Pandora Hearts
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| Pandora Hearts | |
|---|---|
 Pandora Hearts volume 1 cover. |
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| パンドラハーツ | |
| Genre | Supernatural |
| Manga | |
| Author | Jun Mochizuki |
| Publisher |  Square Enix |
| English publisher |  Broccoli Books |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | GFantasy |
| Original run | June 2006 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 5 |
Pandora Hearts (パンドラハーツ?) is a Japanese manga series by Jun Mochizuki. Originally starting serialization in the shōnen manga magazine GFantasy published by Square Enix in June 2006. There is five volumes currently released in Japan. The manga series is licensed for an English language release by Broccoli Books.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Oz Bezarius, heir to one of the duke houses, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he's cast into the prison known as the "Abyss", only to be saved by a "chain" known as Alice, the bloodstained black rabbit. Why was he cast into Abyss, how does Alice factor into it all, and what does the organization known as "Pandora" want with him?
[edit] Terminology
- Chains
- Contract
- Contractor
- Abyss
- Will of the Abyss
- The existence that governs the Abyss. Usually appears in the form of a bloodied rabbit doll.
- Four duke houses
- Consists of the Bezarius, Reinsworth, Nightray and one other family. These four houses have been in existence since before the tragedy of Sabrié. They founded Pandora and each hold chains and a door to the Abyss. The Bezarius and Nightray houses are thought of as exact opposites, like light and dark.
- Pandora
- An organization founded by the four duke houses. It specializes in research regarding the Abyss.
- Tragedy of Sabrié
- Doors
[edit] Characters
[edit] Bezarius Household
- Oz Bezarius (オズ ベザリウス Ozu Bezariusu?) , Seiyū - Junko Minagawa (CD drama)
- The main character is a 15-year-old boy with blonde hair and green eyes from the prestigious Bezarius family of which his father is the head. The story of Pandora Hearts starts when Oz turns 15-years-old. During the ceremony to celebrate this reaching of adulthood, he is dragged into the Abyss for the crime of 'existing'. There he meets the chain Alice and makes a contract with her. Upon returning to the real world, he finds out that 10 years have passed. In order to find out what his sin meant, he now works under Break as part of Pandora.
- Oz has a bright, optimistic personality and is very energetic. Oz's mother was killed by the Nightray family. When he was young, he worked hard to gain praise and recognition from his father. However, he discovers that his father hates him to the point of not wanting him to touch him. He develops the thought that no matter what happens he should just accept it as it is. Thus when faced with stressful situations, he displays calmness rare to one his age. For example, after falling into the Abyss and being attacked by trumps, he happily starts eating a can of cookies that he finds.
- Currently, after being 'possessed' by Jack Bezarius and making a speech at the Pandora headquarters, Oz has been treated as a 'hero' by the public.
- Oz likes girls younger than him and once wished to marry Sharon.
- Gilbert (ギルバート Girubaato?) , Seiyū - Azuma Sakamoto (CD drama)
- Oz's friend and servant. He was taken into the Bezarius family after being discovered in an injured state 15 years ago. He was invited by Oz to attend the coming of age ceremony as his friend. During the ceremony he was controlled by a chain and made to attack Oz. This was all in fulfillment of a prophecy made regarding Oz. After regaining consciousness, Gilbert manages to see the face of one of the hooded people and for some reason jumps in the way of Oz's attack to protect him. He goes on to become Raven.
- Oscar (オスカ Osuka?)
- Oz's uncle. He is easy-going and very caring. Oscar was the one who found Gilbert and brought him to the Bezarius household. Both Oz and Raven treat him as a father-like figure. Gets along well with Break.
- Ada (エイダ Eida?)
- Oz's little sister who adores him very much. In the space of 10 years she now attends Latowidge (ラトウィッジ), a prestigious school for nobles, of which she is a prefect. She keeps in contact with Oscar via letter and causes Oz and co to sneak into Latowidge as she wrote that she has found a person she likes. It is revealed that she was the one that gave Raven his hat and is hinted that she likes Raven. Has a cat called Daina.
