Bryce's Blog

Well, Like I said last post, there are good things and bad things about being on a trip. Now that three books on my reading list have been covered, I no longer have any books be requested for reviews, but there is still plenty to read.

In fact, I recently got three books from Barnes & Noble, and even pre-ordered the new volumes of Detective Conan (Case Closed), Negima!, Bloody Monday, and Cage of Eden. Unfortunately, I have yet to get my pre-order. Because of that fact, I will be covering the three recent purchases. Today, I will be reviewing Pandora Hearts Volume 1 by Jun Mochizuki.

Oz Vessalius was just a normal boy in a prominent household, or so he and his family thought. However, when he is scheduled to have his coming-of-age ceremony, the celebrations are ruined by a group of people that have their faces covered by hoods and claim that Oz’s sin is his very existence and send him to the abyss. While there, he makes a contract to get out and Alice, the person Oz contracted with, says she wants to regain her memory. Now, Oz is told to help Alice find her memories before anybody else and the race begins.

Like Cage of Eden and Bloody Monday, it has been a while since I read the early chapters of this series, but I really enjoyed this book. Oz seems to be like many people in their youth. They just want to do whatever they want and whenever, not having to care about anything else. Honestly, I wish I could live that kind of lifestyle. At the same time, I know that is not feasible because there is a consequence for everything we do. I also liked how he was not slow to notice things, such as the fact that the person he though was the girl he had a crush on knew something that nobody knew. This definitely shows that he is not an idiot, like some people in our world who believe that statistics can be believed as fact. I also liked the humor presented in here, thought it is at the expense at one of the other characters. I cannot say that is well paced enough to learn more about the characters, but I am definitely intrigued to find out more about Alice and Pandora, which I think will be likely in future volumes. Outside of those, I can really think of much else to say because this is the first volume of a series. The fact the Oz seems so much like how many people are when they grow up, as well as the humor and the fact that the characters were set up well for me to want to know more about them, certainly makes this seem like a good book.

Although I like the book, there were certainly some issues. However, only one thing seems to come to mind. That item is grammar and writing issues. For a supposedly professional publication, I would expect this to be at a minimum of wrong words or misspellings, and maybe unnecessary words. On the other hand, this volume had the worst kind of error possible, almost like it has not be proofread or edited at all. Before Alice comes to Oz’s rescue at the coming-of-age ceremony, Oz notes that the notice made by the watch is getting faster, as if luring him. However, in the text it says, “As it’s if luring me”. This just does not make sense one bit. “It’s as if luring me” definitely makes much more sense, as well as a few other alternatives. For a book that seemed to somewhat make sense, this is certainly a black mark that ruins an otherwise decent title, quality-wise. Outside of that, there are not really other issues, especially considering that this is the first volume. While the book had few issues, the one is it does have suggests that a poor editing/proofreading job was done and takes a bit away from an otherwise good book.

Despite the issue, this was definitely worth reading. For now, I recommend this to fans of Pandora Hearts. As for everyone else, this is worth giving a shot, since no prior knowledge is needed.

What are your thoughts on Pandora Hearts Volume 1? Do you agree or disagree with my views? Do you have anything to add? Feel free to comment.