Pandora Hearts Volume cover observations
I was looking at each of the volume covers for ages yesterday trying to figure out what the things on the covers mean.
Volume covers and the chains:
Volume 1
On the cover of Volume 1 , Oz is still wearing the clothes from the ceremony, although they are only half on and he is wearing the outfit he started wearing after getting out of the abyss, this being the first volume, with the first four chapters means it likely symbolises that this is both the beginning of the story and that for Oz, everything has changed and his old, normal life is being left behind.
He is also holding the Lacie pocketwatch, which also appears in the background., it makes sense for it to be here as it and Lacie herself are very important to the plot and the watch plays quite a large part in the first few chapters.
Also it's interesting to note that the chains are wrapped around Oz's arm, though they are quite loose and that they are broken at one end and dissapearing from the page at the other, as well as the fact that Oz appears to be holding on to them, maybe symbolising his choice to form a contract?
The chains also look strangely coloured compared to the others, though I can't quite work out why that is.
Volume 2
On the cover of Volume 2 we have Gilbert, apparently sitting on air which I'm sure symbolises something, though I'm not sure what. He also has one hand wrapped up instead of wearing a glove, though not the one that seals B-Rabbit, I believe?
The other arm is the one he has a chain wrapped around and unlike Oz, it looks tight at the top and gets slightly looser lower down. It also only goes in one direction, trailing off the page from the bottom right corner. I'm not sure what to make of it since if wasn't Gil, I would have said it was because he was only bound and loyal to one master and that was why the chains were so tight.
Volume 3
On Volume 3 Break(and emily....who's been in a few random images I've seen where Break is no where in sight O_o) was the cover star. The only "interesting things I can see about this one is that break has his hand up on his eye...or non-eye, whatever....that his other hand is holding on to his sword. The chains in this one are wrapped around bothe the arm holding the sword and the sword itself and like in Gilbert's cover they are quite tight and only trail in on direction, however Breaks chain, well [i]Breaks[/i] before it reaches the edge of the page. The fact that the way it is wrapped round binds his hand to his sword is probably symbolic, maybe of the fact that he has been asked to destroy the Will of the Abyss?
It' also interesting that the image behind him is of the illegal contractor mark, I'm not sure whether his past had been revealed at that point when the volume was originaly released but if it hadn't then it might be another example of foreshadowing, or it could have just been because he's a member of pandora.
Volume 4
Volume 4 had Sharon on the cover. I don't have much to say about this one, the flowers I think are Lilies of some kind, but I'm not sure, though watever they are they appear in more pictures of Sharon. Here they appear to be growing from the chain at one point, which here is wrapped around her ankle and like in Oz's cover is loose. The chain here also goes in two directions, off the page and in the other direction it appears to simply end right about her knee. Her chain is also green at some parts unlike any of the others.
The outline of flowers behind her are Lilies of the valley and symbolise Sweetness, humility, and renewed happiness.
Volume 5
Volume 5 had Vincent. All I think is of note about this one is that the chains aren't wrapped around him at all and that the way they are broken it looks as though they had been broken by the scissors, which are very large in the background and that they have been broken directly behind him.
Volume 6
On Volume 6 Lotti appears to have also learned the art of sitting on air.
She is using the chains to strangle the B-rabbit instead of being tied up by them like the other characters, who are either bound themselves by the chains or simply surrounded by them. Here is another picture that shows her with the B-rabbit in a situation where she might be trying to kill it. She really has it in for B-rabbit doesn't she?
she also seems to have a pink rose in her hair, I'm not sure whether to call it a dark pink one or a light pink one, both of which have different meanings.
The crown behind her looks like the one of her chain.
Volume 7
Well look who it is. Jack is holding out his hand for some reason, an invitation?
His background image is ripples. Look at his chains, or lack of chains rather, there is hardly any and what is left is a few badly broken pieces, they've been almost totaly destroyed. To me it looks like they are being thrown away from Jack. Parts of the chains also look like they are coloured yellow or gold and some parts look blue.
Volume 8
On this one Cheshire turned up. One of the first things I noticed was that the Will of the Abyss rabbit doll that Cheshire is holding(very protectively) is wearing purple instead of blue, if that means anything? There are also alot of chains, which seem to meet up around the Abyss-doll, though they do not wrap around either it or cheshire. The only part of the chains which touch him are the end, which he is holding and that breaks up just after it leaves his hand. He's also surrounding by torn pages, likely Alice's memories and alluding to his role in attempting to protect them.
Parts of the chains also look red on the left side.
Volume 9
Echo here is lying tied by chains around both of her arms and one of her legs, the chains appear more loose than on Gilbert but tighter than on Oz. It's also interesting that one of her arms has the chain wrapped around it three times while the other and her leg only have it wrapped twice, perhaps symbolising that there is something that has more of a hold of her than any other thing?
