Pandora Hearts

The story is about two people, Oz and Alice who made a contract in the Abyss, a place where the condemned was sent. At first I wasn't sure why Oz was sent there on his coronation night but gradually as the story progressed, the pieces of the puzzle fall into places.

The Abyss produced Chain, a doll-like creature that want to be in the real world to obtain power but the instability forced them to make a contract with a human, just like Oz and Alice. However, the Chain will gradually extinguished the human. Once the seal on the contractor's chest is completed, they, together with the Chain, he/she will be sent to the deepest Abyss and this time there is no turning back.

Oz comes back to the real world after 10 years he went missing in the Abyss so Gil, his best friend cum servant is much older than him and is working for Break and Sharon. These two, just like the Baskervilles, are searching for the Will of the Abyss and apparently Oz is the key to it.

The only reason Alice wants to get out of the Abyss is to search for her memories so together with Oz and Gil, they search for it. In their quest both Oz and Alice find out the truth about their past and at the same time, they try to stop the hand of the seal from moving, with the help from other people who either care about them or just using them.

The art is nothing amazing. The background or the surroundings are pretty much dead, as in static, most of the time. The colors used were too contrast with the characters at times which kinda made them looked out of place. Possibly to follow the theme of the show. Having said that, I really do like the character designs. The males especially are what I would called bishies. They are really pleasing to the eyes. The females aren't bad either but since I'm not gay, I'll leave it at that. To be honest, the reason that I was attracted to this series after all, was after I saw the characters in the DVD special, which kinda explained what a huge pro they are.

OZ Bezarius

I like Oz but my god he can be so damn annoying sometimes with his insecurities. He needs to grow some hairy balls, is what I think. Because he has yet to have them balls, I say he's gay for Alice. Oz is the key to the Will of the Abyss (wanted by the Baskervilles) thus he keeps getting into trouble as he tries to find himself and helps Alice.

Alice/B-Rabbit

She's the chain for Oz. She was once human but she got murdered and ended up in the Abyss as B-Rabbit. That was where Oz found her. She took Oz as her manservant which in truth is the other way around. She came back to the real world to find her memories in order for her to remain herself. A definite tsundere when it comes to Oz. Loves to eat, especially meat.

Gilbert Nightray

Gilbert 'Gil' Nightray is the loyal servant/butler of Oz and has the power of Raven from Nightray. He is Vincent's brother. Just like Oz and Vincent, he is one of the few who managed to escape the Abyss. He is the only one that can sealed B-rabbit's power. His weakness is cat. Definitely gay for Oz and can't see eye to eye with Alice which consequently provide quite a lot of comic relief.

Xerxes Break

Formerly known as Kevin Regnard. The user of Mad Hater's power. The most powerful one out of the bunch. Very sly and cunning. Reminds me of Ichimaru Gin what's with his gray hair and crimson eyes. They even shared the same kind of creepy smile. However unlike Gin, he is pretty funny with his carefree attitude. He loves sweet and you definitely don't want to piss this guy off. He has a very interesting background story that kinda surprised me. Eccentric guy over all and my favorite character in the series.

Sharon

I am not sure what her relationship is with Break but Break called her Ojou-sama and she has no qualm at beating his ass with her fan. She has a chain too named Eques. Definitely a sadistic.

Vincent Nightray

He wanted to erase anything that can recalled what happened 100 years ago. Master of Echo. Most definitely gay for Gilbert. Not so right in the head but he has very cool eyes. One could even named him the series' psycho resident. It is either you like him or you hate him. I happened to like crazy evil people ^o^

Jack Bezarius

The one who stopped the Baskervilles 100 years ago. He appeared as fragments of Alice's memories and helps Oz a lot when he is in a pinch. He also warns everyone about the return of Glen Baskerville which obviously will repeat the Tragedy of Sabrie again. By the way, he was the only friend of Glen and vice versa. It must have pained him to stop his friend from going berzerk. Pretty good looking fella ^^

Eliot Nightray

Another little brother of Gil. He is the voice of reason for Oz. I like him straight away. He is the only one who can tell Oz to be a man and take his own destiny into his own hands instead of giving up on his life thinking that it would solve all the problems. He's valiant and funny and cute has quite a temper. Definitely a Nightray. He hates the Bezarius and I can pretty much tell why. Could he be Glen's reincarnation? hehehe >3

Ada Bezarius

She is Oz's sister. Very gentle and such. I don't usually like this kind of character but I like her for some odd reason that I am not too sure what. She looked like she has a brother complex but then we found out that she has a b0nar for Gil. Priceless XD

None of my favorite seiyuus are in this production but Vincent was voiced by Jun Fukuyama so a plus there. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Oz was voiced by a female so yeah, the seiyuus are good nonetheless. Also I like OP song more than the ED song as it is more catchy but not as much as I like the song Lacey from the pocket watch. It kinda present the anime with a whimsical yet foreboding feel which is perfect for the theme.



I do enjoyed Pandora Hearts. The plots are mysterious which keep me guessing from one episode to the other. It makes me interested to see the next episode to find out what will happened. There are also occasional unexpected comedy in it that I appreciate. What I didn't expect however is the end. It poses more questions than answers which can only mean one thing... second season! I look forward to watching that.

This actually made me want to pick up the manga...

art 8/10
story 9/10
sound 8/10
character 9/10
enjoyment 8/10
overall 8/10

edit: Glo said that the anime ending is different from the manga. But... isn't the manga still on going so how was that possible? =\

Posted in: adventure, akira ishida, comedy, daisuke ono, drama, fantasy, mystery, NIS America, Pandora Hearts, review, square enix, xebec