Pandora Hearts - 03
Short Synopsis: Oz ends up at the abyss, otherwise known as a VERY WEIRD PLACE.
Episode Rating: 8/10 (Excellent)
Right now, I find it really hard to establish a Top 3 of the season so far: there is no show that stands far above the others yet, but at the same time this season does have a selection of excellent shows, so I’ll just stick with a top 5 shows for now, in random order: Phantom, Eden, Cross Game, Guin Saga and of course Pandora Hearts. The first three episodes so far have been nothing short of excellence.
The whole mindfuck of this series continues even in this episode, in which Oz ends up in the abyss that is filled with disturbing living toys, half-broken houses, doors and things that you usually find inside a doll house, but this time surrounded into a strange black goo and surrounded by strange black clouds. I believe that this is one of the first times I’ve seen horror combined with fantasy in anime, and it works really well, considering all of the weird stuff that this episode threw to the viewer.
And at the same time it doesn’t forget to flesh out the characters. I personally really like the combination of Oz and Alice, and how it’s impossible to know at this point what exactly Alice’s goals are: all that we know is that she needs someone like Oz in order to be able to escape the Abyss (which to be honest is really not an enjoyable place to live), but why she ended up there in the first place, or what she was before she arrived there are still huge mysteries. And at the same time she also could simply have ended up there like Oz: an innocent victim. Although I doubt that she’s going to remain innocent, with the ability to transform into a huge black rabbit and all.
I got interested in reading the manga thanks to the anime and lets just say… the twists keep getting interesting, so I do think it does continue to pick up well ^^
Comment by Machi — April 17, 2009 @ 15:49
Gothic fantasy is such an underrepresented genre. We need more series like this.
Can’t wait until the mystery part of the story picks up.
Comment by EB — April 17, 2009 @ 17:57
Well it does pick up fairly quickly to its credit, a lot of things happen at such a short amount of time but it doesn’t particularly feel rushed.
Comment by Machi — April 18, 2009 @ 2:08
I’m wondering whether time runs differently in the abyss from the outside world? because it looked like Oz was not in there for long and in the last scene of ep2 the building looked really old.
Comment by foamer — April 18, 2009 @ 20:48
This show is just getting EPIC AWESOME from me. I’m a HUGE fan of the manga, trust me (i’m just really depressed not many scanlations have been out- there needs to be more devotion to this!) but Pandora Hearts is just an amazing story, not as complex as 07 Ghost, but just as good, and the anime hasn’t failed to live up to that expectation. The only thing that somewhat lets me down is the semi-okay/crappy animation, but that’s okay as they use “creepy” hues of pink and distorted purple and dark colors to depict the mood of the setting. That’s really what made up for it all. :D And they really are showing the relationship between Alice and Oz well, and they are following the manga on a great pace! I can’t wait more for this dark eyecandy. XD
Comment by Snowolf — April 22, 2009 @ 3:45
eb: isn’t rozen maiden and VK are gothic fantasies??
Comment by mds — April 23, 2009 @ 13:51
I LOVE this episode (despite the creepy dolls, especially the Jack Skellington knock-off)! The parts I especially like are when Oz is eating the cookies (SO CUTE!!!) and the pretty music that plays during his conversation with Alice in the middle part. I WANT THAT PIECE SO BAD!!! I wish the OST was out!
Comment by Firechick — April 24, 2009 @ 21:56
By naming her “Alice” I wonder if the author wanted me to add “in wonderland” in my imagination? I hope so, because I can’t help it.
Comment by Juni — August 5, 2009 @ 1:43