Customer Reviews

Pandora Hearts, Vol. 1

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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I have read many manga series, viewed many anime series, and so forth, and I must say -- Pandora Hearts is one of my most favorite manga of all time. Yes, there is bound to be some confusion when you are reading the first book because a lot of things happen right away, and since it is just the beginning -- you can say that this web of the unexplained will all be cleared up as the story goes along. Don't put off the book right away. It's mysterious and wonderfully enticing in a strange way. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. There is some deep characterization involved in this series, and you are bound to get attached to some of the characters.

Pandora Hearts is the kind of manga that will make you say: "Damn, that's original!". It's a mystery story, but not the typical crime-solving right way story. It's about a boy named Oz, who's trying to find why his existence is considered a sin, and a girl known as Alice, who's trying to find the place she belongs in the world.

Everything revolves around the Abyss, a place where the sinners and criminals go. You know how to come in, but you don't know how to come out. Oz will find answers, even if it means that he will be even more confused about it.
In his fifteen-year-old ceremony, the clock will tick, everything will freeze and strangers will put the boy in the spotlight, making him ask himself why he exists. "Your sin is your very being" the stranger said.

He'll be swallowed by the abyss, a dark, scary and dangerous "world" where he will be deceived by weird creatures until he finds Alice. Alice is Alice. That's all she knows - Where she comes from, why she's in that place and why she feels a connection with Oz is not known. She wants to find her memories, but first she needs to make a contract with the human boy to get out the abyss. Will Oz help the hopeful girl or will he turns his back on her, leaving that place by himself?

I like the story (I'm on volume five now), and the art is fairly good. To be honest, I can only follow the plot to a point. There are so many characters and so many of them look similar!
I think with the history of Pandora and all of the lands associated with it, plus Alice's memories, the Intention of the Abyss, Gilbert's past, Vincent's eye, and the addition of new and unexplained characters in almost every new volume, it just seems like there is a bit too much going on and not enough explanation for any of it. Plus we have yet to learn anything about the seemingly innocent Sharon.
That does not take away from the quality, though. There are fair attempts to connect each goings-on. I'd say read it, see if it's your cup of tea.

I love pandora hearts so much.I started reading after i watched the anime(kind of a spoiler) where it left off. Since im using my moms account and im in my early twenties, i can say i think Oz is hot.This volume isnt as epic as the other ones though.Dont read the rest if you dont want to be spoiled and if your not so sure whether to read the book you should read my spoiler.
*********SPOILER ALERT***********
Starting in chapter 38, Oz taps into Alices power and developes a sadistic, killing side that would kill anything that annoys him or hurts alice.Dont think he is a weak innocent teen, he is actually extremely good with a scythe and can use B rabbits better than Alice.
P.S, Alice does have an eviler twin
P.S.S, search on youtube, Riot pandora hearts mmvPandora Hearts, Vol. 1

I'm a manga/anime fan, to say the least. I'm addicted to it like some people are addicted to crack. And you could say that I have a plethora of experience on reading manga and watching anime. Maybe it's because of that that I understood this volume perfectly. Maybe, maybe not. But I understood everything, and each character looked distinctly different, or at least I could make out the different characters. I have the peculiar ability to just absorb information when I read and not make remarks or think. That means I don't really get confused until the end of something. But this didn't really confuse me, which doesn't mean that I didn't have questions. But I fully expected them to be answered, and they are -- in later chapters.

I think that this volume is meant to be a mystery, meant to have a lot of questions that set the groundwork for the rest. This is one of my favorite series that I've reread multiple times. And considering how much manga I've read, that says something.

The first volume might confuse you a bit, but just continue. Read the second volume. And you'll slowly see the mystery unfold, which is one of the best parts of this series. The art is amazing, character development phenomenal, and plot astounding. Basically, I love this and demand you read it. It's really something you fall in love with as it goes on. I fell in love with all the characters.

If you're looking for an extremely lighthearted, fun, fluffy read that doesn't really mean much (such as K-On or Onidere), then this series is not for you. But if you're looking for a darker story, mystery, thrills, with glimpses of laugh out loud humor and amazing characters, then this is what you've been looking for. Actually, no matter what you're looking for, just pick it up and read it, kay? I swear you won't regret it. Well, you won't regret it after finishing the series, or even getting halfway through, I promise you.

