Anime Reviews ⇢ Pandora Hearts
Pandora Hearts
Pandora Hearts
Average Rating: 8.33 / 10

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Ratings: 6
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Content Overview
Violence: 6.8 / 10
Nudity: 4 / 10
Theo Theme: 5.7 / 10
Neg Theme: 4.3 / 10

Brief Description:
Oz Vessalius is the 15 year old heir to the Vessalius dukedom, and aside from some family issues, lives a carefree life with crybaby servant Gilbert--that is, until his Coming of Age Ceremony. During the ceremony, a mysterious group casts Oz into a dark realm known as the "Abyss" for his "sin-his very existence." In the Abyss, he meets a strange girl named Alice, also known as the Bloody Black Rabbit, who offers him a contract to escape the Abyss. So begins Oz's quest to discover the truth about Alice, the Abyss, his "sin," and the mysterious organization known as "Pandora."
(paraphrased from Wikipedia & Amazon)

Japanese Release Date: 2009
US Release Date: 2010 from NIS America (subtitles only)
Suitable for Ages: 14+ (Rated Teen by NIS America)
Complete at 25 episodes.
User Reviews
04/18/2022: Rose Faerie [ Already Rated ]

Violence: Well, the violence tends to include blood. However, I don't think what was shown is on the level of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or Demon Slayer to make a few comparisons to popular shows. People get eaten by monsters from time to time. The majority of the violence is people shooting or stabbing each other. There are scenes that imply violence, though most of the actual death scenes are cut away, only showing the aftermath.

I will mention frightening sequences here, since some of the monsters (Chains) can be quite creepy and there is enough creepy doll imagery and facial expressions to go around. (Honestly, for fans of this stuff it is a bit underwhelming, as I think the manga would probably do a better job portraying creepy imagery.)

Sex and Nudity: There is no sexual content as far as I remember. There was maybe an accusation or two about the uncle being a pervert, though he didn't do anything inappropriate. As for nudity, there are only two things worth noting. The first ending theme has a lot of depictions of nude Alice, with the sensitive areas covered only by her arms or an object. You can obviously skip it without missing anything. The second thing is an episode where Alice gets drunk and tries to take off her clothes. She gets stopped before she fully removes her shirt. Honestly, if you skip the first ending theme, it could go down from my rating of a 3 to a 2.

Theological Themes: Oz's existence is regarded as a sin by some of the main antagonists. There is a place called the abyss consumed by despair where criminals are thrown. Monsters called Chains come from the abyss to make contracts with humans. There are legal contractors and illegal contractors. Illegal contractors kill people and have their life energy consumed by chains. The abyss is controlled by a being called the Will of the Abyss. The goal of most of the characters is to control the abyss. It's really confusing, but that's the general idea.

Problematic Themes: There are a handful of uses of d***. Language is very mild in this one. There is the episode where pretty much all the characters get drunk on accident. Some characters smoke. Gilbert is said to have tried to quit smoking eight times and failed every time (he isn't shown smoking though).

Overall: I enjoyed it very thoroughly. For some reason it reminded me of Fullmetal Alchemist, probably due to the concepts, though Pandora Hearts feels more creative and clever. This definitely makes me want to read the manga, since there is so much left to explore! This is clearly an incomplete adaptation, which is a shame since it's so good.

A major theme of Pandora Hearts is the self. Self-knowledge, self-reflection, and self-betterment all come into play. Our three leads are all lacking knowledge of and about themselves, and they all struggle with that. Many characters search for truths in order to help themselves reach a better understanding of themselves and find a reason for their existences or a reason to live. There are a lot of philosophical themes at play, and it all leads to the characters wanting to better themselves. Oz in particular has great character development.

Oz is a very interesting and distinct protagonist. He accepts things as they are, though he is self-sacrificing to a fault, though this is explored in an unusual way. Honestly, I haven't encountered a protagonist like him before. Gilbert is deeply loyal to Oz, though he has ties to a dark past that he can't remember and doesn't want to. Alice is very loud, stubborn, and self-centered, though her brash exterior seems to hide her deep seated fear of being alone. The side characters tend to be interesting as well. Xerxes Break and Vincent Nightray are probably the best written, though Sharon Rainsworth and the Knights of Baskerville have a lot of potential.

The art is very good, though I feel like some situations would probably be portrayed better with the manga art. I LOVE the character designs. They are so aesthetically pleasing and fit the atmosphere quite well. I love Alice's look in particular. I've never cosplayed before, but she would be at the top of my list. The soundtrack is also now my absolute favorite. I wasn't particularly familiar with Yuki Kajiura before, but I think she is is really talented. I could go on about the OST forever.

For a suggested age, I will go with teenagers and up. The manga is rated 16+, but I feel like it's probably more violent. I don't think it's bad enough to be restricted to older teenagers. I'll say 13+ for some bloody violence and partial nudity.

