Pandora Hearts

What gives people the strength to go on after they have fallen? What makes them strive for the perspective of a bright future? Seeking to answer those questions, “Pandora Hearts” gives the impression of a charming, unique series that differs from its counterparts through adapting a popular scheme, but not entirely living off it. Why, then, is it nothing amazing in particular? STORY (7) Good beginning. This series starts with really nicely developed foundations. It seems very promising; we get to know Oz Vessalius, your typical young hero-wannabe, but as soon as Alice shows up, things start getting interesting. Oz ends up in the twisted realm of“Abyss”, only to be saved by the mad rabbit, however nothing comes free of charge. And nothing is the same when he goes back to his world. And here I ask: when and why did it go downhill? What happened to the fascinating, dark mood this show kept in the beginning? When did it become a cliché-filled shônen adventure with hardly any development overall? I had high hopes for the series and kept watching, expecting it to, I don’t know, improve? It does, actually, get better right in the middle, where we finally receive some character development, the story progresses and most importantly – some of the most important questions are answered. But then it worsens yet again. The rest feels forced and the series stops at such a moment that it leaves you with huge disappointment. Why is it over so suddenly? It desperately calls for a continuation, it does. Setting, though, is where the series excels. True, this whole “Alice in Wonderland”-hype might be getting a tad annoying, however “Pandora Hearts” adapts the theme perfectly. It is a warped world, nevertheless it doesn’t feel that sickly abstract. The “Chains” are yet another embodiment of human fears – and so is the “Abyss” itself. It doesn’t feel like the kind of place you would want to end up in, precisely. Watching a fantasy series set in such scenery feels just refreshing. The references to the original “Alice” are subtle and often misleading, which is also accomplished very well. ART (7) Something is missing. The characters look wonderfully colourful and detailed at first, the surroundings are promising, but then the quality becomes an issue. With each episode, more and more flaws can be noticed. Even fight scenes tend to become dull, since those often follow the pattern of slashing, cutting, slashing and a little bit more of slashing. The worst thing is, though, how the vividness and energy of characters is lost through a dull palette. Who, in the world, robbed those poor guys of their colours, making them look just boring? What appears pretty – the hair does, oh, and Sharon’s dresses. Good job, but that’s it. Why does Oz look even more boring than he actually is, I ask? The series has a completely washed-out look which pains me a lot, since I was really looking forward to enjoying the graphics. (Apparently, the quality in the few special episodes outruns the TV animation a lot. Too bad it was rushed, too bad.) SOUND (9) Yuki Kajiura does an outstanding job capturing the magic of the setting in “Pandora Hearts”. The music itself is simply excellent and stands out in the series’ overall look. It is charming, at other times has a mysterious tone to it, or dramatic, fitting well with what is going on the screen. Never exaggerated. Although the score might not appear anything exceptional in the beginning, the viewer soon begins to realise that it without it, the Victorian atmosphere couldn’t be captured as good. The soundtrack is equally pleasant to the ear while not watching the show, too. Voice-acting is quite well-done. Junko Minagawa does a good job playing the part of Oz, Ayako Kawasumi is a fine Alice, and Ishida Akira excels as always in his role (even though the character himself is not very likable). The seiyû operate their voices perfectly, creating very emotionally-convincing cast and pretty much making up for the flaws of the characters themselves. Here, I can’t complain. The opening and ending sequences are nothing special in this case. Cute songs go along with the animation (the first ending, in particular, is full of annoying spoilers, so watch out), however they are not notable enough to make one feel like spending that additional time watching both OP and ED. They simply don’t get in the way. CHARACTER (5) This is exactly where the series’ biggest weakness lies – its character cast which is particularly weak, boring and cliché. Starting from the main character, aforementioned Oz, it becomes extremely tiresome and the characters don’t develop much. Oz is a good definition of a typical shônen main lead. He is brave, adventurous, protective of his friends and clumsy when it comes to love. He also has family issues to make him more of a dramatic rebel, and a whiner for a side-kick. Oz’s actions throughout the series are easily predictable and more than often he falls into banal traumas, being the kind of person who wants to save the day, become a hero and protect his princess. Sorry, this might be going well with the story, but as a character Oz is a failure. Gilbert is, fortunately, a different story. He changes a lot – his personality becomes completely unlike, save for a few specific features that are necessary for some progress in the story (no, his loyalty to Oz is NOT a plot device for fangirl issues). Contrary to the first male lead, he keeps calm and generally stays rather dependable, when it comes to satisfying the fans. His actions certainly aren’t very surprising, as it all revolves around Oz anyway; but at least he did not make me want to murder someone whenever he appeared on the screen. Alas, one more thing must be brought up here as well, namely – Gilbert being a magnet for fans. No-one can deny his typically attractive traits (cold and introverted chain-smoker, sorry), but hey, haven’t I already said something about stereotypes in this series? The creation of Alice turns out to be a disappointment after a few episodes. She starts off as a madwoman, a crazy sadist who cares little about who or what she might destroy while immersing herself in bloody, vicious fights. But Alice is a tsundere character – and being a genuine tsundere in “Pandora Hearts”, she can’t possibly stay this way throughout the series. An attractive, moody glutton - which she ends as – obviously arouses the interest of others, and soon the relationship between her and Oz becomes a major problem in the story. Yes. Alice, the wild Chain who only has any regard for herself, is a crying little girl inside. I can’t deny the charm of tsundere characters, but this just doesn’t seem right. No other character really deserves any special words of praise here, sadly. There’s the hyped “Mad Hatter” Break, a particularly annoying it’s-a-secret type of pretty boy; a cast of supposedly evil manifestations of malevolence; and others who exist merely for the purpose of creating a background for the main leads. There are also Sharon and Jack who have the potential to make great characters, but are mostly neglected or idealised; there is a representative of the rare male tsundere specimen, Elliot. And there’s Vincent who is much creepier than he would normally be supposed to. They all might seem colourful at first, however inside they are not as interesting as they appear. ENJOYMENT (7) To be honest, this series is quite boring. All the big talk about how different and remarkable it is, and what I see is an average fantasy adventure with mediocre art and particularly annoying character cast. But it has potential – which had been wasted, unfortunately. If only the series developed in a different manner, maybe I would have been able to enjoy it more. For now, I can’t say anything special about it. Felt as if I was rewatching something else, just another episode of already known series, and it really does not bring much into the genre. It certainly isn’t bad, not at all, yet it’s still nothing extraordinary. OVERALL (7) Having complained a lot about the flaws in “Pandora Hearts”, I still can’t criticise the series as a whole. It has its drawbacks, just like any other show, and pluses; most notably the incredible atmosphere of a well-designed, interesting world. The one thing I simply don’t understand is how overrated it is becoming – all because of the fuss made over new adaptations of “Alice in Wonderland” which are now apparently inspiring people all over the world, while years ago it was still an eerie fairytale, more of a madman’s dream. The new versions, however, go well with the tastes of nowadays’ viewers who know what they want to see, but expect the shows to demonstrate a certain level of creativity and innovation as well. It kills those shows. “Pandora Hearts” is such a series with much power and weak realisation - a great concept trapped in a mediocre, cliché-filled box.

Ah, what do we wonder have here? A fine lot, a fine lot indeed, all wonderfully fat and skinny and in between. Come to tea then to wonder? Hmm? A wonderland you say? A wonderland! A wonderland? Fallen down the rabbit hole, you wonder? Bees in your bonnets? Butterflies in your stomach? Bats in your belfry? No need to wonder... You're already here, Wonder! It's wonderland! A wonderfully wonderful wonder of a wonderland, Wonder. But you must have wondered by now if Wonderland's the name, Mr. Wonder? No, Mrs. Wonder. It's- ...the Abyss. W-what the hell? Who's there? Pandora Hearts was adapted by a manga of the samename by Jun Mochizuki. Produced by Xebec, and directed by Takao Kato, the story takes place in a universe of two different dimensions... of sorts: a humanity inhabited Victorian era-esque setting of corsets and petticoats, and a macabre reimagining of Lewis Caroll's Wonderland, the latter infested with eldritch abominations known as Chains with apparent appetites for manflesh. There's very little doubt that this show took its inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. We follow Oz Vessalius, a somewhat mischievous, but otherwise goodhearted youth and heir to one of the four great dukedoms of the realm. Due to circumstances involving a seemingly brief stint in the Abyss, a white-themed Alice choking him within an inch of his life and a red-themed Alice, henceforth known as simply Alice, enslaving/contracting with whatever was left, Oz, the chosen one, the red-themed Alice, and the loyal attendants/oddly dispositioned allies of the Chain-smoking agency dubbed Pandora, set off to unravel the mysteries of this Abyss and its governess, its Will. Adventure with sprinkles of madness, this show is sure to satisfy shounen itches. Introspection atop heaps of despair, this show is also sure to interest those looking for a little more. A caveat of note toward this otherwise sensationalist review: existentialism. Most of the main characters are experiencing or have gone through some form of existentialist crisis. Personal existentialist crises framed with questions such as... Why was I born? Why do I continue to live? Is there any reason for me to? There's Oz, with his eerily resigned nature toward distressing events and his stilted affirmation toward martyrdom stemming from the trauma of being an unwanted son. There's Alice, with her past memories' absence and the anguish of being perceived incomplete, the outsider, alone. Self-sacrifice for self-gratification. Suspended animation, or rather, its sensation. In fact, most of the main cast are experiencing or have experienced these issues at some point or another, and most are pursuing numerous truths, the truth behind the numerous tragedies connected to the Abyss, the truth