If you’ve been hearing about The Case Study of Vanitas and wondering how many manga volumes there are, whether it’s finished, and where to start — you’re in the right place. The quick answer: there are currently 11 volumes in English. This gorgeous dark fantasy manga about vampires, curses, and a very suspicious “doctor” in steampunk Paris has been steadily building a devoted readership since late 2015. Let’s go through the full volume list.
The Case Study of Vanitas Has 11 Manga Volumes — And the Series Is Still Ongoing
The Case Study of Vanitas currently has 11 volumes published in English by Yen Press. The most recent English volume released on April 22, 2025.
The manga is ongoing — it hasn’t ended yet. It started in December 2015 in Square Enix’s Monthly GanGan JOKER, a Japanese manga magazine where individual chapters are published monthly before being collected into the book-format volumes you buy off the shelf. That means we’ve had roughly a decade of this story unfolding, and there’s more to come.
The series is created by Jun Mochizuki, the same author behind Pandora Hearts — another dark, intricate fantasy that earned a passionate following. That pedigree shows in every panel of Vanitas, from the elaborate world-building to the emotionally devastating character work.
One thing worth noting right away: the English volume count matches the Japanese count at 11. That’s great news for English readers — there’s no gap to worry about. You’re caught up with Japan as of the latest release.
If you discovered this manga through the anime adaptation (which covers a portion of the story), the volumes pick up where the anime leaves off and go significantly further. The manga is the source material and contains considerably more detail, so even arcs the anime covered are worth reading in their original form.
Complete Volume List
Here’s a breakdown of all 11 volumes. The dates listed below are Japanese release dates — all 11 volumes are currently available in English from Yen Press, so you can buy and read every one of them right now regardless of when they originally came out in Japan.
Volumes 1–6: Japanese Release Timeline
| Volume | JP Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1 | April 2016 | Series debut — introduces Vanitas, Noé, and the cursed vampire world |
| Vol. 2 | October 2016 | Expands the conspiracy around the Book of Vanitas |
| Vol. 3 | April 2017 | Deepens the gothic mystery and character dynamics |
| Vol. 4 | November 2017 | Dark fantasy stakes intensify significantly |
| Vol. 5 | July 2018 | Note the 8-month gap from Vol. 4 |
| Vol. 6 | February 2019 | Another 7-month gap — pattern of irregular scheduling begins |
Volumes 7–11: The Story Escalates
| Volume | Notes |
|---|---|
| Vol. 7 | Story enters a darker, more complex phase with expanded lore |
| Vol. 8 | Confrontations intensify; key character revelations |
| Vol. 9 | Emotional stakes reach new highs as alliances shift |
| Vol. 10 | Major plot threads begin converging |
| Vol. 11 | Most recent volume — the story continues to deepen |
The dark fantasy elements that simmer in the early volumes come to a full boil in the later half of the series — expect deeper lore, more intense confrontations, and the kind of emotional gut-punches that fans of Mochizuki’s earlier work will recognize.
One thing to be aware of: the release gaps between Japanese volumes are irregular, and the series has experienced formal hiatuses as well. Because this is a monthly series — meaning one chapter comes out per month in the magazine — it takes time for enough chapters to accumulate into a full volume. Some volumes arrive within six months of each other; others have gaps stretching well over a year. Beyond routine scheduling variation, the series went on hiatus in June 2022 (resuming May 2023) and again in May 2024, with the latter break lasting over a year. If you’re considering starting the series, it’s worth checking the current publication status to know when new volumes might be expected.
All 11 volumes are available in English from Yen Press in standard single-volume format, so you can read the full current story right now without waiting.
What Makes Vanitas a Dark Fantasy Manga
You might be wondering what puts this manga on a site called Dark Fantasy Manga. After all, there are plenty of vampire stories that lean more toward romance or action without much darkness. Vanitas is different. Here’s why it earns its place in the genre.
A Gothic Vampire World Built on Tragedy
The world of Vanitas isn’t one where vampires are simply cool or glamorous. Vampires in this story can become curse-bearers — afflicted beings who undergo horrifying, tragic transformations that strip away their identity and sense of self. The curse doesn’t just threaten death; it threatens something worse. Watching a character you’ve come to care about lose who they are is genuinely unsettling, and the manga leans into that dread without flinching.
Steampunk Paris Dripping with Supernatural Dread
The setting is 19th-century Paris, but filtered through a steampunk lens and layered with supernatural conspiracy. The architecture, the fashion, the technology — everything is rendered in meticulous detail that makes the world feel both beautiful and oppressive. There’s a constant sense that something sinister lurks beneath the elegant surface, and the manga maintains that tension across its volumes.
This isn’t just window dressing. The setting is integral to the themes — a society that presents a refined, civilized face while harboring deep corruption and cruelty underneath.
A Protagonist You Can’t Quite Trust
Vanitas himself is one of the most compelling aspects of the series. He presents himself as a doctor who can cure vampires of their curse using the mysterious Book of Vanitas. Sounds heroic, right? Except that Vanitas is deeply morally ambiguous. He walks a disturbing line between healer and manipulator, and the manga constantly makes you question his motives, his methods, and whether the people around him are truly safe in his company.
His dynamic with Noé, the vampire who becomes his reluctant partner, is the emotional core of the series. It’s a relationship built on genuine connection but shadowed by secrets and an underlying sense of inevitable tragedy. Without giving too much away, the story’s narrative framing — told from Noé’s perspective looking back — suggests early on that this is not a simple feel-good journey. Readers who prefer to go in completely blind may want to discover the tone for themselves.
Body Horror, Psychological Torment, and Grief
Beyond the surface-level vampire action, Vanitas deals heavily in body horror (the curse transformations are viscerally uncomfortable), psychological torment (multiple characters grapple with trauma, manipulation, and loss of agency), and themes of identity and grief that give the story real emotional weight.
The series shares clear thematic ground with Mochizuki’s earlier work, Pandora Hearts, which also combined beautiful artwork with devastating narrative turns and a willingness to explore suffering without sensationalizing it. If you loved Pandora Hearts, Vanitas will feel like a natural — and arguably more refined — successor.
Is The Case Study of Vanitas Manga Finished or Still Running?
Let’s address this directly: The Case Study of Vanitas is ongoing — the series has not been cancelled or concluded. However, it is not currently on a regular publication schedule.
The manga went on an officially announced hiatus in May 2024 — not its first extended break, as the series had previously paused from June 2022 until May 2023. The hiatus ran approximately 14 months; a new chapter appeared in the August 2025 issue of GanGan JOKER (on sale July 22, 2025), as confirmed by Anime News Network. Additional chapters followed sporadically through late 2025, though the series has not returned to a regular monthly publication schedule.
What this means for you as a reader:
- The series is not finished. There are significant story threads still unresolved, and no ending has been announced.
- The Japanese and English volume counts are currently aligned at 11. This is the best possible situation for English readers — you’re not behind.
- New volumes depend on consistent serialization resuming. The hiatus ended with the August 2025 chapter (on sale July 22, 2025), but with irregular chapter releases since then, the timeline for Volume 12 is uncertain.
If you prefer to read completed series, this one isn’t there yet — though the hiatus that began in May 2024 did end in July 2025, with new chapters appearing sporadically since. The existing 11 volumes offer a substantial amount of story. If you’re comfortable with an irregular publication pace, there’s plenty to enjoy right now.
Where to Buy The Case Study of Vanitas Manga Volumes
Yen Press publishes The Case Study of Vanitas in English in standard single-volume format. There are no known omnibus editions (multi-volume compilations that bundle several volumes into one thicker book) at this time. Yen Press has released a Special Edition of Volume 11, but the standard single-volume format is the main way the series is published.
Physical Copies
The physical volumes are available through major online and brick-and-mortar retailers. The art in this series is genuinely stunning — intricate, detailed, and atmospheric — so physical volumes are a real treat if you appreciate manga artwork. Mochizuki’s page compositions often feature complex, overlapping panel arrangements that reward slow, careful reading, and holding the actual book lets you take in the details at your own pace.
If you’re looking to start collecting, Volume 1 is the natural entry point. The series is designed to be read in order, and unlike some manga where you can sample a later volume, the plot and character dynamics in Vanitas build carefully from the beginning.
The Case Study of Vanitas, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)
Digital Editions
Digital editions are also available for immediate reading, which is a solid option if you want to start right now without waiting for shipping. The detailed artwork translates well to tablet screens in particular, though smaller phone screens may lose some of the finer linework.
Buying Tips
Since all 11 volumes are standard singles from Yen Press, budgeting is straightforward. You can check list prices on the Yen Press website or at any major retailer to estimate the total cost for the full set. There’s no need to hunt for special editions or worry about variant covers. What you see is what you get: 11 clean, consistent volumes that look great lined up on a shelf.
If you’re buying multiple volumes at once, it’s worth checking whether any retailers are running general manga sales — purchasing several at once during a sale period can add up to meaningful savings. Digital storefronts also occasionally offer discounts on manga volumes.
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The Case Study of Vanitas is one of those series that rewards readers who appreciate atmosphere, moral complexity, and artwork that goes above and beyond. Eleven volumes in, the story is still unfolding, the mysteries are still deepening, and the dark fantasy elements are only getting more intense. If gothic vampire stories with real emotional weight sound like your kind of thing, Volume 1 is where it all begins.