#phreadinggroup

[lejoursobre]

Retrace 39 : Gate of blackness - ténèbres enivrantes.

Poor little Vincent :O I love this chapter so much (and Miranda Barma !!!!) @ph-reading-group

[maddyisenough]

inspiration

Pandora Hearts (re)reading group week II - chapters 5-9

@ph-reading-group

[cloudmountainjuror]

Retracing Pandora Hearts, ch. 3

Below were my thoughts and observations as I reread chapter 3 - beware of SPOILERS for the entire manga!

The instant cut to Break, Sharon, and “Raven” (i.e. Gil) sitting in the church is kind of brilliant, and is the main reason that the “Raven is Gil” twist in volume 2 took me completely by surprise (despite how ridiculously obvious it is in hindsight). It implies that this scene is taking place at the exact same instant as when Oz is flung into the Abyss (or, at least, very shortly after) through presentation alone, and since we just saw Gil cut down, the natural assumption is then that Raven is a completely different person, despite the visual similarities.

Continuity: Alice was likely dubbed the “B-rabbit” by others (most definitely chains, and probably the Intention of the Abyss too) because that is the form they recognized from when the chain was last seen in the Abyss (as Oz). That’s probably how Pandora learned of the name, by hearing it from other chains/illegal contractors. This is also probably how freshly awoken amnesiac-Alice learned of the B-rabbit name herself.

The Sharon fake-out is clever as well, considering we were just shown the real Sharon about to enact an actual rescue plan. This leads us to automatically buy what this Sharon is saying, and we don’t truly start to suspect her until Oz does. Even more reason why that brief cut to the church earlier was a wise choice.

About this chain, though: I like that everything it says exposition-wise can actually be taken as truth. The chain speaks of how contracts work and interprets Oz’s memories to match it with its own preexisting knowledge in order to explain why Alice briefly appeared at the ceremony. Its statement about Alice having a habit of killing her contractors would also be common knowledge among the chains in the Abyss. I don’t know, I just like how this makes the chain feel like an individual entity with intelligence and tact, as opposed to just a creepy monster that Alice needs to save Oz from for the plot to happen.

(Also, I will be returning to the detail about Alice having killed her contractors at some point in the near future - as it is now, it’s just a bizarre detail I completely forgot about.)

Foreshadowing: Oz wanting to save Alice, justifying it out loud as payback for her saving him beforehand, but internally admitting it’s for some other reason that he can’t identify. This is the first of many allusions to Oz deeply valuing Alice due to their past time together when he was a plushie (god, it feels weird typing that).

[lejoursobre]

Retrace 41 : Where am I ? - nuage de poussière, brise légère.

This chapter killed me when I read it the first time :O (I think it was the last tome which I didn’t read the scan before buy it)... Oooooh !! Breaaaak !! Everyone q___q btw Alice is so cute <3 @ph-reading-group

[lejoursobre]

Retrace 40 : Blindness - douleur muette.

So it’s almost the half of the manga now x) I hope I will finish this before the end of the year ! If I’ll finish it one day... btw this chapter killed me when I read it the first time q__q like... omg his father !!!! @ph-reading-group

[lejoursobre]

Retrace 19 : Detestably - un monde rouge.

Time to play :) This chapter was so intense ! @ph-reading-group

[lejoursobre]

Retrace 34 : Noice of Echo - le sortilège des ficelles.

OMG ! Just OMG !! I remember when I read this chapter the first time :D it’s one of the first after the anime plot so I was very surprised by all the revelations !!!  @ph-reading-group

Preorders for Retrace: A Pandora Hearts Fanzine are now open ! (until 06/18/18) :D

[lejoursobre]

Retrace 36 : Sablier - la ville de sable.

I like how each character is linked with a memory of the tragedy ! It makes the narration very fluid @ph-reading-group

Preorders for Retrace: A Pandora Hearts Fanzine are now open ! (until 06/18/18) :D