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Pandora Hearts Pandora Hearts |
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Neko-Hime's Review 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. |
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| Added: November, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