November, 2011: _GazeRockMei_ [ Already Rated ]

Violence/Gore: From beginning to end you will see quite a bit of frequent gore. The only other story I've read that comes neck-to-neck with this concerning violence would have to be Kuroshitsuji. People are maimed (in various ways), beheaded (in quite good detail), and have various body parts ripped off( Spoiler: We get a vivid scene of someone getting their eye torn out ). We also get to witness a disturbed child tossing around heaps of corpses, messing with them, and overall just being grotesque in every way possible. Not for the weak stomached.

Nudity/Sexual content: In one scene a girl begins to undress in front of everyone (she's drunk), but nothing further is shown except for her unbuttoning her shirt. Most of the girls wear extremely short skirts to possibly non-existent at all. One girl enjoys wearing a very low-cut shirt that exposes quite a bit; in fact, this same girl happens to be the one that brings us around to some certain situations where we find her seducing men for information. A lot of innuendos are used, some brief kissing scenes, one part with a girl biting a guy in what could only be a sexual way, and some slight seemingly romantic twists.

Theological: I really didn't find anything offensive, but a lot of magic is used and some symbolism. For instance, the Abyss, I think, is supposed to represent Hell whereas Chains are representing demons. People contract with Chains which gives them a binding seal and a little time to complete their mission with the help of a powerful Chain. This seems to represent people contracting with demons e.g. Kuroshitsuji.

Other themes: Swearing is prominent (although I don't remember it being heavily used), negative and dark themes revolve around the plot, people get drunk, and some smoke.

Although my reviews tend to be heavy and I try to open up what I read and share it honestly with others looking into reading/watching it, but not being quite sure if they should, doesn't mean the manga/anime isn't good. These are my observations and opinions, so please, take it as advice and hints as to what you might expect to see. I really liked this story, however, and would recommend it to anyone interested in dark themes, action, violence, and even a little twist of romance (very subtle, hardly there, but you can notice it). The artwork was beautifully done, the plot thick and rich, the characters are lovable and you grow attached to them easily, and it's just an overall really good manga. Although a lot in it is controversial, I especially enjoyed it. My advice? Proceed with caution.

November, 2011: Neko-Hime [ Already Rated ]

This review covers vols. 1-7!

I absolutely love Pandora Hearts. Beautiful artwork and charming characters really make it a keeper, but there are a few things you may need to work through first.

(Note: there is also an anime from NIS America; content-wise, not much is different. I believe the violence may have been toned down in the anime; however, I've only seen the first season.)

Violence: Rather strong at times. People are stabbed, eaten by 'Chains', and simply maimed in various ways. I believe we see a few severed limbs. Spoiler: One character has his eye torn out, and it is shown in decent detail. Another character goes on some sort of rampage and starts digging through corpses, tearing them up. This scene is brief, but quite disturbing.

Nudity/sexual content: Several characters wear very short skirts. A friend of mine and I have a running joke about one-- it seems to switch from 'short mode' when she's standing still to 'long mode' when she's sitting with her legs crossed (just enough to conceal anything). There is fanservice (mostly from Alice's part) in this manga-- as she's not strictly human, she seems to have no concept of what is proper in society, and thus has no problems with removing her clothes in front of others (nothing is ever shown, but it is bothersome).
One male character seems to have a crush on his brother, but it's never strictly stated whether this is true or not. His behavior may be offensive to some.
Ask the average Pandora Hearts fangirl if the main character's (Oz's) valet (Gilbery) is in love with him and she will say yes. I disagree-- the character is very devoted to his master, but it does not seem to be romantic. (However, the author loves to make fun of their relationship, frequently utilizing 'blush lines' and Gilbert's tendency to stammer when embarrassed to suggest things that likely aren't there if you don't want to see them.) If you are easily bothered by close relationships between male characters, this might not be the title for you.

Language: The worst I can recall is "s***" used twice in the first volume. However, it's almost as if the author had not settled in to the characters yet, as the perpetrator hasn't used such language since. B******, d*** and h*** make appearances.

Theological themes: "Sin" is mentioned often. Oz was thrown into the Abyss, a punishment reserved for extreme crimes, but he has no idea what he has done wrong. This might be disturbing to some (it certainly rubbed me the wrong way).
When a character is attempting to do something (usually turn back time), it is common to form a contract with a 'chain,' beasts from the Abyss that are evidently very good liars. When an 'illegal' contract is made (I have yet to fully figure out what defines 'illegal' and 'legal'), a clock appears on the person's chest. When the hand moves all the way around the clock, the victim is sucked into the Abyss. This is shown at least once and was quite disturbing.

Other problematic themes: One character smokes. It's stated that he has attempted to quit three times. There is a party of sorts in which most of the characters get drunk.

The following users rated this title without reviewing it: Cc4FuzzyHuggles | eightluvver888 | ForeverInspired.
Added: November, 2011