Pandora Hearts

"All Good Things Must Come to an End".

It has been a long 5 year journey that Pandora Hearts has taken me on. I am sad that the long years of waiting and excitement when a new chapter for Pandora Hearts was finally released is now gone forever. However along with the sadness, comes the excitement and happiness of finally reaching the one thing that I always wanted since the beginning. The ending.

Art ~ 9

Pandora Hearts starts having decent art in the first chapter. The characters looks nice, and the background is decent. However, as the series continues, you begin the notice the better details, and the art improving as a whole. There isn't much that I can talk about the art (I don't really care for art too much when reading something) other than the fact I really liked it.

Character ~ 10

"Not Doldum, Not just a revertebration. Echo will... I will...protect this girl of my own free will! I will not follow your orders!" ~ Echo

Out of all the things that I love about the manga, the characters are what I loved the most. Each character is well constructed, and all have their own unique personalities. I never grew bored of any character in the manga. Each of their back stories were so interesting and captivating, that I could not choose a favorite character until the ending. Every character was relate able and likable. Another part of the characters that interested me and that I loved was that the characters never went stale, because each and every character went through great character development. Each and every character grew and learned to accept who they are, and learn from their mistakes. My favorite example is Echo's character development. In the beginning, she was very negative about the way she viewed herself. Her very name was used to detriment her own value as a person. "Even if I'm to be tortured, to be mistreated, to be humiliated, Echo doesn't have the right to fight against it." ~ Echo. She doesn't believe she is worth anything, and that she has no rights because she is just an echo, a reverberation. She always referred to herself as Echo in third person as if she is distant to even herself. However, finally at the end she refers to herself as I, and breaks through the chains that held her down.

Story ~ 10

Imagine you're just taking a peaceful stroll in the park, when someone randomly appears, punches you in the face, and proceeds to tell you that everything you thought about life was wrong. That is basically Pandora Hearts in a nutshell. You go along reading it, and just as you start to get a hold of the situation, BAM PLOT TWIST. You would think that the one or two plot twists are good enough? BAM MORE PLOT TWIST. Eventually, I started to doubt every little thing the author put, and I was right to doubt. Pandora Hearts has so many plot twists I lost track. Does this mean that the story is bad? NOPE. It made the story all the more interesting to read, and elevated the story higher. The story was well written, that there weren't major plot holes that ruined the overall enjoyment of the story.

Enjoyment ~ 10

I loved Pandora Hearts with a passion. I would always be excited and savored every page as a new release came out. And just as the chapter was coming to a close, and the climax was coming, and I'm sitting on the edge of my seat, in small print at the bottom left corner it says "Please wait until next month to find out what happens next!". With this, I throw my hands in the air in a small fit of rage as my initial excitement dies down and a sense of dread comes over me as I count the number of days left until the next chapter. This however did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the manga. This actually made it better, as I became more and more eager as the manga was coming to an end.

Overall ~ 10

Overall, I loved every little thing about Pandora Hearts. What can I say? It was part of me ever since I was about 13 years old. It brought me great joy, sadness, anger, excitement, and many more emotions. Any story that can bring all these different emotions is one that I would consider a masterpiece. Although I won't say that it will be for everyone else, I recommend this manga to every that reads manga to even those that don't. It is a great manga with a great intriguing story, art that is pleasing to the eye, and likable and relate able characters.

Pandora Hearts is and possibly will always be my favorite manga of all times. The time i spent reading this manga was worth it and I hope that many future readers will enjoy it too. With this my review comes to a close, and so will my 5 year journey with reading Pandora Hearts. As I continue to read more and more manga, I will definitely always come back to this one.

"A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are."

"Those who come to the Abyss are all the same. They're all desperate to get something back. But everyone goes mad partway..."

*shock face*

See, I really, really don’t understand how a mangaka and f-ing story writing genius, can immerse readers in something so gloriously messed up, beautiful, emo, crazy, funny, deep, and downright strange like it's nothing. More than just a few times I laughed out loud and shook my head thinking: psshh, that’s absolutely ridiculous and stupid, then turned the page only to stop just short of curling up into a ball in a dark corner, gently caressing the book and whispering softly to it, while crying myself to sleep. How the heck can a person accomplish not looking like a mad person while reading this series (it’s not that I’m actually just crazy…honest)? This is just one of those books where you WILL get people whispering about you and strange, slightly fearful, glances if you read it in public, cause incomprehensible outbursts of emotion are a thing throughout this series.

Okay, now that I’m done with my rant, on with the actual review:

I honestly never expected to really like this series and wasn’t expecting much from it. I tried to watch the anime a couple years ago, but couldn’t really get into it (never made it past the first part of the 1st episode). After the first volume I figured I’d enjoy it, but it probably wouldn’t be a favorite. Once I got to the 4th volume I figured I’d really like it, but might not buy it (in my poor defense I’ve got a pretty extensive list of manga to buy so I’m really reluctant to add to it). But past that…I stopped caring about the total price of the series, food, and sleep. The last couple arcs almost killed me with all the FEELS.

“Finally I saw... A world so bright I almost wanted to cry... It was then, that my consciousness was engulfed in darkness."

I actually had to put the book down a few times and walk away in an attempt to take it all in, especially since I was still trying to deal with the aftermath of a few events in the arcs before that. Wait, my bad, I’m ranting again lol.

Okay…

The Story:
A well-deserved 9/10: It's got an Alice in Wonderland type thing going on and explores pretty complex themes, primarily identity and existence, and how things like the presence/absence of memory, human (or otherwise) bonds/connections, and the past can shape one’s identity and sense of self.

The story is riddled with mysteries that Mochizuki skillfully reveals bits of in each arc like puzzle pieces that don’t become a clear, coherent picture until the last arc. Only after completing the series did I understand that there was actual meaning behind some of the seemingly unimportant details I glanced over volumes ago. This is honestly one of those stories that you could re-read multiple times before being able to take in how carefully put together the story is. I even really enjoyed the side stories at the end of most chapters/volumes that I admittedly tend to skip over the first time I read a series.

The Characters (8/10):
Most of the main characters are made up of the typical shonen anime/manga archetypes which made me think of them as shallow at first, but they all have quite a bit of their own depth. Through there ventures they experience past and present grief, love, despair, and even emotional/psychological challenges. Character development is a thing all the characters go through, even a lot of minor characters.

The only issue I had was with Alice. Despite being such a central figure I was left feeling like she had much less depth and development, especially when compared to Oz, Gil, and even a few less central characters like Xerxes. Even so, none of the other characters felt like cookie cutter versions straight out of other works (even the minor ones), and I loved, or at least liked, pretty much all of them.

And, though I’m no expert, The Art-8/10:
It’s clean, easy to follow, and Mochizuki draws the expressions of characters in a way that conveys a wide and complex range of emotions, from emotional agony (he’s pretty good at this one), surprise, downright insanity, joy, anger, and everything in-between. You can tell he put a lot of work and detail into each scene including the backgrounds. I personally really like Mochizuki’s style (the darker, creepy scenes are done and arranged very well) though, at least from what I read so far, it’s a pretty typical one.

Overall: 9/10

Anyone looking for a good fantasy, and/or mystery, should definitely give this one a shot.

"Someone once said it was a dark place that swallowed everything up. Even if that were true, an enveloping darkness like that...in this world that holds every color possible...also contains the light of hope."

Honestly, Pandora Hearts is one of the greatest series I've ever read.

The character development is so wonderfully planned and carried out throughout the volumes- which each character having so much depth and the art is beautifully drawn. Its story is full of plot twists and turns everywhere and has interesting arcs. It had me hooked. Pandora Hearts was complicated and sometimes difficult to understand, but that was the beauty of it. From the small comedic scenes to the serious challenges and scenes, I loved it. However, the relationships between the characters is the most inspiring and tear-jerkingly beautiful thing. The relationships of friends- It truly is something so... wonderful.

This series has certainly made me go on a wild emotional ride and is by far an underrated series. And I would never say anything against it or never re-read this series.

