| “ | I'd forgotten. I dreamed for such a long time... I forgot I was a doll. | ” |
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Introduction
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Jeanne, the Hellfire Witch (
This article contains plot and/or ending details for The Case Study of Vanitas.
Read at your own risk.
Appearance[]
Jeanne is a thin, voluptuous young woman with pale skin. She has a smooth, round face with an angular chin, and large, round, yellow eyes. Her eyelashes are thick and long, and she has thin eyebrows, a small nose, and full lips. Vanitas notes that she makes wonderful expressions, and she was quick to blush. After awakening from her slumber, she kept straight, pinkish white hair that fell to her mid-neck and mid-length bangs. She is described as astonishingly beautiful. Like all vampires, her eyes occasionally turn red.
Jeanne regularly dons a double-breasted, high-collared white coat with red trim. She wears a long, red-trimmed, white wrap skirt, the buckles of which can break apart to allow easier movement. Beneath her skirt, she wore pink thigh-high socks and silver armored boots. Occasionally, she wears a white, red-lined capelet with a hood. When wearing her gauntlet, Carpe Diem, her entire right arm is concealed by the crimson armor of the weapon. She wears fingerless gloves on both hands.
Prior to her reawakening, Jeanne had long hair which flowed about halfway down her back and twin braids adorning each side of her scalp. She wore a long black dress with a lace collar and a black cape. As a child, Jeanne had long hair and would usually wear a long, lacy dress.
Personality[]
Jeanne is initially presented as a ruthless fighter, though one fiercely protective of her young charge, Luca. Insults to Luca enrage her, and Vanitas remarks she had no intention of taking him alive after he had offended him. Despite her lack of restraint in combat, Jeanne is weak to threats to those she wants to protect. After Vanitas tricked her into believing he'd taken Luca hostage, she refused to fight him further. Her fear of harm coming to Luca allowed Vanitas to touch her against her consent, to Jeanne's disgust, and after realizing Luca was not in danger she grew to hate him.
Though violent and determined over even small matters (such as insults to the art of pastry making), Jeanne's life of enslavement left her naive and with the heart of a maiden. She does not know much about Paris, and Dominique's attempts to flirt with her caused her concern regarding their difference in class. She also tends to have opinions on people that are either one extreme or the other, either love or hate. Dominique's affection for her causes Jeanne to give her a perhaps undue amount of admiration. Conversely, she initially states she would rather commit suicide than pretend to like Vanitas.
Early in childhood, Jeanne had been convinced that she served the role of a "doll," and deviating from her orders would result in punishment. She saw this conviction realized when her parents were executed, as when Chloé had been slated for death. As such, she is easily moved by acts of perceived kindness. After Vanitas began to blackmail her using her affliction, she confessed a fear of eventually hurting Luca. His promise to kill her when she would eventually harm her love ones struck Jeanne as deeply sympathetic. As she believes she should not be allowed her own wants or needs, she fears intimate relationships, and attempts to warn Vanitas that he will die if he stays with her. His refusal to leave further endeared her to him. She eventually initiates acts of intimacy with him on her own, sometimes without or even against his consent, causing Jeanne to suspect she is a bit of a pervert. Though Dominique and Luca continued to tell Jeanne that Vanitas had treated her horribly, his promise had intimately affected her. Narration states that once she believes in someone, she never doubts.
After warming up to Vanitas, Jeanne affects a much more joyful disposition, and frequently talks about her love for him. She did not believe she'd ever experience romance due to her position as a Bourreau, so Vanitas's romantic affections for her seemed something of a miracle. Her affection for him cause her to regard him as fragile, and she stated a desire to dominate him, as well as fantasizing about making him play the role of a princess in a tower. Though Vanitas was less enthusiastic about their relationship, and others advised her against pursuing him, Jeanne continues to insist that Vanitas is a good person with her best interests at heart.
Powers and Abilities[]
General: As a Vampire, Jeanne has far greater strength, speed, and endurance than an average human being by strengthening her physical abilities with interference of the World Formula. However even among others of her kind, she is unusually powerful and her strength has far surpassed nearly every other Vampire seen thus far. Since she was a child she has displayed unnaturally sharp reflexes that even an adult Vampire could hardly keep up with.[4] And as she's grown older, her power has only grown exponentially, to the point of being able to fight on equal grounds with a massive monstrous Beast with no issue.[5] However, Vanitas has commented that she's far "tamer" than expected, in the current day exhibiting far less ruthless and deadly power than in her days as a Bourreau during the War.[1]
Weapons: Jeanne's main weapon of choice is the Crimson Gauntlet Carpe Diem. It was made for her specifically to match her skill in battle by Marquis Machina in the middle of the War.[2] With the Gauntlet, Jeanne's destructive force amplifies tenfold, allowing her to crush entire streets of stone with only a swipe of the Gauntlet's claws. And by activating the Astermite that powers the Gauntlet, she can aim waves of white-hot flame that will incinerate the entire area surrounding her. With only herself alone and her Gauntlet in her hands, Jeanne has slaughtered over a thousand Vampires who betrayed their own race in the War.[1] She is also clever and resourceful in the way she uses her Gauntlet, often aiming it downwards at the ground beneath her feet to propel herself high up in the air for faster travel.[6] In addition to Carpe Diem, Jeanne has also been seen briefly using a shortsword in battle.[1]
Quotes[]
- “No matter who tries to harm you… even if it’s the curse-spreading Blue Moon Vampire… I will crush them all.”[7]
- “Master Luca… further talk is pointless. Please give me an order.”[1]
- “Not… yet. I… can still… fight…!!”[8]
- “Today, I will love you with everything I have! In order to get you to hate me!!”[9]
- “What… will I do…? If I keep… getting stranger… if I… lose myself… if I… If I hurt Master Luca someday… what will I do…!?”[10]
- “I am here as a Bourreau to execute a curse-bearer. If you interfere in my work… I’ll kill you too!!!”[11]
- “Bourreaus are tools. We simply need to do as we’re told. ‘Why?’ ‘Why you?’ I wasn’t supposed to have those doubts, but… I hesitated.”[12]
- “I won’t make the same mistake twice. This time, for sure… I’ll kill the Beast!”[12]
- “Shut up. If you want me to kill you that badly… then, you need to focus on resting now.”[12]
- “…I found a terrific place! I saw it from the window. Come with me, Chloé!”[4]
- “I’m… a Bourreau. I can’t cause any more trouble for Master Luca and Teacher Ruthven!!”[6]
- “I forgot I have to be a tool… with no will of its own.”[2]
- “I mustn’t want anything. I mustn’t wish for anything…”[2]
- “But… if I disobey… someone will lose their head in my place again. It might even be you…”[2]
- “If I… had the chance to do that over again… If I’d been able to stretch out my hand… without hesitating, in order to save you—!!”[13]
- “You promised… Vanitas. If there ever comes a day… when I’m truly not myself anymore… If that happens, as you promised… make sure you kill me, okay?”[14]
- “Noé!!!! I’m here on Master Luca’s orders!! I will help Lady Dominique. I swear it!!! That means Vanitas is yours!!! Watch him properly!!!!”[15]
- “Who would have thought that not feeling fear… would be this frightening?”[16]
- “I… really love you, Lady Dominique, and so…”[17]
Appearances[]
- Mémoire 1: Vanitas — In the Event of Rusty Hopes (First Appearance)
- Mémoire 2: Noé — In the City of Flowers
- Mémoire 3: Jeanne — The Hellfire Witch
- Mémoire 4: Femme Fatale — Love
- Mémoire 6: Altus — Other World*
- Mémoire 7: Bal Masqué — Night of Sneering Masks
- Mémoire 8: Louis — Sinking in a Pool of Blood
- Mémoire 10: Salvatio — Uncertainty
- Mémoire 12: Pause 𝄻
- Mémoire 13: Glissando — Glissando
- Mémoire 16: Galop — At the End of the Riot (Mentioned only)
- Mémoire 19: Serment — Spell-bound
- Mémoire 20: Serment — Promise (Part One)
- Mémoire 21: Serment — Promise (Part Two)
- Mémoire 22: Hurler — A Calling Voice
- Mémoire 24: Forêt d'argent — Chance Encounter
- Mémoire 25: Endroit Approprié — Melee
