WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Case Study of Vanitas Episode 9, “Those Who Hunt Crimson,” now streaming on Funimation.
Stories of production issues have plagued animation studios for years. Some use an impromptu recap episode -- as CloverWorks did for Wonder Egg Priority -- while others display visible quality drops from choppy animation to bad scaling. There can also be subtler clues that hint at possible troubles, such as the overuse of animation directors.
Episode 9 of The Case Study of Vanitas features no fewer than 17 Animation Directors and one Assistant Chief Animation Director, the latter likely to coordinate between everyone. It is quite rare for a single anime episode to have this many ADs, who generally oversee animators and ensure animation quality. Also noteworthy is the low number of key animators (22) who worked on this episode. What's going on here?
Given these facts, it is natural for fans to speculate about some kind of trouble facing The Case Study of Vanitas. Perhaps it's having quality control problems or personnel issues, which may have started earlier considering Episode 8 had 12 ADs. Although Episode 9 being particularly action-heavy can somewhat explain this, previous action-filled episodes such as 3, 4 and 6 all seemed just fine with a regular number of ADs (3, 3 and 5 respectively).
For now, we can only guess at the reasons because the actual animation quality hasn’t degraded all that much. Episode 9's first fight between Noe and Roland in particular is spectacular. That said, it is also possible to see some cost-saving measures throughout the episode, such as character dialogue off screen, or covering their mouths when talking so the animators don’t have to animate those movements.
Though these are minor measures, one clearer example of an action being eliminated is when Vanitas attacks one of the Chasseurs, Maria, from above. The first cut shows Vanitas getting in position to attack (mostly a non-moving image) while the following cut shows a low angle of Maria falling to the ground, with only a sound effect of Vanitas hitting her. The editing effectively saves a cut without showing Vanitas’ attack. This scene does feel somewhat disjointed, though it doesn’t remove any information from the overall narrative.
Another example is when Noe attacks Roland by throwing Vanitas at him. While the action in this scene is smooth, when Roland catches Vanitas, the catch is mostly shown off-screen with both characters off to the side. This largely reduces the complexity of their movements, as does the subsequent cut of Noe kicking both of them to the ground. The actual movement being animated is quite minimal, but the camera work does a lot to make it look dynamic.
Besides the clever editing and camera work, Episode 9’s overall pacing enhances the viewing experience thanks to several shocking reveals that add to the enjoyment. Vanitas’ past is finally explained: his parents were murdered by vampires, while he was rescued by the Chasseurs and was training to become a vampire himself. However, he was then taken by the Chasseurs’ mad Doctor Moreau as an experimental subject before being rescued by the Vampire of the Blue Moon. This is a crucial aspect of Vanitas' character that was only hinted at before. It partially explains his cynical attitude and his extensive knowledge of the Chasseurs, though many questions remain. Dr. Moreau is also the one abducting vampires for experimentation.
On the bright side, Noe has finally gotten through to Roland, who decides to follow them into Dr. Moreau’s lair and help capture Moreau. Episode 10 of The Case Study of Vanitas looks likely to be another action-packed episode, so here's hoping the rumored production issue is only a temporary setback that will be resolved soon.