It took me awhile to finish and I did have to reread the beginning but once I got into it, I kept wanting to finish it.
The story I thought was simple at first and I thought they would just solve it and it would be over. Of course, there were actually so many things happening and once you put it all together and figure it out, it is pretty elaborate. I got pretty confused at some parts because it did go pretty fast with its story and it was subtle in telling its plot points although thankfully not all the time. I think the story should've been the strongest point because of how detailed it became but it took awhile for all the questions to be answered which made it feel all over the place.
Now, the art was great too and it kept the feel of dark and light at the same time. Even though it was nice, it sometimes became hard to understand as well because of all the stuff happening. It captured reactions well and emphasis points but action parts were a little hard sometimes.
The characters were detailed and had a lot of back story but the only problem was that I couldn't figure out if they were good or bad sometimes. This was probably one of the big confusing parts because I couldn't understand their actions and what they planned to do, which I guess some would say is a good thing but this time it just made it more confusing. Still even though they were confusing they all had some depth to them even side characters.
Although this manga was pretty good, it was hard to keep reading after awhile because the chapters were so long and there was so much information at once. The ending was also pretty crazy which I say is the most confusing part. I still enjoyed reading it but there were parts that just got me bored as well. It really got interesting about half way through or after but the beginning was just hard to start.

Over all I give Pandora Hearts an eight when adding everything up. I do recommend this for people who like sad dramas, mild horror, action, fantasy and deep stories that take awhile to process. If you decide to read this, it's worth it.

Amazing dark story with lots of plot twists and perfect pace, it gets more tragic as it goes on, beautiful art, great character development with even the seemingly less important characters having a greater role to play later on. It his too bad that not many people read it, they do not know what they are missing, if you are a fan of the fantasy genre then you should definitely read it, if not you should give it a chance. If Jun Mochizuki maintains (or increases) the quality until the end this can really become a masterpiece, if not already...

Pandoras Hearts is one of those Mangas that has a great storyline with great parts to it, but also some things that can drive the reader nuts.

Story: 6

I found the new use of shingami in the manga to be very unique, unique in the fact that the soul reapers so to speak, aren't really dead souls in the asspect that we usually see, like in Shifumi Letters or Bleach. This was a plus when I first started watching the Anime, which drew me to the Manga.

Also, the storyline is chalk full of references to Alice in Wonderland. Many of the characters and chains are based off of characters from the book, and if you have read the books or seen any of the adaptations, this too might also draw one in.

I also saw a resemblance to the short Manga, Fairy Cube. The re are small elements in there that fit into both, like the stuffed rabbit toy, the small girl, or even the fact that there is a raven based being in both of these peices of work. Perhaps Pandora was influenced. In fact, it is likely that Pandora is highly influenced by a lot of things.

Normally, this would get the story a eight or higher, but I came across the problem of the fact that there are some rather dry cliques and humor running about that tend to get dragged out to the extreme, to the point at times of annoyance. I wish not to go into them as that would rather ruin the story.

Art: 8

The art is lovely, and well done, but there are a few times that it gets a little bit sloppy. This tends to be more noticible if one comes from an Anime that has brushed up and covered these mistakes up. And to note, I've studied art, so I could possibly be nitpicking things, but there were a few points where, even though I enjoy the art work pretty much, there were times I was a bit turned off. But then I'd come across an extremely good peice and it would go back and forth..

Character: 7

Gilbert is my favorite character. You learn early on that he has problems beliving in himself and his abilities, not to mention self esteme issues. He is also very loyal, yet also very childish, for which he gets made fun of. One also learns that his outward appearance doesn't exactly match his inner, but this isn't something one learns until later on.

Alice is another one of my favorite characters. Most of the really good humor comes from her, Gilbert or the Uncle, but mostly her. She also has a majorly firy temper that one can find quite enjoyable. Her self pity moments are rather logical, as she has been trapped in the abyss for so long.

What isn't so good is our main hero. Sure, he is all spunky and happy go lucky in the beging of the Manga, but when he takes an angst trip, boy does he take them. One needs to be forewarned that there might be times that one might want to strangle him for these reasons. There are also a few other such problems too, that brings a really good character cast down from normal.

Enjoyment: 9

Despite the problems in the Manga, I find I am enjoying the storyline very well. It is unique enough that one wants to find out the ending and to see where the author takes the reader on this journey.

Overall: 8

One needs to be fully forewarned, as great as Pandoras Heart is, there are going to be times when one may or may not get frustrated with the storyline. I know I have and I have had to put it down, cool down a bit, and come back. Particularly when the main character has gone into his angsty moments.

I don't really write reviews for manga but quite frankly, it is pretty upsetting to see how many 10/10's this series recieves. Apparently the bar is set pretty low. Pandora Hearts is an explicit adaptation on Alice in Wonderland. It is a pretty standard isekai theme, with nothing that original, with a lot of shota/fujo bait. If that was the only wrong, it wouldn't be that bad.
This series is extremely confusing. Not that it's to intricate to understand, but more in the direction itself. I found myself having a very hard time understanding how the text was supposed to connect with the illustrations. Many times, I was re-reading pages to understand what was happening. It was the first time I actually tried watching the anime as I was reading so I could make sense of what was going on. I feel like the artist tried way to hard to incorporate cinematic styles in the art direction. I honestly don't understand how this series is so highly praised. This is the type of series that heavily relies on its artwork and unique character design to cover for its flaws overall. I would consider myself easy to please as well, and I can enjoy something for what its worth, but Pandora Hearts is a nightmare to try and navigate through.

Pandora Hearts is a must. For me, most of the genre are found in this very manga. Comedy, Romance, Action, Adventure, Mystery, Tragedy, Super natural and others. Characters are very well represented. The story well created which I adore Jun for that:) And, I really enjoyed it very much to the fullest. Pandora Hearts is the only manga I have ever felt to cry, laugh, get angry, upset and the others all at the same time. To the reader/s who is/are reading this...I recommend you to read it; and enjoy the creation made by the one and only Jun Mochizuki :D

I fell in love with this series ever since I looked at the first page....ok maybe not the first page.....but I still adore it. I love how it's loosely based on Alice in Wonderland, which I already loved before I started reading it and only makes me love the series more. And really, there isn't a single character in the entire series that I don't love. They're just too loveable. The art is really well done too. I can say that at this moment, I am deeply in love with this manga

I haven't read or seen a PERFECT manga like Pandora Hearts! It's my best manga ever, you can't found a manga with a dark fantasy, black comedy, tragedy, psychological, historical and dramatical like this one, the art is awesome and the story is breathtakingly beautiful to. All the characters are wonderful and handsome, their pasts is so tragic and melancholic too, you can't keep you tears when someone is died, that's what i like the most.
If you haven't even read this manga, you should read it, because you don't know what you're lost.

This is my first time ever writing a manga review, so please bare with me.

I want to start saying that this manga may not be the easiest reading; the plot is like a puzzle, at first you get to see the big picture, but without getting into the details, you won't reach the end result. I must say that this may be my favorite part about the series, each little detail is relevant either for the main plot or to get some character development and that enriches the story more and more every time you read. There's actually no time to get bored because everything is in constant movement.

The characters development here it's delightful as no one ends the same way they started, they go back and forth in their own individual worlds. The premise here is that there's not one only way to act, but actually a wide range of options where everyone can go at their own pace, and that makes possible for us readers to experience first hand the emotions/thinking that made a character the way they're at the moment or why they decided to change in some point.

Finally, the art. The main points are it's beautiful settings, a great amount of details, and a unique way of expressing emotions. In this last point I want to emphasize, because Mochizuki Jun is not only great with words (like those white/black pages that made me cry with dialogue solely), but the way she can make a few pages or even with just a single smile to overflow with emotion makes this manga a master piece.

Hope this would help you if you're still not sure about reading it, but give it a try.

This review contains spoilers.

Pandora Hearts, whilst boasting an intriguing plot, complex characters and its own blend of simplistic yet detailed art, its most recent chapters have turned down a path only the most hardcore of fans will follow.

I'm not going to bother re-iterating the plot - that's what the description is for. Pandora Hearts begins with the main complication being recovering Alice's memories, for better or for worse. Alice, also known as the Bloodied Black Rabbit (or B-Rabbit, but I think she'll have to argue that one out with Eminem), becomes Oz Vessalius chain in order to pursue her goal in the real world. This is Pandora Hearts first failure.

Alice's memories quickly leave the spotlight as Oz comes to grips with the soul residing within him, his own ancestor Jack Vessalius, who shares his own memories in an attempt to manipulate events in the real world. Thus begins a complicated back and forth of one characters point of view versus another - one character remembers a brief snippet of the Tragedy of Sablier, which to our lovely protagonists is taken too seriously because they don't yet know the point of view of the other characters which appear in said memory.

Did that sound confusing? Well, that's nothing compared to attempting to comprehend the reasoning behind the manga's plot.

Not only does this detract from enjoying the story of Pandora Hearts (much less understanding it), but the sheer character building is enough to make you want to give Oz more punches than he receives from Gilbert (which is roughly three). More panels are dedicated to Oz feeling sorry for his existence than actually advancing the story. The most recent chapters seemed to be leading towards a fast paced, action packed conclusion in which all the loose strings tied together in a satisfying ending - Jack, taking over Oz's body, attempts to crack the chains that hold the world from colliding with the Abyss. (I told you there were spoilers.)

You'd think that would be reasonable, right? Wrong. You know that famous scene from Indiana Jones, where the stone door in the temple is slowly closing, and we always think it's going to close waaaaay before Indie gets there? That's the past few chapters of Pandora Hearts in a nutshell, except the characters seem blissfully unaware of the door altogether. For those of you who can at least remember the coinciding plot points of Glenn Baskerville and the Baskervilles, Oz's existence and Alice's memories, be my guest and try to summarise the plot in a few short sentences.

I know I certainly can't, and to me, that's not a good sign for Pandora Hearts.

First off I'd like to say that i know this isn't a completed manga, however I felt it was necessary to write a review, because not too many people actually know about Pandora Hearts(I checked yahoo answers, random websites, ect...). I watched the anime first(which was great as well) and after I was done I couldn't help but be in utter shock, as it was outstanding in everything it portrayed. So I decided to check out the manga and thought that it was going to be a VERY popular manga after a little bit.

I don't believe that I've found another manga quite like this one: Great art, Unbelievable storyline, Amazing characters, and Extremely enjoyable.

Art: I have to say this is one of the better art styles I've seen, it's never hard to read and shows every emotion that the author try's to portray.

Storyline: Now I know some of you may say something like "but a lot of manga start this way" well even if some do, the farther you get into it, you'll realize that it has some very unique twists and spins to it.

Characters: This manga has some very interesting characters, such as: Oz Vessalius, Gilbert, Alice, Break, and Sharon. These are the main characters at the beginning of the story, and each one has their own unique look and personality.

Enjoyment: One of the main reasons I love this manga is because this manga has many enjoyable parts all of which happen in a good steady flow. What I mean by that is they don't go from say a romantic scene to insane laughter, even if they do that they make their way into it, not doing something like holding hands to instantly killing people. they add something quick before it then go into it. So like I said earlier it has a good flow to it all.

I do not really have a ton of specifics to say here because I just really could not care about this...there was nothing to hate and nothing to love. The premise was a little interesting, but this manga prefers to bog itself down with poorly written gags, atrocious dialogue, and frivolous declarations of affirmation than actually focus on either action or story.

The basic premise of the story is nice enough - secret mysterious prison like madman world that exists alongside the normal world and represents awful things for pretty much any human being. Okay, nice enough! Except...they never explain pretty much anything about it in particular. Even worse, our main hero is straightaway declared to be the key to obtaining that power...and no one really says why. We get some vague exposition along these lines, but never anything interesting or helpful; all the interactions and dialogue are more along dramatic lines.

Similarly, there is an interesting enough idea of needing to get back Alice's memories. Great, so we have an actual mission! Except there is no real rhyme or reason to how she gets them back (she just does), and it never really becomes anywhere near a main focus; again, dramatic character interactions and meetings kind of train wreck all of this.