- Mémoire 26: Dissonance — Creaking Laughter
- Mémoire 27: Cage de Neige — Dregs
- Mémoire 28: Dal Segno — Question Mark
- Mémoire 29: Château de Sorcière — The Witch and the Youth
- Mémoire 30: Strascinando — Tremolo
- Mémoire 31: Oiseau et Ciel — The Vampire of the d’Apchiers*
- Mémoire 32: Visiteur — Footfalls of the Beast*
- Mémoire 33: Cauchemar — Rumble
- Mémoire 34: Jean-Jacques — The Vampire of the Chastels (Part One)
- Mémoire 34.5: Jean-Jacques — The Vampire of the Chastels (Part Two) (Mentioned only)
- Mémoire 35: Louisette — Pillar of Justice
- Mémoire 36: Chasse aux Vampires — The Beast*
- Mémoire 37: Vengeance — Hands That Touch a Nightmare
- Mémoire 38: Naenia — She Who Harbors Death (Part One)
- Mémoire 38.5: Naenia — She Who Harbors Death (Part Two)
- Mémoire 39: Poupée Fissurée — The Essence of the Witch
- Mémoire 40: Avec Toi — Alone Together
- Mémoire 41: Canorus — Snow Flower
- Mémoire 42: Encore une Fois — Love
- Mémoire 43: Encens Restant — Lingering Scent of the Dream
- Mémoire 44: Mal d'Amour — The Incurable Illness (Part One)
- Mémoire 45: Mal d'Amour — The Incurable Illness (Part Two)
- Mémoire 47: Hétérogène — Sneering Laughter
- Extra: The Case Study of Vanitash!!!! —Expanded Edition— (Non-Canon)
- Mémoire 52: Sens Unique — Fall (Mentioned only)
- Mémoire 53: Pleuvoir — Rain Which Doesn't Know the Sky
- Mémoire 54: La nuit sans lune — Dark Night (Part One)
- Mémoire 54.5: La nuit sans lune — Dark Night (Part Two)
- Mémoire 55: Après la pluie — His Wish (Part One)
- Mémoire 55.5: Après la pluie — His Wish (Part Two)
- Mémoire 56: Faire un gâteau — Bittersweet (Mentioned only)
- Mémoire 58: Observation — The Darkness in Between
- Mémoire 60: Bonne journée — Sweets, Complaints, and Reconciliation
- Mémoire 1: Vanitas -In the Event of Rusty Hopes-*
- Mémoire 3: Archiviste -Fangs That Lay Bare Blood- (First Appearance)
- Mémoire 4: Bal masqué -Night of Mocking Masks-
- Mémoire 6: Salvatio -Questions-
- Mémoire 7: Femme fatale -Love-
- Mémoire 8: Catacombes -Where Death Slumbers-
- Mémoire 11: Serment -Promises-
- Mémoire 12: Deux Ombres -Point of Departure-
- Mémoire 13: Forêt d'argent -Chance Encounter-
- Mémoire 14: Château de Sorcière -The Witch and the Young Man-
- Mémoire 15: Oiseau et ciel -The d'Apchiers' Vampire-
- Mémoire 16: Chasse aux Vampires -The Beast-
- Mémoire 17: Vengeance -Hands Upon a Nightmare-
- Mémoire 18: Avec Toi -Just the Two of Us-
- Mémoire 19: Canorus -Snow Flower-
- Mémoire 20: Mal d'amour -The Incurable Disease-
- Mémoire 21: Un Autre -Scars-
- Mémoire 23: Pleuvoir -Tears like Rain-
- Mémoire 24: Après la pluie -His Wish-
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Trivia[]
- "Jeanne" is in reference to Jeanne d'Arc, also known as Joan of Arc. She is a national heroine of France, her legend going that she began as a peasant girl, received divine guidance, joined the French army, and lead them to a vital victory against the English. Eventually she was captured by the English, declared a heretic, and burned at the stake. She was canonized posthumously as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church centuries after her death.[18]
- Jeanne shares a character song with Luca, Hidamari ni Saku Hana～mon trésor～, sung by their Japanese voice actors and composed by CHI-MEY.
- Jeanne is one of the first of Mochizuki's characters to be portrayed as bisexual, having expressed romantic affection for a man—Vanitas[19]—and a woman—Dominique.[17]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Mémoire 3: Jeanne
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Mémoire 39: Poupée Fissurée
- ↑ Mémoire 8: Louis
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mémoire 31: Oiseau et Ciel
- ↑ Mémoire 25: Endroit Approprié
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mémoire 34: Jean-Jacques (Part One)
- ↑ Mémoire 2: Noé
- ↑ Mémoire 4: Femme Fatale
- ↑ Mémoire 20: Serment (Part One)
- ↑ Mémoire 21: Serment (Part Two)
- ↑ Mémoire 26: Dissonance
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Mémoire 27: Cage de Neige
- ↑ Mémoire 40: Avec Toi
- ↑ Mémoire 42: Encore une Fois
- ↑ Mémoire 53: Pleuvoir
- ↑ Mémoire 55: Après la pluie (Part One)
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Mémoire 60: Bonne journée
- ↑ Wikipedia: Joan of Arc
- ↑ Mémoire 45: Mal d’Amour (Part Two)