behind Will of the Abyss, the truth behind the Abyss itself. But most interestingly of all these veracities are the ones that are personal. For Oz and Alice specifically, they need the truth in confronting their own demons before progressing elsewhere, no matter how painful that may be. Then after, is finding the truth behind the melody. “Lacie” in all its reiterative forms, more predominantly as a simple music box number, is a work of art. Played on its own many times throughout the show, without words, with more than just feelings, this melody weaves a tale of its own. Rather than one of one-sided angst, it croons of tragedy as it compels its listeners to muse why music so beautiful, a product of which can only find in happy days, is so sad. Coupled with details of the story seen and spoken, the musical yarn is given clarity. The story, in turn, is given weight. Crafted by the talents of one Ms. Yuki Kaiijura, who composed the rest of the OST, a special mention must be said of the OP, “Parallel Hearts,” by Kaijura's Fiction Junction. With a similarly soul-rending violin solo at the beginning and haunting vocals throughout, the crescendos and decrescendos of the song match well with the fluctuating intensity of the visuals, even if those visuals do little more than introduce the settings and cast members. The EDs, ED1 “maze,” and ED2 “Watashi wo Mitsukete,” translated “Find Me,” by savage genius are of a more obligatory note by comparison. ED1, which hosts its own pretty and well-paced dynamics, is comprised mainly of Alice, suspended, vulnerable, insecure because of her lack of an identity, interspaced by Oz providing just that. ED2 is of a lighter toned portrayals of the major recurring characters accompanied by singing that wouldn't be half bad if it stayed on pitch towards the end. The animation is consistent, nothing as eye-catchingly comparable as some of more scenic and uncanny set pieces, the notable exception coming to mind being all those murderous dolls from the latter, save those demarcatedly anime forms of stylized humor, deliberately deformed head sizes, facial expressions, and whatnot. Funny for those who like that humor, and honestly, it'd be rare to find an anime fan that wasn't, but there's no denying that, on its own, it's silly to a fault. And that quality's a problem for a show like this, especially at its inception. Here I am, breathing in the setting, the atmosphere, the substance of the established relationships, the gravity of the sinister elements at play, and then a stupid anime mug later, my immersion's shattered, and I'm left disgruntled trying to re-piece it into a semblance or even shell of what it was from earlier. It becomes less of an issue the further on the story progresses, but the comedy, however balanced with its dramatic counterpart never really changes from this aforementioned nature, and then a new issue erupts revolving around the characters. We see our main cast in serious situations. We see our main cast in silly ones. Yet we never see much in between, and because of that, the relationships in this show lack real grounding. Real relationships constitute more than just stress and hijinks; they are made up of normal moments, of people sharing their interests in fairly realistic ways. That doesn't mean humor can't be implemented to spice these moments up, but if they are to feel sincere, then they can't be more than just elements. Then there's another bothersome feature that has less to do with the animation and more to do with the direction. Eyes are said to be windows to the soul; it's especially true for anime, since eyes are an effective way of demonstrating powerful emotions without the need for any further body language. It's an attractive for production studios running under tight budgets, but Pandora Hearts abuses it so much on the male main protagonist that it becomes sensationally meaningless, and I'd argue it's uncharacteristic of Oz to be eliciting such pained eye expressions every episode to other episode. Such direction has to be used sparingly if the intent behind them is to signal that shit's hit the fan, because if the show as a whole is polluted with them, then it's hard to take them seriously. Lastly is this show's heavy-handed reliance on flashbacks. Flashbacks are viable means of characterization and plot progression, especially when the object of them is to coax drama. Anyone who's a fan of Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica would attest to their effectiveness when used properly. However, Pandora Hearts does two things wrong with them. One, it uses them incessantly. Two, it uses them right before or during the majority of the series' numerous dire situations. The dramatic value a flashback may carry over to a narrative diffuses the more often it is used. Coupled with the fact that it's often used when it's convenient, to introduce it right at the moment where we are supposed to care about characters the most, it borders on contrivance. The only flashbacks I find reasonable are the ones around Alice, whom the audience is supposed to regard as somewhat mysterious, one of the major plot drives being that she's unlocking memories as she goes. It also helps that those memories are also pretty tragic. And there you have it. Filled with execution flaws, but nonetheless layered with substantive ambition and terrific music, minding the rough start it's a show to try out when you have the time. That's me, and before I break into anymore literary nonsense, I think I'm going to get a new hat. The one I'm currently wearing is rather nice, but it's kind of old and, to be honest, I think it's giving me migraines. Could be the trapped dust, or maybe it's the mercury. How's that idiom go? Mad as a- ...the Abyss. W-who keeps saying that? I give Pandora Hearts a 7 out of 10.

If I was told : 'Hey, there's another season of Pandora Hearts' I would believe it... I feel like something is still missing after 25 episodes. If I was to delete the few last episode from my mind and write this review, I would have been able put a way better score. I often say : When the Ending is bad the whole thing becomes bad. This 'rule' apply to Pandora Hearts. In fact... it's like it is made for this show. Pandora Hearts had a lot of potential ! The First Episodes were mysterious and I had a lot of question on my mind. I haveto say many of them are still unanswered or I feel like the given answer is lame. [WATCH OUT FOR POSSIBLE SPOILER!] Oz sins was his very existence ? Why ?... Because his father never wanted him ? So he send him into Abyss ? And Also, he send him into Abyss because The Will wanted him ? Is that me or that's a lot of Coincidence !?![END OF POSSIBLE SPOILER] I was really disappointed and that's only one example of the Weird Answer. Somehow I feel like the 'Tragedy of Sabrie' is also REALLY Lacking. It was mysterious and interesting and that's a good thing but as a writer you have to answer the questions in the End. Pandora Hearts didn't. I get the main idea... I think but I had to 'Guess' many of them from what we see. I would have like to know more in details what happened and more importantly, the WHY of those event. The Baskerville killed all those people following Glen's order but why ? Why did he order that in the first place ? Maybe I should read the Manga but, seriously... Do I want to reach the same ending ? The Ending was ridiculous. Was it the lack of a real enemy the whole time ? In the End, you reach a point where there's no real enemy and maybe that was the problem with the whole story. They couldn't find a way to end it so they ended it this lame way by making Oz's Father and his chain the 'Temporary' Bad Guy. I still would 'recommend' it for the interesting plot but sadly it was rushed and the ending solve nothing at all. Oz say it, in the end. He said he would still search to 'solve' the mysteries. That's why I said, I would believe if someone told me there was another season. Sadly, there is no such thing and this... This was the Real Ending ! Therefore... STORY:: 6 Moving on to the Art. This looked like some of the First Naruto Episode. I remember them... Do you ? They were 'OK' and it was years ago ! Pandora Hearts isn't that old and the Graphic are horrible. Some scene were good but other... they were horrible. I'm thinking of the Scene at the End where he sees 'Griffon' his father's Chains painting or something on the wall. He's all shocked staring at it. Seriously... His eyes are juste getting 'BIG - SMALL - BIG - SMALL' and his hair darker on his forehead. But Still, I can deal with a Style that look more 'Old' or 'Out of date'. That really isn't the thing that screw thing us for the Show. Therefore... ART:: 6 I have nothing to say against the Music. The Intro was good. The second ending felt a Little out of place but it was Ok. The show wasn't all dark either so it's ok. The Soundtrack were good. Kajiura Yuki's music is always good and was going great with the show. However, the song were nothing new. I remember the song from 'Mai-Hime' and they sound really similar. I feel like I can hear 'Mezame' everywhere in those almost. I think the only song from her that are slightly different are those in Xenosaga. But this review isn't about her music ! Eh-eh. Therefore... MUSIC:: 9 How can you make people love character they don't know and don't understand. I love Break and... Hey, that's the only Character we were given real answer with ! Oz is annoying. Nothing to say about him really. He's the main Character. He keeps saying that he doesn't care if he dies. Then why should I care ? Is he really important ? He doesn't get anything at all. To me he was just a selfish young boy. And, Good News everyone ! His Fate is still unsure cuz, he still have the Symbol on his chest and he will surely dies when it's full even if Gil helps him slowing the process down. Maybe, that something would have been something good to add in the ending or something... Alice was a good character... until they made her do some totally random stuff. I get it she's suppose to be the Tsundere character but, seriously ?... Her character became ridiculous at time and then it's hard to take her seriously. Also, I wish her background would have been put to light more than that with Jack and eventually, leading to the whole Tragedy thing and then... To Oz. The pieces are still messed up for the story it's no different for the Character. Vincent and Gilbert are also totally in the darkness for me. To me, Vincent is still a murder. He killed Alice and asked the Will to save Gil and him and Gilbert doesn't care about what happened ? How did he get hurt like that anyway ? I wish we knew more about them. I felt like they were somehow important. And the character that really needed more airtime... Glen ? and probably, The Will. They tried to make us think.. 'those are the bad guys' without giving us any real answer as 'Why ?' and then.. 'Why not ?' Glen is the Bad guy. He made the Tragedy happen. We barely know why we barely know what happened between Jack and him. Why calling Jack a Hero ? He died without doing nothing... no ? I've read somewhere someone saying the Pandora Hearts has the best character development and all. Makes my day. I would have believe it but... The Ending rushed thing for the Character also and makes me still wonder stuff about them so no... The Character are incomplete as well. Therefore... CHARACTER:: 7 Did I enjoy Pandora Hearts ?... I did. Yes. I did. I was hooked. Every episode, I told myself that's the Last One for today and I still watched another one after ! Yes, I enjoyed it but as I was reaching the End, somehow... I wasn't that interested in it anymore. I would still recommend it... and I will probably add the Manga to my 'I want to read that..' List for some other time. Therefore... ENJOYMENT:: 8 However... The Rushed and Lame ending force me to throw... OVERALL:: 7 Maybe I had expectation too high on the ending and got disappointed by my own fault... Who knows !

Pandora Hearts I have to make one thing clear in advance, if you want to watch "Pandora Hearts" but at the same time you are a manga reader, do yourself a favor and read the manga. The anime adaptation of Pandora Hearts includes the first 3 arcs and thus roughly the first 35 chapters. The last 3 episodes are filler episodes with an alternate ending. Although I was mostly entertained by the anime, this is one of the worst manga adaptations I've seen. The pacing was almost non-existent, and some episodes dragged on for ages. Tension was completely undermined thanks to that, of course. Even someof the most important moments from the manga seemed almost like minor dialogue. As for the ending, there are good and bad ways to present an alternative ending. And here, probably the worst possible was done. It would have been better to just declare the anime over from the Ludwig arc on, rather than allow such a disaster. [Story 6] Nonetheless, this adaptation contains a lot of original material from the manga, which still delivers the same content despite atrocious pacing. Pandora Hearts is one of the few anime/manga whose main focus is based on storytelling, twists, and buildup. This show has an immense amount of hidden detail and foreshadowing for future events, which turns the entire plot picture upside down the more of it is revealed. In the adaptation, unfortunately, we only see some of the setup, which seems relatively minor without the resolution. Almost nothing about the Abyss, the characters, and the "truth" was revealed in the anime and remains hidden until the end, for the anime-only viewers. [Characters 5] By the end of the anime series, the characters have developed only minimally and most of their important moments and developments are yet to come. However, even here you notice how multi-layered the characters are even though they seem like stereotypes at first. Oz (whose entire existence is a collection of plot twists) is a relatively interestingly written protagonist, since, among other things, all of his character traits and problems are resolved by the end. Again, we already saw many of his self-conflicts based on his childhood and how he tried to overcome them. In a more or less self-critical and yet rational way. Alice. The tsundere is a gluttonous, arrogant protagonist who is more a wild animal than a human being. Which, thanks to her background and her eternal existence in the Abyss could hardly be otherwise. She is the most boring of the protagonists but has enough character to be average. Gilbert has his moments of brilliance, though later in the manga. In the anime, he only seems like a sidekick. Most of the side characters all have their respective character arc and important relevance to the main plot, as their fates are related to each other and the truth behind the story. And some side characters, are closer to the "real" plot than one would think at the beginning. [Animations 3] Environments have very little detail, especially from the middle on. The dynamics are non-existent and the freeze-frame battles are immensely monotonous. Pacing is near-record poor, a single dialogue is delayed to 2-3 minutes, and fights that barely lasted 5 pages in the manga are at least 5 minutes here. [Music 6] The osts are quite appropriate for this kind of story and very apt in style. The intro is also well done and fits perfectly. The biggest flaw here is how the osts are placed. In some episodes, the music plays even though nothing happens at all and in other scenes, it is missing. Imagine the character walking up the stairs with nothing happening and the main theme playing in the background. [Conclusion 4] You can watch this anime, especially if you are new to the anime scene and have little experience or comparative material. For anyone else, I definitely can't recommend this anime. The manga, on the other hand, I can. Despite a disappointing ending, the manga was a very interesting experience with a very well-thought-out plot. [Enjoyment 5]

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