Spring Pilots: Pandora Hearts

Pandora Hearts has been something I’ve been looking forward to watching since I found the manga to be very fascinating and it brings a very dark twist to the idea of Alice in Wonderland. The pictures currently provided are few because I was watching it streamed so I just took whatever had the best quality out of the bunch I attempted to take a screenshot of.
So anyway, I have high hopes that this series will be successful although the first episode didn’t reveal too much. And please forgive any mistakes I might make as I type this in lieu of sleeping and working on homework.The episode opens with a scene like the picture shown above where our lead, Oz, is apparently being punished and sentenced by two guys wearing cloaks. His crime? His very existence. The scene then cuts out and the story begins.  Oz is a young noble who is about to have his coming-of-age ceremony although he spends his time hiding from his servants and playing with Ada and his personal servant Gilbert. The rest of the episode is more or less about Oz getting ready and his interactions with Gilbert who he has decided will take part in the coming-of-age ceremony despite Gilbert’s protest.

Oz has such pretty clothes!

SHANA!

However, inbetween this cheery bright slice-of-life like story is Oz’s strange experience when he picks up a pocket watch resting on a grave and somehow finds himself transported into a strange place where a black haired girl resides. My impresion of her based on the opening was that she felt very similar to Shana from Shakugan no Shana due to her black hair and eyes and her facial expressions. That place and the girl was definitely very Wonderland-esque with creepy talking dolls and the girl looking happy to have him visit then enraged when he asks her who/what she is.  His stay there does not last very long and he finds himself back in front of the grave with Gilbert.

It quites much more interesting after that point as mysterious people in robes arrive and Gilbert, who stayed behind after Oz returns to the mansion begins to act very strangely as he converses with one of the mysterious people.

My impression of the Pandora Hearts anime is that the art style seems to be like those fantasy animes from the past decade. Although it doesn’t have that sharp state-of-the-art feeling, I believe it works well for this series as stories like Alice in Wonderland should feel somewhat nostalgic and maybe with a dose of creepiness. I am a bit biased about the music since the opening is  by Fiction Junction and I tend to love their works. The background music is nice but doesn’t really jump out at me and force me to rewatch scenes over and over for the music. Charater designs are interesting and I’m happy to see the whole cat phobia thing. It’s quite cute.
As for the story, the first episode is quite slow, although there are enough mysterious scenes that audiences are assured that something big will happen. I’m hoping the second episode will pick up the pace a little and get the show on the road. However, I do admit that the second half of the episode was much more intriguing than the first half. If it weren’t for the manga, I would probably have a much lower interest since the first episode did not do too much to draw me in besides the constant hints of mystery.

Impression: 7/10