While mangaka who write/illustrate hit manga series do go on a hiatus now and again in order to recuperate from the high-stress of producing an ongoing manga, few have gone on hiatus as often as The Case Study of Vanitas mangaka Jun Mochizuki in the last four years.
This week, it has been announced by Square Enix that Jun Mochizuki will be putting her ongoing manga The Case Study of Vanitas on its third hiatus since April, 2020, when she first halted it due to the worldwide panic over Covid-19.
The dark fantasy manga came back in November, 2020, but then went on another hiatus in June, 2022, with that one lasting a full year.
Only back for a year then, and The Case Study of Vanitas is on hiatus again.
This time, though, only for two months, with a plan for it to return to publication in the August issue of Square Enix’s Gangan Joker magazine.
And no, do not think I am criticizing the mangaka, as creating an ongoing manga must be very stressful the longer it is successful.
Not only due to the tight deadlines, but also due to fans’ high expectations.
Especially as Jun Mochizuki began creating The Case Study of Vanitas in late 2015, right after finishing her first manga series — Pandora Hearts — which itself ran for almost 10 years.
For the mathematically challenged, that means she has been writing/illustrating hit manga every month for much of the last 18 years.
So, no, the Japanese manga artist doesn’t seem to be averse to incredibly hard work.
And yep, she deserves a break.
The Case Study of Vanitas manga series
Meanwhile, if you have not yet grabbed all 10 of the currently available volumes of The Case Study of Vanitas in English, now may be a good time.
And, if you haven’t started buying them at all, here is what American publisher Yen Press has to say about the fantasy series’ plot:
Rumors revolving around The Book of Vanitas, a clockwork grimoire of dubious reputation, draw Noé, a young vampire in search of a friend’s salvation, to Paris.
What awaits him in the City of Flowers, however, is not long hours treading the pavement or rifling through dusty bookshops in search of the tome.
Instead, his quarry comes to him…in the arms of a man claiming to be a vampire doctor!
Thrust into a conflict that threatens the peace between humans and vampires, will Noé cast in his lot with the curious and slightly unbalanced Vanitas and his quest to save all of vampirekind?
Grab Volume 1, or more, of The Case Study of Vanitas manga series via Yen Press, or you can watch its very popular anime adaptation from Studio Bones on Crunchyroll.
