God Child

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I only recommend if for those sick people who can stomach the convulted, twisted, vile nature of humanity and still think its one helluva story.

Well then, hello you sick people, this is your manga.

Story:
Basically Godchild (first started in the Cain Saga) is the story of the Earl Cain, a posion collection, who is a noble of the prestigious English family, and finds himself investigating strings of murders involving serious psychologically distrubed people (seriously, they are MESSED UP) in the current decaying society which is London. As the story progresses he begins to find a pattern in these cases all connected to a ... organization with dark intentions known as Delilah, who dabbles in the occult. Not only that but he finds out that the organization is run by a person from his past whom he thought was dead...

Art:
Gourgeous, gourgeous, gorgeous. You can tell just by looking at each page, that everything, even just a characters head must've taken forever. Kaori Yuki draws absolutly amazing clothing and the detail she and her assistants take is just amazing, and she draws BACKGROUNDS (yes, its true) which tend to be very beautiful in their arcitecture and even in everyday around-the-house items are drawn very well.

Character: Flat is NOT at all what you'd call Kaori Yuki's characters. Good and evil alike they all each have their goals and intentions. Plus, its really easy to get drawn in by the series' main character, Cain who has a cool, dignified allure, that even if he generally seems to wave off others, he is kickin' sweet. For some reason he reminds me of L of Death Note, cool and calculating.

Enjoyment: Heck, I love it.

Overall: If you cannot handle baby-killers, human experiments, taboo relationships, and crazy women who sew people into dolls. Well how about Fruits Basket instead? But really, the dark tone of manga is really captivating, and it gets the reader really involved in the story, if you are a lover of the supernatural, psychological, and the mysterious. Reaad

I absolutely love this series (and of course, The Cain Saga). I love Kaori Yuki's artwork, and the relationships she constructs between characters is always so involved, complex, and at time twisted. But..it always works out because the feelings of the characters are real. Very very real.

Plus, who doesn't like the feel and look of Victorian London? Who hasn't wondered about the perversive nature of fairy tales and Mother Goose tales? And the chapter titles were so appropriate for the setting of the manga, I can tell Kaori-sama put a lot of research in this.

The ... ending was heartbreaking and perfect at the same time. I remember reading in her side notes that a different ending was thought of, but I don't think anything could have been better than what was published. I'm felt it not only emotionally, but physically too.

This is truly a masterpiece, and a must read for anyone regardless of their main interests of genre.

Kaori Yuki proved, with this manga, that she is a master story teller. Her characters are so 3-dimensional, it's hard to dislike any of them. I was also amazed by the amount of plot that she was able to squeeze into only 8 volumes without any of it seeming rushed. And the art is (of course) beautifull. However, the main reason this is one of my favorite mangas, is all because of how it ended. It has, in my opinion, the best ending I've ever read or seen in any anime.

I'm pretty new to the whole manga/anime scene, but despite that, I'm an avid reader and Godchild holds its own against my favorite novels. And honestly, I wish more novels were like this.

Story:
This is definitely a mature story, and not for people who are rubbed the wrong way by messed up family dynamic and "interesting" relationships. That having been said, Godchild has the right balance of disturbing, so it's just enough to give the story a healthy dose of macabre, but not enough to be excessive or ridiculous. It's full of twists and surprises, and I really mean surprises, not the kind that try ... to be surprising but never really succeed. There were many times I found myself thinking "WHAT THE" as I was reading this.

Art:
Woooowwww is all I have to say. Kaori Yuki really knows her stuff. Not only were the backgrounds, clothes, and character design all incredible, but you really get a sense of the raw emotion coming from each character, which I assume is hard to achieve. The art was easy to follow, and there were very, very few spots where things got a bit confusing.

Characters:
Incredible. There weren't really any completely original characters going on here. You've got the tortured but noble and intelligent main character, the loyal servant, the innocent and lovable little sister, the lighthearted best friend, and a handful of villains doing evil things. Even so, Kaori Yuki takes these otherwise generic characters and molds them into something really unique. The villains weren't just walking around killing people and going "MWUAHAHA" and the good guys weren't just acting high and mighty and perfect. Plus who DOESN'T like a gorgeous and tortured main character? ;)

Enjoyment:
Oh, so much enjoyment. By the first chapter, I was already hooked. I even endured staying up until four in the morning with a massive headache to keep reading this. Once it was over, I found myself wishing for 100 more chapters. I can't even begin to explain how enjoyable this was to read.