- Alice (アリス Arisu?) , Seiyū - Yukari Tamura (CD drama)
- The heroine of the story. Alice first appears as a chain that Oz contracts with in the Abyss. In fact, she is actually the infamous B-rabbit (blood or black rabbit), the strongest chain in the Abyss. In human form, Alice has long black hair with 2 side plaits. She has a huge appetite and loves meat especially. She is hotheaded, loud spoken and says what she thinks with out regard to consequence. Despite this, it is shown that she actually has a soft side, especially when Oz is concerned.
- Throughout the story, Alice is actually trying to find her lost memories. These memories actually play a major part of the story and it has been revealed that Alice was actually a human that was killed 100 years ago in the tragedy of Sabrié. She is also somehow related to Jack Bezarius and was perhaps killed by Vincent Nightray according to Chapter 19.
- Jack Bezarius
- The hero of 100 years ago and the one who 'defeated' Glen Baskerville. He is revealed to have some sort of connection with Alice's memories and Raven's past. Jack looks uncannily like a grown-up Oz with a long plait. Oz and Gilbert meet him when they are taken to the Cheshire cat's dimension. He is currently residing in Oz's body and can 'possess' Oz and speak through him. Recently in Chapter 22, he reveals that Glen Baskerville is actually not dead and that they were best friends.
[edit] Nightray Household
- Raven (鴉 Reibun?) , Seiyū - Katsuyuki Konishi (CD drama)
- First appeared as a member of Pandora who went to retrieve Oz after he escaped from the Abyss. His real identity is Gilbert and is referred to as so after Oz discovers this. After the ceremony 10 years ago he was adopted by the Nightray family and thus feels that he betrayed Oz as they were the prime suspects in the assassination of Oz's mother. In hopes to eventually rescue Oz from the Abyss Gilbert trained hard in gunmanship and even killed to tame the Nightray family's chain 'Raven'. He uses its power to somewhat control the B-rabbit through Oz, preventing side effects like the clock hand moving. Raven is often has fights with Alice, but both are fond of Oz. He had no memory of Vincent before they met at the Nightrays. In Chapter 19, after seeing Vincent in Alice's memories from 100 years ago, Oz suspects that Gilbert may have also traveled in time via the Abyss like himself. He still hates cats and is a wonderful cook.
- Vincent Nightray
- Vincent is Gilbert's younger brother. As the Bezarius family found Gilbert, the Nightray family similarly adopted Vincent. His left eye is golden like Gilbert's, but his right eye is wine-red and his long hair is also golden in color. Loves his brother Gilbert to the point of slight obsession. Has an easy-going personality on the outside and is often seen smiling. However, it is shown that Vincent also has a dark, unstable side.
- According to recent speculation, Vincent may also have been from 100 years ago. In Alice's memory, a young Vincent is seen walking among corpses, gouging out eyes and intestines with a pair of scissors saying that 'it's not his fault'. He is also shown to be meeting with suspicious characters that look like the ones that attacked Oz and Raven upon their re-entrance to the Bezarius manor.
- Echo (エコー ekoo?) , Seiyū - Ryō Hirohashi (CD drama)
- A girl that follows Vincent's orders. She is somewhat emotionless like a puppet and treats Vincent's word as law. Upon their first meeting, Oz mistakes her as the flower girl that died earlier. He calls her "Eiko". Echo fights with blades that come out of her long sleeves. It may seem that Vincent treasures her but he actually does not care much. In Chapter 23, he goes as far as to poison her to prove that the antidote for the poison works. Echo, too, is shown to have her own mind when she saves the bottle of antidote Vincent drops off the veranda.
[edit] Reinsworth Household
- The Lady of the Reinsworth household. Sharon is a member of Pandora and looks like a young girl. In fact her appearance does not change from her first meeting with Oz to after he came out of the Abyss. She has a legal contract with Eques the Unicorn. Sharon and Break have a close relationship. She was the one that discovered Break in fatal condition after his eye was taken. When she was young, she used to call Break 'Xarks-nii' as he was like a big brother to her. She wants to be of use to him. Sharon loves tea and cakes. She also looks a lot like her mother Shelly Reinsworth.
- Xarxes Break (ザークシーズ ブレイク Zaakushiizu Bureiku?) , Seiyū - Toshihiko Seki (CD drama)
- Commonly known as Break, he is a member of Pandora and a servant of the Reinsworth household. He has a legal contract with the Mad Hatter. Break is often seen with a doll on his shoulder (which he calls Emily). He adores sweets and cakes. From the outside, Break seems like a carefree character, never serious and always smiling. When needs be, however, Break show's his 'dangerous' and evil side. Reim tells Oz that Break wasn't always the way he is now. Before, after loosing his eye, he was a bitter and angry person, never smiling. However, through the kindness of Shelly, Sharon's mother, he began to open up. He has sworn absolute loyalty to Shelly.
- Break has no left eye. He reveals that the Will of the Abyss took it from him and that the Cheshire's eye was his. Break's true motive is to find the truth behind what happened 100 years ago. He hates Vincent with a passion.
[edit] Residents of Baskerville
- Glen Baskerville
- The head of the Baskerville family 100 years ago. Thought of as the mastermind behind the tragedy of Sabrié. Jack Bezarius says that they were friends. He was shown in a flashback with Jack and Alice in Chapter 22. He is apparently not dead.
[edit] Others
- Reim
- A member of Pandora. Wears glasses and is a serious person. He is always by used and made fun of by Break, Oscar or Vincent much to his frustration. He accidentally discovers who Oz is.
- Phillipe
- Oz saved Phillipe from some bullies. He was from a wealthy family whose mother had died, but he loves his father very much. Oz saw a reflection of himself in Phillipe and was happy that his father was not like Oz's own. Phillipe was then attacked by Echo. Oz thought that Phillipe had a contract, but in reality it was his father. Phillipe's father made an illegal contract to try and bring his wife back to life, but lost control and was eventually killed by Vincent and Echo.
- Flower Girl
- A girl with two plaits that tried to sell flowers to Oz. Oz fell for her at first sight. Later that chapter it is revealed that she actually had an illegal contract. Oz and the others saw her when her clock made a full revolution and she was consumed by the abyss.
- Elliot
- A student at Latowidge that, along with another unknown character, catches Oz's attention as they have a pocket watch like his own and can play the tune from it: Olgore's Melody.
[edit] Chains
- B-rabbit
- Also known as Alice and is contracted to Oz. The 'B' stands for Blood or Black. B-rabbit is the most powerful chain in the Abyss.
- Raven
- Raven's chain. Sealed by the Nightray family and eventually tamed by Raven (Gilbert). Can use teleportation at great strain to the user.
- Eques
- Sharon's chain. Eques is in the shape of a black unicorn and is often used by Sharon for data collection. It has the power to warp between places and dimensions, taking people with it. This, however, does not mean that it's attacking power is weak.
- Mad Hatter
- Break's chain. It resembles the Alice in Wonderland character of the same name but gives off a sinister feel. Mad Hatter resembles a giant top hat with flowery decorations under which is one big eye. It has the power to reject and destroy the power of the abyss and exists for the purpose of killing other chains.
- Yamane
- Vincent's chain. It resembles the sleeping mouse of Alice in Wonderland, but is much bigger. Yamane has a toy-like tuner on its back and has stitch-closed eyes. It is always seen asleep and also makes its contractor Vincent sleepy.
- Cheshire
- A chain that lives in a dimension created from Alice's memories. It resembles a human form of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. Cheshire was actually a pet cat that Alice had 100 years ago. The bell around it's neck is the 'truth' from 100 years ago, later taken by Break. Break mentions that Cheshire's eye was his.
[edit] Media
[edit] Manga
Pandora Hearts began as a manga series which started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine GFantasy in June 2006, published by Square Enix. There are currently five bound volumes released and a sixth to follow. The manga series is licensed for an English language release by Broccoli Books.
| Volume | Title | Published Date | ISBN | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pandora Hearts 1 | 27/10/2006 | ISBN 4757518080 | Oz Bezarius |
| 2 | Pandora Hearts 2 | 27/3/2007 | ISBN 4757519796 | Raven |
| 3 | Pandora Hearts 3 | 27/7/2007 | ISBN 475752062X | Xarxes Break |
| 4 | Pandora Hearts 4 | 27/12/2007 | ISBN 4757521936 | Sharon Reinsworth |
| 5 | Pandora Hearts 5 | 26/4/2008 | ISBN 475752272X | Vincent Nightray |
[edit] Drama CD
A drama CD entitled Pandora Hearts Drama CD was released on December 21, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Manga official website (Japanese)
- Pandora Hearts (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
