Just for me to collect my thoughts on anything noteworthy or suspicious. I forget a lot of things in the series so this should help me keep track and anyone else who wants to look back without rereading the whole series.
On Twitter Jun recently revealed a new piece of art to go with memoire 51 so before the chapter comes put let's talk about the symbolism.
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Before we get to Vanitas and Noé themselves let's look at the pictures on the wall. There are 13 frames at least partially visible, the only one featuring no art at all beneath the 21 in 2021. So, starting from the frame closest to Noé and moving towards Vanitas these depict:
• The carousel Misha greeted Noé on • The chapter 45 rooftop scene • The aftermath of Chloe's healing • The Beast of Gévaudan • The chapter 34 "what are you doing on death's door again, Noé?" hand grab • Tarte tatin • The chapter 18 "I'm tired" back-to-back bonding moment • Noé and Vanitas's first meeting • La Baleine • Young Noé with Louis and Domi, both of whom have their backs turned • A scribbled out picture of Vanitas as a chasseur • Misha and Luna
It's worth mentioning that some of these are already existing pictures while others have been drawn specifically for this illustration. The ones that aren't edited manga panels are:
• The chapter 34 "what are you doing on death's door again, Noé?" hand grab (Though it is a reference to this moment, this specific panel does not exist) • Young Noé with Louis and Domi, both of whom have their backs turned • A scribbled out picture of Vanitas as a chasseur • Misha and Luna
If I'm wrong about any of that I apologise but I pride myself on my near encyclopaedic knowledge of this series so I'm fairly sure I know which are manga panels I've seen before and where they're from. Anyway, those that Jun specifically drew for this illustration are important because she had to put extra effort in to draw them. Almost all of these extra illustrations are about character relationships: Noé & Vanitas, Noé & Louis & Domi, and Vanitas & Misha & Luna. The one exception being the scribbled out young Vanitas which is already an exception by nature of being defaced.
So, what are all these pictures about? For the most part I'd say they're about Vanitas and Noé's relationship since, I'd argue, the illustration as a whole is also about their relationship. However, some of the pictures on the wall only have significance to one of them. Then what does it all mean? I think the context in which we're viewing this image is important. This will be the cover of chapter 51, the first thing we see after chapter 50, so it should reflect the character's current circumstances.
The images on the wall would likely represent what is important to Vanitas and Noé right now. Let's split the image in half and look at the pictures beside each of them individually.
First, Noé:
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