Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn


Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn is a Japanese manga based on a concept by Masamune Shirow and written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō. The manga began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype Ace magazine in October 2012, later moving to the Niconico Ace web publication, and ended in September 2024. It is licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime adaptation has been produced by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ. It was first released as a film in theaters in December 2015. It aired as a television series between 8 January and 25 March 2016.

Plot

Nene Nanakorobi, a full conversion cyborg, dreams of attaining world peace. She is traveling on a cruise ship towards Cenacle, a scenic artificial island when she meets Uzal Delilah, an eccentric scientist. The two become fast friends along with Uzal's cyborg pet Clarion, a cat-like combat android, who Nene immediately takes a liking to.
After they part ways, a terrorist attack of unknown origin threatens to shatter Nene and Clarion's friendship. In a desperate attempt to save her new friend, Uzal gives Nene the ability to use a device known as the Pandora Device, which is found inside Clarion's body. This allows Nene to master skills and abilities unlike anything seen before in the advancing world.
Working together, Nene and Clarion partake in various missions—from saving children caught in shopping mall fires to fighting reckless criminals—all for the sake of world peace. But achieving this goal is not going to be easy. B.U.E.R., a sapient robot in the form of a five-legged lion-esque figure, threatens to turn their life upside down with his perverted nature and uncontrollable power. To make matters worse, Nene's guardian and genius scientist, Takumi Korobase, has an undying interest in B.U.E.R.
Torn between saving the world and keeping B.U.E.R. out of the wrong hands, Nene and Clarion's goal of achieving world peace seems like a pipe dream. With this Herculean task, it is up to them to complete their goal, or risk getting their friendship destroyed in the process.

Characters

; Nene Nanakorobi
; Clarion
; Uzal Delilah
; B.U.E.R.
; Takumi Korobase
; Vlind** *
; Bunny
; Robert Altman
; Ian Kurtz
; Amy Gilliam
; Anna
; Proserpina
;Dr. Toto
; Nurse Samantha
; Janus North

Media

Manga

The manga, written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō and based on a concept by Masamune Shirow, began publication in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype Ace magazine on 10 October 2012. When Newtype Ace ceased publication on 10 July 2013, the series was transferred to Kadokawa's Niconico Ace website, where it resumed publication on 17 September. The series entered its final arc with the release of its 24th volume in February 2023. The series ended on 20 September 2024. Kadokawa collected the series in 26 volumes, published from 7 March 2013, to 9 November 2024. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the series for publication in North America.

Anime

An anime adaptation by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ was announced in Kadokawa's Gundam Ace magazine in October 2015. The anime is directed by Munenori Nawa and written by Tatsuya Takahashi, with character designs by Takuya Tani. The anime was first released as a film, which received a limited two-week theatrical release starting on 5 December 2015, before airing as a television series on Tokyo MX between 8 January 2016 and 25 March 2016. The opening theme is "hopeness" by Zaq, while the ending theme song is "LoSe±CoNtRoL" performed by Sanae Fuku and Manami Numakura. The series is licensed in North America by Funimation, which simulcast the subtitled version as it aired and streamed a broadcast dub version from 12 February 2016, and in Australia by Madman Entertainment, which are streaming the series on AnimeLab.