By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

When I think about Alice in Wonderland, I think about a professor who told me that Alice’s story is one about growing up. It is a coming-of-age tale, but one that takes the perspective of growing up being a collection of ridiculous rules and conventions that everyone eventually learns to adjust to, or else! The idea is that as you grow, you start to learn a bunch of new rules. Some of them sound made-up (and they are), a lot of them sound ridiculous, and yet everyone must follow these newfound social conventions and changing trends or be left behind by the social group (or, worse, imprisoned and executed). It was an analysis by this professor that stuck with me over time, particularly as I have grown and entered the wider world.

Anime and manga regularly take inspiration from Wonderland. I’ve seen a fair share of Alices, Mad Hatters, and more–which I am sure many of you have, but Pandora Hearts and its rendition is the one that comes to mind for me the most when I think of an adaptation, and this meaning my professor described.

Pandora Hearts is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki, the same author of another favorite of mine, The Case Study of Vanitas. The story follows Oz Vessalius, a young nobleman who is about to turn 15 years old. On the day of his coming-of-age ceremony, he is sent to the Abyss, a dark and mysterious dimension that is home to all manner of monsters. There, he meets a mysterious girl named Alice, who is also trapped in the Abyss. Together, they try to find a way to escape and return to the world above. Eventually freeing themselves from the Abyss and returning to the world outside it, Oz and Alice begin investigating who sent them there.

I don’t want to spoil the series but I will warn you that the story has many twists and turns, along with surprising developments for readers to latch onto. I remember whenever a big reveal would happen and I would reread it all thinking, Oh my goodness, the hints were there all along!

The story is not so complex that it is hard to follow, but certainly, the approach to themes like growing up and how one engages with the world around them through a changing understanding of identity are. As such, I think that anyone who enjoys dark fantasy stories with intricate world-building and complex characters is definitely going to want to check out this series if they haven’t already.

It is an older work now and a complete one, so you can find copies for purchasing of the fully translated work online. Plus, if you like watching, there is an anime adaptation currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll. If you check it out or are already a fan, let me know! This series is one of my favorites, and I love hearing other people’s impression of the work.

–

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying us a coffee, leaving a comment, and/or subscribing to us below!

Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee