Pandora Hearts (パンドラハーツ, Pandora Hātsu) is the first main manga series by mangaka Jun Mochizuki following the completion of her one-shot Crimson-Shell and preceding the release of her second series The Case Study of Vanitas. It began serialization in the shōnen magazine GFantasy published by Square Enix in May 2006 and completed its run in March 2015 with a total of 104 chapters collected in twenty-four volumes. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Broccoli Books but was dropped before it could finish, then later licensed fully by Yen Press. An anime adaptation was produced by the studio XEBEC and aired from April 2009 to September 2009.
Plot[]
Reminiscent of a broken toy box, the mystical Abyss is a terrifying realm home to monstrous creatures called Chains. Most believe it to be only a fairy tale, used to scare children who misbehave. Oz Vessalius, the cheerful and mischievous heir of the noble Vessalius family, is one such individual—until, at his Coming-of-Age Ceremony, the mysterious Baskerville Clan arrives and condemns him to the Abyss for a sin he neither committed nor knows anything about. In the Abyss, Oz forms a contract with Alice the B-Rabbit, a unique Chain who can take on human form, in an attempt to escape from the Abyss.
As Oz struggles to unravel the mysteries behind his sin, the Abyss, and the Tragedy of Sablier from one hundred years ago, he and his companions find themselves confronted by the Baskervilles and ghosts from the past. Meanwhile, his journey back home is plagued by relentless despair.
[Credit to MAL Rewrite]
Terminology[]
Abyss[]
The Abyss (アヴィス Avisu) is the most important element of Pandora Hearts. It is central to the narrative of the series, embodying the very universe that it operates on and acting as the origin for everything and everyone within. It is the core of all the conflict that unfolds around it, the catalyst for all events in the story, and the purpose upon which all is built.
It manifests as a dimension parallel to the material world where the story takes place. All Chains are born from the Abyss, as is the dark and twisted power that they are created out of, thus it is the subject of research by the government organization Pandora. And, intrinsically tied to the Abyss as they are, the Baskervilles source all their power from the Abyss, serving as its "Messengers" as part of their dark duties. Due to this, the Abyss is where Oz Vessalius is cast into during his Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
For the majority of the story the Abyss is shrouded in mystery, only able to be seen as endless darkness. For Oz, Alice, and Gilbert, their journey becomes to understand the true nature of the Abyss.
Chains[]
Chains (チェイン, Chein) are a species of organisms born from the Abyss and its twisted, warped power, each possessing a range of otherworldly powers and abilities far beyond that of regular humans. Chains' existences are unstable and tenuous when they leave their home dimension of the Abyss and enter the material world. To stabilize their existences, they search for humans to become their Contractors and serve as a conduit for their powers. In exchange for this, Chains will often offer their potential Contractors the ability to change the past. These people are called "Illegal Contractors," and this process will more often than not either drive the Contractor completely mad or kill them with the Incuse marked on their chests. Though there also exist "Legal Contractors"—those who are employed by the government organization Pandora, which is dedicated to researching the Abyss. Legal Contractors instead make use of an item called the Carcere to bypass the Incuse, taking away the risk to their lives.
Contractors[]
Contractors (
There exist three types of Contractors: Illegal; Legal; and though they are never given their own proper name, the Baskerville Clan have access to a special kind of Contract distinct from the previous categories. And, on very rare occasion, it is possible for a single person to harbor multiple Contracts at once.
Pandora[]
Pandora (パンドラ, Pandora) is the organization the main characters operate under for the majority of the story. While it is publicly known to be a state-controlled agency for maintaining public order, its true purpose is the research and handling of any and all events relating to the Abyss. It is lead and controlled by the Four Great Dukedoms, the Vessalius Dukedom, the Nightray Dukedom, the Rainsworth Dukedom, and the Barma Dukedom. One hundred years ago the Tragedy of Sablier occurred, wherein Glen Baskerville and his followers murdered all humans in the former capital and the city was dropped into the Abyss. Jack Vessalius, the hero who defeated the Baskervilles and prevented further destruction, had founded the Four Great Dukedoms and Pandora in the aftermath of that disaster. Pandora's ultimate goals are to ascertain the full truth of the Tragedy of Sablier and obtain the Intention of the Abyss.
After escaping from the Abyss together, Oz Vessalius and Alice are made to join Pandora under the threat of arrest. Soon after, Oz is discovered to be Jack's reincarnation, his body housing the ancestral founder's soul. Through Oz, Jack passes on a message to Pandora: the Baskervilles and their master Glen will return to once again enact the Tragedy upon the world. Thus Pandora is given yet another goal—find and defeat the reincarnation of Glen Baskerville before he can tear the world apart.
Four Great Dukedoms[]
The Four Great Dukedoms (
Baskerville Clan[]
The Baskerville Clan (バスカヴィルの
After one hundred years of silence, the Baskervilles reappear as per a foretold prophecy during Oz Vessalius's Coming-of-Age Ceremony in order to cast him into the Abyss. This is because of Oz being the "key" to obtaining the Intention of the Abyss, and the reincarnation of their ancient enemy Jack Vessalius. Their ultimate goals throughout the story are: obtain the Intention of the Abyss, find and revive their master Glen Baskerville, and, if necessary, reenact the Tragedy of Sablier once again.
Tragedy of Sablier[]
The Tragedy of Sablier (サブリエの
Media[]
Manga[]
- Main Article: List of Volumes (Pandora Hearts)
Pandora Hearts is written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki and serialized in Square Enix's monthly shōnen magazine GFantasy from June 2006 to April 2015. There are a total of one hundred four chapters collected into twenty-four volumes. The series was first licensed in English by Broccoli Books but was dropped. It was then picked up by Yen Press and serialized in Yen Plus beginning from the June 2009 issue. Yen Press began the English serialization in December 2009 with the release of the first volume, and ended in March 2016 with the release of the final volume. In Indonesia, the series was licensed by Elex Media Komputindo; in France by Ki-oon; in Germany by Carlsen Verlag; in Poland by Waneko; in Brazil by Panini Comics; and in Vietnam by Kim Đồng Publishing House.
Anime[]
- Main Article: Pandora Hearts (Anime)
Pandora Hearts is an anime television series adaptation of the manga written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki. Under director Takao Kato, studio XEBEC produced an animation with music featured by Yuki Kajiura and themes by Savage Genius and FictionJunction. The series premiered on April 3, 2009 and ran until September 25, 2009, consisting of 25 episodes. The series was broadcast on TBS, BS-TBS, CBC and MBS during its initial run.
On February 11, 2010, NIS America announced the licensing of the series in North America, and released English-subtitled DVDs of the anime on October 26, 2010. There were also nine OVAs, with 3 minutes each, which aired from July 24, 2009 to March 25, 2010.
Other Books[]
Guide Books[]
- Main Article: List of Guide Books and Art Books (Pandora Hearts)
Pandora Hearts has had three guide books to the manga published and one guide book to the anime. The first guide book was released in March 2009, the second guide book was released in July 2012, and the third and final guide book was released on June 2015. The anime's guide book was released in September 2009 simultaneously with the first art book. None of the guide books have been released in English as of yet.
Art Books[]
- Main Article: List of Guide Books and Art Books (Pandora Hearts)
Pandora Hearts has had two art books published throughout its time, the first in September 2009 simultaneously with the anime's guide book and the second in June 2015. It features illustrations, sketches, and concept art from the series, from Mochizuki's previous one-shot work Crimson-Shell, from light novel series Rolan the Forgotten King, and various other GFantasy and Gangan Joker series by other artists. The second art book also features the first official illustrations for Mochizuki's succeeding series The Case Study of Vanitas.
Light Novels[]
- Main Article: List of Light Novels (Pandora Hearts)
Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ is a set of three light novels written by Shinobu Wakamiya and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki. Each light novel is a collection of loosely connected short stories featuring the characters of Pandora Hearts, for the most part set in between major story arcs within the main manga. It began serialization by Square Enix in March 2011 with the release of the first light novel, and ended in May 2013 with the release of the third light novel. The light novels have been licensed in English by Yen Press and were released from 2015-2016.
Audio[]
Soundtracks[]
- Main Article: List of Soundtracks (Pandora Hearts)
The first anime opening theme was released as a maxi-single, "Parallel Hearts," on April 29, 2009 under the Victor Entertainment label. The opening theme single performed by FictionJunction included "Parallel Hearts" and "Hitomi No Chikara" in both vocal and instrumental versions, with lyrics, compositions and arrangements made by Yuki Kajiura, and peaked at 20th on the Oricon singles charts.
The first ending theme "Maze" was released on June 3, 2009 under Victor Entertainment, and peaked at 35th on the Oricon singles chart. The second ending theme is "Watashi wo Mitsukete" by Savage Genius.
The first anime album Pandora Hearts Original Soundtracks 1 was released July 8, 2009 under Victor Entertainment and peaked at 104th on the Oricon albums chart.
Drama CD[]
- Main Article: List of Drama CDs (Pandora Hearts)
A drama CD entitled Pandora Hearts Drama CD was released on December 21, 2007 under the Frontier Works label.
Reception[]
Volume 8 of Pandora Hearts was ranked 21st on the Tohan charts between March 24 and 30, 2009, 19th between March 31 and April 6, 2009, and 1st between July 27 and August 2.