Get far from this show of indecisive characters, pointless enemies, and plot holes, no plot chasms so deep you find cavemen, dinosaurs, and a cackling maniac smearing feces on turtles.
I'll wait...
Still here? Ok, I can understand that this is going to take a little more convincing.
Story: 3
Starts out fine. Oz, a 15 year old, seemingly carefree noble is attacked at his Bar Mitzvah (j.k.) and is pulled into a world called abyss where he meets a crazy woman named Alice. Alice is a chain, she has random weird powers and is stronger than a bunch of other chains but seems to need this kid to escape abyss. Within 15 minutes and only one brief talk they form a blood pact, or maybe they just kiss, and escape from a interesting and truly terrifying alternate universe (by the way, they don't come back). Poof, Oz is back, and he brought a friend (wink) however in those 15 minutes in prison, 10 years have passed. Seriously. Oz's best friend and servant, Gilbert, has become a man and seems to have spent the last 10 years nursing a semi for little Oz with the intent to bring him back from abyss.
Thus the great adventure begins, the cards are in order, the players are all set, onward to discover why Oz was sent to some crazy place for what seems like no reason. On to helping Alice free herself from abyss forever and regain her lost memories. On to, oh wait Gilbert has his master back so now...ah whatever, he'll be smart or something to help Oz and Alice. No matter what we should get some superpower battles, intelligent plot twists, and maybe a little romance between the characters...right?
No.
The plot hits the ground and the resulting explosion causes the aforementioned chasm with yours truly looking for more turtles.
Art: 6
I don't know art, but the abyss is well done and when there are those brief moments of action they are visually appealing. The art is not a problem but it can't help the struggling convoluted plot or crawling character development.
Sound: 7
Again not really an expert, but I think this was Pandora Hearts best feature. The opening was very good (I'm a sucker for percussion and violin) and the more classical background sound in scenes was a good choice for this anime, which was really trying to be a drama. The story failed, but at least the music added some heft to individual scenes. Also, the music when B. Rabbit comes out to fight is, it must be said, very exciting and maybe even epic.
Characters: 2
One character must be mentioned. The only one with a true backstory, development, and comedy (fyi, he's also crazy) Xerxes Break. The only ray of light in the bowels of the earth. This story has parallels to Alice in Wonderland, even stealing a name, and in that context Xerxes Break is the mad hatter, enough said.
Enjoyment: 1
I think its clear by now that I don't like this show. So it stands to reason that my enjoyment of this series was equivalent to grinding my eyes away with sandpaper.
Overall: 3
I doubt I can convince you that this isn't some a$$hole troll trying to keep you away. For me, anime is only worth watching if 1) the characters are enjoyable, stirring, or well made 2) the plot is well written and leads somewhere, and 3) the sound and art match and add to the intended tone of the anime (or if you want to be a purist, the manga).
A show can be worth watching if at least two of these three conditions are met. Unfortunately, Pandora Hearts only succeeds in the third condition, that is simply not enough for me.
If you still feel that you want to give this show a try feel free, your conditions may be different or this show may personally be more your style. It wasn't for me.
