Vanitas × Noé

Brief Chapter 42 Analysis

Chapter 42 is amazing but it's been haunting me and I need to get my thoughts, specifically Vanitas x Noé thoughts, out there. Before I start I want to acknowledge the most straightforward way to read this chapter is that it is 100% Vanijeanne focused. Vanitas is definitely falling for Jeanne at this point, legitimately seeing her romantically rather than just sexually. I will not dispute this.

I'm fine with that and think Vanitas starting to genuinely like Jeanne is good. I'm a fan of that concept no matter how much I like Vannoé. My only problem may be how quickly Jeanne falls for him since he has yet to apologise for being a dick to her. As things stand though I can justify all of Jeanne's actions from what I understand of her character and I trust Jun. I'd be more worried about this relationship with a different author but I have a lot of faith in Jun to treat these things with care.

Now! On to the Vannoé that's been haunting me. It may seem strange that I can find anything about the two of them when they were only together in the last panel. But the framing of some of the things in this chapter seems weird to me. You may think I'm reaching (and that's fair tbh) but I legitimately did have this interpretation the first time I read the chapter. I didn't go looking for it.

At the end of the chapter Vani is flashing back to some things Luna told him. They were about opening his heart and finding someone who could care about him. Again, it is easy to interpret this as about Jeanne. Vanitas is literally thinking about it because of Jeanne. The only reason I have a secondary interpretation is because of how Jun framed the panels in this part of the chapter.

It's interesting that when Luna says Even when you're alone, you won't be, We see Noé. This just seemed like an odd choice because there's no reason for us to see him. It is helpful to know where Noé is but he could have just appeared in the panel where he calls out to Vanitas. We, as an audience, wouldn't be confused. The two are nearly always together so it wouldn't be a surprise for him to just show up without us seeing him make his way there. Besides, Noé kind of needs a doctor right now, regardless if Vani is a quack.

Weirdly enough, despite how romantic the words above them are this seems like more of a reach to interpret as Vannoé. It still very much can be interpreted that way though. The fact that when talking about someone who'll keep Vani warm we have Noé and Vanitas as the two characters in frame is kind of weird. Again, Vani is undeniably thinking about Jeanne. I'm seeing the framing as more of a potential meta hint from Jun about where the relationship will go. Rather than a reflection of the characters' current feelings. There is justification for Noé being in this panel outside of romantic interpretations though. He did need to meet up with Vani.

But the text didn't necessarily have to be on this last panel. It could have been on the previous page and this page only having Vanitas shouting. To the characters, this change wouldn't mean anything but as a reader it could greatly change the interpretation. I think that's all I have to say about chapter 42 but while I'm here, there's another moment that has been haunting me.

What did Dante mean by this? Why is Vani and Jeanne getting together convenient for her? The only interpretation I have is that it would be convenient because Noé won't be able to get together with Vanitas and he'll be free for Domi. But that feels like such a weird reading of this moment? If anyone can tell me other ways to look at this scene please tell me!