(L) Pandora Hearts (Anime)

[KaedeF]

Originally Posted by Karlaxe

Is Pandora hearts going to be continued with a second season? I just finished the first but, it did not seem the least bit conclusive. As far I as I know, there's been no announcement for a second season but not having one seems a bit ridiculous to me. Many questions are left unanswered and many plot elements have actually yet to show themself.

It was the first anime I've watched in a while and it was rather good. I find that the OST is great as well. "Lacie" is a particularly addicting melody, especially the piano version. The soundtracks are usually the things that feel nostalgic, so that's really nice. It introduced some new protagonistic philosophical ideals not seen so much before.

I don't think there will be season 2. Because they messed up the storyline somehow.
You should really try out the manga. It's still on-going.
The OST is great because it is done by Yuji Kajiura.

[Nocturne Dragon]

I watched it until 5th episode that I stopped, I don't know why, but maybe I should watch it again and to the end.

[Karlaxe]

Originally Posted by KaedeF

I don't think there will be season 2. Because they messed up the storyline somehow.
You should really try out the manga. It's still on-going.
The OST is great because it is done by Yuji Kajiura.

I think I will read the manga, I've done the first two chapters so far. I was hoping to wait for the anime because reading the manga kinda leaves no reason to watch it. And then I wouldn't really get to hear the awesome music.

But, I feel like there kind of has to be a second season...because

Spoiler for Pandora Hearts Anime:

-Glenn Baskerville. Something actually has to be done with that.
-Eliot and Leo. Eliot has dreams and stuff about the tragedy of Sabrie but it's left unexplored.
-Alice's memories. It really makes no sense how they sorta forgot about finding them after a few episodes.
-The truth of the tragedy of Sabrie has yet to be uncovered.
-Still, very, very little is known about Oz's father.
-The Will of the Abyss hasn't done too much so far.
-Jack Bezarious undoubtably has another appearance.
-The significance of Lacie is left to be discovered. Well at least, the fact that Eliot has rewritten it a century later.

The first season is...not in the least, conclusive. It sorta goes on random arcs and never fully finishes plot elements.

[Kakkou]

Its common for most anime adaptations to never ever ever have a sequel unless they're massively popular. Pandora Hearts most definitely won't have a season 2 despite the loose ends. The original ending also made sure of that. Just read the manga from the start while listening to the osts ^^. It works if you know which tracks to use for which parts. I've been having fun reading manga this way.

[KaedeF]

Originally Posted by Karlaxe

I think I will read the manga, I've done the first two chapters so far. I was hoping to wait for the anime because reading the manga kinda leaves no reason to watch it. And then I wouldn't really get to hear the awesome music.

But, I feel like there kind of has to be a second season...because

Spoiler for Pandora Hearts Anime:

-Glenn Baskerville. Something actually has to be done with that.
-Eliot and Leo. Eliot has dreams and stuff about the tragedy of Sabrie but it's left unexplored.
-Alice's memories. It really makes no sense how they sorta forgot about finding them after a few episodes.
-The truth of the tragedy of Sabrie has yet to be uncovered.
-Still, very, very little is known about Oz's father.
-The Will of the Abyss hasn't done too much so far.
-Jack Bezarious undoubtably has another appearance.
-The significance of Lacie is left to be discovered. Well at least, the fact that Eliot has rewritten it a century later.

The first season is...not in the least, conclusive. It sorta goes on random arcs and never fully finishes plot elements.

It was inconclusive because the manga is still ongoing. They lack the source material to be adapted.
The last 3 episodes are anime original and they collide with the storyline in the manga somehow. So it's quite impossible to have second season since they messed up many things.
And the points you listed out are being revealed in the manga.

[Karlaxe]

I see. Well that's rather disappointing, I think a similar thing happened with Elfen Lied. But not to the atrocious level of lacked foresight seen in this anime. Again, I don't see why they didn't just follow the manga up until its season ended. They kind of screwed themselves because the end result is basically an anime with a story cut so short that we don't actually see the main antagonist and/or know anything about the importance of strong foreshadows.

[wandering-dreamer]

Originally Posted by Karlaxe

Is Pandora hearts going to be continued with a second season? I just finished the first but, it did not seem the least bit conclusive. As far I as I know, there's been no announcement for a second season but not having one seems a bit ridiculous to me. Many questions are left unanswered and many plot elements have actually yet to show themself.

The problem with a second season is that the last three episode of the anime contradicted the next (very long and very plot important) arc in the manga. They could do a ret con and pretend the last few episodes didn't exist to make a new season, but I don't think PH sold well enough for that to be likely.

[roriconfan]

Spoiler for A review:

So here I am watching an anime which has a big fanbase. From the comments I read in various forums, it’s supposed to be equal to the Iliad. From the main image on the main page, it’s supposed to be adventure with bijins. From past experience, bijins means lots of gay innuendos and piss poor story. Well, there is also FMA Brotherhood but what are the chances it will be this good? Anyway, I sat down with no real expectations and watched it in a couple of days. General impressions? It’s incomplete; yank it down to base score. Going to specifics…

ANIMATION SECTION

General Artwork & Backgrounds 4/4: Renaissance along with goth toys. Not bad at all; it did wonders for D.Grey Man and Soul Eater and it is eye captivating here as well. Medieval castles, nightmarish worlds, luxurious rooms where aristocrats are having a party and other dreamy (good and bad) type of sceneries that help you to emerge into the magic. In a few words, it has interesting artwork.

Character Figures 1/2: Bijins. Not bad by itself but usually that means there is too much focus on looks and not movements. Although not as terribly stiff as in 07 Ghost, the characters tend to have a lot of jerky movements, frozen panels and too many chibi scenes. Plus, their overall looks are not anything special either ; none is memorable because of them. A half-good work.

Motion Fluidity & Visual Effects 2/4: From what I can tell, the production company was never very good in handling action scenes and this is yet another example. All battles in this series are plain uninteresting. Short in duration, full of people talking before exchanging a few simple blows and that’s it. The cinematics are also not that great either for a type of story with such a high amount of dementia and mystery. The camera uses shading, zooming in and fish eye perspective, while the characters usually have some really crazy expressions. Although not bad in any way, other series such as Higurashi did a far better job in inflicting the viewer with fear or anxiety, thus it is again a half-good work.

TOTAL FOR ANIMATION: 7/10

SOUND SECTION

Voice Acting 2/3: Good but not great. They all sound lively and the context of the dialogues is not retarded to the most part. They still talk too much though; especially during battles; and that kinda makes the whole deal silly. Not Naruto level silly but I’d rather have mystery exposition by someone who is not monologing while trying to kill me.

Music Themes 3/4: Quite good. Not something worth listening again and again but do aid in sucking you in the magic of the story.

Sound Effects 2/3: They do lose steam because of the poorly executed visual effects, but they are otherwise good in making the jokes funnier and the battles not-completely boring.

TOTAL FOR SOUND: 7/10

STORY SECTION

General Scenario 1/2: A boy aristocrat named Oz is cursed for some reason and is chased around by supernatural assassins sent by enemy aristocrats. He is sent to the abyss where he is forced to make a contract with a supernatural girl there named Alice. After they escape, they decide to help one another. They now stroll around the kingdom looking for the reason Oz is cursed as well as clues to Alice’s lost memories (she has amnesia). Rather simple and vague in concept.

By using various concepts and names from famous fairy tales and ghost stories, the story is an interesting mix of fantasy, action, horror, mystery, dementia, and comedy. Sadly, the categories that are given more attention are fantasy and comedy; thus the story never manages to be too scary, or mysterious, or dramatic. With a few twists, it could even be seen as yet another romantic comedy around a tsundere girl and a spineless boy. So, it’s not really something too absorbing, or deep, or serious.

Form of Development/ Pace of Plot 1/2: Slow pacing that becomes slower as it reaches the final episodes. It loses a lot of steam from its already almost-episodic nature.

Side Stories/Extra Spices 1/2: Practically no side steps exist in this story. Many characters have their own portfolios, but down to it the main couple is the epicenter of everything and the rest are just extras.

Believability/Reasoning/Realism & Conclusion 0/4: Incomplete. The story stops without any form of closure. It hardly reveals any of its mysteries and leaves you hanging to dry. So, it is a completely unsatisfying ending. You can always read the continuation in the manga but the anime is plain open to everything.

TOTAL FOR STORY: 3/10

CHARACTER SECTION: 5

I will not get too analytical here; things are simple. Complete characters are interesting in personality, have good backdrops, and receive catharsis in the end. The cast here does have funny personalities and does somewhat develop but most are left as extras who don’t offer anything and the open ending leaves out any sense of exposure or catharsis. Thus, the cast overall gets the base score.

I could leave out the catharsis part and increase the score if this was a storyless romantic comedy. But it’s not; it clearly has a plot that heads somewhere (and doesn’t really get anywhere). I would also give something extra if the main couple was original in any way but they were quite stereotypical to stand out from other similar couples. If you know of Fate/Stay Night, Shakugan no Shana, Spice and Wolf or even Katanagatari, it ain’t that hard to see that they are the tsundere girl and the dork male in love, an archetype most overused. Not only that, but Alice’s secondary features consist of having amnesia (dang if that’s not overused) and likes eating meat. Not much to go on, is there? As for Oz, he does grow some balls during the last part of the series but beyond that we get no explanation of what is going on in his past or nothing prevents a possible sequel to just reset him back to dork level by making him forget all his manliness (another piss poor yet overused method to prevent development).

VALUE & ENJOYMENT SECTIONS: 4
Silly fandom has done it again. This anime is nothing special to give it more that a 6 at best. After all, if this gets a 10, then what vote does FMA Brotherhood get; a series so similar in genre and categories yet so much more complete and well made?
Maybe when they finish the manga and make a sequel it will retrospectively value more but as it stands it’s just a time killer with somewhat funny bijin archetypes.

SUGGESTION LIST
FMA Brotherhood
D.Grey Man
Soul Taker
Fate/Stay Night
Shakugan no Shana
Spice and Wolf

[Eternal_Sin]

To be honest...the anime is quite good but not as good as the manga if it's referred to the storyline...they're seems to rushed the ending in few last episodes...So I couldn't see more Echo in action

the best thing for this anime is the OST

I'd say the OST is one of the most beautiful that I ever listened

[wandering-dreamer]

NIS just posted the street date for the first box set (October 26) and they're using the Japanese box art! Think this just made my day, now to start saving up money for this baby.

[LKK]

The DVD is coming with a nice set of extras too.

a 32-page full-color, hardcover artbook featuring detailed character and background introductions, comments from staff members, illustrations, and the exclusive comic "Gilbert in Wonderland" by original author Jun Mochizuki and a premium box.

Contains episodes 1-13.

Special Features: Detective Break, Sharon's "Mission: Innocent Maiden," Heartthrob Pandora Academy Parts 1-2, Alice and Echo's Errand, Clean Opening & Ending.

I am so getting this.

[Shiroth]

I wasn't going to buy the series, though with extras like that, i seriously can't say no. I'll just ignore the last couple of episodes on the second box set.

So it's out on October 26th? Not a long wait really.

[FireChick]

October 26th? Cool! But...I guess this isn't gonna be dubbed, is it? Oh well. It sure does look cool though! Too bad it won't be out while I'm at the NYAF (New York Anime Fest). But I'll get it somehow.

[LKK]

I didn't post that part of the product description in my quote, but the listing says the DVD is sub only.

[Kakkou]

I'm sad there's no playing cards, guess XEBEC refused to give such a limited edition item to NIS US. On a side note I wished they used Oz as a DVD cover instead of booklet, now there's a high chance the final cover will be used for the next booklet ;_;. I'm not sure now much of a bonus the booklet will be to me considering I have the anime official book lol. I suppose it'd be nice to read the bios and stuff in English.

Oh God. To import or not to import, that is the question >_<.

[AnimeTalkZone]

To be honest, i was quite disappointed with this anime.. I think it was boring.. It started out okay but right towards the end, it started to get really boring..

[delorean2200]

lol for me it was the opposite it started booring and felt better while it progressed, well except for the fact there's 0 ending... i just can't get myself into reading a manga ...

[FireChick]

Man, I seriously wish the boxsets were available on Amazon or Ebay or FYE or something. I want to get them!

On another note, forgive me if this is kinda random (and a bit off topic for that matter), but parts of Oz's character song sound like the Degrassi theme song.

[wandering-dreamer]

Well, here's the first set on Amazon (looks like it's being fulfilled by RACs) but you can find it for $10/11 cheaper on TRSI and they do ship internationally (if that's your problem).

[winterbaby]

I love this anime. The ending was pretty sad.