There are a number of manga volumes out there. But when I think about one series that seems to be known but isn’t acknowledged or as popular as it should be, it’s “Pandora Hearts” by Jun Mochizuki.

This manga follows a 15-year-old boy named Oz Vessalius. During his coming-of-age ceremony, he is cast into the Abyss, a separate dimension – so to speak – that contains what they call Chains, which are beings or creatures that were originally humans. A chain is attacking Oz when a girl named Alice, the Black Rabbit, saves him. From there, without spoiling anything, the story spirals into a mess of mysteries, lies and secrets about the world and the Abyss.

“Pandora Hearts” consists of an intricately woven plot-line with intriguing characters that you can’t help but feel connected with. All of the many characters associated with different histories and the last names can become a bit overwhelming at times, but the complexity of the world and the connections between the characters within it pull you into the story too. Each character has their own motivations and own pasts that drive the plot of the story.

Not only that, but the artistry is absolutely gorgeous. The amount of work and detail in each panel of the manga is astonishing. The background is never glossed over and the clothing for each character is beautifully designed. Even the detail of their hair can sometimes be stunning – rather than the simple one-hair-chunk that is often depicted in manga and anime.

In addition, the manga is both hilarious at times and then completely dark at other times. There are also meaningful and touching scenes that are cry-worthy, but I’m a big sucker for crying. Furthermore, this is big-time fantasy genre with a little bit of romance. So, if you enjoy humor, some gore, dark themes, a little bit of crying, fantasy elements and some romance, this manga is for you.

Therefore, considering the well-thought out plot and characters in addition to the creative drawings, why isn’t “Pandora Hearts” as recognized as other manga?

Well, first off, the anime adaptation was honestly painful to watch. I am sorry if you enjoyed the anime “Pandora Hearts,” but after reading the manga and experiencing the artwork and plot, I was frustrated with the anime adaption.

The characters were sloppily drawn, completely missing the artistry in the manga series. In addition, the colors were too solid, making the anime unappealing unlike the manga that seems to shine in itself. Furthermore, the anime veered off in a completely different story line than the manga, destroying the end of the first and only season into an anticlimactic and seemingly pointless end that didn’t answer half of the questions the beginning had begun asking. The anime basically missed the core of the manga. Here's one of my favorite scenes in the manga compared to the anime.

Sometimes I wonder if this is because the animators realized the manga was going into a long and complex story, and they simply didn’t want to deal with that. Nonetheless, many people only watch anime rather than reading manga, so having watched the anime and been sorely disappointed, they probably thought the whole of “Pandora Hearts” was just as terrible. I still hope, now that animation has developed and improved, that someone will take up “Pandora Hearts” again and follow the actual story.

Another reason that “Pandora Hearts” may not be that popular is the very same plot that I praise it for. Sometimes, remembering the story line and all the characters can be overwhelming – especially when reading the manga as it updated since it was easy to forget what happened before. The confusing factor might turn people off. I almost gave it up because, half the time I was reading, I didn’t really understand what was happening. However, hanging in there was worth it because all of the questions were answered by the end, and reading it over and over again was like discovering a whole new manga.

Therefore, I highly recommend the “Pandora Hearts” manga series because of the amazing drawing, characters and plot. You can read the entire series at mangahere.co. Happy reading!