#which was: 'watch your edgelord protag get metaphorically topped cowards'

[neversetyoufree]

I saw a couple people complain yesterday about how horny the blood drinking was in ep 4 (and the corresponding chapters), and while I have zero ill will toward the people who think that, I will never agree with that take. Like, am I a big ‘ol ace who generally doesn’t enjoy sexual scenes in stuff? Yes. Are VnC’s horny blood drinking scenes near and dear to my heart? Also yes. Why? Because on a conceptual level, I think they’re so goddamn funny.

Like, queer-coding and flowery aesthetics or not, Vanitas no Carte is meant to be a shonen series. It’s published in a shonen magazine, which means that, to at least some extent, it’s meant to be marketed at teenage boys.

And y’know, on a whole, it’s not uncommon for shonen to be horny, but it’s horny in a very specific way. There’s lots of gratuitous short skirts and cleavage in girls’ outfits, and lots of jokes about nudity and perversion. The tone of it tends to be very “boobs loll,” which I do not enjoy at all, but which kinda makes sense when you’re trying to sell to fifteen year old boys. VnC, though? It may be horny, but it is horny in such a vastly different way. The blood-drinking scenes are a lot of things, but they really aren’t that male-gazey, and they’re played way too straight for that brand of shonen horny comedy. And that is why those scenes are conceptually hysterical.

Because honestly, who the fuck is this even for? Aside from, like, 18-20something year old tumblr users, who does this mix of shonen action and horny romance novel content appeal to lmao? Like, hey teenage boys! Hey shonen-loving anime dudebros! You wanna see Noé break a sword over his knee? Fuck yeah! So do I! But first you have to watch him bite Domi in a shot that looks straight out of a Josei. You wanna watch Vanitas get unhinged and scream about saving a ballroom full of hostile vampires? Of course you do! That scene is badass! But you will have to watch him on the ground moaning as his blood gets drained later that ep.

Why is it like this? Who is this for? Only Mochijun and Bones know, my friend.

tldr, in other words, yes, the sheer horniness is unnecessary and kinda ridiculous, but it’s my unnecessary and ridiculous content. It makes the series so much weirder and more difficult to define, and I love it for that.

#I decided it was a bit much so i took it out #but i do need y'all to know that this was originally gonna end with one more line #which was: 'watch your edgelord protag get metaphorically topped cowards' #i just think that line is funney #also I did not realize this was gonna be so long when i started writing this #pls don't take me too seriously #i do not want to start discourse #vnc #vanitas no carte #vnc anime #anime #meta #honestly i blame this mindset on all my time in and around the hannibal fandom #used to be super uncomfy w the sex scenes in that show #but over time #i grew to appreciate the sheer comedy of will fuckin fantasizing about the manstag while in bed with margot #it's just so stupidly goddamn gay #there's no room in my brain for discomfort when I'm laughing at someone #and watching 'Dr.' Vanitas Edgelord blushing and moaning on the ground #after making such a show of being a Cool Man while talking to Domi #is funny in a similar-ish way