In my attempt to watch every show scored by Yuki Kajiura, I ran into this anime called Pandora Hearts. Taking a quick look at its Wikipedia entry did not excite me, but I gave it a shot anyway. The story is about an heir to one of the country's most powerful dukedoms, Oz, and how his coming of age ceremony goes awry.
The first episode starts with a hook, showing Oz after he is captured. He is sentenced to the abyss for the crime of existing as a storm rages in the background. This sequence is followed by a stunning transition to a disaster that occurred in the world's past. The show leaves these things unexplained, preparing for an epic mystery story. After the beginning sequence, Oz is introduced, along with his friend and servant Gilbert. The two mess around, playing games and hiding from their maids. As they discussed the possibility of Gilbert attending the ceremony, Oz hears a strange tune playing. He follows the sound, and falls into a pit. Gilbert rushes after and falls in the same pit. There they find a grave and pocket watch hanging from the tombstone.
Oz grabs the watch and immediately feels something off about it. He opens it and instinctually winds it up. It starts playing the music again, leaving everyone to wonder: who or what wound it up before Oz fell down? Oz is then transported to a room full of talking dolls. They start freaking him out, so a strange woman comes in to tell them to calm down. She states that Oz frequently visits her, but he has no recollection of such events. he asks who she is, and she attacks him. She uses strange methods to do so. First she summons a wall of fire, then she tries to strangle Oz, then she stabs him with a knife. Only after the later does Oz return to reality, with the only proof he was ever there being the strangle marks on his neck. He holds on to the watch and proceeds to the ceremony as planned. While Oz prepares for the ceremony, we are shown a group of red-cloaked people who seemingly brainwash Gilbert.
Now for my opinion of the show. It seems to be going for a real-world but with a bit of magic setting, similar to many other shows in the fantasy genre. This tells me that there isn't going to be too much originality that comes from the setting. Everything interesting about the show is going to come from the mechanics of the magic system, and the characters. In both these regards, I expect the show to excel. The mechanics shown so far are reminiscent of Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, but with a protagonist I can actually relate to. Oz wants to go and do his own thing, and drag Gilbert along with him. He has a sense of independence due to not having a father around to support him, so it is unlikely that Oz will turn out to be a weak, generic protagonist either.
Overall, I have to recommend this show. I've only watched one episode, but it's almost an accomplishment when you can hook someone with only that. If you want similar recommendations, you could consider Le Portrait de Petit Cossette. They both seem to have a thing for chains.