Overall:
I'm a pretty big fan of anything dark and Victorian, but even if that really isn't your thing, I'd be surprised if you don't love this. I stumbled upon this manga when I was simply looking for a nice horror story to spend my night reading, so I really wasn't expecting the pure amazingness that is Godchild. This story is haunting, tragic, beautiful, and completely mesmerizing. I can't wait to start my next Kaori Yuki manga.

God Child is a rare gem that I had the fortune to come upon.
This manga may be shoujo, but don't be misled due to that. It's nothing like flowery high school romances with dimwitted main heroines. It explores the dark side of the human heart very well. Whether it be envy, loneliness, obsessive love or such.
The best thing is that the characters and their feelings are so real. It is impossible to think that they are mere drawings when such emotions have been weaved within. Whether it is a villain or the protagonist, none of their actions are carried out with no reason. ... There is a motivation behind each and everyone of them, be it for love or belonging.
The only thing I have to complain about is that it was so good I had hoped it would go on longer. The ending was truly heartbreaking and yet beautiful at the same time.
This manga has gotten me wrecked up and emotional in the course of the hours spent reading it, something that any manga has not done for a while. A true masterpiece indeed.

Godchild is a manga gothic mystery series set in Victorian London. This emotionally driven story focuses on a nobleman Cain Hargreaves, who only recently becomes an heir under suspicious circumstances after his father, the previous lord’s “death”. He solves various mysterious crimes that suddenly seems to happen whenever he is around.

To the public, Cain Hargreaves is a playboy and carefree lord with a lot of women trying to woo him. But behind this carefree mask, lies a sad, dark brooding and somewhat tragic figure. The newly minted Lord Hargreaves is the illegitimate spawn of a nobleman and his sister. He was abused by family ... members as a child and this has left him emotionally stunted and suspicious. The only person close to him is his butler Riff. His bizarre fascination with poison makes him an eccentric to the posh nobility around him.

There is a lot of interesting character dynamics and interactions between Cain Hargreaves and Riff. Riff takes very good care of Cain and the two share a special bond. Cain is extremely reliant on Riff and he is the only one sees Cain’s scars and can touch them. Riff on the other hand has nothing but respect and kindness for his eternal master.

Another notable relationship in the story is Cain’s overprotective relationship with his alleged half sister Mary Weather. She feels that his love is genuine but despite this, Cain’s overprotectiveness makes her feel suffocated. Her carefree spirit contrasts a lot with the sheltered nature of a noblewoman in Victorian London.

All of the characters are deeply flawed in their own personal ways for both good and evil. Cain is clearly no hero as he sometimes does things that would be considered immoral at times. He is obsessed with protecting his half-sister and this causes some friction in their relationship but Cain has the best intentions. Overall, the main characters are generally likable and well written.

Each story is part of an overarching narrative of Cain Hargreaves finding out more about how these series of bizarre murders and other kinds of strange cases are connected to a mysterious organization called “Delilah”, that is focused on necromancy. Cain also learns more about his father’s involvement with Delilah and secrets hidden from Cain’s own past as well. The motive behind each crime is different but appears to be all part of the same end goal.

Symbolism is another aspect notable in the story. A lot of references from the bible is shown throughout the story. Cain for example, is named after the alleged first murderer Cain. Many lullabies and nursery rhymes are used in their actual meaning instead of what they are normally portrayed as such as “Black Sheep”. There are many different themes covered with the narrative from suicide, incest and the darker side of how love affects anybody. In addition, the manga takes a psychological look into how abuse negatively effects the victim and how it drives them into becoming a darker version of themselves.

The story is very immersive from start to finish and plot twists can occur from one panel to the next. Characters have complicated back stories but these all form part of the mysterious nature of Godchild. As the story progresses, you learn more about the motivations of characters and their pasts. However, the story becomes more complicated as well. Characters could be killed at any moment and no one is safe. No one can be trusted and betrayal is a recurring theme in the story. Violence and mature themes are ever present as well.

