Pandora Hearts

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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.

Might pick this one up again if I can find the next volume secondhand at Book Off, but I'm not 100% sure considering the beginning of the story was really bizarre/confusing for me. I had a hard time following it, though it did start to make a little more sense after a few chapters. It just didn't grab my interest enough.

Again, I'll probably pick it up another time because it comes highly recommended to me from SO many people and I have a friend that absolutely loved it so I feel a little bad marking it as 'dropped' but... I'm just not motivated right now ... to finish the series.

Might be an epic series seeing how high up is ranked out here on MAL, but one thing I also learned from the MAL rankings is that, not ALL top/highly ranked series will grasp my interest.

Main reason why I dropped this is the character design as well as the silly and gag relief moments the author randomly throws at you. I does not suits my taste and I find it very annoying. Which is a bit funny, cause in fact this was my main issue with the anime adaptation of Vanitas, but now that I started reading it, it somehow became more bearable.

Has a sightly ... intriguing mystery surrounding the plot, but nothing too heart racing nor thrilling enough to make me stay and ignore the annoying "comic relief" and bland art.

The art department is very lacking, like a whole lot. Not enough backgrounds and the art style along with the overall character design is just not for me.

I did not enjoy a single thing about it. As I mentioned before, the story might pick up further ahead but too bad I won't be there to witness it.
The 5 chapters of Vanitas I have read so far, have been far more entertaining than the 10 chapters of Pandora. Even though I've finished the 1st cour and have an idea of what lies ahead, I am still very thrilled by every single page I go through.

I have noticed minor similarities in both works so I might get back to this in a distance future for a speed reading just to compare both series, n see how much the author grew.