Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn (Japanese: 紅殻のパンドラ, Hepburn: Kōkaku no Pandora) is a Japanese manga series based on a concept by Masamune Shirow, with designs and editorial contributions by Shirow in every collected tankōbon volume, and written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō and Rin Hitotose. 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.
The series was conceived as an effort to officially merge the already connected universes of Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell, with the long-stalled GLITCH WITCH envisioned as the second half of that story.
Contents
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 task, it is up to them to complete their goal, or risk getting their friendship destroyed in the process.
Characters
Nene Nanakorobi (七転 福音, Nanakorobi Nene)
Voiced by: Sanae Fuku (Japanese); Megan Shipman (English)
A cyborg whose whole body is artificial. She comes to Cenancle to live with her aunt. Before her conversion into a cyborg, Nene was a normal young girl who came down with an incurable sickness. The only way to save her was to become the world's first full conversion cyborg. By placing her fingers inside Clarion's body, she is able to use the Pandora Device, which allows her to master any skill for a short period of time. These range from wielding firearms to cookery. She is also able to transfer her brain between different artificial bodies.
Clarion (クラリオン, Kurarion)
Voiced by: Manami Numakura (Japanese); Lara Woodhull (English)
Uzal's companion, who is a combat android, disguising as a full-body cyborg. Her body holds the Pandora Device, which temporarily grants Nene enhanced abilities. She is a skilled fighter who often finds herself at the mercy of Nene's admiration and hates having her cat-like ears touched.
Uzal Delilah (ウザル・デリラ, Uzaru Derira)
Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
A wealthy inventor who manipulates Nene into working with Clarion to solve the mystery behind the attack. She also goes by the name Sahar Schehera (サハル・セヘラ, Saharu Sehera).
B.U.E.R. (Base of Unearthed Resources) (ブエル (中枢制御装置), Bueru (Chūsū Seigyo Sōchi))
Voiced by: Junpei Morita (Japanese); Sonny Strait (English)
A giant boring robot owned by Uzal's company that possesses a giant laser. While its main body resembles a giant eyeball, its Central Nervous Unit, which detaches itself after the main body is shut down, takes the form a gentlemanly but perverted lion-esque creature with five legs. He tends to be injured by Clarion when acting perverted, or locked in a safe-box to stop Takumi from disassembling and analyzing him, but the darkness traumatizes him.
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. This production system changed starting with volume 9 due to the declining health of Kōshi Rikudō, who continued to handle only the scripts and panel composition. His main assistant, Rin Hitotose, took over the interior artwork entirely. Beginning with the following volume, the US release credits the production as: Original Story: Masamune Shirow; Manga: Kōshi Rikudō; Art: Rin Hitotose. 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 within its 24th volume, released in February 2023 and 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.
GLITCH WITCH, written and character-designed by Masamune Shirow, with art by Naoki Azuma, began publication on Young Magazine Web in 2026 and continues the overarching P2501 (the Puppet Master) storyline.
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" (ルーズコントロール, Rūzu Kontorōru) 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.