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Crimson Shell
If you like Pandora Hearts, then you'll love Crimson-Shell, Jun Mochizuki-sensei's debut! Rescued from the darkness by Xeno, a mysterious swordsman, Claudia the Rose Witch is the foundation of the Crimson-Shell, a special division of the Red Rose-an organization aiming to capture the results of one mad scientist's experiments, the deadly Black Roses. But when Xeno's loyalties are called into question, will Claudia be strong enough to believe in her dearest friend? And what is the color of the rose blooming in Xeno's heart-a deep, passionate crimson...or a traitorous jet-black?
226 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2009
3 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
About the author
Jun Mochizuki
181 books905 followersJun Mochizuki (望月淳 Mochizuki Jun) is a Japanese comic artist (manga-ka), best known for the fantasy shounen series Pandora Hearts/パンドラハーツ.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 19, 2023
This is a difficult one. It is well above average for what it is namely a debut standalone. The art is already fantastic and one can see a lot of what makes Mochizuki's longer works so appealing. Unfortunately, it is also exactly that that simply doesn't do well in such a short format. There are so many characters and ideas and there's simply not enough space for either of them. This story would have greatly benefited of being a series. As it is, one can only partially grasp what the story was meant to deliver as a lot of left unclear and feels rushed.
It is still a solid oneshot but it could have been a lot better if it had been several volumes longer. It's probably still a nice book to pick up for Mochizuki fans but it's also not something I would go out of my way for. I won't be holding on to my copy.
July 20, 2020
Just thinking about summarizing this exhausts me, but here I go. In this world there are people called Black Roses. They have the ability to control deadly thorns and can poison others and bend them to their will. The Black Roses are led by even more powerful people known as Jet Roses. All Black and Jet Roses must feed off of human life force in order to survive, and all of them eventually rot and die.
Claudia is the only Crimson Rose known to exist. She has some of the same powers as Black Roses but none of the drawbacks. In fact, she may actually be immortal and unchanging. Xeno, a member of the Red Rose, a group dedicated to hunting down and destroying Black Roses, helped Claudia figure out how to control her power, and ever since then she has idolized him. Unfortunately, the Red Roses may have a traitor in their midst, and there's a possibility that Xeno is connected somehow.
From what I can tell, this is Mochizuki's debut work. I could definitely see hints of Pandora Hearts in some of the character designs and story ideas. In Pandora Hearts, it all had room to grow (in theory, at least - I recall the anime leaving a lot of loose threads, and I never got far enough into the manga to find out whether those were ever tied up). Here, however, it's a lot, all crammed into a single volume.
Seriously, did Mochizuki go into this expecting it to be longer than a single volume? Because it sure seemed like it. There were many, many more characters than I had time to mention in my summary, all of whom could have spawned their own stories: a whole other Red Rose team (my favorite was withdrawn and awkward Les), Wilhelm the "Thorn of the Crimson Rose" (Claudia's bodyguard, whose position for some reason granted him some of her powers), a couple unnamed Black Roses with "you never know, I might be a prominent character one day" designs, and the missing creator of the seeds of the "Premier Rose" that started this whole mess. Even the ending seemed designed for more volumes, which, since there aren't any, meant that it was more than a little unsatisfying.
Despite my complaints, I actually thought this was surprisingly good for a one-shot. The world-building was interesting, if odd (did they have literal roses growing in their bodies?) and not exactly original (Black Roses = experimental weapons). I liked the character designs. I just wish there had been more time to actually get to know everybody. My vote for character with the most wasted potential is Wilhelm.
I'd recommend this to fans of Pandora Hearts who aren't ready to move on yet, or people who are intimidated by Pandora Hearts' length but still want to see what Mochizuki's work is like. It's like super condensed version of all of Pandora Hearts' tragedy, betrayal, and characters with fabulous clothing. Just be prepared for it to feel like there should be at least another volume or five.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Claudia is the only Crimson Rose known to exist. She has some of the same powers as Black Roses but none of the drawbacks. In fact, she may actually be immortal and unchanging. Xeno, a member of the Red Rose, a group dedicated to hunting down and destroying Black Roses, helped Claudia figure out how to control her power, and ever since then she has idolized him. Unfortunately, the Red Roses may have a traitor in their midst, and there's a possibility that Xeno is connected somehow.
From what I can tell, this is Mochizuki's debut work. I could definitely see hints of Pandora Hearts in some of the character designs and story ideas. In Pandora Hearts, it all had room to grow (in theory, at least - I recall the anime leaving a lot of loose threads, and I never got far enough into the manga to find out whether those were ever tied up). Here, however, it's a lot, all crammed into a single volume.
Seriously, did Mochizuki go into this expecting it to be longer than a single volume? Because it sure seemed like it. There were many, many more characters than I had time to mention in my summary, all of whom could have spawned their own stories: a whole other Red Rose team (my favorite was withdrawn and awkward Les), Wilhelm the "Thorn of the Crimson Rose" (Claudia's bodyguard, whose position for some reason granted him some of her powers), a couple unnamed Black Roses with "you never know, I might be a prominent character one day" designs, and the missing creator of the seeds of the "Premier Rose" that started this whole mess. Even the ending seemed designed for more volumes, which, since there aren't any, meant that it was more than a little unsatisfying.
Despite my complaints, I actually thought this was surprisingly good for a one-shot. The world-building was interesting, if odd (did they have literal roses growing in their bodies?) and not exactly original (Black Roses = experimental weapons). I liked the character designs. I just wish there had been more time to actually get to know everybody. My vote for character with the most wasted potential is Wilhelm.
I'd recommend this to fans of Pandora Hearts who aren't ready to move on yet, or people who are intimidated by Pandora Hearts' length but still want to see what Mochizuki's work is like. It's like super condensed version of all of Pandora Hearts' tragedy, betrayal, and characters with fabulous clothing. Just be prepared for it to feel like there should be at least another volume or five.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
February 1, 2013
Crimson Shell is a one volume manga by Pandora Hearts creator, Jun Mochizuki. Because Pandora Hearts is one of my favorite manga series, I was curious to read Mochizuki's earlier work in Crimson Shell.
There are a lot of similarities between the two stories. The first similarity is the design of the characters - that girl could easily be Alice on the cover. Not surprisingly, the art style is the same. What is surprising is that for a first manga publication (which this is, from what I've been able to learn), Crimson Shell is very solid, with nice background art, good flow between panels, and a strong emotional connection with the characters.
Where Crimson Shell struggles is with pacing. The story concept is interesting (and I can definitely see elements that were pulled for use in Pandora Hearts), but it isn't given enough time to fully develop. The result is a story that feels rushed and incomplete. I can't complain, though, if this is the sounding board for Mochizuki to experiment with character development and story ideas that enable her to create Pandora Hearts.
It's always fun to read a mangaka's earlier works. Sometimes you wonder how a mangaka can create something so amazing when her previous project was something so dreadfully dull (Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket vs Phantom Dream for example). In other cases, it's just interesting to see the natural progression of skill and maturity in a mangaka (like Julietta Suzuki - Karakuri Odette is a delightful series, but Kamisama Kiss, her current series, definitely has more polish). In Mochizuki's case, it's fun to see that she started off incredibly strong and has only gotten better. Recommended for Pandora Hearts fans.
There are a lot of similarities between the two stories. The first similarity is the design of the characters - that girl could easily be Alice on the cover. Not surprisingly, the art style is the same. What is surprising is that for a first manga publication (which this is, from what I've been able to learn), Crimson Shell is very solid, with nice background art, good flow between panels, and a strong emotional connection with the characters.
Where Crimson Shell struggles is with pacing. The story concept is interesting (and I can definitely see elements that were pulled for use in Pandora Hearts), but it isn't given enough time to fully develop. The result is a story that feels rushed and incomplete. I can't complain, though, if this is the sounding board for Mochizuki to experiment with character development and story ideas that enable her to create Pandora Hearts.
It's always fun to read a mangaka's earlier works. Sometimes you wonder how a mangaka can create something so amazing when her previous project was something so dreadfully dull (Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket vs Phantom Dream for example). In other cases, it's just interesting to see the natural progression of skill and maturity in a mangaka (like Julietta Suzuki - Karakuri Odette is a delightful series, but Kamisama Kiss, her current series, definitely has more polish). In Mochizuki's case, it's fun to see that she started off incredibly strong and has only gotten better. Recommended for Pandora Hearts fans.
August 20, 2017
I am now even more worried about Noe and Vanatas.
April 17, 2014
This was pretty good. I wish it were a series, because I think there's a lot to expand upon.
The only complaint I really have is how rushed it is. Little is explained, and what is explained has such a sloppy explanation (probably do to page constraints) that it's hard to understand. It's like Mochizuki-sensei tried to cram a three or four book series into one book.
I would've liked to see more, since there's a lot of promise for this.
The only complaint I really have is how rushed it is. Little is explained, and what is explained has such a sloppy explanation (probably do to page constraints) that it's hard to understand. It's like Mochizuki-sensei tried to cram a three or four book series into one book.
I would've liked to see more, since there's a lot of promise for this.
June 18, 2020
Notable to me for being the best one-shot manga I've read thus far, Crimson Shell is nonetheless a story weighed down by missed opportunities and the limitations of its short format. Much of the worldbuilding is presented without context in the form of monologue infodumps, so that apart from a vague Victorian British real-world setting, we don't get much of an idea of who the two factions are or what ideals they represent. This would be acceptable for such a character-driven work if the characters themselves were fleshed out beyond their initial characterizations. Unfortunately, the only character who receives any real development is Claudia, and that development is marred by sudden panel-to-panel shifts between her vulnerable tsundere side and her powerful, confident witch side, which are presented with little rhyme or reason beyond the requirements of a particular panel.
All of that being said, Crimson Shell does provide a solid glimpse into Mochizuki-sensei's gothic style, atmospheric presentation, and penchant for lean plots in which every panel matters. Crimson Shell is a quick read not only because it's short, but because there is incredibly little filler, even for the sake of character development. Its plot is internally consistent and paced exceptionally well, which helps to hide how jarring the plot twists can sometimes be, since the reader doesn't really have time to consider whether a given twist was earned before the next development comes racing at him.
Normally, I don't recommend manga with such mediocre scores, but in this case I think Crimson Shell is worth a read if you're looking for something short and fast-paced, or if you are interested in Mochizuki-sensei's work but don't want to invest the time or money to get into one of her later, more polished series just yet.
All of that being said, Crimson Shell does provide a solid glimpse into Mochizuki-sensei's gothic style, atmospheric presentation, and penchant for lean plots in which every panel matters. Crimson Shell is a quick read not only because it's short, but because there is incredibly little filler, even for the sake of character development. Its plot is internally consistent and paced exceptionally well, which helps to hide how jarring the plot twists can sometimes be, since the reader doesn't really have time to consider whether a given twist was earned before the next development comes racing at him.
Normally, I don't recommend manga with such mediocre scores, but in this case I think Crimson Shell is worth a read if you're looking for something short and fast-paced, or if you are interested in Mochizuki-sensei's work but don't want to invest the time or money to get into one of her later, more polished series just yet.
March 18, 2023
3.5/5 rounded up to 4.
One summer during my middle school years I blazed through 20 of the 24 volumes of Jun Mochizuki's most famous work Pandora Hearts. While I remember very little of it, I remember it well for Jun's amazing interconnectedness. Her world building had every connected together so well. Her character's had deep and overlapping dynamics and relationships. And everything in her complicated story has each subplot playing into other subplots to create a strong narrative. You can see all of that as well in her debut work Crimson Shell.
