In this post I will be reviewing the first volume of a manga called Pandora Hearts. This is a shonen manga (meaning it has a male protagonist) and the genre is fantasy and mystery. This manga is about a boy named Oz Vessalius, heir to the throne of the Vessalius Dukedom. He has just turned 15 and at his coming of age ceremony he is cast into the prison known as "Abyss" for reasons unknown. This prison strongly resembles a nightmarish Wonderland. There he is saved by a "chain" known as Alice, also known as the Bloodstained Black Rabbit. I won't reveal anymore of the story because you should read it yourself if you're interested!

Okay, so now that you know a bit about the story here's my review!

The art was fantastic from page to page and I only had one problem with it. That problem was the artist's use of speed lines. Speed lines are great for adding movement and emphasis on things but adding too many speed lines can obscure the picture. I was in the middle of reading a chapter when a monster was supposed to appear in the reading. I didn't get a clear view of what the monster actually looked like until a few pages later due to the speed lines.

The characters in this manga are mysterious, funny, sly, and interesting. When the character Alice was introduced to the story it was easy to see that she was cunning and mysterious. As the story progressed, the reader (i.e. you) is able to see other sides of Alice's personality that you wouldn't expect! The characters are brilliant in this story and I give them 5 stars.

The last thing I'm going to review is the overall storyline. This manga strongly reminds me of Alice in Wonderland because of the rabbit, pocket watch, an abyss (this reminds me of the rabbit hole), a bizarre land, and a girl named Alice. This story isn't what I expected, and that's a good thing. It was full of mystery and unexpected twists that make you want to keep reading. I can honestly say that I had trouble putting it down long enough for me to write this review! In some parts of the manga the story is hard to follow but if you keep reading things become clearer (for example, the prologue to the book connects with a scene later on in the story.) I can usually predict what will happen next in a manga but this one I'm going to have to keep reading to find out what happens next. I strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a great mystery!