Review: The Case Study of Vanitas vol. 8 by Jun Mochizuki

Title: The Case Study of Vanitas vol. 8
Series: The Case Study of Vanitas #8
Author: Jun Mochizuki
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Fantasy; Manga; Alternative History
Publisher/Publication Date: Yen Press; June 15, 2021

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Beast of Gévaudan is put to rest once and for all as Chloé makes peace with her truest desire—but Vanitas’s troubles continue as both he and Jeanne are struck with certain... ailments of the heart! There’s no time for him to dwell on this rather unwelcome development, though, as Domi is swept away in the machinations of a phantom from his past...

For the past few weeks, I’ve been pretty busy getting caught up with my Netgalley arcs, but I finally found the time to read vol. 8 of The Case Study of Vanitas. Action and emotion abound in this riveting 8th volume. There was so much going on. And I feel like I say this every time I pick up an installment in this series, but it’s true. The story can feel like it’s moving quickly—because it’s a page-turner—but overall it’s an extremely detail oriented series.

The Beast of Gévaudan arc has finally come to its close, and what a whirlwind it was. I’ve been looking forward to this moment since the arc hit its middle section. In the time between the releases of vol. 7 and vol. 8, I’ve been reading more about the actual history of the beast. I did like the way Mochizuki incorporated the historical fact into the story. The fictionalized events closely mirrored actual fact in some regard, but at the end of the day Mochizuki built the incident in a way that made sense in the context of the story.

I sympathized with a lot of the characters involved in this arc, namely Chloe and Astolfo—even Jeanne. One of the themes in the series is tragedy, so there were some heavy subjects present in vol. 8.

Moving on, a new arc begins in this volume as well. There were a couple of surprisingly lighthearted chapters with a few humorous moments. But that didn’t last long. There were more instances of vampire politics, and the few moments showing the dynamics in the De Sade family were intense, to say the least. It answered some of the questions I had regarding Noe’s childhood friend, Dominique. It seems like she will be part of the focus of the upcoming chapters, but I also feel like the story is gearing up to reveal more about Vanitas. I’m excited about that possibility since his past involves the vampire of the blue moon. I have my fingers crossed.

Overall, vol. 8 was excellent.