VnC 58: the case study of astolfo
After a whole year of suspense, the Case Study of Vanitas is back with a bang and so is this tumblr blog. Time isnāt real, so letās pretend that this analysis came out when I wrote it after reading chapter 58 rather than the day before chapter 59. Letās go!
As always, although itās been a while, this post will contain massive spoilers for VnC 58 and is intended for those who have read up to this point in the manga!
Chapter 58 begins with (an absolutely stunning shot of Vanitasās tarte tatin) a quick recap of the plot so far and where the main cast is at the momentā Domi and Jeanne tragically finish their conversation offscreen; Domi and NoĆ© have an adorable reunion; and Jeanne leaves the hotel alone, likely to report on her successful mission to a worried Luca. Jeanne looks adorably carefree as she heads out and I pray for a flashback to her conversation with Domi in the near future.
Moving rapidly along, we cut to the Archiviste NoĆ© caught a glimpse of last chapter, traveling through the border between worlds. We learn that sheās familiar with Comte and likely Luna as well, and she and Comte sit down to have a very Pandora Hearts flavored tea break. Comte says that mystery Archiviste hasnāt travelled to the human world in ages, making it very unlikely that she was there explicitly to see NoĆ©, although itās possible she was (like Comte) waiting in the shadows to intervene if the fair fight reached a certain point.
Mystarchiviste in turn reveals that Comteās existence is āunstableā. The only context we really have for that term is Vani and Misha, artificial followers of the blue moon lying somewhere between human and vampireā¦ Comte certainly acts like a vampire, but maybe heās actually something much more in between? My half-theory half-headcanon is that his obsession with Luna stems partially from feeling commonality with another being who doesnāt understand their own existenceā¦
Speaking of Luna, Comte taking their form has interesting lore implications (can he take the form of anyone heās met, or is there another requirement that has to be met first?) and also interesting fanfic implications but letās move rapidly onwards to the real meat of chapter 58.
A majority of VnC 58 takes place in an extended flashback, as Astolfo reflects on his past. This flashback confirms a lot of what past chapters have implied about Astolfoā he was consumed by self hatred and guilt following the vampire attack, to the point of attempting suicide. The whole flashback could easily read as yet another parallel to Vanitas, who, after finding himself as the sole survivor a second time in a row, turned to a path he knew would culminate in his own death.
We meet two fun new characters during this section of the chapterā a guy wearing an earring (I was half-wondering if this was a younger version of Olivierās assistant, but their eyebrows and earrings are different, so heās probably one of Ganoās homeboys) and Charles.
Earring guy is suspicious. He might have some sort of plot relevant past (cough cough, No. 7- [i am escorted off the stage]), he might be an average chasseur with a vampire related incident in his history, or he might just be your standard issue psychopath. My favorite Mochijun Flavored Detail this chapter is the panel where, under the guise of breaking up Mira and Ganoās brawl, he moves to block Olivierās line of sight and path to Astolfo. Itās just so Mochijun and i missed her so muchā-
Charles is neato, but he sort of has this vibe where heās not meant to be the star of the panels heās in. Itās like Astolfo isnāt fully looking at him. Even though Charles is trying to inspire faith in Astolfo here, the only light Astolfo sees is Roland. In his double-page introductory panel Charles is exclusively lit by light coming in through the door as Roland opens it. Roland, meanwhile, looks like a savior, the light behind him blinding, and Astolfo bursts into tears when he sees him. Iām so excited to watch their relationship collapse as this flashback continues..!
Through Charlesās conversation with Astolfo, we learn a very interesting piece of lore: when a vampire bites someone they arenāt injecting an aphrodisiac or poison with their fangsā theyāre actively rewriting their world formula, and sometimes these effects are permanent. I feel like I shouldāve been able to riddle this out, given the whole mark of the blue moon thing, but the fact that this happens so frequently throughout the series, and that Jeanne has rewritten Vanitas, is feckin shocking and feels like it has some very interesting implications for the series. Perhaps Archivistes are unique in that, rather than rewriting with their bite, they read whatās already there.
I honestly donāt have many other thoughts on Charles. He gets carried around and nobodyās allowed see him, possibly implying that heās become sicker/ his existence has gotten more unstable ;) since he originally became a paladin. Maybe heās the head honcho Roland and Olivier are working against, maybe heās actually dead by the time we hit the main plotline. At this point, it feels like he could move in any direction.
interpretation, extrapolation, being wrong, thatās the mochijuncycle
Vampires rewrite the world formula when they bite others, often leading to devastating and permanent consequences for those theyāve bitten. Misha and Vanitas arenāt the only two unstable beings in existenceā while weāve never heard of VnC vampires turning humans with their bite, maybe once a human has been rewritten enough times they too become unstable. Maybe Comte, in constantly changing his name and shape, has been rewriting himself to the point of instability. Maybe NoĆ© struggles to rewrite because, as an Archiviste, he was born to simply read and record.
But you probably shouldnāt trust me on any of this because, as always, this is 100% my biased initial interpretation of Chapter 58! I hope youāre all as hyped to see this flashback play out as I am, and Iāll see you (hopefully somewhat) soon for VnC 59!
