Creative Staff
Story/Art: Jun Mochizuki
Translation/Adaptation: Tomo Kimura
What They Say
The past holds everyone in its thrall, and Oz, Alice, Raven, Break, and their acquaintances are no exception, especially as recollections of the tragedy of Sablier elude even those who were present. Indeed, with his own body playing host to Jack Vessalius, the hero of Sablier, the likelihood of Oz escaping the past seems nigh impossible. But given a renewed lease on life by Elliot Nightray — the legitimate heir to the Nightray dukedom, of all people — Oz is eager to keep moving forward by learning all that he can about the events that came to pass all those years ago. To this end, he and his friends seek an audience with another of the four great dukes — Duke Rufus Barma. But it is not a glimpse into a hundredyear-old disaster that is revealed to them in the Duke’s presence, but rather one into Break’s lamentable, shockingly unforgettable past…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The events at the Academy come to a quick close at the beginning of this volume. Those hoping for a bombastic showdown with the Baskerville clan are going to be disappointed. There’s a brief flashback to Lottie and Jack in happier times in the past, where even Jack seems at a loss with exactly what went on during the Sablier tragedy. The confusion and pain explains why Jack just doesn’t tell Oz what went on back then. Just the mere presence of Jack commanding the B-rabbit is enough to drive off Lottie and her gang. Oz doesn’t get a chance to continue his discussion with his sister, and an extended catching up will have to happen in the future.
What follows is a long diversion as Oz’s group returns from the Academy. Sharon tried to give Alice some pointers on her relationship with Oz, only for Alice to shock Sharon by telling her that she’s already kissed Oz. Oz’s Uncle figures the whole trip to be a success and proceeds to get the whole gang outrageously drunk under the pretense that, dimensional time rifts aside, they’re all of legal drinking age. During this retrospective moment we see Oz, who’s been struggling for the last few volumes with his emotions, finally affirm to his friends that he’s not going to stress them out any longer with his shuttered emotions. Some of the humor during the whole drunk scene seems odd and forced, but at this point I should be used to the strange sense of humor in the story.
Back to the business at hand, Oz, Gil, Alice, and Break head off to the Opera to meet with Reim’s Master, Duke Barma. Barma is a collector of information, and if anyone knows that happened at Sablier, he should. Things don’t go exactly as planned, and Break is noticeably on edge during the entire odd meeting between the Duke and the others. He had good reason to be concerned, as Barma seems to want something from Break.
Since the beginning of the series Break has been hiding information from everyone, and it’s been obvious that he has. We get to discover exactly what he was hiding, and it’s quite the secret. Break’s past leaves off on a confusing cliffhanger at the end of this volume, adding a further twist to this already twisty tale.
The covers for the series have been simple designs, with a different character featured on each volume. Many series are set up in this way, it makes for easy planning. However, I think this volume is my favorite so far. I love Jack’s green frock coat. I also love the author extras this time around. She made up a fake advertisement for a AVG/Adventure game with the cast in a school setting… with the added element of an S&M meter. I won’t lie, I would play that game in a heartbeat.
In Summary
This volume of Pandora Hearts brings a few new answers and brand new questions to ponder. Oz has a newfound sense of purpose, resolving to not run from himself and his emotions. While Alice hasn’t exactly matured, she too seems more resolved to continue onward towards the painful answers everyone is seeking. Break’s bloody past is certainly the highlight of the volume, with much of the rest a cool down after the events at the Academy. I’m not very fond of the zany antics of the cast during the downtime, but the lovely costumes and delightful splashes of blood during the melodrama of the rest makes up for the hit-or-miss slapstick humor.
Content Grade: B +
Art Grade: A –
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: October 25th, 2011
MSRP: $11.99
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