Will of the Abyss

Intention of the Abyss "Alice, Will of the Abyss, Alysse"

The existence that governs the Abyss. Usually appears in the form of a bloodied rabbit doll with big round eyes. The real form of the Intention of the Abyss is Alice with white hair. Apparently the Intention of the Abyss wants Oz and Alice to go back in the Abyss. The Intention of the Abyss and Alice are somehow connected. She also has powers such as killing with her eyes, or changing the Past.

At the same time, the Intention of Abyss is born in the Abyss, while Alice was born in the human world; it is soon figured out that they are twins.

Alice

Alice "Blood-stained Black Rabbit, B-Rabbit, Baka Usagi"

The heroine of the story with the height of 150cm. Alice first appears  as a chain that persuades Oz to form a contract with her in the Abyss.  In fact, she is actually the infamous B-Rabbit (Bloodstained Black Rabbit), the strongest chain in the Abyss. Alice's goal is to find her lost memories, which play a major role in the story. In human form, Alice has long dark brown hair with 2 side plaits. She has a huge appetite and loves meat especially. She is hotheaded, loud spoken and says what she thinks without regard to the consequence. Despite this, she has a soft side, especially when Oz is involved. She hates when Oz leaves her alone, but to hide it she usually says, "I'm in a contract with you. You are my manservant, and as a manservant, what were you thinking, leaving me behind!?" or she just hits Oz and says, "Shut up".

 According to Jack Vessalius' diary, Alice looked like a normal girl but was kept in a tower by Glen Baskerville. Initially, Jack did not understand why Alice was imprisoned until he noticed something odd about her. Her cat (Cheshire) had various attitudes towards Alice from time to time; once it would stay in Alice's lap and another time it would not go near her and would even hiss at her. Eventually, Jack and Alice's conversation would not connect and her answers would always be different. Even her personalities (i.e. favorite book and favorite color) changed many times. One day, Jack confirmed his suspicion by asking Alice who she was, since the current "Alice" wasn't the Alice he knew. "Alice" admitted this but stated that she and "that brat" were still "Alice" and that their "souls" are linked. Jack then concluded that Alice and the Intention of Abyss were born at the same time in the human world and Abyss and that they are twins. 

Recently, Oz brought both Alice and Gilbert to Sabrie in order to find more about Alice's memory. They were later trapped inside an illusion made from the town's memory, and the three were separated into their own respective memories. In her memory, Alice found out about the grave that appeared in the beginning of the story, and to whom it belongs to; Lacie. A Jack who was in the memory explained to a young Alice that Lacie was Glen's important person but got sacrificed to the Abyss. A pocket watch was then made by Jack and Glen created its tune based on a song Lacie would always sing to herself, entitled "Lacie". A flashback showed Alice making fun of Vincent Nightray's red eye, hoping that he would "perform magic with that eye" and "wonders what kind of disaster he would bring" before having her hair pulled by an enraged Gilbert. She was also the one who breaks the news of Gilbert's death and his being Glen's new body to Vincent.

Pandora Hearts

Anime Review

Pandora Hearts

Plot

Oz Vessalius, heir to one of the duke houses, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he's cast into the prison known as the "Abyss", only to be saved by a "chain" known as Alice, the bloodstained black rabbit. The mystery there begins as Oz unravels the mystery behind Alice, the Abyss and the strange organization known as Pandora. The series features heavy references to Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and can be considered both fantasy and mystery.

Terminology

Chains (チェイン Chein^?)

Beings from the Abyss that were at one point, human, transformed by the Intention of the Abyss. They must sign a contract with a human contractor in order to leave the Abyss. Chains involved in illegal contracts must repeatedly consume humans in order to gain power.

Contract (契約 Keiyaku^?)

An agreement between a chain and a contractor. The chain is bound within the contractor and can be called out at will. In return, the contractor provides passage for the chain out of the Abyss. Legal contracts that were made possible by Pandora have been granted the ability to never age to the Contractor. In illegal contracts, a clock-like seal appears on the contractor's chest, over their heart. Each time the chain's powers are drawn, the hand in the seal moves like on a clock. Once the hand makes one full rotation, both the contractor and the chain are dragged into the deepest level of the Abyss.

Contractor (契約者 Keiyakusha^?)

A human who makes a contract with a chain. There are certain procedures to making a contract, but impromptu contracts can also be made, although they are illegal.

Abyss (アヴィス Avisu^?)

The world that chains come from. It exists in a different dimension as the world, and as thus, time doesn't truly exist in the Abyss. A person can find themselves in any random time period upon exiting the Abyss. According to Break, the Abyss can appear as a prison or a broken toy box, depending on the person.

Intention of the Abyss (アヴィスの意志 Avisu no Ishi^?)

The existence that governs the Abyss. Usually appears in the form of a bloodied rabbit doll with big round eyes. The real form of the Intention of the Abyss is Alice with white hair. Apparently the Intention of the Abyss wants Oz and Alice to go back in the Abyss. The Intention of the Abyss and Alice are somehow connected. At the same time, the Intention of Abyss is born in the Abyss, while Alice was born in the human world; It is soon figured out that they are twins.

Four Great Duke Houses (四大公爵家 Yondai Koushaku Ke^?)

It currently consists of the Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray and Barma family. These four houses have been in existence before the Tragedy of Sabrié. They founded the Pandora and each hold chains and a door to the Abyss. Of these four houses, the Vessalius and Nightray houses are thought of as exact opposites, like light and dark: the Vessalius house works publicly, while the Nightray house is responsible for doing the backstage work.

Before the Tragedy of Sabrié occurred, the Vessalius family was only a third class noble family, and thus, not part of the four duke houses. Instead, the fourth house was the Baskerville house - with Glen as the head. When Jack killed Glen for starting the Tragedy of Sabrié, the Vessalius family were seen as heros. And thus, the Vessalius substitute the Baskervilles, as the fourth duke house. Therefore, the Baskervilles holds the fifth door to the abyss.

Pandora (パンドラ Pandora^?)

An organization founded by the four duke houses. It specializes in research regarding the Abyss.

Tragedy of Sabrié (サブリエの悲劇 Saburie no Higeki^?)

The city of Sabrié was once the capital city of the world. However, 100 years ago, for unknown reasons, Glen Baskerville used a ritual to send the entire city, with its citizens, into the Abyss. Glen was then supposedly killed by the four duke houses.

Doors

Doors are gates to the Abyss that the four duke houses control. Each house has control over one, with Baskerville holding the last, fifth Door.

CHARACTERS

Oz Vessalius (オズ ベザリウス Ozu Bezariusu^?)

The main character of the story. A 15 years old boy with blond hair and green eyes from the prestigious Vessalius family, whose father is the reigning lord. His mother was killed by the Nightray family, but despite this, he retains a bright, optimistic, and energetic personality. The story of Pandora Hearts starts when Oz turns fifteen. During the ceremony to celebrate this reaching of adulthood, he was dragged into the Abyss for the sin of 'existing'. There he meets the chain named Alice and makes a contract with her. Upon returning to the real world, he finds out that 10 years have passed. In order to find out what his sin meant, he began to work under Break as part of Pandora. During this, it is shown that when he was young, he worked hard to gain praise and recognition from his father. However, he had discovered that his father hated him to the point of not wanting to touch him. After experiencing this, Oz began to think that there is no guaranteed thing in the world. He thought of himself as weak and, in order to protect people, he should at least remain an obedient child and let harm come his way.

After traveling into the Cheshire Cat's realm, Oz meets Jack Vessalius and in turn becomes his 'medium'. Jack eventually speaks at Pandora's headquarters and the public hail Oz as a 'hero'. Oz finds that he can swap consciences with Jack if he calls hard enough and may sometimes even see snippets of Jack's memories. According to himself he is quite skilled with the sword, particularly in self defense. However, he has no real experience in fighting. Oz likes cute, younger girls and flirts with them frequently. He once wished to marry Shalon when they first met. As the story progresses, he starts to develop feelings towards Alice. In chapter 20, Oz called her "my most precious Alice", but it is not known if these feelings are sincerely his or Jack's since he resides in his body.

Jack tells Oz that has the "right" or "perquisite" over Alice's power and that a seal won't restrain Alice's powers any longer, making Oz have the ability to use B-Rabbit's power even without Alice's permission or Gil's help. Oz proves it when he was able to stop Alice's B-Rabbit's power temporarily on his own; another time when Oz was almost kidnapped by the Baskervilles at Latowidge, and then recently when he was able to summon B-Rabbit's scythe to fluently fight his assailants inside Sabrié's illusion, despite the fact he had never used a scythe before. (He doesn't seem to notice this though).

Oz's Seiyū is Junko Minagawa.

Alice (アリス Arisu^?)

The heroine of the story with the height of 150cm. Alice first appears as a chain that persuades Oz to form a contract with her in the Abyss. In fact, she is actually the infamous B-Rabbit (Bloodstained Black Rabbit), the strongest chain in the Abyss. Alice's goal is to find her lost memories, which play a major role in the story. In human form, Alice has long dark brown hair with 2 side plaits. She has a huge appetite and loves meat especially. She is hotheaded, loud spoken and says what she thinks without regard to the consequence. Despite this, she has a soft side, especially when Oz is involved. She hates when Oz leaves her alone, but to hide it she usually says, "I'm in a contract with you. You are my manservant, and as a manservant, what were you thinking, leaving me behind!?" or she just hits Oz and says, "Shut up". Through the series her jealousy hints she has developed feelings for Oz.

It has been revealed that Alice was actually a human girl killed 100 years ago during the Tragedy of Sabrié. The Cheshire Cat reveals that Alice scattered her memories on purpose. Alice and the Intention of the Abyss are somehow spiritually connected. While Alice has dark hair and takes to a black rabbit form, the Intention of the Abyss looks similar to Alice save for the white hair, white dress, and the white rabbit. She uses the white rabbit to represent herself in the early chapters, stating that Oz will pay for selecting the black rabbit over her.

According to Jack Vessalius's diary, Alice looked like a normal girl but was kept in a tower by Glen Baskerville. Initially, Jack did not understand why Alice was imprisoned until he noticed something odd about her. Her cat (Cheshire) had various attitudes towards Alice from time to time; once it would stay in Alice's lap and another time it would not go near her and would even hiss at her. Eventually, Jack and Alice's conversation would not connect and her answers would always be different. Even her personalities (i.e. favorite book and favorite color) changed many times. One day, Jack confirmed his suspicion by asking Alice who she was, since the current "Alice" wasn't the Alice he knew. "Alice" admitted this but stated that she and "that brat" were still "Alice" and that their "souls" are linked. Jack then concluded that Alice and the Intention of Abyss were born at the same time in the human world and Abyss and that they are twins.

Recently, Oz brought both Alice and Gilbert to Sabrié in order to find more about Alice's memory. They were later trapped inside an illusion made from the town's memory, and the three were separated into their own respective memories. In her memory, Alice found out about the grave that appeared in the beginning of the story, and to whom it belongs to; Lacie. A Jack who was in the memory explained to a young Alice that Lacie was Glenn's important person but got sacrificed to the Abyss. A pocket watch was then made by Jack and Glen created its tune based on a song Lacie would always sing to herself, entitled "Lacie".

Alice's Seiyū are Yukari Tamura (Drama CD) and Kawasumi Ayako (Anime).

Gilbert Nightray (ギルバート ナイトレイ Girubāto Naitorei^?)

Oz's friend and loyal servant. To him, Oz is his most precious person, and he is willing to sacrifice anything for him. He was taken into the Vessalius family after being discovered in an injured state 15 years ago. He was invited by Oz to attend the coming of age ceremony as his friend. During the ceremony, he was controlled by a chain in the Baskerville's possession and forced to attack Oz. After regaining consciousness, Gilbert manages to see the face of one of the hooded people and for some reason jumps in the way of Oz's attack to protect him.

He goes on to become Raven (鴉 Reibun^?) and appears as a member of Pandora who retrieves Oz after he escaped from the Abyss. Oz later discovers Raven's true identity. After the ceremony 10 years ago, he was adopted by the Nightray family, who earlier adopted his younger brother Vincent, and thus feels that he betrayed Oz because the Nightrays were the prime suspects in the assassination of Oz's mother. He had no memory of Vincent before they met at the Nightrays. In hopes to eventually rescuing Oz from the Abyss, Gilbert trained hard in gunmanship, and even killed in order to tame the Nightray family's chain 'Raven'. He uses its power to somewhat control the B-rabbit through Oz, preventing side effects like the clock hand moving. After 10 years, he still hates cats and is a wonderful cook. After drinking alcohol he reverts back to his 'Gilbert' self: insecure cry-baby. He really cares about the hat that Ada gave him. He is from 100 years ago and used to serve Jack, but he was kill by Glen while trying to protect Jack, and his brother Vincent open the path to Abyss in order to save him. And in later chapters he has a fear of being left behind.

Gilbert's Seiyū is Azuma Sakamoto (younger) and Katsuyuki Konishi (CD drama) and Toriumi Kousuke (Anime) (older).

Ada (エイダ Eida^?)

Oz's little sister who adores him very much. After 10 years she attends Latowidge (ラトウィッジ), a prestigious school for nobles, of which she is a prefect. She keeps in contact with Oscar via letter and causes Oz and co. to sneak into Latowidge as she wrote that she has found a person she likes. It is revealed that she was the one who gave Raven his hat. It is hinted that she likes Raven, but in the later chapters she is seen on a date with Vincent. She has a cat named Dinah and later two cats (a black and a white one). The white one was named Snowdrop.

Ada's Seiyū is Kaori Fukuhara.