Godchild

Author: Kaori Yuki

Summary: Deep in the heart of 19th century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society into which he was born. Forced to become an earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old half sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.

My Review: I’ve never done this before, read a series backwards. So with Godchild, I read it’s 8 volumes before The Cain Saga’s 5, which was supposed to come first. So with this backwardness, I think Godchild made sense on it’s own, and don’t bother picking up the other. It’s not worth it. Funny thing is, I’m not certain if Godchild is really worth it, either. It’s just... Weird.

This is one of those series I found while searching for manga similar to others I’d enjoyed. I’ve heard it said this is the copy off that Black Butler followed after. In character similarities, kinda, in plot, no, not really. They are two completely different series and while I’ll admit you may feel deja vu in some cases, the artwork style, characters, and various plot twists are all their own.

Cain, Earl of the Hargreaves family, is constantly thrust from volume to volume in mini excursions, somehow becoming involved in plot after plot of murder and intrigue, with various nursery rhyme themes that drove me crazy with unoriginality. Tagging along constantly his his butler, Riff, and occasionally his half sister, Mary Weather.

Art: The art really was nothing to right home about. There were occasionally panels where you could tell alot of work went into it. And then there were others where, well... Not so. I like sharpness in my manga reading, and that was something that really wasn't very consistent in this series. Though with those rare instances where it was nice looking, those were some of the few reasons why I gave it such a high rating.

Characters: While the main cast of characters was easy to follow along after, I never felt like we ever connected with them. Plus there's so many others thrown in randomly and it's such a short series that I feel it should have been longer to better develop character qualities and relationships. I must say that I found Mary Weather a bit annoying, and found the master-butler relationship a bit overdone.

Plot: I can't decide if this plot was original or not since it technically skips all over the place. I hate to sound like I'm trashing this series, because I really don't mean to, but I have read better. I've also read worse, so while I did over all give it 4 four stars, I probably could go back and give some volumes only three, since it truly wasn't all that great. I probably could better review this, but I don't feel like devoting the time. Over all, it was so-so...

Disclaimers: It’s rather violent, with a few instances of sensuality, and is therefore labeled as an adult manga. Only volume 4 has the “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content” label, though I’m not sure why, exactly... It’s prequel series, The Cain Saga, (which I ended up reading second) definitely deserved this warning, but I wouldn’t say there was anything that terribly wrong with Godchild. The Cain Saga was disturbing. Godchild was just weird... Enough said. I don’t remember too much language but it was present, that I’m certain. There’s some disturbing qualities about a select few of the characters, what with multiple personalities and abusive childhoods. We’ve also got an “insane” doctor wielding a scalpel every time he encounters something that he wants to dissect, expescially Cain’s eyes. Which, sadly, I found more amusing rather than disturbing... =P

Favorite Character: I don't know, really...

Favorite Quote: N/A

Recommended: Older teens & up

Over-all Rating: ★★★★☆

~ Darkitty

***Next week: The Bride of the Water God & The Cain Saga***