The characters are all essentially uninteresting - Oz the tragic hero who overcompensates by being excessively friendly and accommodating, Gilbert who exists basically to be his homoerotic friend (they made his character dark for a while, then just totally destroyed that to get him back to being homoerotic), Alice the initially tsundere, then just naive and secretly really nice...(ch. 20 p. 32 - She gets angry easily, and her words are harsh, but...the real Alice is very gentle, and loves to cry, and she is very stupid as well...her appetite is also very huge!) *yawn*. Some of the characters have potential for being interesting, like Break or Vincent, but then never actually get to be interesting. The dialogue, always fractured, and ADD of this work ensure that they cannot have any profound details or interactions. It always comes back to bad gags or bad friendship speeches...

All in all, this is not really a work worth anyone's time. It offers a nice concept and world, but fails to flesh them out, it offers boring characters, boring dialogue, boring character interactions, beyond typical gags, and the banter is always lacking in wit. It throws vague calls to Alice in Wonderland mythos and expects you to think that it makes it instantly awesome (unfortunately...this works on almost everyone...). This is a work that offers frivolities instead of awesomeness.

Sorry, I am going to make this review long so i can go into detail forgive me =)
~story~
The story line was brilliant and different from anything i had ever read/heard of and it was amazing. The creepy feel it gives off makes the story line addicting with its twists and turns that leave you amazed and wanting more to its lovable ability to suprise you and never let you guess what happens next the story was much better than most play offs of alice in wonderland plus alot better than the original other worldly alice in wonderland.
~Art~
With amazing character disign and great costumes how could you not love the art. The artist made sure that each character looked completly different from the one before and that no two characters were alike in any way.
~Characters~
Each character had a unique past that was both emotional and tramatizing that they grew from and learned from though they dont realize this untill later threw the manga. The characters connection to eachother at first seems thin if existant at all but as they are thrown into situations in which they must depend on one another and as they face death their bonds slowly grow untill they are unbreakable. The characters were lovable.

I never expected to like Pandora Hearts. I hate the Victorian era, get easily bored by mysteries, and am typically annoyed by fluffy cuteness. I much prefer violence, blood, and deep, dark storylines. And yet, I love Pandora Hearts to pieces!! I think I experience it from a different angle than many other PH fans, so I want to offer my perspective.

I love all the characters here. Really, I've never loved so many characters so much before. They all have very colorful personalities, representing most of the standard animanga archetypes but elaborating on each in unique ways. I connect with all of them very strongly. There's lots of great chemistry between the characters, ranging from laugh-out-loud funny to depressingly-dark. I love the full spectrum of emotion here. But characters alone do not a good series make.

The plot is incredible. It is complex, but not to the point of confusion. The whole thing so far is about unraveling what happened during a tragedy 100 years ago in order to prevent it from happening again. As such, most of the plot takes place in the past, and is revealed through pieces of characters' memories. Herein lies my favorite philosophical obsession with this series. I love how PH addresses the fact that partial memory is a very dangerous thing. The characters get their memories back gradually, and in very fragmented form. They don't know the whole story, and their assumptions about what happened and about who they are given the limited information they have affects self-image, personality, and actions, even if the assumption they made isn't true.

How do people deal with the idea that there's more to them than the life they know, or that they're essentially more than one person? What if everybody around them expects them to be somebody else? How does this shape their perception of identity? What if you don't remember enough? What if you forgot that you wanted to forget? And what do you do when you remember too much? Or what if the past that made you who you are completely changed? These are the kinds of questions addressed in Pandora Hearts.

There is much re-read value in this series. Many things happen before they are explained, or before a character remembers its significance, so you pick up on a lot of things you missed on your 2nd (or 3rd or 10th) read through.

“Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

What would you think when someone just told you that your existence is a sin? That’s practically saying that you should never have been born. Certainly, that isn’t a very nice thing to say, but when people actually start to persecute and throw you into a jail for it, it begs the question: What did I do?!

Paralleling the themes of identity crisis makes a wonderful comeback from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” into this manga “Pandora Hearts” by Jun Mochizuki, where we have a young 15-year-old noble that stumbles upon the mystery of his sinful existence and the dreadful truth behind his name.

