Originally posted here at Anime Radius.

Despite being a colorful hodge-podge collection of bits and pieces from different sources like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz among others, Pandora Hearts has a style and story that is very much its own. What starts out as an innocently humorous romp through an overgrown castle turns into a literal tumble through the rabbit-hole into the world of the Abyss and a brand new destiny for one Oz Vessalius. Oz is an arrogant little scamp who makes a surpisingly competent hero, mainly because of his friendship with Gil and his unabashed curiosity. In turn, Oz's new companion Alice is a stark contrast to the innocent blonde-haired girl from Lewis Carroll's story. Alice is a dark-haired 'bloody black rabbit' with amnesia issues whose own conceitedness and smug attitude rivals Oz's; it's pretty obvious from chapter one that Alice is a killer tsundere in the making (and I do mean killer).

Pandora Hearts has a lot of things going for it in its first volume: it has a sizeable cast of characters that really push the story forward; I especially like Lady Sharon and her manservant Xerxes Break with their snarky banter and dubious agenda. It's set in a world that is similar to eighteenth-century Europe but with unnatural creatures and magic better suited for the world of dreams (or the Abyss) than reality. The Abyss is like someone took the world of the original Alice, added the aesthetic senses of Rozen Maiden and .hack//sign, then literally shook it up like a snowglobe until it exploded. I hope there are more scenes in the series set in the Abyss; it was truly an interesting place to explore. Above all, the pacing is rather good for a first volume - a little fast, yes, but it sets up the foundation for the entire series without wasting too much time on exposition. Plus, there is plenty of intriguing foreshadowing for future events, like Alice's past and the identities of the mysterious robed figures who tried to kill Oz; it seems that Mochizuki certainly has a way with subtle plotting.

Right now, Pandora Hearts is looking like quite an awesome fantasy series, especially if one enjoys a darker take on the kind of world-hopping adventures seen in the pages of Lewis Carroll's books. Plus, for tsundere fans, Alice and her relationship with Oz is a dream come true. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume, and the next one, and the next one; I'm sure this series will be drawing more and more readers under its spell soon enough.
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Pretty blah. Not interested in the characters, the "wha, why??", or even the artwork. Pass. ( )

When I first read this manga, it seem like most characters is related to Alice in Wonderland which it was interesting. It has a lot of action and enjoyable to read. When I was reading this first volume of the manga, I couldn’t wait to read the next volume. This is how much I really like this manga. I also watch anime of Pandora Hearts which has different ending than manga. There was a lot of scene in manga that anime didn’t have. While I was reading, I was wondering how Oz will able to get out of the abyss and now I was able to found out when I keep on reading. Additionally, I thought this manga is great manga to read and author did a great job on thinking of the story for this manga. ( )

I have heard a lot of great things about this manga series but I also know it’s tough for a manga series to grab my attention and make me love it in the first volume. Well, this one was spectacular...it grabbed my attention, held it, and made me want the second volume immediately!

The story is a bit complex and confusing at first, but things really come together as the story progresses. I loved the characters; especially Black Rabbit and Oz. The story starts out looking like it’s going to be all light and fluffy and then takes a serious turn for the creepy, dark and strange as things continue.

I loved the idea of the Abyss and how it wasn’t what Oz thought it would be in the beginning. There are so many interesting mysteries presented to the reader in this volume.

The whole story has a bit of a Victorian theme to it and is kind of a retelling of Alice in Wonderland (maybe?). The illustration is really well done with lots of detail and beautiful characters.

Overall this is a spectacular start to this manga series. I always am a little leery when I start a new manga series because a lot of them are similar. However this one was amazingly engaging and different and I am in love with it. Fans of Black Butler should check out this manga series, it has some of the same type of flavor to it. ( )

This first volume is crammed full of stuff – the Abyss, Chains, the coming of age ceremony, the Baskervilles, Pandora. Just a little bit too busy for my tastes. I don't know what I would have thought of it all if I hadn't already seen the anime. I did think there were some nice aspects, though. For example, I liked the whole setup with the Chains, and Oz's friendship with Gil was good (although Oz does occasionally look like a bully).

From what I can recall, the anime and manga seem to be very similar. The anime had some extra padding – I'm pretty sure the part with Oz's time in the Abyss was shorter in the manga.

There are technically several Alice in Wonderland references – Dee and Dum, Alice, B-Rabbit, plus more to come later on – but the connection is so light that I'm not sure why Mochizuki did it in the first place.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )