History TearJerker / TheCaseStudyOfVanitas

** Memoire 55.5: Vanitas saying that if he's going to die, then he wants Noe to be the one who does it. The defeated and tired look on his face as he says that makes the scene even more poignant.

** August’ betrayal. He had been nothing but a friend to Chloé over the years, but after his students’ deaths and the betrayal of Jeanne’s parents he changed completely. He came to Chloé, demanding her family’s research. When she refused, he attacked and tried to compel her. While Chloé was able to fight him off, she lost her oldest friend.

* Chapter 48 elaborates on Vanitas and Mikhail's time [[spoiler: when they were under the clutches of Doctor Morreau as his guinea pigs, and god it's NOT PRETTY AT ALL. The two of them were subjected from one painful experiment to another, especially Vanitas, who offered himself up for the most painful experiments in order to protect Mikhail. ]]

* [[spoiler: Young!Vanitas's breakdown in chapter 49, where he blames himself for his parents' death. Considering how manipulative, inaccessible (except ''some'' moments where he lets his guard down) and unpredictable current Vanitas has been up until now, not only is it shocking, but also really, ''really'' heartbreaking to see the young Vanitas break down the way he does. ]]
** And the reason he [[spoiler: stayed captive under Morreau for as long as he did, even though he could have easily escaped if he wanted to? To prevent anyone else from suffering in his place.]]
** The panels with [[spoiler: their 'father' and them goofing around. They're heartwarming, and at the same time quite poignant, as the readers are already aware of the tragedy that awaits the trio.]]
** The ending panels of the chapter; [[spoiler: Mikhail is ready to give up his humanity to be with Vanitas of the Blue Moon, while Vanitas vows that he wants to retain his humanity until the end. Well, we all know that the next chapter is ''not'' gonna be pretty]].
** The fact that Mikhail was willing to become their 'father''s kin, just so they could be together shows how much the poor kid loved his 'father'. It's particularly gut wrenching, when you think about what's next to come.
** This chapter also provides some really sad context to Vanitas's self-loathing. [[spoiler: He blamed himself for his mother's death, as she died due to childbirth, then his father died protecting him... there's also his willingness to stay in the lab, enduring one horrific experiment after another so that nobody else would be hurt, which (sort of) implies that he didn't care much about his own well-being at this point. And ''then'', when he finally does meet a savior (Vanitas of the Blue Moon), he ends up having to kill said savior for reasons unknown. No wonder his self-hatred runs so deep.]]

* Chloe’s past: As a child, she was turned into a vampire in the wake of the Babel incident. Her human family faked her death and hid her away as they researched a way to turn her human. For the better part of 300 years, Chloé was cloistered away, to the point she feared going outside.

* Chloe’s past: As a child, she was turned into a vampire in the wake of the Babel incident. Her human family fake her death and hid her away as they researched a way to turn her human. For the better part of 300 years, Chloé was cloistered away, to the point she feared going outside.

* [[spoiler: Young!Vanitas's breakdown in chapter 49, where he blames himself for his parents' death. Considering how manipulative, inaccessible (except ''some'' moments where he lets his guard down) and unpredictable current Vanitas has been up until now, not only is it shocking, but also really, ''really'' heartbreaking to see the young Vanitas break down like this.]]

* tThe revelation that Chloe, despite her dedication to creating the World Alteration Device, never really wanted to be human. She only wanted [[IJustWantToBeLoved was to be loved]] for who and what she is. Contrary to what her father wished, she just wanted them to accept her even if she was no longer a human.
* Vanitas's YouWouldntBelieveMeIfIToldYou outburst at Noé. Just shows how ''deeply'' wounded he is beneath that mask of arrogance and superiority. [[UnwittingTestSubject His]] [[TheyWouldCutYouUp horrible]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast past]] and the vampires' numerous attempts at killing him have left him so untrusting and jaded that he has just lost the hope that any vampire would be willing to listen, let alone believe in what he has to say.

* [[spoiler: Louis']] death. [[spoiler: It traumatized both Noé and Dominique, and left the former with SurvivorGuilt because he was appalled at the relief he felt when he realized that it was not his head that had been cut off. ]]

* The Gévaudan Arc. Chloe spent her 300 years of life locked in a castle where she outlived all of her human relatives until she was alone. She gradually became submerged in completing the World Formula theory to honor her father's memory, but she was really distracting herself from her empty unaging existence. [[spoiler: Her closest friend tried to mind control her, her remaining human family was killed by the church because they were suspected of hiding a vampire and Chloé was blamed for it, then she was made into a scapegoat for the attacks of the "beast" that everyone in Gévaudan wanted dead. Finally, the only person who stayed loyal to her became a Curse-Bearer willingly to protect her from the villagers. When Jeanne arrived to kill her, Chloé was more than ready to die.]]
** Thankfully, [[spoiler: Vanitas, with the help of Jeanne and Jean, manages to save Chloe, who then breaks down into tears as she admits that she could never hate the family or the people, and all she wanted [[IJustWantToBeLoved was to be loved]]. Contrary to what her father wished, she just wanted them to accept her even if she was no longer a human. All of this culminates in a a very heartwarming moment where Jeanne and Jean hug her, letting her know that she's already loved more than she thought. Jean and Chloe then vow to continue to live with each other, no matter how tough things get. ]]
** From the same arc, Vanitas's [[spoiler: YouWouldntBelieveMeIfIToldYou outburst at Noé. Just shows how ''deeply'' wounded he is beneath that mask of arrogance and superiority. [[UnwittingTestSubject His]] [[TheyWouldCutYouUp horrible]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast past]] and the vampires' numerous attempts at killing him have left him so untrusting and jaded that he has just lost the hope that any vampire would be willing to listen, let alone believe in what he has to say. ]]
* [[SourOutsideSadInside Astolfo's]] past is both horrifying and heart-wrenching. [[spoiler: He was a sweet kid who once helped an injured vampire who was trying to escape from the church. Said vampire betrayed him by turning him and his family to the vampires. His parents were brutally murdered and they sucked his and his sister's blood, without consent, for ''days''. By the time Roland came to their rescue, his sister, who was ONLY 6 YEARS OLD, had already died. He may be an AxCrazy BloodKnight hellbent on [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge killing all the vampires,]], but it's hard to blame him considering all the shit he's been through. What makes this whole thing worse is that deep down, he blames ''himself'' for the death of his family because he was naive enough to be deceived in the first place. ]]

This is a [[Manga/PandoraHearts Mochizuki Jun]] work, so better get the tissues ready:

Given that it's a Mochizuki Jun (the author of Manga/PandoraHearts) work, these are to be expected:

* The arc revolving around Chloe. She spent her 300 years of life locked in a castle where she outlived all of her human relatives until she was alone. She gradually became submerged in completing the World Formula theory to honor her father's memory, but she was really distracting herself from her empty unaging existence. [[spoiler: Her closest friend tried to mind control her, her remaining human family was killed by the church because they were suspected of hiding a vampire and Chloé was blamed for it, then she was made into a scapegoat for the attacks of the "beast" that everyone in Gévaudan wanted dead. Finally, the only person who stayed loyal to her became a Curse-Bearer willingly to protect her from the villagers. When Jeanne arrived to kill her, Chloé was more than ready to die.]]