. He's more actively contorting himself. Though maybe that's just because he's taller lol. Anyway, while Noé is essentially caging Vanitas in Vanitas is just kind of languid. He's resting his arm on Noé's leg and leaning casually against the 'box' they're in. Even the foot stepping on Noé doesn't seem particularly urgent. The gesture is a little aggressive but it's also almost flirtatious, especially looking at how it's caught the bow around Noé's neck and considering how Vanitas would have had to move to achieve that.

There's also an inherent softness to Vanitas simply because he's not wearing his clawed gloves, which Mochijun pretty much never draws him without. The gloves are still long and a barrier to his skin/mark but he's without his weapons. This indicates a level of comfort with Noé, and potentially Misha as well. It's vulnerable.

Finally I want to talk about Vanitas and Noé's hair. We'll start with Noé because his is the most out there. Noé's hair is canonically white/silver and in this illustration it is very much not that. It isn't unusual for Mochijun to colour her characters' features in non-canon ways if it better fits a piece and the vibes she's going for. Vanitas's is regularly coloured blue despite being black for this very reason.

Regardless, it is very interesting that this specific palette was chosen for Noé's hair. Specifically, the same palatte as Faustina's. The implications here may be related to Faustina in future pulling Noé over to her side and/or bargaining successfully for his true name. It could also potentially point to some connection between the Archivistes and the royal family - whether through some distant blood relation or a former political/social alliance. Pretty wild speculation from hair but, hey, what do you expect? I've said more far-fetched things. Also interesting that Noé's eyes are coloured the same way Jeanne's usually are. Don't have anything to make of that really. It's pretty though. Maybe the hair and eyes could indicate Noé will drink Jeanne and/or Faustina's blood in future, since Archivistes experience someone's memories his taking on their features could represent that. And is Noé's hair getting longer? I feel like it wasn't quite this long at the beginning of vnc but maybe I'm going insane.

Vanitas's hair is also interesting because there seems to be light reflecting on it. It's interesting because he's the only one who seems to have this gold light touching him. I'm not sure of its meaning. It makes me think of sunrise/sunset which of course leads my mind to "I still remember the colour of the rising sun..." from memoire 11 which makes me think of Vanitas's inevitable death. But it seems like a bit of a jump to go from gold light straight to death. That's my best guess though hahaha.

That's all I have to say. See you again when the chapter drops!