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louisedelavalliere09's Pandora Hearts Tv,manga Review

Pandora Hearts

Pandora Hearts tv,manga Review

Oz Vessalius, heir to one of the duke houses, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he's cast into the prison known as the "Abyss", only to be saved by a "chain" known as Alice, the bloodstained black rabbit. The mystery there begins as Oz unravels the mystery behind Alice, the Abyss and the strange organization known as Pandora.

The series features heavy references to Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and can be considered both fantasy and mystery.

Story & Playability

Every so often, you stumble upon an anime that tries very hard to ruin itself: School Days, for example, almost runs for too many episodes; Code Geass takes a turn for the overly-complicated in the end of its first season; and Shakugan no Shana allows Kazumi to open her mouth. In all these cases, the foundations of the show prevent its failings from overwhelming the experience. 2009's Pandora Hearts falls into this category, with its setting and cast overriding its animation and plot shortcomings. This one takes about four episodes or so to sink its hooks into you, but it soon proves worth the short wait.
Set in an European alternate world, Pandora Hearts weaves a tale spanning one hundred years and centered around an event called the "Tragedy of Sabrie". As the narrative unfolds both in the present and copious flashbacks, viewers follow the cast as they uncover more and more about the terrible event. This backward-looking bent strengthens the plot as continual discoveries prove more interesting than the mediocre action sprinkled through the series. In addition, the pervasive Alice in Wonderland references both provide a point a reference for English-speaking viewers and a wealth of striking imagery that the show puts good use.
Significant pacing missteps almost bring the beautiful thing down around its ears, however. The series opens with an introductory arc that poses too many questions while providing neither suspense a la Higurashi no Naku Koro ni nor as much action as the opening salvo of a show like Canaan. While these initial events further the plot and establish important setting details, they also leave the viewers alone with the least interesting character for long stretches. Sadly, even after Pandora Hearts enters its main story, these silly plot hiccups continue. The show tends to bundle its major reveals and seminal events into single installments which it brackets in boring plot fluff that serves either as the build-up or denouement for each minor story. Consequently, the week-to-week experience leaves much to be desired, since throwaway episodes of lesser quality bookend each gripping offering.

Rating: 10

Graphics

In a season packed with tsundere leads like Senjogaraha Hitagi (Bakemonogatari) and Sazenin Nagi (Hayate no Gotoku!!), Alice stands out as one of the most interesting characters of her archetype. Instead of showing overwhelming bravado and other obnoxious tsun-tsun tendencies to overcompensate for her emotional weakness, Alice exudes strength because, as a living weapon, might is her lingua franca. Her simplistic worldview imbues her with a sense of genuine honesty because, for Alice, life IS simple. With no memories, a straightforward goal, and power to spare, her childlike outlook and forthright nature make her both likable and true to her background. Sadly, the entertaining rabbit comes part-and-parcel with a typical sidekick in Oz. For most of the series, he whines, frets, wanders into trouble, harbors suicidal thoughts, declares his intention to change, and round and round again without end. While the plot gives ample reason for his feelings of inadequacy, the litany of pathetic moaning grows stale and his real change takes too long to arrive. Oz does demonstrate some interesting traits behind his crybaby exterior, however. When he displays his considerable cunning or great sensitivity to the feelings and motivations of others, even he can play a convincing hero and charm the audience. Should Pandora Hearts get a second season, he has the potential to grow past his more irksome traits and into a compelling lead.
Luckily the series also provides a rich, but under-characterized secondary cast to distract the viewer from Oz's lamentations. While some of these guys receive significant back story treatment, others--most notably the villains--behave more like walk-ons while Oz, Alice, and Gil wrestle with their personal demons. With so much narrative ground to cover, it comes as no surprise that intriguing people like Charlotte Baskerville, Eliot Nightray, and Rufus Barma spend only the slightest time in leads' orbit before the eye of the plot turns its gaze to other matters. Even so, each of these characters demonstrates depth and complex motivations in their short span on screen, making these auxiliaries one of the more memorable aspects of the show as a whole.

Rating: 9

Sound

Within the first episode, Pandora Hearts makes the importance of music to the series plain as day. From the haunting music-box melody that comes from Oz's watch to the stellar opening theme, the soundtrack matches the epic sweep of the narrative. Leading things off, "Parallel Hearts" stands almost head-and-shoulders over many of its contemporaries' opening tracks, eclipsed in Spring 2009 by only K-On!'s "Cagayake! Girls", and the second Saki OP, "Bloooomin'". Closing out the first half of the season, Savage Genuis' "Maze" also lays strong female vocals over synth-rock, and its plaintive strains capture the series' spirit. The same artist also provides the second ending theme, and its sweeter, more relaxed tone echoes the gentle relationship between Oz and Alice which features more prominently as the show progresses. Picking up where the excellent theme songs leave off, the in-episode music features thick orchestral arrangements which help immerse the viewer in the 19th century setting; the score does contain a lone anachronistic electronic track, but it complements the high-tension action sequences it accompanies so well that the viewer can easily forgive this one transgression.
Nor does the high-quality of the audio end with the music. The nuanced characters of Pandora Hearts require sensitive readings and the voice actors prove more than equal to the challenge. Whether it be Break's subtle wrongness or Oscar's over-the-top affection, each emotion comes through lound-and-clear, picking up much of the slack left by the sometimes stiff character animations. As the leading lady, Ayako Kawasumi's memorable performance in the role of Alice anchors the production. While Rie Kugimiya's loli readings of diminutive tsundere characters have begun to inspire imitations of late, Kawasumi's full-throated interpretation fits her charge's personality and history far better than a bratty reading would have.

Rating: 9

Fun

andora Hearts boasts some of the most interesting character designs I've seen. The European setting brings with it sartorial bliss in the form of ruffles, long coats, ties, and dresses that resemble tea cakes. In addition, the angular faces and large eyes of the characters allow their expressions to modulate from attractive innocence or heroic resolve into creepiness or melancholy at the drop of a hat, which helps to add extra dimension to the cast. The well-suited backgrounds help maintain the continental flavor of the visuals, but their limited number sometimes creates confusion (when town #1 looks exactly like town #2, I get disoriented).
Unfortunately, substandard execution ruins much of the lovely atmosphere and interesting subject matter. In an attempt to mimic the ethereal feel of the manga, the series uses a softening filter on the animation that deadens the otherwise vibrant colors and blurs the edges of the action in the foreground. Through this lens, the deep blacks of the Mad Hatter's cape and the recesses of the Abyss appear mottled, like a dusty computer monitor and the faint shading washes out so that many surfaces appear flat (especially a crime when it happens to Sharon's lovely dresses). In addition, the action sequences, though filled with interesting adversaries, are also rife with abbreviated motion and awkward angles.

Rating: 8

Final Verdict

9.0000 (very good)

Reviewed by louisedelavalliere09, Jul 26, 2011

Comments

  1. hitsu-chan Jul 26, 2011

    oooh, thx for ur review! :)
    I kinda like this anime, I find it surreal but sometime I think they exaggerated... anyway, keep it up! xD

  2. angelxxuan Banned Member Jul 28, 2011

    I've seen this anime awhile back and I thought it was average, but it reminded me a lot like alice in wonderland (like you stated in your review) with a much darker atmosphere, in my opinion.

    my only problem with this review is, why so many references to so many other anime, the reader might not know these anime in question and will then be even more lost, should they bother with it, that sort of thing. not to mention your first sentence into the review, when I first read it, made me think why should I even bother with watching this (if I hadn't seen it, why bother with something that is ruined. and remember this is a review for one anime not others, stating bad things about other reviews for other anime that you're not reviewing on was probably misleading as well)

    I think, over all the review is decent, I have seen all the other anime in question, but listing so many others you have to then explain why, leaving too much of a complicated mess, in my opinion. but, after all, this is your first review so don't let these words dampen your spirits. hope to see more reviews in the future !

  3. evelluchia Jul 29, 2011

    its a good anime series and i think your review has done the justis of telling possible viewers just that very good review and thanks for sharing ^-^

  4. SnickerdoodleNinja Retired Moderator Jul 29, 2011

    I must say that I really like your vocabulary and wording. However, I think that having so many references to other animes can be pretty confusing. While having some references can actually help illustrate your point, having too many tends to throw off readers who are not familiar with all of the those series. I also noticed that despite the fact that you had some notable complaints about the story, you still gave it a ten- a perfect score. Additionaly, I am a tad confused as to how you divided the review. For instance, you used the art section to cover character development and the fun section to cover art. It works out in the end since you covered everything, but it still is a bit confusing to read and kind of skews the scores for each section. Overall, though, I think you did a great job of covering everything thoroughly and nice job on your first review! :) I've been curious about Pandora Hearts, but never knew much about it till this review.

  5. Dancerinthedark Oct 10, 2011

    Thanks for the review,pandora hearts is one of my fav anime series*___*
    but there must be a second season because there is some secrets that we didn't know about it that is what I think^^;

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