Pandora Hearts: Volume 11

by Jun Mochizuki, 1779 pages

The gang have little time to recuperate from their experiences in the ruins of Sablier before diving back into trying to get all the facts and wrest control of the situation from the Baskervilles and their agents.  But despite their apparent progress, they may still be losing ground to the forces of the enemy, as another terror from the past once again raises its head...and relieves others of theirs....

Ooh, scary!  As funny as the story and characters can be (and they do make me laugh), they can also be incredibly dark.  The Headhunter is just one example of that, and Vincent--with his attractive, smiling exterior contrasting so sharply with his violent internal observations--is another.  I like.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 10

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

Oz and the others are separated from one another within the mind-affecting ruins of Sablier where it's hard to tell what's real and what's illusion.  Elsewhere, a solitary Vincent recalls his past and the role he played in the original tragedy.

Vincent and Gilbert's troubled relationship is given some context here and the result is a surprising amount of sympathy for both of them.  Even Glen Baskerville shows an echo of humanity in the midst of his coldly plotting catastrophic destruction.  Grief can turn people into monsters.  So yet again, the assignment of "true villain" shifts.  A major reveal also sheds some light on the past, the means of its unfolding, and the purposes of those trying to replicate it in the present.  We can only hope the others put together the pieces and figure out a way to stop it soon.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 9

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

Oz decides the best way to learn about Sablier is to go to the place itself...or what's left of it. But he, Gil, and Alice--as well as those who follow in their footsteps--may find themselves unprepared for what (and who) they encounter there.

Oh, Gil, don't give in to Vince's crazy manipulation! More surprises, more mysteries, and more lovely artwork suck the hooked reader into the continued confusion of this dense story.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 8

by Jun Mochizuki, 204 pages

Break confesses a few more unpleasant details of his personal history to Oz, Alice, and Gil. Vincent, whose child-self features in Break's memories, shows himself to be as twisted and frightening as ever as he plays with his brother Gil's head and tries to nurture seeds of discord.

Sheesh! Vince is a scary, scary guy. And Break's account of his run-in with the Intention of the Abyss gives the reader much to ponder, as do the complex but intriguing ways in which all the characters are slowly being connected to each other, the past, and the as-yet unknown future.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 7

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

Break joins Oz and the others at the opera for an information-trading meeting with the leader of one of the other noble houses. They want to know more about Glen Baskerville and the tragedy of Sablier...but are more shocked by the revelations of mysterious, clownish Break's past.

Considering some of the dark places this series goes, it does a good job of sprinkling in humor to keep the mood from being oppressive. That said, some of the things we learn--and some of the things we suspect--make the reader worry for the characters and their fragile relationships.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 6

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

Oz's uncle Oscar whisks him, Gilbert, and Alice off to Oz's little sister's private school in order to discover the object of her secret crush. Really, though, Oscar's just trying to get Oz to relax, have a little fun, and reconnect with his sister, whom he hasn't seen since he returned from the Abyss the first time. With everyone but himself 10 years older than the day he disappeared, the boy has felt a little left behind and detached from those who love him. But with the "encouragement" of new acquaintances and old, Oz may finally be starting to step out of his self-hating holding pattern.

Ha, I like the new boys, Elliot and his valet Leo. Elliot's short-fused temper and blunt personality are just what quiet, tightly-wound little Oz needs to kick him in the seat of the pants. And vice versa, as Elliot needs his faith in humanity restored a wee bit, too. Now, if the scary Baskervilles, responsible for the tragedy 100 years ago, would just stop stirring up trouble and trying to bring it all about again....

Pandora Hearts: Volume 5

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

As they struggle to once again escape the unstable Abyss, Oz and the others witness glimpses of the past tragedy of Sablier that altered the world order and changed their lives forever. There are still many secrets, past and present, to remember and unravel. Oz and his allies will have to uncover the truth and defeat a familiar adversary if they don't want history to repeat itself.

Sheesh, little Vincent was scary (not that big Vincent isn't scary, too, but sociopathic kids are so much creepier). And yet we feel a little sorry for him. What role did he have in the events of 100 years ago? And what's he up to now?! Crazy Vincent + Baskervilles = not a good thing for anyone else.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 4

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

Break intentionally allows himself and Alice to be captured by the Cheshire Cat and returned to the Abyss. When Oz and Gil realize what's happened, they ask Sharon to use her legal contract with her chain to transport them there on a rescue mission. All four encounter memory fragments from their own pasts as well as from one another's, but Break is scarily proactive about making the most of his time there. As they battle the deadly Cheshire Cat and the dangers of their own psyches, they endeavor to discover some snippet of the truth of what happened 100 years ago when an entire chunk of a city was inexplicably swallowed into the Abyss and the family clans had their original falling out. But for Alice, remembering the past might be worse than forgetting it. Meanwhile, Vincent's taking advantage of Break's absence to do some scheming of his own.

Even the poor Cheshire Cat thinks he's doing the right thing. Part of the mystery here is just figuring out who the real villains are. There are a lot of characters just out to avenge their own personal grievances, but does that make them evil? And who is the mysterious Jack Vessalius, now only a living fragment of Alice's memories, who's helping Oz and Gil to find her before she's lost forever? Both the characters and the plot in this series are imaginatively complex. Even sweet little Oz has moments where the effects of his unhappy childhood and uncertain future creep out and surprise people. But then he giggles it all off as nothing and scampers away, leaving his companions (and the reader) even more nervous than before. Nice.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 3

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

The trio come across another illegal contractor and his chain who've somehow escaped from Pandora's keeping before he / they could be interrogated. Unlike the atypical Oz and Alice, most chains enlist their illegal contractors in serial murder and cannibalism to achieve their mutual goals (see, this is why this isn't in YA--eep!). But even so, Oz tries to reason with the contractor, discover what pain drove him to make such a bargain, and convince him to break it off and go be with his young son for a few moments before turning himself in and paying for his crimes. But Oz and his friends aren't the only ones on the escapee's trail, and the other pursuers are not as sentimental as Oz.

There are lots of sad yet revealing flashbacks in this series. In this volume, we see the trauma of Oz's non-relationship with his father and find out what happened to Gil after the tragic coming-of-age party and how he came to be adopted by the Nightrays and take on the role of Raven. We also meet his scary younger brother Vincent and watch the machinations of the Vessalius clan's Break as he schemes against his enemies and the Intention of the Abyss (the controlling spirit behind the Abyss's existence...I think...it's complicated). And poor Alice, unsure of who or what she is or what she means to any of the people around her, longs to recover her memories as she watches her companions with uncertainty and gloom. Oz needs to flash a sincere smile at her and reassure her that she has a place here, too.

Pandora Hearts: Volume 2

by Jun Mochizuki, 180 pages

Oz Vessalius had been looking forward to his coming-of-age party. But when the party is crashed, his faithful valet and best friend Gilbert is magically manipulated into attacking him, and Oz is spirited away to the Abyss (often seen as a prison world of twisted reality), it just reinforces the boy's conviction that it is not his lot to have things easy. But that doesn't mean he's going to get down about it. Instead, he quickly makes a contract with a strange, violently tempered girl named Alice who has lost her memories and contains a chain (a scary stitched-up-stuffed-animal-looking spirit in the Abyss) called the B Black Rabbit. The two use the contract to escape back to Oz's world, but when they get there they find a few things have changed (and a few, oddly, have not).

One thing that has not changed is the rivalry among Oz's and the other prominent families who each control a door to the Abyss. Another is Pandora, the secretive organization that studies the Abyss and polices elements that escape from it into this world. Oz doesn't really trust any of them, not even his own family, except maybe for Uncle Oscar. He does, however, trust Alice, even though he knows next to nothing about her. And he trusts Raven, the man in charge of his care since his return and who reminds him so much of his friend Gilbert.... Because of the unsanctioned nature of Oz's contract with Alice, the boy's time in this world is running out. If they don't get to the bottom of all the mysteries before the tattooed clock on his chest has completed a full turn, he'll be flung into the deepest depths of the Abyss, and no one's quite sure what happens after that, since no one's ever come back. As part of their investigation, Oz, Alice, and Raven return to Oz's family mansion, the scene of his disastrous party-- and find the same enemy lying in wait, happy now that the principal players have returned to re-enact the events of that day...ten years ago!

Alice in Wonderland lends its weirdness and a few of its characters to this vaguely late-Victorian-styled world of magic and intrigue. There's a lot going on, with more plot complications than I care to try to understand enough to describe, but the story is interesting, the characters pleasantly mysterious and funny and scary, and the art attractive.