VNC Anime Countdown Question Game - Day 3
3: What’s something you like about VNC more than Pandora Hearts? Or what’s something you especially appreciate about both?
It's occurred to me with this countdown that Japan is essentially a day ahead of us, so I wonder if I should do Day 2 today as well. Hmmm...
Regardless, I think what I like about VNC more than Pandora Hearts is simply that Mochizuki has grown as a writer. This tale is a lot smoother and feels far more planned out and has a tone more akin to the middle of Pandora Hearts onwards rather than the very beginning. I've mentioned before that the main fault of Pandora Hearts is that the twists of the story essentially change the summary of the story to the point where when you describe it to someone it almost sounds like you're describing a different series. This does not mean Pandora Hearts is a "bad" story. Obviously I'm a huge fan of it and it's what made me such a huge fan of Mochizuki in the first place, but it's expected that an author will improve over time and I'm delighted to see Mochizuki make that kind of progress.
As for what I like about both: the complicated themes of the story. With each story things start out seemingly straightforward. "This character is like this" or "this character will have this kind of arc," but it's never that simple. The relationship between Vanitas and Jeanne is a good example of this. It starts out where we feel very strongly it's just going to be Vanitas harassing her and she won't have any agency, but not only is that untrue, their "roles" in the relationship become more and more muddled. In other words, both very different and more interesting than it initially seems.
It's occurred to me with this countdown that Japan is essentially a day ahead of us, so I wonder if I should do Day 2 today as well. Hmmm...
Regardless, I think what I like about VNC more than Pandora Hearts is simply that Mochizuki has grown as a writer. This tale is a lot smoother and feels far more planned out and has a tone more akin to the middle of Pandora Hearts onwards rather than the very beginning. I've mentioned before that the main fault of Pandora Hearts is that the twists of the story essentially change the summary of the story to the point where when you describe it to someone it almost sounds like you're describing a different series. This does not mean Pandora Hearts is a "bad" story. Obviously I'm a huge fan of it and it's what made me such a huge fan of Mochizuki in the first place, but it's expected that an author will improve over time and I'm delighted to see Mochizuki make that kind of progress.
As for what I like about both: the complicated themes of the story. With each story things start out seemingly straightforward. "This character is like this" or "this character will have this kind of arc," but it's never that simple. The relationship between Vanitas and Jeanne is a good example of this. It starts out where we feel very strongly it's just going to be Vanitas harassing her and she won't have any agency, but not only is that untrue, their "roles" in the relationship become more and more muddled. In other words, both very different and more interesting than it initially seems.