Watching The Case Study of Vanitas, it’s not hard for anyone familiar with Jun Mochizuki‘s work to be reminded of Pandora Hearts. Both manga series are defined by their Victorian Era aesthetics, their beautiful characters, and the way they blend the humorous and the morbid.
Pandora Hearts was Jun Mochizuki‘s defining work, and also one of the defining manga of the 00s and early 2010s. First serialized in 2006, it ran for nine years. It is still well-loved to this day; its diehard fans include idol and voice actress Miyu Takagi, who identified it as her favorite series.
In 2009, the manga also inspired a modestly successful TV anime with an absolute banger soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura. The twisted fairytale atmosphere was immediately striking from the very first episode, but even outside of the action scenes, the anime was propelled by haunting notes of melancholy. The voice…
