Pandora Hearts, Vol. 11

Pandora Hearts #11

by Jun Mochizuki (Other)

Once, following the tragedy of Sablier, Jack Vessalius made a valiant sacrifice to stop his best friend, Glen Baskerville, by allowing his body to anchor a set of seals by which Glen's soul was confined. But now these seals, long guarded by mages under the watchful gaze of Pandora, are being smashed one by one at the hands of the Crimson Shinigami, whose aim is to return their master to his once-whole state. And so, the fragile peace achieved over the last century begins to writhe, like a horror released from Pandora's forbidden box...

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Mystery, Graphic Novels, Shonen, Comics, Adventure

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2010

About the author

Jun Mochizuki (望月淳 Mochizuki Jun) is a Japanese comic artist (manga-ka), best known for the fantasy shounen series Pandora Hearts/パンドラハーツ.

Reviews

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading vanitas again this week got my hyped to finish my Pandora Hearts re read finally !! The author’s art and storytelling capabilities are unmatched and this volume didn’t disappoint!!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant as always. I love pretty much everyone in this volume, especially Oz and Xerxes. Speaking of which, OH XERXES. Really, I can't pick out a favorite bit in this volume; it was all so good. Especially the artwork - Mochizuki is so good at drawing bloody scenes as well as humorous ones. I hope there's more Alice in the next volume; I think she's fantastic.

[Minatao · Rating 4 out of 5]

À l'échelle de la saga, j'aime un peu moins ce tome.

Attention, on parle de mon manga préféré que j'aime de tout mon cœur, alors même si je dis que je l'aime moins, ça veut quand même dire que par rapport à une saga lambda j'adore. Je suis peut-être un peu plus dure parce que justement je sais que la suite est incroyable et bourrée de 5 ⭐ (si ma mémoire est bonne, il n'y a que ça en fait).

Sinon, j'aime toujours autant l'histoire et tout relire en ayant en tête les plot twists est INCROYABLE. Je peux voir les fois où on se fait manipuler, les indices qu'on nous donne etc... Vraiment c'est passionnant parce que certaines œuvres perdent beaucoup de leur intérêt à la relecture, pas Pandora Hearts.

Et mention spéciale à Gilbert mon amoureux de toujours, j'ai juste envie de lui faire un gros câlin mon choupinou à la crème

[ʀ⭒. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can sense the doom coming

[Amy Keeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this series has gone beyond awesome but I'm going to have to put this little bit in a spoiler tag. Don't worry. It won't take long.

I love that Jun Mochizuki didn't put a major character in total darkness when she made him/her blind. There are all sorts of degrees of blindness and I'm beyond ecstatic that she didn't go with a cliche and make everything suddenly go dark. This character can still see light and forms, but not much beyond that. It's fantastic. Fantastic and tragic.

Moving on...

A major theme in this volume is loyalty, to yourself and others. Several characters find themselves in a position where they have to ask themselves where (and with whom) they stand.

The most adorable one is Lady Sharon. She thought that by standing next to Break, she was supporting him. But now, she's starting to wonder if it's better to go out herself and try to support him through her individual actions.

I swear, they are the second cutest non-couple couple in this series. (The first is, obviously, Alice and Oz.)

I also liked watching Gil struggle with his need to serve. Due to revelations in the past volume, he's trying to work out who he really needs. After all, Oz is moving further away. Supposedly. When Oz gets Gil alone to try to get him to confess what he really saw in Sablier, we see that their friendship is still very strong.

Speaking of Oz, he shines beautifully here. He's just as sharp as he was in volume #1 and there's so many things he catches in this volume, it's just awesome. It really balances out his gradual unbalancing. (And that only adds to his coolness because he's aware something is very much not right with himself.)

It was also nice seeing the back and forth between Gil and Elliot. Even though Elliot's older brothers couldn't stand Gil and Vincent, I think it's fascinating that Elliot managed to forge some kind of brotherly relationship with Gil. For them to sit and talk about legal and illegal contractors in only a slightly awkward fashion is actually pretty awesome given the craziness we've seen so far in this series.

Other things I found interesting/annoying or just plain enjoyed:

* Barma and Oz. Nice twists in their dialogue. Loved it.

