Pandora Hearts, which began in April and will continue through September, is a terrific show that has attracted fewer fans than it deserves. It has a fascinating story, some good humor, and especially great voice work. Click here for a table showing pics of the characters and their seiyuus.Kawasumi Ayako is giving what I think is one of the best of her many great performances, as Alice, a young woman trapped in The Abyss, a weird space out of time, her being merged with that of B. Rabbit, a giant black rabbit who is one of the powerful demigod "Chains" who patrol the Abyss. I suppose her character could be called a tsundere, but it is so much more than that.
Her co-star is Minagawa Junko (Ryoma in Prince of Tennis, Cornelia in Code Geass), who plays a young man, Oz Vessalius, who at his coming-of-age ceremony in a vaguely 18th-century setting, is suddenly plunged into the Abyss, and eventually joins Alice as her "contractor."
Add seiyuu like Ishida Akira, Hanazawa Kana, Fukuyama Jun, Ono Daisuke, and Yamaguchi Kappei, and we really have a symphony of the human voice. Ishida Akira is a playful nobleman who is part of an organization called Pandora, which is investigating The Abyss. Kawasumi, Minagawa, and Ishida all give strong and inventive performances that are worthy of awards.
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In addition, we have a great OP and sound track from Kajiura Yuki. To me, it sounds like one of her best, and really helps carry the action, of which there is plenty. The OP is so strong that I often find it running through my mind. There are moments in the OP that almost bring tears to my eyes even now, at episode 16.The animation, by Xebec, has its plus and minus moments, but overall has a very entertaining look, working with ideas from Alice in Wonderland.
Veteran director Kato Takao did Rockman.exe, Buso Renkin, Over Drive, and To LoveRu. Lead writer Sekijima Mayori did Saber Marionette J, Tsukuyomi Moon Phase, Zegapain, and Skip Beat. He is working from the popular manga by Mochizuki Jun.
Week after week, Pandora Hearts comes up with interesting events, good forward motion, and strong characterization. Give it a try. And if you do, here is a table showing the characters and their seiyuus. Click here or on the image below to go to the full table:
5 comments:
I agree, Pandora Hearts is awesome, and no one is giving it respect. Alice is probably my favorite character of the year so far as well (I don't count shows like Hayate or Spice and Wolf, which are continuations or sequels).
Pandora Hearts does look like a great show, and Kawasumi Ayako is amazing. The only thing that's keeping me from watching is the constant wait for widescreen episodes to air. Maybe will pick it up again now that there are quite a few HD episodes out now.
Yes, airing quality is a tough vice on this series. I was fully intrigued, but really wanted to wait for some HQ stuff to amp the experience... but I'm a technical quality snob :/
Gonna have to disagree here. I watched it up 'til ep 7 or so then just completely lost interest. Not really sure why though.
@Serakh
Keep on watching. When you get to episode 10, I can ensure you will fall in love with series xD
Or just read the manga. They have scanlated till chapter 38... where you might explode you head for everything that happens...
But seriously, PH is VERY underrated. The story is so great that you can just ignore the QUALITY animation. I mean, who would want some great animations but lame-ass seiyuus? Nope. Read the manga if you want good graphics.
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