Cards (トランプ, Toranpu, lit. Trump) are characters from Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts. They are a specific type of Chain, something of a subspecies of Chain. Of all Chains in existence, Cards are by far the weakest and most commonly found. They lie at the bottom of the food chain in the Abyss and thus are usually prey for other more powerful Chains. Any threat they have the potential to pose would lie in their numbers, as under the right conditions Cards are easily swarm and overwhelm.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for Pandora Hearts.
Read at your own risk.
Appearance
Cards all appear similar with only few variations between each other. All Cards' heads are round and roughly stitched together. The Card Oz met in the Abyss had its mouth sewn shut, and empty black eyes. It also had a nail that had been hammered into its head at some point. The Card that emerged after Alice's memory opened a path had its right eye stitched shut and a small black left eye as well as a large gaping hole in its head, exposing some of its stuffing inside. The card contracted to the flower girl had four arms and two small black eyes with white pupils. Its mouth is hardly visible, though it does not appear to be sewn shut. It also had a fork embedded in its head and a legless body that dragged on the ground behind it as it walked on its hands.
Plot
A card came across Oz Vessalius shortly after he is dropped in the Abyss by the Baskervilles. The Card rejoiced at finally finding something to eat and proceeded to attack Oz, pinning him to the ground and declaring that he was a "yummy looking human". Alice the B-Rabbit, however quickly intervened and killed it in order to save Oz.
Later, after escaping the Abyss and meeting Xerxes Break, Sharon Rainsworth and Raven, the group found themselves face-to-face with another Card as Oz's pocket watch opened a path to the Abyss, allowing the Chain to come to their world in search of a Contractor. Break wanted to see Alice's power for himself, so he had Raven temporarily unlock Oz's seal. Alice reverts to her B-Rabbit form and easily slaughters the Card.
A third Card is later faced when Raven, Oz and Alice are sent to Reveil, investigating a case dealing with an illegal contractor who had been sacrificing numerous people to her Chain. On the first night, the illegal contractor and her Card killed another person, but the Card complained that it required more power, before sensing Alice's power nearby. Stating that if it devoured Alice, it would be able to "make it", the Card and its contractor then broke through the wall of the motel where Alice was left alone in. Alice however, managed to get away from the Card, and noticed that its contractor's Incuse was almost complete. Attempting to escape, she runs into Oz and Raven, as the Card attacked once again. During the chaos, the hood of the illegal contractor's cape is thrown off, revealing it to be the Flower Girl who Oz had run into earlier that day. Oz demanded to know why she was doing this, but Raven stopped him as he watched the hand on the Incuse make its final rotation. The Card and the flower girl are then dragged into the depths of the Abyss, leaving only a single petal.
Anime
In the anime, the second Card that Oz, Raven, Sharon, Alice and Break ran into was replaced by a Hedgehog Chain.
During a disruption of power within the Abyss, numerous Cards as well as other Chains that looked similar to the Hedgehog Chain, Grim and the Mad Baby, overrun Reveil. A Card attacked Duke Bernard Nightray at Pandora headquarters but the Pandora members managed to shoot it down. To their horror, several more then came and replaced it. Sharon, Break, Gilbert, Oz, Alice and even the Baskervilles joined in the fight to defend Reveil, Break eventually destroyed all the hostile Chains with his Chain, Mad Hatter.
Powers and Abilities
- Formidable Strength and Speed
- Can sense the powers of other Chains
Quotes
- (The first Card speaking to itself about Oz) "I've finally... found one... It's a yummy-looking... child..."
- (The first Card speaking with Alice) "Oh... Ohhh... How dare you, bastard B-Rabbit!?"
- (The third Card speaking with its Illegal Contractor) "More... I need more power... and I... don't have much time left...! There... a strong power... if I devour it... I can make it!"
Gallery
Appearances
- Retrace III: Prisoner&Alichino (First Appearance)
- Retrace IV: Rendezvous
- Retrace LXXIII: A note*
- Retrace LXXXIX: Staccato Drop
- Retrace XC: Clock Tower
- Retrace XCI: Juror
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Trivia
- In Japanese, the name for Cards is "トランプ" (Toranpu) which reads literally as "Trump." However the official English translation uses the term "Card" to more clearly illustrate the inspiration taken from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, specifically the Playing Card characters.