* Reim and Break. Their interaction in this volume really made me smile.

* Alice and Oz interact now like real friends. Their closeness is really wonderful and only gets better in this volume.

* Gil and Alice. Cutest scene ever when he pats her head.

* Vincent and Ada. Oooooooooo, I want her to run each time I see them together. And what made it worse was this time I got to see inside his thoughts while he's talking with her.

Don't get me wrong. It makes sense and is kind of foreshadowed in the things Vincent tells Gil and Elliot. (I'm convinced now that Vincent is actively trying to isolate Gil. It's okay to live with the Nightrays, but not okay for Gil to have a second brother in Elliot. Plus, there's the masochism of getting Gil so angry he finally reveals all the resentment Vincent knows he feels and punishes him like Vincent feels he deserves. If that's true, that's yet another similarity between him and Break.) The truth is very malleable with him. But his past isn't and if that's his prime motivator with Ada hurting her because she's had a better life than him...well, let's just say I'm looking forward to GilxAda by the end.

Note: I noticed a number of reviews that said some of the volumes are confusing. I didn't think so, but then again I get kind of obsessive with re-reading this series. She really does pack a lot of foreshadowing in small spaces. I think it also helps to have read the original Alice in Wonderland. Even though this is an original story, Jun Mochizuki stays pretty true to the symbols.

We'll see if my experience holds true in the later volumes. :/

Next up, volume #12.

[Faye Fite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gil and Alice bonding was adorable and getting more information on Raven was nice. But now I'm sad because Break lost his eyesight But he can beat this because he's Break and Break is awesome, so we're good.
However, about 6 new characters were introduced in this volume and I'm still trying to keep the other 15+ straight. Gees. Also, Vincent Nightray is a creep.

[elyennaaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

my love for elliot 📈📈

[fxtiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vincent chuju przestan

[ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

nothing has changed since i first read this in 2013 im still sad over the nightrays 24/7

[Ayxan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked a lot of things, but sadly also some things that I absolutely despise, which is why this isn't getting 4 stars.

1) Fucking gender stereotypes.
I don't like Sharon much, and yes, she's annoying and pretty stupid. But he didn't have to phrase it like that. "You're a lady, you should know your place, and that's why I need to punish you." Fuck you.
It could've been easily said as, "I should punish you for your stupidity", without using any genders in the sentence. But no...

2) Gil being disrespected again.

3) Alice instead getting closer to Oz, leaving Gil behind.

[p. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that the series is not afraid to be gory and creepy (without being overly gratuitous) and also dabble into true grey morality, character-wise.

[Kaya Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got whiplash from this. Head came clean off

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot is thickening and I’m not ready 🫠

[gabriella escoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly set up but it got me excited for the next volume.

[Ray Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oz’ incuse moved a little when the earthquake happened, back then in the ruins of Sablier, and everything that followed has made Gil wary of his master and himself. Isn’t it better if he gets rid of Alice, the B-rabbit? Who’s the one he should be protecting?
Duke Barma, on the other hand, gives them information about the chains that were sealed from Glen Baskerville, using Jack Vessalius’ body. He tells them this is what the Baskervilles want to open the portal to get to the Will of the Abyss.

Thus, the trio meet with one of the magicians that sealed Glen but something terrible happens and he gets beheaded by someone mysterious, someone who’s been hunting contractors, the Queen of Hearts.

This volume contains Retrace 42 – 45.

Read it for the #MiniMangaReadathon.

PREVIOUS REVIEWS:
Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4 | Volume 5 | Volume 6 | Volume 7 | Volume 8 | volume 9 | Volume 10

[Jenny Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marie is... different. I like the look at how Alice and Oz are becomeing closer. Cant wait to get the next one

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this story, it's probably one of my favorites.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for complete series

I'd like to start by saying that with my two decades of manga reading, Pandora Hearts has recently earned its way to being one of the best manga series I've ever read - and to think I almost didn't pick it up!

There's actually a bit of a story to it: Pandora Hearts was being released around the time I knew I would be moving overseas. At the time, I had no idea how moving to the other side of the world would affect my manga buying. Also at that time, I was working at a comic store with staff discounts at my disposal and I never had to worry too much about picking up whatever I fancied. When I first saw Pandora Hearts, I thought the art looked beautiful and this just might be a really good manga. It also struck me as a manga series that could go on for quite a while [which was a reasonably accurate assumption as 24 volumes is not a length I could commit to lightly]. Not knowing how I'd get my hands on manga or how long this series would be let me to putting it back on the shelf. And I confess, it was filled with quite a bit of regret.

When I finally did move overseas - a family friend had a good bye gift. The shape was easy to discern: it was undoubtably a manga volume. While thankful for receiving a gift, I was also nervous: having worked in a comic store, I knew for sure: I either already own it or am not interested in it. In addition, the friend in question doesn't know the first thing about manga. To my surprise, it was the first volume of Pandora Hearts which was probably the single only volume she could have taken from the shelf that wasn't already in my possession and did interest me. How she managed to pick out that one I don't know, but it's a coincidence I feel thankful for and, in some cheesy way, made me feel like it was just meant to be that I read Pandora Hearts after all.

Fast forward to 2023, I finally found the time to read this 24 volume series and am absolutely delighted. My original observation remains: the art is absolutely stunning. With the exception of a oneshot debut work, it's hard to believe that this is quite close to being a beginner's work - you'd not believe it just looking at the first volume's art.

My other thoughts are largely around how hard it is to praise a story you think is so thoroughly good as this one is. It's not really a plot you can explain to someone, it's a story you have to read for yourself as even the latest volumes will throw some surprises at you. But I think, besides the art, what really contributes a lot to this work are the characters. Oz might be our main character, but we have a large cast and they are all lovingly created. There's hardly a character you won't be able to like in one way or another, even the most broken of them. It's quite a feat to create a story that makes you care and worry about almost every character's fate.

And worry you can indeed: it has light and beautiful moments, but it is essentially a dark tale and you'll constantly worry whether the characters will make it through. Needless to say, there are losses throughout the story. There are plenty of twists and turns, things that will surprise and shock you.

I will also add that the plot is complex and not always easy to follow. Some characters have multiple names - this becomes even more difficult for some characters who also have multiple personalities who also have multiple names. Not everything in the plot made entire sense to me - it's hard to say whether they were plot holes, not explained well enough or I was simply missing something - a reread might answer that. But regardless, when these moments arose, I decided to just go with the flow and it didn't disrupt my reading experience at all.

Besides a bit of confusion here and there, I can't fault this series with anything. The pacing is well done, the 24 volumes were neither too long nor too short [something I often complain about] and it wrapped up nicely. For such a dark read, there's also a lot of soft story telling which just concludes this with a very wholesome ending. There is close to no romance but I wasn't missing it [and I'm a big romance reader] - the friendships and bonds between the characters were absolutely beautiful even without much romance thrown in.

I'm glad I did read this series and it is definitely going down as one of my favourites. Highly recommended.

[୨୧ A Literate Taxidermy ୨୧ · Rating 2 out of 5]

⛧°。 ⋆༺ 2 stars doomed by the narrative ༻⋆。 °⛧

jumbled notes taken while i was reading:

42:
-wait " the one i'm trying to protect" is it supposed to be vincent??? glen?? who
- alice going to bite sharon's cheek is soooooo precious
43:
- sharon wants to adopt alice is so adorable i'm shaking
- break is fine when he lose his vision, but then he remembered he won't see sharon's face again. shoot me already
- GODDD I HATE HOW THE WRITER CONSTANTLY RUIN THE TENSION BUILDING UP by making Oz " understanding" and " this is the gil i know" BITCH IF THIS ISN'T MISDIRECT I WILL BE SO PISSED
like i know something is verry off with oz and he's not a normal child,
-but still we're 11 volume in and he still act very grown up or very childish pick a struggleeee, it's actually makes me uncomfortable too since this is a "child" talking to a grown ass man it makes me queasy

44:
- marie is so prettyyyy
- shit hit the fan pretty much

45:
- the cute elliot and gil moment eeeeeeeee <3
- also gil seemed pained when elliot said " as brothers fill your duties" i wonder if again this is about vincent
- the head hunter is a Baskerville rightt?? like all the people are beheaded but Gil is poisoned?? seems sus could be a cover up but why?? especially like the people killed weren't contractors
- " if you die it will all have been for nothing" interesting what does that mean elliot?
- ada is the head hunter. crack theory or misdirect?
- another moment of vince being freaky
- gilbert literally can't catch a fucking break bro is DOOMED BY THE NARRATIVE.

- vincent wanting to "defile ada" and his previous behaviors with other women is eating at my sympathy for him

- but i also understand him: he resents ada, what she symbolize, privilege, safety, comfort, everything he & gil never had. so he want to take his anger & grief on her.

- and now multiple times vince have these thoughts of hurting gil ( getting him riled )) while also wanting to protect him, it's because he feels burdened and resent that he should suffers forever for gil right?? it's like how young gil felt. doomed siblings vibes.

-ooooh alice developing empathy, and gil and alice bonding.

- alice stealing food for gil is so cutttte. and i was complaining that they don't feel like a pair.

[A Literate Doofus · Rating 2 out of 5]

⛧°。 ⋆༺ 2 stars doomed by the narrative ༻⋆。 °⛧

jumbled notes taken while i was reading:

42:
-wait " the one i'm trying to protect" is it supposed to be vincent??? glen?? who
- alice going to bite sharon's cheek is soooooo precious
43:
- sharon wants to adopt alice is so adorable i'm shaking
- break is fine when he lose his vision, but then he remembered he won't see sharon's face again. shoot me already
- GODDD I HATE HOW THE WRITER CONSTANTLY RUIN THE TENSION BUILDING UP by making Oz " understanding" and " this is the gil i know" BITCH IF THIS ISN'T MISDIRECT I WILL BE SO PISSED
like i know something is verry off with oz and he's not a normal child,
-but still we're 11 volume in and he still act very grown up or very childish pick a struggleeee, it's actually makes me uncomfortable too since this is a "child" talking to a grown ass man it makes me queasy

44:
- marie is so prettyyyy
- shit hit the fan pretty much

45:
- the cute elliot and gil moment eeeeeeeee <3
- also gil seemed pained when elliot said " as brothers fill your duties" i wonder if again this is about vincent
- the head hunter is a Baskerville rightt?? like all the people are beheaded but Gil is poisoned?? seems sus could be a cover up but why?? especially like the people killed weren't contractors
- " if you die it will all have been for nothing" interesting what does that mean elliot?
- ada is the head hunter. crack theory or misdirect?
- another moment of vince being freaky
- gilbert literally can't catch a fucking break bro is DOOMED BY THE NARRATIVE.

- vincent wanting to "defile ada" and his previous behaviors with other women is eating at my sympathy for him

- but i also understand him: he resents ada, what she symbolize, privilege, safety, comfort, everything he & gil never had. so he want to take his anger & grief on her.

- and now multiple times vince have these thoughts of hurting gil ( getting him riled )) while also wanting to protect him, it's because he feels burdened and resent that he should suffers forever for gil right?? it's like how young gil felt. doomed siblings vibes.

-ooooh alice developing empathy, and gil and alice bonding.

- alice stealing food for gil is so cutttte. and i was complaining that they don't feel like a pair.

[Emily Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad Break is okay but 3 days?? That's how long he was out? Also, he's losing his eyesight?? Oh man. He really is dying, isn't he? I really like how sharp Oz is and how he noticed something felt off about Break, same with Reim, Break's one true friend.

I almost completely forgotten about this whole "Vincent and Ada" thing. My gut instinct was telling me Vincent was just using her and I was right. He thinks she's annoying and that he wants to "defile her". But he also wonders what Gil would think if he hurt Ada but then again he'd like to see Gil mad (that psycho...Vincent, I mean.) But I think Vincent does care for Ada somewhat since he wondered why she kept looking at him without pity or disgust and how "her eyes are so pure". I think deep down Vincent cares about her but because of how different their backgrounds are like how he described her as a "carefree human who's been raised so, so tenderly" as opposed to how he was raised. I think for those reasons he has a grudge against her or is just plain jealous.

On another note, I'm glad they showed how exactly Gil obtained the Raven. I always wondered how he obtained it without becoming an illegal contractor. I find it interesting how instead of drinking the Raven's blood himself (and therefore becoming an illegal contractor) he instead used something else (a carcere?) to soak up the Raven's blood.

This whole "head-hunter" thing felt a bit random but I'm glad we got to experience it through Elliot's perspective since he was there when it happened the first time around. Speaking of, Elliot is starting to grow on me as a character. I can tell he cares deeply about those around him but he's just better at hiding it (similar to Break except Elliot can be a bit more obvious.) At first, I didn't think much of Elliot since I figured he'd be more of a minor character but now that's he's been included more in the story lately, I'm starting to understand him better and he's becoming one of my favorites (Break is still my favorite though.)

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Es verdad que Jack existe dentro de mi. Y muchos me han dicho que nos parecemos bastante. Sin embargo, no se vaya a confundir, por favor.

Yo... Me llamo Oz".


Los Baskerville se siguen adueñando de las partes de Jack que mantienen encerrado a su amo, Glen Baskerville. Las manecillas del contrata de Oz con Alice sigue avanzando y por su fuera poco, Vincent está haciendo de todo para ganarse la confianza de la hermana menor de Oz para manchar su alma pura que tanto se ve atraída por este Nightray.

¿Será que Oz sea capaz de controlar su irá y el poco sentido de mantener encerrado a su cadena?

[Kazu · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Por isso que você deve também deve cuidar de seus trabalhos como um membro da família Nightray, como um contratante do raven e como meu irmão mais velho. "

O Elliot e o Gil se consideram como irmãos de consideração, que felicidade, faria de tudo pra ler um capítulo inteiro de como era a vida deles antes do Gil ir embora.

E a cena do Liam e do Break é tão boa, Deus abençoe para que ele tenha mais cenas.

"Não estou dizendo isso como conselheiro desta casa e sim como seu amigo, Xerxes"

[Amy (I'd Rather Be Sleeping) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

That pretty much sums up my feelings on this addition to the Pandora Hearts world and is becoming my feelings on the whole series. I don't know how a series can go from my favorite manga to one I don't even care if I finish in three volumes, but this one has. There are so few people left I even care a bit for that I'll probably just be stopping here.

[Citybones · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Me quedo con la relación de los hermanos Nightray y la de Vincent y Ada y como este solo quiere molestar a Gil. No sé, le da un toque a su personalidad. Break se está quedando ciego para añadir drama, y aparece la misteriosa enemiga Reina corta-cabezas y asesina repentinamente a los que cuidaban del sello. Mm, pensé que tendrían más chicha en la trama.

[Kaito · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the other volumes, but still not bad (7/10). The Headhunter will play a bigger role this time, and Vincent gets more twisted. I wonder what he plans do to with Ava. It's good to know too that the scythe Oz uses is from B-Rabbit. Didn't notice that before haha certainly makes more sense this way. Oz always looks really badass when he uses it too.

[Azelyn Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be another one of my favorites in the series if it weren’t for the gore. Beheadings. *shudders*

I really like the way the story opens, and I think I’m starting to get the hang of all the flashbacks and the way the story seems to jump around from perspective to perspective. It’s not as confusing anymore.

I also really like the way the characters develop and interact with each other. (This volume, for me anyway, was more about the characters than the plot) I really like Seim, the character on the cover even though it took me a while to figure out who he was initially. He may be reserved, but the way he treats others is admirable, though he is not immune to poking fun every now and then.

Then there’s Gil and Alice. Throughout the series, Gil keeps calling her “Stupid Rabbit”. While I understand his resentment, it can be rather annoying. And though he doesn’t stop, they still manage to bond, albeit slightly, in this volume.

I gave this book 4/5 stars for interesting characters but disturbing themes. See Pandora Hearts, Vol. 1 for my recommendation.

[Ady Weasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me confunde un poco la historia, en este tomo siento que avanzamos muy poco, descubrimos del sacrificio de Jack pero aún no sé qué tanta relación tiene con Oz.

Y pues sabía que la intención de Vincent con Ada no es pura, espero no salga lastimada

[Phantomº · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beheading Queen? Elliot backstory? Vincent being a jerk but can't hate him? ..but most of all, POOR BREAK YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS COME ON.........
Off to the next volume we go!

[CamillaWeiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh