PANDORA HEART

Plot
Oz Vessalius, heir to the Vessalius dukedom, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, Oz is cast into the prison known as the “Abyss”, only to be saved by a “Chain” known as Alice, the Bloodstained Black Rabbit, B-Rabbit for short. The mystery there begins as Oz unravels the mystery behind Alice, the Abyss and the strange organization known as Pandora. The series features heavy references to Lewis Carroll‘s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and can be considered fantasy and mystery.

Terminology

Chains (チェイン, Chein^?)

Beings from the Abyss that were at one point human, transformed by the Will of the Abyss. They must sign a contract with a human contractor in order to leave the Abyss. Chains involved in illegal contracts must repeatedly consume humans in order to gain power. Some chains, such as Humpty Dumpty, can have multiple contracts. When they do, for each contract it makes, the revolution on an illegal contractor seal will slow down even more.

Contract (契約, Keiyaku^?)

An agreement between a chain and a contractor. The chain is bound within the contractor and can be called out at will. In return, the contractor provides passage for the chain out of the Abyss. Legal contracts, that were made possible by Pandora, granted the ability never to age the Contractor. In illegal contracts, a clock-like seal appears somewhere on the Contractor’s body, over their heart. Each time the chain’s powers are drawn, the hand in the seal moves like on a clock. Once the hand makes one full rotation, both the contractor and the chain are dragged into the deepest level of the Abyss.

Contractor (契約者, Keiyakusha^?)

A human who makes a contract with a chain. There are certain procedures to making a contract, but impromptu contracts can also be made, although they are illegal.

Abyss (アヴィス, Abisu^?)

The world that chains come from. It exists in a different dimension as the world, and as thus, time doesn’t truly exist in the Abyss. A person can find themselves in any random time period upon exiting the Abyss. According to Break, the Abyss can appear as a prison or a broken toy box, depending on the person.

Will of the Abyss (アヴィスの意志, Abisu no Ishi^?)

The existence that governs the Abyss. Usually appears in the form of a bloodied rabbit doll with big round eyes. The real form of the Will of the Abyss is Alice with white hair, dressed similarly in white. Apparently the Will of the Abyss wants Oz and Alice to go back in the Abyss, and is somehow connected to Alice. The Will of Abyss was born in the Abyss at the same time that Alice was born in the human world. The Will of Abyss hates Alice and want to destroy her. It is revealed her real name is also Alice.

Four Great Dukedom (四大公爵家, Yondai Koushaku Ke^?)

It currently consists of the Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray and Barma family. These four Dukedoms have been in existence before the Tragedy of Sablier. They founded the Pandora and each hold chains and a door to the Abyss. Of these four houses, the Vessalius and Nightray houses are thought of as exact opposites, like light and dark: the Vessalius house works publicly, while the Nightray house is responsible for doing the backstage work.

Before the Tragedy of Sablier occurred, the Vessalius family was only a third class noble family, and thus, not part of the four dukedoms. Instead, the fourth Dukedom was the Baskerville house – with Glen as the head. When Jack killed Glen for starting the Tragedy of Sablier, the Vessalius family were seen as heroes. And thus, the Vessalius substitute the Baskervilles, as the fourth dukedom. Therefore, the Baskervilles holds the fifth door to the abyss.

Pandora (パンドラ, Pandora^?)

An organization founded by the four dukedoms. It specializes in research regarding the Abyss.

Tragedy of Sabrie (サブリエの悲劇, Saburie no Higeki^?)

The city of Sabrie was once the capital city of the world. However, 100 years ago, for unknown reasons, Glen Baskerville used a ritual to send the entire city, with its citizens, into the Abyss. Glen was then supposedly killed by Jack Vessalius.

Doors

Doors are gates to the Abyss that the four dukedoms control. Each dukedom has control over one, with Baskerville holding the last, fifth Door. It is revealed in Chapter 41 that all along, the door of the Baskerville’s was hidden in Sabrie, which is under Pandora’s control. Yet, Pandora has never thought to look within to find it.

Blood Sealing Mirrors

An item used to make a legal contract. Instead of the chain drinking the blood of the contractor, the blood gets absorbed into the mirror where a seal is formed, keeping the seal off of the person. If the mirror is broken, you can lose the contract to the chain. It also has a limit on the power you can use.

Oz Vessalius (オズ＝ベザリウス, Ozu Bezariusu^?)

The main character of the story, a 15-year-old boy with blond hair and green eyes from the prestigious Vessalius family, whose father, Zai, is the reigning lord. His mother was killed by the Nightray family, but despite this, he retains a bright, optimistic, and energetic personality. The story of Pandora Hearts starts when Oz turns fifteen. During the ceremony to celebrate this reaching of adulthood, he was dragged into the Abyss for the sin of ‘existing’. There he meets the chain named Alice and makes a contract with her. Alice and Gil are his dearest friends and he gets along with Break and Sharon. Upon returning to the real world, he finds out that 10 years have passed. In order to find out what his sin meant, he began to work under Break as part of Pandora. During this, it is shown that when he was young, he worked hard to gain praise and recognition from his father. However, he had discovered that his father hated him to the point of not wanting to touch him. After experiencing this, Oz began to think that there is no guaranteed thing in the world. He thought of himself as weak and, in order to protect people, he should at least remain an obedient child and let harm come his way. After traveling into the Cheshire Cat’s lair, Oz meets Jack Vessalius and in turn becomes his ‘medium’. Jack eventually speaks at Pandora’s headquarters and the public hail Oz as a ‘hero’. Oz finds that he can swap control of his body with Jack if he calls hard enough and may sometimes even see snippets of Jack’s memories. According to himself he is quite skilled with the sword, particularly in self defense. However, he has very little real experience in fighting. Oz likes cute, younger girls and flirts with them frequently. He once wished to marry Sharon when they first met. Oz, himself, thinks of Alice as his precious someone, calling her his “sun”. He thinks that it is because of Alice that he can still smile.

Jack tells Oz that he has the “right” or “prerequisite” over Alice’s powers and that a seal won’t restrain Alice’s powers any longer, giving Oz the ability to use B-Rabbit’s power, even without Alice’s permission or Gil’s help. Oz proves it when he was able to stop Alice’s B-Rabbit’s power temporarily on his own; another time when Oz was almost kidnapped by the Baskervilles at Latowidge, and then recently when he was able to summon B-Rabbit’s scythe to fluently fight his assailants inside Sablier’s illusion, despite the fact he had never used a scythe before. According to Lotti, Oz was supposed to be the vessel for the sake of hiding the existence of Jack Vessalius and should the vessel be broken, Jack’s existence will be brought to light and the further warping of abyss’s will, who seeks for him, will most probably interfere with the real world. Later, Oz reunites with Gilbert and immediately meets with the person behind Oz’s suicidal nature: Zai Vessalius, his father. It has been seen in chapter 45 that Oz has had a will to destroy everything until Alice stops him. In chapter 46, however, according to Break, Oz may not be the real Oz Vessalius, as during his birth, Oz’s father suddenly took him away and perhaps did something to him or changed him for another baby.

Oz’s Seiyū is Junko Minagawa.

Gilbert Nightray (ギルバート＝ナイトレイ, Girubāto Naitorei^?)

Also known as Gil or Raven. He is Oz’s best friend and loyal servant. Oz is his most important person, for whom he is willing to sacrifice anything; this protectiveness is compounded by the fact that he was brainwashed by Miranda Barma to protect Jack Vessalius (and therefore Oz, who is his medium) even if it means killing. When Gil is drunk, he reverts to his fourteen-year-old self, an insecure crybaby. He cares deeply about the hat that Ada gave him. He is a great cook, terrified of cats, unable to quit smoking in eight attempts, and constantly afraid that as Oz grows, he will be left behind.

Gil is shown to have become close to Alice, despite his constant arguing with her. Though at first wanting to kill her in chapter 35, Gil saves Alice when she falls down in a small rockside later in the chapter.

Gil was Jack’s servant 100 years ago, but he was killed by Glen along with Jack, in order to save him, his brother Vincent opened a path to the Abyss. (It is later revealed that Gil was killed in order to serve as Glen’s new vessel, and when Vincent interrupted the ceremony the Tragedy occurred.) He was taken in as a servant by the current Vessalius family fifteen years ago, after he was discovered injured and amnesiac in the Vessalius gardens. He came to be Oz’s closest friend, and was invited to be a part of the boy’s coming-of-age ceremony. During the ceremony, Zwei uses her chain Doldum to control his body and forces him to attack Oz. After he regains consciousness, he recognizes one of the Baskervilles as Oz’s father and when Oz attacks the man with a sword, Gilbert takes the wound and falls unconsciously.

Gil remains loyal to Oz during his time in the Abyss. Shortly after the ceremony, he is approached by Xerxes Break who arranges his adoption into the Nightray family in exchange for inside information on the family’s doings. He views this as a betrayal, since the Nightrays are the prime suspects in the assassination of Oz’s mother, but he agrees to join the family when he learns that contracting their chain ‘Raven’ might give him the power to rescue Oz. He trains in gunmanship and eventually kills the Nightray family before the chain deems him worthy to contract with it.

Once he obtains the chain, he takes the name Raven and goes to work for Break as a member of Pandora. When Oz returns from the Abyss, Gil is the first one at his side. Initially, Oz is unaware that ‘Raven’ is Gil, but during the second battle with Zwei his true identity is revealed. Gilbert uses his chain’s power to bind B-Rabbit, keeping Alice in her human form and preventing Oz’s seal from moving when they are not in battle.

It’s shown in Retrace 45 that he has always had the right to make the contract with Raven, which leads him to gaining the chain. It is also said that Gilbert had been poisoned on a targeted attack against the Nightrays by a mysterious headhunter.

Gilbert’s Seiyū is Azuma Sakamoto (younger) and Katsuyuki Konishi (CD drama) and Toriumi Kousuke (Anime) (older).

Jack Vessalius (ジャック＝ベザリウス, Jakku Bezariusu^?)

The hero of 100 years ago and the one who ‘defeated’ Glen Baskerville. He is revealed to have been Raven’s master 100 years ago, having taken in Raven and Vincent. He has some sort of connection with Alice’s memories. Jack looks uncannily like a grown-up Oz with a long plait. His personality is also quite similar; he does things at his own pace and is loud and cheerful. Oz and Gilbert meet him when they are taken to the Cheshire Cat’s dimension. He is currently residing in Oz’s body and can ‘possess’ Oz and speak through him. When in control, Jack also has full control of Alice’s chain power. Jack was the third son of the Vessalius family who was, before the Tragedy of Sablier, a third rate noble family. Thus, with no expectations from his family, he acted quite freely: always smiling, joking and flirting with girls. Jack was also a self-proclaimed music box maker. His best friend at that time was Glen Baskerville. Jack crafted a pocket watch for him and Glen wrote the melody, titled “Lacie”. The pocket watch’s melody was said to be a song that Lacie always sang to herself. Later, Jack killed Glen because he started the Tragedy of Sablier (because he believed that without Lacie, there was no meaning to life) and tried to kill Jack. Although hailed as a hero for this act, Jack did not want to kill his best friend. In a later entry in Jack Vessalius’s diary, he wrote: “I have killed my best friend. Please… Please do not call me a hero.” He also shows true anger when Lottie suggested that he killed Glen to gain fame and glory. Jack reveals, through his speech when he first possesses Oz, that Glen is still living. Despite this, he says to the Baskervilles that if they wish to repeat the past, then he will once again turn his body into a blade that will destroy the Death Gods.

Jack’s Seiyū is Daisuke Ono.

Vincent Nightray (ヴィンセント＝ナイトレイ, Vinsento Naitorei^?)

Vincent is Gilbert’s younger brother by one year. As the Vessalius family found Gilbert, the Nightray family similarly adopted Vincent. His left eye is golden like Gilbert’s, but his right eye is wine-red and his long hair is golden in color. He loves his brother Gilbert to the point of slight obsession. He has an easy-going personality on the outside and is often seen smiling. However, it is shown that Vincent also has a dark, unstable side. He has a habit of carrying around scissors and cutting up stuffed animals with them. Break is often at odds with him, which is fueled by Vincent sending Echo to attack Sharon. Vincent is from 100 years ago. In Alice’s memory, a young Vincent is seen walking among corpses, gouging out eyes and intestines with a pair of scissors saying that “It’s not my fault, it’s that person’s fault, it’s all because of that person,” he was doing this to save his brother. He is also shown to be in alliance with the Baskervilles. It was him who called Zwei out from Echo, telling Echo that she is not required anymore in order to release her other personality. He is seen going on a date with Ada Vessalius shortly after those events. In one of the most recent chapters that gives some insight into their date, they are discussing the situation concerning the Headhunting. Meanwhile his true thoughts show that he may be planning to harm Ada in order to draw Gilbert’s attention, believing that she is an important person to Gil. Later chapters have shown that he has become Ada’s lover in order to “taint her” as well as make her a pawn in order to retrieve the Key to the Abyss from Oscar Vessalius. Later chapters showed some of his time during 100 years ago. Due to the belief that red eyes will bring disasters, Gilbert and Vincent used to live on the streets where people would attack them whenever Vincent’s eye was revealed. This continues until Jack Vessalius found them and brought them under his wings. The brothers then became his servants. He was fond of Jack, who didn’t care about his eye and even cut Vincent’s hair which was used to hide his red eye, stating that Jack “loves” it. Vincent also called him Master like his brother did. It was also shown that Jack tried to introduce the two to Alice since they were in closer age to her. Unfortunately, Alice immediately made fun of Vincent’s red eye which caused Gilbert to pull her hair. This incident fueled Vincent’s hatred towards Alice since she had made Gil “showed that kind of expression again” and Jack sighs in worry and began his habit of tearing up dolls (often rabbits) out of frustration and hatred. He is the prime suspect of Alice’s death because of his hatred and his placement in Alice’s memories. In one flash-back, Vincent is shown threatening Alice and even giving her the corpse of her cat, Cheshire, after he’d gouged the cat’s eyes out. When Vincent found out about Gil’s death and how he will be Glen’s next body through a ritual from Alice, he was visited by a mysterious lady (later revealed as Miranda Barma) who told him how to prevent the ritual by opening the Abyss’s door. Though he had succeeded in saving Gil, Vincent had caused the Tragedy to happen, making himself a “child of misfortune”. He has a contract with the Doormouse.

Vincent’s Seiyū is Jun Fukuyama (older) and Fuyuka Ōura (younger).

Xerxes Break (ザークシーズ＝ブレイク, Zākushīzu Bureiku^?)

Commonly known as Break, he is a member of Pandora and a servant of the Rainsworth Dukedom. Break’s appearance does not change from the ten year gap between Oz entering and leaving the Abyss. He has a legal contract with the Mad Hatter. Break is often seen with a doll on his shoulder, which he calls Emily. He adores sweets and cakes. From the outside, Break seems like a carefree character, never serious and always smiling. When needs be, however, Break shows his dangerous and evil side. Reim tells Oz that Break has not always been the way he is now. Before, after losing his eye, he was a bitter and angry person, never smiling. However, through the kindness of Shelly, Sharon’s mother, he began to open up. He has sworn absolute loyalty to Shelly.

Break has no left eye. He reveals that the Intention of the Abyss took it from him and that the Cheshire has it. Break’s true motive is to find the truth behind what happened 100 years ago. He hates Vincent with a passion.

It was revealed by Rufus Barma in chapter 29 that his real name is Kevin Regnard. Break was originally a knight who served under the noble family Sinclair until they were mysteriously massacred for political reasons. His lord was killed during the incident while Kevin and the daughter of the lord were out. Kevin blamed himself for his carelessness, and became an illegal contractor to try to change the past. When his clock made a full revolution, he was pulled into Abyss where he met the Intention of the Abyss and a young Vincent. The Intention of the Abyss once changed the past for Break. In return, Break was asked to fulfilled her wish, which is still unknown. Break then was sent to the Rainsworth house over 30 years later.

The changed past wasn’t really what Break wanted. The Sinclair family was still murdered. According to Cheryl, the oldest daughter of the house was assassinated, which led the younger daughter to become an illegal contractor and got sent to Abyss after her Chain murdered the entire family. The political massacre did not happen and Kevin’s lord lived for 4 years longer, but instead, the little girl who originally survived the incident died. Break blames himself for that. For one moment he also blamed the Intention of the Abyss, but he realizes that he was the one who asked for the past to be changed, and in reality, he really just wanted to erase his own guilt. In Retrace 42, it is shown that Break has lost his eyesight, causing him to be blind. It is later revealed in Chapter 43, however, that Break has not gone completely blind’ although he can no longer discern faces, he can make out general objects.

Break’s Seiyū are Toshihiko Seki (drama CD) and Ishida Akira (anime).

Chains

B-Rabbit (血染めの黒ウサギ (ビーラビット), Chizome no kuro usagi / Blood stained black rabbit(Bī-Rabitto, lit. B Rabbit)^?)

Also known as Alice and is contracted to Oz. The ‘B’ stands for Bloodstained Black. B-rabbit is the most powerful chain in the Abyss and resembles an anthropomorphic rabbit with black fur, red pupils and fangs and wields a giant scythe when released. When she is not in battle, she takes the form of a girl with a red coat with white diamond design and white boots.

Raven (鴉 (レイヴン), Karasu / Crow, Raven (Reibun, lit. Raven)^?)

Gilbert’s chain. Previously Glen’s chain. Sealed by the Nightray family and eventually tamed by Gilbert. Can use teleportation at a great strain to the user. It’s shown in Retrace 45 that Raven remembers Gilbert from the past, saying that he has seen him three times. The first time he disturbed him, the second time he came to visit, and the time when he made the contract. He also said that he’d be bound to Gilbert’s left arm again.

Eques (一角獣 (エクエス), Ikkakujū / Unicorn (Ekuesu, lit. Eques)^?)

Sharon’s chain. Eques is in the shape of a black unicorn and is often used by Sharon for data collection. It has the power to warp between places and dimensions, taking people with it. Sharon can also conceal Eques inside a persons shadow, allowing her to see and hear what they see and hear and allow them to converse over large distances. Sharon mentions that although Eques is meant for espionage, it doesn’t mean that it’s not powerful.

Mad Hatter (イカレ帽子屋 (マッド ハッター), Ikare bōshiya / Mad hatter (Maddo Hattā, lit. Mad Hatter)^?)

Break’s chain. It resembles the Alice in Wonderland character of the same name but gives off a more sinister feel. Mad Hatter resembles a giant top hat with flowery decorations, under which is one big eye. It has the power to reject and destroy the power of the Abyss and exists for the purpose of killing other chains. When Break uses its power to a large extent, he is seen coughing up blood, but only because his previous identity, Kevin Regnard, had already made an illegal contract with Albus, putting more strain on the user’s body.

Dormouse (眠り鼠 (ヤマネ), Nemuri nezumi / Sleeping mouse, Dormouse (Yamane)^?)

Vincent’s chain. It resembles the dormouse of Alice in Wonderland, but much bigger. Yamane has a toy-like tuner on its back and has stitch-closed eyes. It is always seen asleep and also makes its contractor, Vincent, sleepy. This chain enables Vincent to put people to sleep after a few second of direct contact.

Cheshire (チェシャ猫 (チェシャ), Chesha neko / Cheshire cat (Chesha, lit. Cheshire)^?)

A chain that lives in a dimension created from Alice’s memories. He resembles a human form of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. Cheshire was actually Alice’s pet cat from 100 years ago. The bell around his neck is the ‘truth’ from 100 years ago, later taken by Break. The Cheshire cat is a unique chain in that he doesn’t need a contractor in order to leave the Abyss (since his residence isn’t in the Abyss in the first place). Originally believed to be a fervent servant of the Intention of the Abyss, it later turns out that he is trying to protect Alice’s memories that she abandoned, in order to prevent her from suffering pain when she recalls them. Break mentions that Cheshire’s eye was his. It is revealed in Break’s memory of meeting the Will of the Abyss that Vincent had removed Cheshire’s eyes 100 years ago, killing him. Cheshire also has only one eye, since the Abyss only took one of Break’s eyes when it showed his memories. Cheshire can also be connected to “Through the Looking Glass” as Alice’s cat ‘Kitty’. Kitty is also black and has a ribbon tied around his neck.

Cheshire’s Seiyū is Kappei Yamaguchi

Jabberwock (ジャバウォック, Jabawokku, lit. Jabberwock)^?)

Glen Baskerville’s Chain, shaped like a black bird-like creature with large insane-looking eyes, he’s reckless and aggressive but responds faithfully to Glen’s commands.

Glen’s Bird-Like Chains

Glen controlled five chains,the jabberwock, the Dodo, the Owl, the Griffin, and Raven. It’s assumed that Glen’s chains were divided among the Four Dukes to watch over. The Nightray watched over Raven, and Vessalius, the Griffin. In retrace 43, it is shown that the Barma house holds the Dodo while the Rainsworth holds the Owl.

Leon (リオン, Rion, lit. Leon)^?)

Lotti’s chain, shaped like a lion with a crown and small wings.

Bandersnatch

Lily’s chain, shaped like a black dog with numerous wispy tails and has a tendency to kill humans against Lily’s will when hungry. First appears in retrace 49.

March Hare

Reim’s chain as revealed in retrace 51. It’s known as “more useless in combat than a Card,” as expressed by Break. It’s ability is “false death,” where it puts the contractor into a feigned state of death for a certain amount of time. It doesn’t heal wounds during this state, either, and it’s unknown when the person will awake from the power.

Humpty Dumpty (Queen of Hearts)

A chain that has the power to make people forget painful memories, and believed to be the head hunter. It is revealed by Rufus Barma that this chain can split its contract with several contractors to slow down the rate of the illegal contractor seal rotation. It is also assumed that all the children of the House of Fianna have a contract with it. in chapter 57 it showed that Elliot is in current illegal contract with the head Humpty Dumpty