The images in the background appear to be the feathers from the day with Oz and the thing that Zwei wears in her hair.
The chains here look light blue mostly. Likely representing both her freedom and her entrapment(when Zwei is in control).
Volume 10
Volume 10 was Glen, looking rather sad. The cross appearing has already been covered, so I don't have anything to say about that. He's also holding the Lacie pocket watch.
His chain goes in a curve from one side to the other without being broken or wrapping around anything, it's also almost totaly red, rust? There are also those red feathers which remind me of the picture of Oz, Leo, Vincent and Gilbert at the opera, where there is one red wing and one purple wing, I think.
Volume 11
Here it was Reim, sitting surrounded by paperwork? and sweets, representing his friendship with Break. The chain here is wrapped around the hand holding a bit of the paper up, I can't really tell how tightly because of the writing covering it but it looks fairly tight. It is going in two directions from his wrist, one you can't see where it ends and the other is going off the page but is broken just before reaching the edge before continuing. The way the chains are hanging give the imression of them not being tied to anything other than Reim and unlike some of the others give the impression he would still be able to move about fine despite the chains.
Volume 12
Ada is kneeling and looks quite sad, she is also wearing a black veil, which is associated with mourning. She has a chain wrapped around her ankle and one wrapped around her arm, though they don't appear connected and the chain on her arm appears more loose than the one on her ankle. The blue roses appear to be falling away from her. I'm not sure what any of these things could mean though.
Volume 13
Lily the only things here are the fact that, like Glen here chain goes from one side to the other without being broken or wrapping around anything. It also has some charms on it, three stars and a dog-like one which likely represents her Chain The stars might represent her childish personality?
Volume 14
Elliot. most things have already been mentioned about this one so the only thing I'll say is that it's interesting that his chains here are covered by black cloth. Maybe representing the fact that he was unaware of being a contractor? oh and that the chains are like Break, wrapped around the arm holding a sword.
The flowers are stacices.
Volume 15
Rufus. I've not looked at this one much, so the only things I can say are that the chain here is so hidden I almost didn't see it, it's also red in colour. He also has outlines of feathers on his clothes. Could he have some kind of connection to the other red feathers?
--------------
Well I don't know if there was anything usefull or interesting amongst all that but I hope there was at least something that made it worth reading. :lol:
Volume covers and the chains:
Volume 1
On the cover of Volume 1 , Oz is still wearing the clothes from the ceremony, although they are only half on and he is wearing the outfit he started wearing after getting out of the abyss, this being the first volume, with the first four chapters means it likely symbolises that this is both the beginning of the story and that for Oz, everything has changed and his old, normal life is being left behind.
He is also holding the Lacie pocketwatch, which also appears in the background., it makes sense for it to be here as it and Lacie herself are very important to the plot and the watch plays quite a large part in the first few chapters.
Also it's interesting to note that the chains are wrapped around Oz's arm, though they are quite loose and that they are broken at one end and dissapearing from the page at the other, as well as the fact that Oz appears to be holding on to them, maybe symbolising his choice to form a contract?
The chains also look strangely coloured compared to the others, though I can't quite work out why that is.
Volume 2
On the cover of Volume 2 we have Gilbert, apparently sitting on air which I'm sure symbolises something, though I'm not sure what. He also has one hand wrapped up instead of wearing a glove, though not the one that seals B-Rabbit, I believe?
The other arm is the one he has a chain wrapped around and unlike Oz, it looks tight at the top and gets slightly looser lower down. It also only goes in one direction, trailing off the page from the bottom right corner. I'm not sure what to make of it since if wasn't Gil, I would have said it was because he was only bound and loyal to one master and that was why the chains were so tight.
Volume 3
On Volume 3 Break(and emily....who's been in a few random images I've seen where Break is no where in sight O_o) was the cover star. The only "interesting things I can see about this one is that break has his hand up on his eye...or non-eye, whatever....that his other hand is holding on to his sword. The chains in this one are wrapped around bothe the arm holding the sword and the sword itself and like in Gilbert's cover they are quite tight and only trail in on direction, however Breaks chain, well [i]Breaks[/i] before it reaches the edge of the page. The fact that the way it is wrapped round binds his hand to his sword is probably symbolic, maybe of the fact that he has been asked to destroy the Will of the Abyss?
It' also interesting that the image behind him is of the illegal contractor mark, I'm not sure whether his past had been revealed at that point when the volume was originaly released but if it hadn't then it might be another example of foreshadowing, or it could have just been because he's a member of pandora.