As a debut work this is a great piece to study a creator's strengths in its rawest form. You can see that interconnectedness create such a great, thought-out, concise story. But you can also see some of Jun's weaknesses in its rawest form as well. You can see the complicatedness being a bit too much and her penchant for symbolic purple-prose is both nice but also a bit heavy-handed. You can also see some newbie issues that like too many artistic shortcuts (characters being place dos far away so details aren't needed, people missing an eye, etc.), a lack of backgrounds, and a bit difficult to read composition.
But Jun's strengths just blow those issues out of the way. She sets out to make a concise and gripping story and she manages to do just that. Her weaknesses don't undermine her strengths at all. Her story is fully realized and while some issues go awhile before being explained by the end all of the bits of world-building makes sense. That being said Jun's love of complicated plots and complicated group and character dynamics do feel a bit much considering the length. It causes the story to be very fast with constant cuts from scene to scene with little breathing space. But it's also hard to complain about that due to just how great the manga is and considering this is her debut piece.
Overall, it's a great piece but it is a debut piece meaning some newbie issues crop up and some of the mangaka's weakenesses are a bit too on display. But eve early on Jun's wonderful authorship shines through!
One summer during my middle school years I blazed through 20 of the 24 volumes of Jun Mochizuki's most famous work Pandora Hearts. While I remember very little of it, I remember it well for Jun's amazing interconnectedness. Her world building had every connected together so well. Her character's had deep and overlapping dynamics and relationships. And everything in her complicated story has each subplot playing into other subplots to create a strong narrative. You can see all of that as well in her debut work Crimson Shell.
As a debut work this is a great piece to study a creator's strengths in its rawest form. You can see that interconnectedness create such a great, thought-out, concise story. But you can also see some of Jun's weaknesses in its rawest form as well. You can see the complicatedness being a bit too much and her penchant for symbolic purple-prose is both nice but also a bit heavy-handed. You can also see some newbie issues that like too many artistic shortcuts (characters being place dos far away so details aren't needed, people missing an eye, etc.), a lack of backgrounds, and a bit difficult to read composition.
But Jun's strengths just blow those issues out of the way. She sets out to make a concise and gripping story and she manages to do just that. Her weaknesses don't undermine her strengths at all. Her story is fully realized and while some issues go awhile before being explained by the end all of the bits of world-building makes sense. That being said Jun's love of complicated plots and complicated group and character dynamics do feel a bit much considering the length. It causes the story to be very fast with constant cuts from scene to scene with little breathing space. But it's also hard to complain about that due to just how great the manga is and considering this is her debut piece.
Overall, it's a great piece but it is a debut piece meaning some newbie issues crop up and some of the mangaka's weakenesses are a bit too on display. But eve early on Jun's wonderful authorship shines through!
December 14, 2017
An exquisitely dark steampunk fantasy drawn in the romantic shoujo ai style of Jun Mochizuki, which evokes dolls, toys, fairytales, and magic.
The theme and plot grows from the concept of roses being people with special powers. Many of these people are in the Crimsell Shell Organization which supports and controls Claudia, its Rose Witch. Outside the organization are the Black Roses, who hunt her.
Not all of her enemies are outside. Someone within Crimson Shell is a traitor. Someone is out to get Claudia. This enemy is revealed, breaking Claudia’s heart, forcing her to draw on reserves of inner strength, while she discovered how much more complicated her betrayal is than it appears on the surface.
The plot involves a deepening mystery of magic and suspense, punctuated by moments of humor and character driven quirkiness. For a single volume, this manga delivered a stunning amount of development and depth, ending in tragedy, yet the sadness contains a note of hopeful bravery which is inspiring.
If you want a taste of Mochizuki-sensei can deliver in her beautiful stories, I recommend you check this out.
The theme and plot grows from the concept of roses being people with special powers. Many of these people are in the Crimsell Shell Organization which supports and controls Claudia, its Rose Witch. Outside the organization are the Black Roses, who hunt her.
Not all of her enemies are outside. Someone within Crimson Shell is a traitor. Someone is out to get Claudia. This enemy is revealed, breaking Claudia’s heart, forcing her to draw on reserves of inner strength, while she discovered how much more complicated her betrayal is than it appears on the surface.
The plot involves a deepening mystery of magic and suspense, punctuated by moments of humor and character driven quirkiness. For a single volume, this manga delivered a stunning amount of development and depth, ending in tragedy, yet the sadness contains a note of hopeful bravery which is inspiring.
If you want a taste of Mochizuki-sensei can deliver in her beautiful stories, I recommend you check this out.
March 3, 2022
El manga debut de Jun Mochizuki era de mis mayores pendientes y por fin lo leo.
A ver, estoy frustrada con esta historia porque me gustó mucho y su problema es que es un one shot, siento que tenía mucho para dar al igual que las otras obras de la mangaka, pero al ser un one shot no se pudo desarrollar.
Tiene varias similitudes con Pandora hearts, como en el diseño de personaje, que hay una organización, etc, pero a pesar de eso tenía su propia historia, la idea de las semillas de la primera rosa es muy interesante, también tiene varios personajes que me hubiera gustado conocer, pero por ser tan corto se vieron por encima y de todas formas tuvo sus giros que me sorprendieron como siempre.
La historia tenía potencial para ser una gran historia como los otros mangas de la autora, ojalá la hubiera desarrollo.
A ver, estoy frustrada con esta historia porque me gustó mucho y su problema es que es un one shot, siento que tenía mucho para dar al igual que las otras obras de la mangaka, pero al ser un one shot no se pudo desarrollar.
Tiene varias similitudes con Pandora hearts, como en el diseño de personaje, que hay una organización, etc, pero a pesar de eso tenía su propia historia, la idea de las semillas de la primera rosa es muy interesante, también tiene varios personajes que me hubiera gustado conocer, pero por ser tan corto se vieron por encima y de todas formas tuvo sus giros que me sorprendieron como siempre.
La historia tenía potencial para ser una gran historia como los otros mangas de la autora, ojalá la hubiera desarrollo.
August 30, 2018
Crimson Shell is the debut manga for the talented Jun Mochizuki. It demonstrates just how good she is at plot twists that you don't actually expect to be coming.
I enjoyed every moment of this single volume series but wish that it was longer. My favorite character ended up Wilhelm, a sort of bodyguard character with very questionable personality resemblance to two later characters for Pandora Hearts, Vincent Nightray/Baskerville and Xerxes Break/Kevin Regnard.
Mochizuki knows how to pull the reader into the narrative and make them second-guess themselves without compromising the story. If you are a fan of Pandora Hearts or The Case Study of Vanitas, why not give her debut series a read as well?
I enjoyed every moment of this single volume series but wish that it was longer. My favorite character ended up Wilhelm, a sort of bodyguard character with very questionable personality resemblance to two later characters for Pandora Hearts, Vincent Nightray/Baskerville and Xerxes Break/Kevin Regnard.
Mochizuki knows how to pull the reader into the narrative and make them second-guess themselves without compromising the story. If you are a fan of Pandora Hearts or The Case Study of Vanitas, why not give her debut series a read as well?
July 18, 2018
Jun Mochizuki's never fails to impress, even with her debut manga volume. I love both Pandora Hearts and The Case Study of Vanitas, so it came as no surprise that this would be great. The plot was full of unexpected twists and turns and an interesting magic system. My only qualm is its length. The world and characters weren't fleshed out enough for it to be a 5 star read. The ending was pretty open-ended, but in a good way. It keeps you guessing what could possibly happen next in this world without really needing any concrete answers. If you enjoyed any of Mochizuki's other works, this is not one to miss!
December 8, 2019
3.5 stars.
I always found myself wishing this had been more than one volume. I understood it was a one-shot. However, that's why I'm deducting a star -- because it doesn't feel like a one-shot. It feels like a prequel to a bigger story, one we won't ever get. There were still some questions I had after finishing it and the ending doesn't feel like any sense of closure, it feel more like a cliffhanger of sorts that promises more. Nonetheless, this is still something I enjoyed and the ending did succeed in ripping my heart out, so bonus points there.
I always found myself wishing this had been more than one volume. I understood it was a one-shot. However, that's why I'm deducting a star -- because it doesn't feel like a one-shot. It feels like a prequel to a bigger story, one we won't ever get. There were still some questions I had after finishing it and the ending doesn't feel like any sense of closure, it feel more like a cliffhanger of sorts that promises more. Nonetheless, this is still something I enjoyed and the ending did succeed in ripping my heart out, so bonus points there.
May 28, 2022
I bought this one back 2010 😄 unpacked it from a box and I can honestly say that I still enjoyed reading it.
It’s sadly a one shot. Definitely could have been at least a book or two longer. Even though it’s a one shot the characters had quite a bit of depth to them. The plot and story was engaging. And the art is gorgeous.
If you’ve read any of Jun Mochizuki’s other works then you’d most likely love this one too. It’s an earlier work so the arts not as defined but it’s super cool to see the growth from this one to The Case Study of Vanitas 😃
It’s sadly a one shot. Definitely could have been at least a book or two longer. Even though it’s a one shot the characters had quite a bit of depth to them. The plot and story was engaging. And the art is gorgeous.
If you’ve read any of Jun Mochizuki’s other works then you’d most likely love this one too. It’s an earlier work so the arts not as defined but it’s super cool to see the growth from this one to The Case Study of Vanitas 😃
December 26, 2025
As a fan of PandoraHearts (favorite manga of all time), it was nice to see what came before it. This only has 1 volume/6 chapters, and I can see some of the character designs are similar to PandoraHearts. In this, Ruskin and Baines looked similar to Oscar. And Wilhelm was giving me vibes similar to Vincent...(I'm not a fan of Vincent...) Claudia also looks like Alice.
The plot twists were a bit sudden and all over the place. I can see why this was cut short because of the fast pacing and info-dumping. I think it could've done well if it was paced a little slower. The potential is there.
The plot twists were a bit sudden and all over the place. I can see why this was cut short because of the fast pacing and info-dumping. I think it could've done well if it was paced a little slower. The potential is there.
June 14, 2023
Podría tener un 5 si se hubiera creado para ser algo más que un one-shot porque tiene potencial para desarrollar una historia más grande, y eso me da penita!! Me habría enamorado de mucha gente.......
July 20, 2019
So fun to see Pandora Hearts elements in a different context, with a story that's really good for a oneshot.
December 21, 2020
Pretty good one volume manga, love the art and would’ve been a good series 😁😻👌
May 26, 2021
Plot - 5 ⭐
Character - 5 ⭐
Writing Style - 5 ⭐
World Building - 5 ⭐
Art - 5 ⭐
Cover - 5 ⭐
Overall - 5 ⭐
Character - 5 ⭐
Writing Style - 5 ⭐
World Building - 5 ⭐
Art - 5 ⭐
Cover - 5 ⭐
Overall - 5 ⭐
July 10, 2021
It was decent but then it was GOOD, you know? Lots of feels I was surprised to be put through in that second half.
December 11, 2021
J'ai beaucoup trop de question par rapport à la fin, beaucoup de choses reste flou mais à part ça c'est un très bon panga, j'ai adoré ^^
October 4, 2022
Un manga qui annonce bien les prémices et futurs projets de l'auteur ! On sent que c'est le début mais aussi un intérêt pour le développement d'une intrigue complexe. Hâte de lire Pandora Hearts
Read
December 30, 2022While you can see the roots of themes and characters that Mochizuki would use later on in Pandora Hearts, this first work is SO BAD, but at least it's laughably bad.
July 11, 2023
Still a great one shot in my opinion. I missed this story and its pretty art work :3
December 5, 2023
Truly impressive for a one shot! 4.5 rounded down because the short length left me in want of answers and more thorough world-building.
December 13, 2023
Zu gut leider nur ein oneshot
January 1, 2024
It was alright. It was kind of all over the place, I think I would have understood better if it was a longer series so that we could really explore that world and its lore.
January 28, 2022
I read Crimson-Shell in the middle of reading Pandora Hearts (by the same author), and while I enjoyed it a lot, it was very rushed.
Crimson-Shell was originally published by Square Enix in Monthly GFantasy, before it stopped after 6 chapters. I honestly don't know if Jun Mochizuki's first manga was either cancelled due to low readership, or if Mochizuki chose to end it. The story is rushed to no end, and I felt like it went by too quickly.
"But why 4 stars?", you might ask. Well, that's because Mochizuki's art is amazing. The art fits the tone very well and while she has improved in art afterwards, the art in Crimson-Shell is still great and makes this worth at least a reserve from the library.
7.5 out of 10.
Crimson-Shell was originally published by Square Enix in Monthly GFantasy, before it stopped after 6 chapters. I honestly don't know if Jun Mochizuki's first manga was either cancelled due to low readership, or if Mochizuki chose to end it. The story is rushed to no end, and I felt like it went by too quickly.
"But why 4 stars?", you might ask. Well, that's because Mochizuki's art is amazing. The art fits the tone very well and while she has improved in art afterwards, the art in Crimson-Shell is still great and makes this worth at least a reserve from the library.
7.5 out of 10.
November 22, 2012
Rescued from the darkness by Xeno, a mysterious swordsman, Claudia the Rose Witch is the foundation of the Crimson-Shell, a special division of the Red Rose-an organization aiming to capture the results of one mad scientist's experiments, the deadly Black Roses. But when Xeno's loyalties are called into question, will Claudia be strong enough to believe in her dearest friend? And what is the color of the rose blooming in Xeno's heart-a deep, passionate crimson...or a traitorous jet-black?
This was one of the first manga I have ever read and I loved every single second of reading it! The characters are all very well made-you just cannot help but love them! Their personalities were all very different from each other, so I did not feel like everyone was the same. The villains in my opinon were also just as good as the good guys. They actually had a good reason to do the wrong thing and be the bad guys-I will not tell you the reason as that would be a spoiler. I just loved Claudia! She was not weak and she fought for the people she cared about and was not just a damsel in distress. The plot was just awesome and creative. What I really liked about this is that there is no other setting than the Crimson Shell headquarters. All the battles are in the headquarters, all the conversations, and all the investigating-everything is in the headquarters. I personally thought that was kind of cool because Crimson Shell IS the story and Crimson Shell IS the plot. The whole story is about the Crimson Shell and all of it's very adorably awesome characters. The relationship between Xeno and Claudia was very sweet and cute. I thought of it more as a brother-sister relationship than a couple relationship. The ending was pretty good to. There were alot of questions to be answered but I was pretty satisfied. I loved the open ending because I could decide the fate of all the characters myself-which is what I think Jun Mochizuki was going for. The art was wonderful! The characters all looked very different from eachother so I was not guessing who I was looking at the whole time. The backgrounds were pretty good to. I was very happy to have found out about this manga-and Jun Mochizuki's other work Pandora Hearts.
You can find this review at my blog: LaLovelyStories.wordpress.com
This was one of the first manga I have ever read and I loved every single second of reading it! The characters are all very well made-you just cannot help but love them! Their personalities were all very different from each other, so I did not feel like everyone was the same. The villains in my opinon were also just as good as the good guys. They actually had a good reason to do the wrong thing and be the bad guys-I will not tell you the reason as that would be a spoiler. I just loved Claudia! She was not weak and she fought for the people she cared about and was not just a damsel in distress. The plot was just awesome and creative. What I really liked about this is that there is no other setting than the Crimson Shell headquarters. All the battles are in the headquarters, all the conversations, and all the investigating-everything is in the headquarters. I personally thought that was kind of cool because Crimson Shell IS the story and Crimson Shell IS the plot. The whole story is about the Crimson Shell and all of it's very adorably awesome characters. The relationship between Xeno and Claudia was very sweet and cute. I thought of it more as a brother-sister relationship than a couple relationship. The ending was pretty good to. There were alot of questions to be answered but I was pretty satisfied. I loved the open ending because I could decide the fate of all the characters myself-which is what I think Jun Mochizuki was going for. The art was wonderful! The characters all looked very different from eachother so I was not guessing who I was looking at the whole time. The backgrounds were pretty good to. I was very happy to have found out about this manga-and Jun Mochizuki's other work Pandora Hearts.
You can find this review at my blog: LaLovelyStories.wordpress.com
October 8, 2025
Crimson Shell is basically everything that Jun Mochizuki has ever written put into one 200 paged story and it's a fucking mess.
I can recognize so many connections between this and Pandora Hearts, and even The Case Study of Vanitas to a lesser extent. You have the ridiculously high-concept worldbuilding, the absolute bat-shit twist that comes at the very end, a complete mind-fuck of a plot, all on top of like twenty different characters that are barely introduced and you kind of just have to piece together who they are on your own. Now, Pandora Hearts is also a complete mind-fuck with all of these attributes, but it works well because it gets 24 volumes to tell its story, which is roughly 4,700 pages. Crimson Shell gets 220 pages. This is not enough.
Pandora Hearts tied up every loose end and left no questions. With Crimson Shell, I'm left with nothing but questions. How did this conflict even start? What is the rest of the world like? What are even half of these characters' motivations? Not to mention that the twist villain is revealed so late in the story that you barely have time to process it. The thing about PH's twist villain is that they are revealed at the absolutely perfect time, about 2/3 of the way through the series. This gives the readers enough time to grow attached to their character in order to be shocked at the twist, while also giving you enough time after the twist to fully acclimate to their new role, and learn their motivations, plans, etc. Crimson Shell is Jun Mochizuki on hyperdrive, except it also drove into a tree.
I think Crimson Shell is good. I like it. I will love anything that Jun Mochizuki writes. But I do think this one shot is proof of two things: 1) Jun Mochizuki is an extremely talented writer with a debut that's honestly better than a lot of manga series I've read, and 2) Jun Mochizuki absolutely needs a full series to write her stories, because one volume is so condensed it genuinely kind of hurts your brain to read it.
Also yes I noticed the two black and white stuffed rabbits on page 75 lmao.
I can recognize so many connections between this and Pandora Hearts, and even The Case Study of Vanitas to a lesser extent. You have the ridiculously high-concept worldbuilding, the absolute bat-shit twist that comes at the very end, a complete mind-fuck of a plot, all on top of like twenty different characters that are barely introduced and you kind of just have to piece together who they are on your own. Now, Pandora Hearts is also a complete mind-fuck with all of these attributes, but it works well because it gets 24 volumes to tell its story, which is roughly 4,700 pages. Crimson Shell gets 220 pages. This is not enough.
Pandora Hearts tied up every loose end and left no questions. With Crimson Shell, I'm left with nothing but questions. How did this conflict even start? What is the rest of the world like? What are even half of these characters' motivations? Not to mention that the twist villain is revealed so late in the story that you barely have time to process it. The thing about PH's twist villain is that they are revealed at the absolutely perfect time, about 2/3 of the way through the series. This gives the readers enough time to grow attached to their character in order to be shocked at the twist, while also giving you enough time after the twist to fully acclimate to their new role, and learn their motivations, plans, etc. Crimson Shell is Jun Mochizuki on hyperdrive, except it also drove into a tree.
I think Crimson Shell is good. I like it. I will love anything that Jun Mochizuki writes. But I do think this one shot is proof of two things: 1) Jun Mochizuki is an extremely talented writer with a debut that's honestly better than a lot of manga series I've read, and 2) Jun Mochizuki absolutely needs a full series to write her stories, because one volume is so condensed it genuinely kind of hurts your brain to read it.
Also yes I noticed the two black and white stuffed rabbits on page 75 lmao.
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