The gothic art style for the manga is highly detailed and each backdrop for the location is highly faithful to Victorian London. The character designs were distinct with Cain Hargreaves being the standout. The story atmosphere is very disturbing and grim and it works well with the overall storyline. The action is secondary and the story telling and mystery are what drives the plot. Humor is not really that common in this manga and would be out if place given the dark tone of the story.

There are a few drawbacks in this manga. As much as I like the highly detailed art style, it makes the pages look unorganized and messy. The story meanders sometimes and murder mysteries can become predictable at times.

Overall, I really enjoyed Godchild and highly recommend it. Fans of Gothic Victorian London, murder mysteries and even Black Butler fans could find this series very enjoyable.

God Child (9/10)
Oh my gosh. WOAH. This is the manga that had the ending that KEPT ME up for 2 hours last night. I couldn’t help but think over and over in my head: “How did I not see that coming? Did that just happen?”

Trust me. This never happened to me before with other manga.

It was so obvious that the ending would happen this way, yet it wasn’t. There was so much foreshadowing, but for some reason, I didn’t even pay attention to the warning signs. I was basically too emotionally attached to the characters that I didn’t have the courage to think about ... whether or not that certain phrases meant something.

If you’re expecting a romantic comedy that will help you de-stress, run away from this manga. Run like you're being chased by a serial killer, because that is what it is full of.

Or stay if you want breathtaking crazily-thought of murder mysteries and love that has so much depth that you forget that it is romance or shounen-ai you’re reading.

Main characters are crazy. Supporting characters are crazy. ALL OF THE THE CHARACTERS ARE OUT OF THEIR MIND.

But that only makes things better because you would naturally want to know why they turned out that way. And of course, you always get the answers in the manga (which I’m really thankful for because sometimes stories lack explanation. This manga definitely is not one of those stories!!).

All the mysteries kept me on the edge of my seat. Some of them I remember very well, like the case with the bunny-masked serial killer and the case where beautiful women had their eyes stolen. Those I referenced weren't even among the craziest.

Wanna read shounen-ai and a story involving a secret organization filled with dangerous people that the main character has to go against? You might like this.
I was so surprised that this manga was in the shoujo genre. In fact, this manga could seriously be its own genre. The story is a gem! I can’t even explain the whole story in one word.
PLEASE give this one a try!

I found out about this manga about a month ago, a LONG time before I started to read it. When I first saw the cover, the art turned me off completely. For some unknown reason, I hated the characters' design, especially Cain's. However, "don't judge a book by its cover" proves to be right for me this time. I started to read it when I was bored. Although I did not finish the whole manga yet, it was only in a matter of days when I fell in love with this manga.

Story-9
How I found about this manga was from a recommendation from Kuroshitsuji. And, let ... me tell you, GodChild reminded me a hell of a lot of Kuroshitsuji. Takes place in England and the time where masters and servants were common as wild rice. The plot greatly resembled one of Kuroshitsuji if you read the manga. The story just mostly consist of mysteries leading to a bigger conflict. Basically, main character has a major conflict with someone/something but has too many vague clues to solve it. However, as he confront many sub-mysteries that are thrown at him during the story, it slowly connects and brings him closer to his solution of the major problem. To me, GodChild had many twists, many gruesome deaths (not too gory though) to make things a bit more interesting, and suspensful events and thoughts of characters that makes this story into a beautiful story.

Art-7
Like I said before, I wasn't too cool about the art of GodChild. But, boy when I started reading it, was I wrong. You get use to the art so yeah, it was okay. However, to me, the art of this story was nothing special. It was decent but just not....standing out. Emotions shown on characters' faces, to me, are a bit bland. The emotions that stand out to me was when a character is either: shocked, died, mad or maybe, all three. The art was fine though.

Character-8
I enjoy the characters a lot. However, like I said in the story section, this greatly reminded me of Kuroshitsuji. You got a somewhat arrogant and genius master with a dark past, a loyal manservant who does pretty much everything for his master, the ironic mad characters, and the lovable girl who the master desires to protect. Character development was decent. Cain pretty much striked me the same in every chapter except for the fact that his determination to kill his enemy grows stronger in each chapter. Riff is a rather bland character who loves his master to the point that he would guiltlessly die for him. At first, I did not like Maryweather much in the first couple of chapters because she only seemed to get into the way of main character until later chapters when she becomes vaguely aware of his activities and wanted to help him in any way she can (well, she still causes him a bit trouble but it isn't as noticeable as in the first chapters.)

