The Case Study of Vanitas, Vol. 1.

Mochizuki, Jun. The Case Study of Vanitas, Vol. 1. 2016. 240p. ISBN 978-0-316-55281-3. Available in the Graphic Novels section of the library.

Noe has departed from the forests of Averoigne for the first time, traveling aboard a majestic airship named La Baleine on his way to a steampunk Paris. A young vampire, he seeks to find the Book of Vanitas, supposedly written by Vanitas, a vampire not born during a crimson full moon, but rather during a blue full moon. He wishes to learn more about the book and its power. That vampire wrote the Book of Vanitas as a way to punish and slay the other vampires. Now Noe’s teacher reports that the book has been found in Paris.

While on board La Baleine, Noe meets Amelia, a vampire who has been warped by the maladies that affect those whose vampires whose true name has been discovered. Their meeting is interrupted by Vanitas himself, or, at least, the heir to Vanitas, who has in fact inherited the Book of Vanitas and is now using it to heal rather than the kill vampires.

Unfortunately, others are not convinced that this is what Vanitas is doing. Vampires who seek to capture the book begin to lurk, while others continue to suffer from the maladies. Can Noe and Vanitas form an alliance and learn to work together to avoid falling prey to their mutual enemies?