Take some shojo artwork, add a heavy dollop of horror, a big chunk of cracked-out Lewis Carroll...

... and voila, you've got "Pandora Hearts." The first volume of Jun Mochizuki's manga is graced with lush artwork and a great combination of horror and fantasy, but it's also incredibly confusing at times (all these characters look alike!) -- all in all it's an enjoyable experience, but it will also leave you frantically headscratching.

Oz Vessalius is being appointed the future head of his family in an ancient ceremony... only to have it turn into a battlefield between a bunch of sinister hooded figures and a "Bloody Rabbit" that turns into a young girl. The hooded men announce that his sin is "your very being" -- and he's dragged into a bizarre, surreal other dimension called the Abyss, where magical "chains" try to snare him. The only exception is the B-Rabbit, aka Alice.

Obviously, Oz wants to escape the Abyss -- and Alice wants to go hunting for the memories she has lost. So when he's attacked by an enemy chain, Oz reluctantly enters into a contract with Alice -- only to find himself in the grasp of a mysterious organization called Pandora.

I have to say one thing about "Pandora Hearts" -- it doesn't lack for plot. Secret organizations, mysterious monsters, a magical watch and a mood-swinging girl who turns into a giant black rabbit-headed humanoid. It's like a manga Lewis Carroll on crack.

It's also incredibly confusing, since the surreal incidents, mysteries and battles are strung together right up until the end. It took a few repeat readings to figure out what was going on, especially since Mochizuki's artwork often makes the characters look rather similar (f'rinstance, it's hard to tell Sharon apart from Oz's little sister, and either Alice has a split personality -- or there are two Alices).

However, Mochizuki does an excellent job setting up a fascinating world and premise: a sort of 19th-century fantasyland, with an alternate-dimension prison filled with powerful "chains" that want to unite with a human. The first volume is pretty much about setting up that premise, and Mochizuki does it with plenty of humor and horror (creepy-grinning children, the Mad Baby, and other horrors of the Abyss).

He also produces some likable characters -- Oz is a likably mischievous, rather bored boy who seems to be neglected by his absentee father. Not exactly the sort of person you'd expect to be thrown into Abyss. Alice seems to have massive mood swings (tomboyish -> shy -> angry -> gleeful), but she's an intriguing character as well -- and it remains to be seen how she and Oz will mesh.

"Pandora Hearts" is a confusing muddle of beautiful art and intriguing ideas, which doesn't really gel into a story until the second half. Not bad, but a rather rough start.

I don't write this review because I don't like action and violence, it's because I love it. The first volume Pandora Hearts introduces the weak/pathetic character who usually has potential, but this first volume also gives into fantasy and much more that make this into a great manga. The only drawback for me is that there is really no romance, and even after doing research on the later volumes it become revelent that there will be no dominant type of romance, but oh well, this should definetly be given a chance.

Pandora Hearts is a very good manga. Confusing at times, but good. Jun Mochizuki's drawing style is lovely and one of my favorites. All the characters are loveable, which to me is very important in a story. If I don't like the main character it makes me dislike the manga, but Oz is very inspirational. Alice is adorable, Raven is protective, Sharon is a little lady, and Break is by far one of my favorite manga characters. I recomend this manga for anyone, even though the first few volumes are confusing, it gets better. If you like this, you should probaly like 07-Ghost and D.Gray-man, which are excellent manga as well. I only just wish the volumes weren't so short.

If I hadn't read the book jacket blurb, I would really have no idea what was going on here. During my first read-through, there were a couple of young blonde girls with similar hairstyles that I kept confusing (one is a major character, the other very minor); one of the children from the beginning turns out to be older than he looks, and when the author makes this reveal, I assumed it was a new character - it was not clearly pointed out (or even implied) that this was the same person. For the rest of the book this guy is not referred to by name, so I was really not sure if it was a new character or not. The whole business with the "Abyss" is confusing...it was really more like a "Let's browse through the pretty pictures" manga for me, because I gave up on trying to understand it after a while.

Well, I re-read through it right away and it made a little more sense the second time. I do like mysterious manga so I'll probably keep going with it, but...be prepared for a few rereads until it settles in your mind!