Volume 4
Volume 4 had Sharon on the cover. I don't have much to say about this one, the flowers I think are Lilies of some kind, but I'm not sure, though watever they are they appear in more pictures of Sharon. Here they appear to be growing from the chain at one point, which here is wrapped around her ankle and like in Oz's cover is loose. The chain here also goes in two directions, off the page and in the other direction it appears to simply end right about her knee. Her chain is also green at some parts unlike any of the others.
The outline of flowers behind her are Lilies of the valley and symbolise Sweetness, humility, and renewed happiness.
Volume 5
Volume 5 had Vincent. All I think is of note about this one is that the chains aren't wrapped around him at all and that the way they are broken it looks as though they had been broken by the scissors, which are very large in the background and that they have been broken directly behind him.
Volume 6
On Volume 6 Lotti appears to have also learned the art of sitting on air.
She is using the chains to strangle the B-rabbit instead of being tied up by them like the other characters, who are either bound themselves by the chains or simply surrounded by them. Here is another picture that shows her with the B-rabbit in a situation where she might be trying to kill it. She really has it in for B-rabbit doesn't she?
she also seems to have a pink rose in her hair, I'm not sure whether to call it a dark pink one or a light pink one, both of which have different meanings.
The crown behind her looks like the one of her chain.
Volume 7
Well look who it is. Jack is holding out his hand for some reason, an invitation?
His background image is ripples. Look at his chains, or lack of chains rather, there is hardly any and what is left is a few badly broken pieces, they've been almost totaly destroyed. To me it looks like they are being thrown away from Jack. Parts of the chains also look like they are coloured yellow or gold and some parts look blue.
Volume 8
On this one Cheshire turned up. One of the first things I noticed was that the Will of the Abyss rabbit doll that Cheshire is holding(very protectively) is wearing purple instead of blue, if that means anything? There are also alot of chains, which seem to meet up around the Abyss-doll, though they do not wrap around either it or cheshire. The only part of the chains which touch him are the end, which he is holding and that breaks up just after it leaves his hand. He's also surrounding by torn pages, likely Alice's memories and alluding to his role in attempting to protect them.
Parts of the chains also look red on the left side.
Volume 9
Echo here is lying tied by chains around both of her arms and one of her legs, the chains appear more loose than on Gilbert but tighter than on Oz. It's also interesting that one of her arms has the chain wrapped around it three times while the other and her leg only have it wrapped twice, perhaps symbolising that there is something that has more of a hold of her than any other thing?
The images in the background appear to be the feathers from the day with Oz and the thing that Zwei wears in her hair.
The chains here look light blue mostly. Likely representing both her freedom and her entrapment(when Zwei is in control).
Volume 10
Volume 10 was Glen, looking rather sad. The cross appearing has already been covered, so I don't have anything to say about that. He's also holding the Lacie pocket watch.
His chain goes in a curve from one side to the other without being broken or wrapping around anything, it's also almost totaly red, rust? There are also those red feathers which remind me of the picture of Oz, Leo, Vincent and Gilbert at the opera, where there is one red wing and one purple wing, I think.
Volume 11
Here it was Reim, sitting surrounded by paperwork? and sweets, representing his friendship with Break. The chain here is wrapped around the hand holding a bit of the paper up, I can't really tell how tightly because of the writing covering it but it looks fairly tight. It is going in two directions from his wrist, one you can't see where it ends and the other is going off the page but is broken just before reaching the edge before continuing. The way the chains are hanging give the imression of them not being tied to anything other than Reim and unlike some of the others give the impression he would still be able to move about fine despite the chains.
Volume 12
Ada is kneeling and looks quite sad, she is also wearing a black veil, which is associated with mourning. She has a chain wrapped around her ankle and one wrapped around her arm, though they don't appear connected and the chain on her arm appears more loose than the one on her ankle. The blue roses appear to be falling away from her. I'm not sure what any of these things could mean though.
Volume 13
Lily the only things here are the fact that, like Glen here chain goes from one side to the other without being broken or wrapping around anything. It also has some charms on it, three stars and a dog-like one which likely represents her Chain The stars might represent her childish personality?
Volume 14
Elliot. most things have already been mentioned about this one so the only thing I'll say is that it's interesting that his chains here are covered by black cloth. Maybe representing the fact that he was unaware of being a contractor? oh and that the chains are like Break, wrapped around the arm holding a sword.
The flowers are stacices.
Volume 15
Rufus. I've not looked at this one much, so the only things I can say are that the chain here is so hidden I almost didn't see it, it's also red in colour. He also has outlines of feathers on his clothes. Could he have some kind of connection to the other red feathers?
--------------
Well I don't know if there was anything usefull or interesting amongst all that but I hope there was at least something that made it worth reading. :lol: