GayMe Guide

from GED Magazine - November 2022

LA Directory

with JOSH JAQUEZ AND STEVEN H. GARCIA

The Case Study of Vanitas

By Josh Jaquez

Vanitasu no Karute or The Case Study of Vanitas follows the adventures of Noé Archiviste a traveling vampire, who meets the enthusiastic Vanitas, a human claiming to be a vampire doctor on a trip to Paris. At first the two are at odds due to Noé stepping in to fight Vanitas, thinking he was attacking an innocent woman. As it turns out she is a vampire suffering from malnomen, which causes vampires to lose control and become “curse-bearers” and attack those around them indiscriminately. Noé learns that Vanitas has a book that he uses to cure the affected vampires, that he received from his teacher. The two join forces to cure as many malnoman affected vampires as possible or die trying. It is soon reveled that Noé is a special kind of vampire that can see the life experiences and memories of those he drinks blood from. His ability is coveted by those who would use it to rule both vampire and humankind. The beautifully illustrated fight scenes are perfectly paired with the comedic timing between the two. Along their quest the duo gets introduced to a variety of vampire clan members, each with a talent unique to their family. The Hellfire Witch Jeanne is one such character, she is chevalier to Lucius “Luca” Oriflamme a young noble vampire. Vanitas falls in love with Jean at first sight, and Vanitas has no issue letting her know his feelings as often as possible. The series is based on the Japanese manga illustrated and written by Jun Mochizuki, who also wrote and illustrated the manga series Pandora Hearts. To find out just how things play out you can watch the subtitled or dubbed series on Hulu, FUNimation, Crunchyroll, or Amazon.

The Last of Us Part 1 (Remake)

By Steven H. Garcia

The Last of Us Part I is a Single-player action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. A remake of the 2013 game now completely rebuilt from the ground up, taking advantage of the power of the PlayStation 5 with revised gameplay and controls. Enhanced combat and exploration with expanded accessibility options and new character models have been made to show the improved animations and facial expressions, giving us deeper emotional depth of the characters. All the environments have been given massive upgrades as well enhancing the already beautiful visuals. The Last of Us has been known to be one of the greatest games/stories from PlayStation, and it’s wonderful to see new life brought into an already amazing game.

The year is 2033, an outbreak of a mutant fungus called Cordyceps ravages the United States. It transforms its human hosts into aggressive creatures known as the Infected. The infection has spread to about 60% of the human population, basically it’s the Last of Us’ version of zombies. In this post-apocalyptic world Joel and Tess are tasked with smuggling a teenage girl named Ellie to a radical group known as the Fireflys. They travel from the Massachusetts State House outside the quarantine zone, then out of the military Boston quarantine zone. After being bitten three weeks prior, Ellie is found to be immune to the infection plaguing the world. The Fireflys want Ellie, thinking that her immunity may lead to a cure and saving the world.

The game includes the excellent story expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind, a single-player campaign following Ellie and her best friend Riley. Sadly, the original game’s online multiplayer mode is not to be found. The Last of Us will also be getting its long-awaited live action adaptation as a series on HBO MAX starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramesy as Ellie.