The story starts off happily-hearted with Oz Vessalius preparing for his coming-of-age ceremony at the age of 15, and that is when things go… mad. Upon the last moments of his ceremony, red-hooded adversaries usurp the mansion and throw Oz Vessalius into the Abyss, a prison that hosts blood-thirsty entities called Chains. His crime: The crime of existing!

With no other means of escape, Oz is forced into a contract with a resident Chain, an estranged girl named Alice, so that she may escape from the Abyss along with her newfound contractor.

And so it begins with Oz searching for the truth behind his conviction and with Alice searching for her own missing memories.

But ignorance is bliss when it begins.

The story is somewhat engrossing in which the reader will attempt to uncover the mysteries that encircle these characters. The many shocking truths that I’ve learned from reading this are pretty overwhelming, and it really just beckons you to continue more. This premise of truth-seeking isn’t really original, but the amount of shocking and thrilling content in this manga surely tops off the number of times that a novel or movie would have. Plus, the importance of these vital bits of info that Oz and Alice find all tie into the grandest scheme of all things—something far more sinister then ever imagined.

And along the ride, we come to find that bliss is ignorance.

Aside from that synopsis, the plot is engaging in this way as we come to learn what actions characters will do as they struggle from the eye-opening truths and revelations that should never be mentioned at all. Because the way the story is set up, truths and memories are learned in fragments—and almost never in the same order. This way proves itself well in grasping in readers once they’ve stared into the Abyss far too long that it starts to stare back. Not only that, the enjoyment stems off on the way Oz and Alice’s little journey gets them involved in some very serious events. Would they better be off not knowing? Or can they still smile now that they know?

But that is all the plot can muster. These bits of info that they are looking for aren’t in every chapter, because characters still need to adjust and react to the newfound truths that they acquired. However, this does not make the story boring mind you, because the characters themselves give you quite a good show.

There are characters that are nearly representative of the “Alice in Wonderland” cast if not for the actual Chains themselves. Characters aren’t as mad as they seem, but they conjure an elegant air of shrewdness and mystery. Even the most despicable characters are lovable to an extent; because their personalities are borderline mad, if not everyone’s. It’s also interesting to see the schemers come into play as they encourage and even interfere with the motives of Oz and Alice along with Pandora, an organization that is interested in the affairs regarding the Abyss.

By themselves, every character falls flat, but coupled with shrewd intentions, every character works wonders in driving the plot of the story. And that is when their true personas emerge. Characters are all certainly deep, justified, and even downright cruel and sadistic. This common twist for many “Alice in Wonderland” renditions and spin-offs plays out well in Pandora Hearts. It’s a mad world out there, and it’s rendered just as eloquently as the art.

Speaking of the art style, all I can say is that for a Shonen manga, every single character is beautifully drawn. Period (except for one god-awful nobleman). I meant that in the most aesthetic sense of “human beauty”; characters are NOT “ugly” per se, but Mochizuki promotes an admirable side to beauty without erotica. Nevertheless, landscapes are detailed and portray a Victorianesque scene which really fits in the theme and urban context of “Alice in Wonderland.” I can vouch for the art to be very acceptable here, and when things get hectic, expect blood as a permanent stain to this beauty. Very tragic.

Yet, those words that describe the art can sum up Pandora Hearts.

Beautifully tragic.

Pandora Hearts has left a good impression on me. It’s a tragic story associated with dark themes and psychotic obsessions rendered beautifully in a very twisted romantic sense. And the theme of identity and existence is still made clear.

What more can you expect from an “Alice in Wonderland” deviant? It’s classy, dark, thematic, beautiful and tragic. But the compelling storytelling is also superb with all the pieces falling into play, and just when you think it starts to get mad… trust me, the madness has even yet to begin.

What's the best way to describe Pandora Hearts? Tough call. Because it's pretty far out there. Think of it as a hybrid of Fullmetal Alchemist and Black Butler. FMA, for the thick plot, mystery, and variety of characters. Black Butler, for the gothic-Victorian-supernatural-fantasy themes and art style. And throw in some character names from Alice in Wonderland. And freakishly creepy doll-monsters. And another dimension....

Despite having an incredible variety of themes, they work together surprisingly well. You get an action/drama/fantasy/mystery. Plot twists or character developments keep coming, so things never get boring. Actually, I keep having to re-read chapters just to make sure I've gleaned all the clues out. So there's high re-read potential. Despite the heavy amount of plot, character is just as important. So whether you like interesting characters, or an interesting plot, there's enough to keep you satisfied.

I was surprised to see this often categorized as a "shounen" manga. Is it because the hero's a guy? Because the lead lady wears a miniskirt? Because there's some action? In my opinion, it has a MUCH stronger gal appeal than guy appeal. But that's just my opinion. If guys like it, great!

Bit of a synopsis:
Our hero is Oz, heir to a dukedom, 15 years old (and oddly small for his age). His side-kick is his incredibly loyal and meek/shy servant Gil. Well, that's how things start out. But soon Oz is sent into the other dimension, and meets our lead lady, Alice (who also takes on the form of a giant rabbit). After Oz and Alice leave the dimension, they meet Break (aka the "Mad Hatter"), Lady Sharon, and eventually a slew of other characters. One by one, we see the characters' backgrounds unfold. Later, Oz has to make some reforms to his own attitudes. He seems to be a normal kid, but we find that he's had some painful experiences that have given him a poor opinion of his own self-worth.

Plotwise, there's a lots of things we need to follow. We need to figure out who the Baskervilles are, what was the tragedy of Sabrie, Gil and Vincent's pasts, why Alice's memories are missing, what's the deal with the watch, who is the mystery guy in Oz's dreams...yep. Lots of plotlines to follow.

Like drama? Mystery? Character development? Gothic-Victorian manga style? If so, you'll love Pandora Hearts!

(P.S. If you like the manga, be sure to check out the anime! It's pretty faithful, and just as delightful as the manga. It does a good job at playing up the comedy too.)

Note- I first wrote this review in 2009, but have found some things that needed updating.

I stumbled across the manga because of it's interesting name. And I'm glad to say that the story is just as interesting as the name.
I won't go too much into the plot, as you can read those in other place, so I'll just say that the story line's incredibly original, enjoyable, as well as pretty dark and with many plot twists. The main characters, Oz and Alice, are fairly likable, and the supporting cast, Break, Sharon, and Raven, aren't done to badly either. My favorites are Break, Oz, and Alice. These three are far from cardboard cut-outs.
The art is well done. It's not pretty flowery shoujo style, but it's not like the art in Nodame Cantabile , for example. Everything is in a sort of old England Victorian Style. I warn you though, there are some gruesome drawings, mostly of the chains.
Overall I really enjoyed the manga, though I do wish there were more chapters available. I look forward to the anime and can't wait for it to come out! Pandora Hearts definitely isn't a manga to pass up!

Update- While I keep my opinion that Pandora Hearts is an above average manga, the plot starts to drag a bit. The characters go on a series of short trips, which though add to the story with their subtle hints, are boring. My biggest dislike was the change in characters. Oz's character change was understandable, but it did bring in a lot of cliches and wasn't very interesting. Meanwhile, Gilbert is going crazy and annoyingly needy, with a 'master' complex and wants to kill someone (won't say who). Alice has gone from a tough and occasionally deep and serious heroine, to a cute and annoying tsundere. Break is the only one who's keeping to his character, and I love him for it.
Those are all the bad things. The rest are still very satisfactory, and a few plot turns keep the story interesting. Just keep in mind that the story starts to drag after a while.

I learned about "Pandora Hearts" from this site, because I saw how many people watched/read it. I was not very persuaded to watch it due to the title, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm really glad I did.

This anime/manga is by far one of the greatest I've encountered. It is considered by many to be like a "dark Alice in Wonderland" due to the heavy references to the classic tale. The art is excellent, and the characters are beautifully drawn. They also all have depth. The story and the way it unfolds are original and unique. It's really a very entertaining story!

If you have not read/watched "Pandora Hearts", do yourself a favor and READ/WATCH it! You will not regret your decision.