Enjoyment-9
I enjoyed this manga a lot and wasn't the least disappointed. The story can instantly grab you in the first chapter since it has a fast pace of mysteries and character introduction. I was sure glad that I actually took some of my time to read it.

Overall-9
Aside from the art and character, this manga is a must-read. It is a very suspensful story that can easily interest anyone who likes mysteries or ironic twists.

There's no denying it, this manga is incredibly sick and twisted, with particular scenes so repulsive they'd make the faint hearted throw up.
...But you can't help loving it anyway!!

With artwork that beautiful, characters that lovable and unthinkable plot twists in every chapter, there's waaaay too much to love about this manga to ditch it just because it's sick. Kaori Yuki's done an amazing job of keeping the rather dark, 19th century aristocracy theme throughout and never fails to impress you with her wonderful - if not slightly deranged - ideas.
You're hooked by the very first ... chapter and mentally forced to buy them all, though it's well worth it for the dramatic plot that's unraveled as the story goes on, and all the interesting, unique (AND BEAUTIFULLY DRAWN!!) characters you meet along the way.

I'm not going to explain the story because it's already in the descriptain of the manga and I'd probably get too excited and start blabbing out spoilers, but I'd highly reccomend this manga for lovers of brilliant plots and... Tophats. X'D

It was ace. :)

Dark, twisted, beautiful. This manga is definitely not unicorns and butterflies, it is dark. It shows insanity and how twisted and evil some people can be. Even though it is as dark and twisted as it can get it also shows how strong some bonds are, those that will not break.
The supernatural aspect of God Child adds to the mystery and helps to create twists and turn that no one would ever suspect.
The characters are created so well, and the background stories of the main characters makes them come alive, until you are left brimming with anger and hatred aimed at the villains making ... you yell at the page, " why are you doing such a thing" (as well as several insults).

If you like dark and twisted stories then God Child is a must, but I must warn you, you WILL be moved by this.

Before sharing my considerations about the series, let me just say what motivated me to write this review. While reading other people’s point of view, I created some expectations that weren’t fulfilled. This might be a personal experience, but I thought about expressing my 2 cents.

I want to first contextualize the story. At the moment I’m writing this review, it’s been 20 years from its first release and almost 30 years from the prequel (The Cain Saga). Kaori Yuki is a veteran mangaka, who acquired a broad recognition and made justice to the “Queen of Gothic Manga” title. Godchild was the first work I read ... from her and, basing my analysis only on that, I see why she was a big influence on many shoujo and manga that followed her, also being a pioneer (or at least one of the most prominent names) exploring elements such as mystery, horror and the Victorian setting on a “girl’s magazine” in the nineties. And I believe that’s enough to set her name apart on this field.

Now, about my experience reading it. I didn’t read the prequel first and I don’t think it was necessary to understand the story. After I finished it, I decided to check The Cain Saga more as an “extra” source where I could see the backstory of characters I was interested and maybe having another perspective looking at the previous events after knowing the “secrets” unveiled in Godchild.

Godchild’s story is structured in “arcs” and some of them don’t add too much on the main story aside of knowing more about Cain and his relationships. We are presented to many characters whose roles are restricted to that specific arc and for some time it felt “which murder case are we going to solve now?” CSI type of episode. Nevertheless, it kept me going forward to know about Cain’s past and all the intrigue he was put through, the reasons behind it. When we finally reach that… everything happens in a fast speed and it seems too much to handle in little space and time. Although some events were foreshadowed and hints were given here and there, new characters were presented arc after arc and we couldn’t know more about their story in an organic way, making them spill those informations in a few balloons later on, because otherwise we wouldn’t even know that. It made me wonder why not exploring or having them in mind since the beginning instead of those “episodic” arcs, or maybe making the series longer?

Another thing I’d like to point is the “twisted” or “human nature” people like to mention in her work. I don’t deny it, we can find them, but most of the time it felt scattered to me. There were too many things to cover: the main character, the construction of the relationship between characters, the motifs behind the villains, the hidden goal of Cain’s father and not forgetting about the “victim(s)” of the arc and how Cain got involved with them. It made the arc cases solved too fast sometimes, lacking the “mysterious” and “thriller” impact. Kaori Yuki uses all elements necessary for these genres, but the final result and experience weren’t delivered as such, only serving as cheap distractions for me until I can finally put my hands on the answers I was waiting for. [Might have SPOILERS until the end of the paragraph, not major ones, though] I will make an exception for Castrato arc, not because it doesn’t have the aspects that I’ve just mentioned, but I believe they were delivered in a better way and I could use it as an example: we have Cain getting closer to Delilah’s organization plans, a Delilah agent having a more active role, family issues being raised, historic and societal issues explored together with the post effect on the “unfortunate character who got involved with Cain” and an ending that clearly hinted the plot moving forward. And it didn’t feel convoluted from my perspective [SPOILER END].

Something I wanted to praise is the usage of religious and Mother Goose tales symbolic references, it helped setting the mood and I enjoyed it very much in the beginning. However, because of the fast pace ending, the explanations and reasons behind everything didn’t sit right with me. It felt rushed and lost the impact it could have, religion and convenience coming together sometimes and feeling more like an excuse than a proper explanation. Especially knowing that Kaori Yuki had the ending on her mind since the beginning, it made me think why not construct a more focused and linear narrative instead of trying to distract us on arcs and having characters repeating the same actions before we get into the core of the story?

In addition, I found weird how the “villains” only goes towards religion discourse when it comes to the “evil”. And how “occultism” is mixed as a fashion. God is mentioned here and there as a “divine force”, but we don’t see neither Cain nor his nobility family with “Christian habits”, even if only to keep up appearances. It gave me the impression of being used only as props, so we could have metaphorical “sins”. Well, maybe the characters were all mad/twisted/degenarated indeed and used these symbologies as a foundation for their wicked actions, but that’s not for my taste, it lacks the ambivality I seek when it comes to what it’s usually called as “human nature”. Delilah agents (people connected to Cain’s father) may have had being portrayed in a better light regarding to that, but they didn’t have enough exposure and focus most of the time.

Saying all that, I still liked to see Cain’s relationship with the ones close to him. I was emotional invested on that and when I finished reading the series, I was satisfied. This probably is the most common shoujo element (not implying it’s an exclusive shoujo thing), but I enjoyed seeing where the main character stands when it comes to his family, comrades, “enemies”, girls, noble people and commoners, as well as his “social status”. And as time went by, I also grew found of some characters, especially Cain’s allies. Overall, Cain is portrayed as a martyr, but whose noble pride and irreverence won't allow him to be pitied or looked down on, leading to some interesting developments and exchanges.

I personally like the art, although I can see it fits in a certain frame in time, what were common back then. Kaori Yuki’s improvement it's noticeable after The Cain Series and the details drawn added its flavor. It isn’t the goriest thing I’ve ever seen, but bloody nonetheless. The mangaka didn’t shy out to depict some scary and horror/shocking scenes, without being too graphic at the same time. I don’t know if it was a type of censorship, but I appreciated the balance.

In summary, I believe it’s an entertaining series even 20 years after its release (particularly when we contextualize it). However, after reading it, I must say that my experience was pretty different from the other reviews I found. That’s why I give it a 7, considering both what I believe it did and didn’t work.

It's such a shame that I only recently knew this manga after reading Kuroshitsuji. I'm quite picky, and I hate to read a manga only to hate it afterwards. Thus, after reading some recommendations of several mangas with similar story with Kuroshitsuji, I decided to read Godchild.

And it's friggin' AWESOME.

Story (9/10):
Well, the story could just hit the perfect 10 only if it didn't move at such a fast pace. It depends on personal taste, but I wished it could go slower so I could get more of the story of its fabulous characters. However, it's still faraway better than the average story. Its tragic, heart-wrenching ... story was conveyed in such a 'humanly' way that showed us both the ugly and beautiful side of human nature.

Art (10/10):
It's gorgeous! The character design matched perfectly with their personalities, and since the setting of the story was the Victorian Era, the detailed artwork is just a big win!

Character (10/10):
Actually, the best thing about this manga is its characters. Each chapters brought us different cases originated from the ugliness of human; the culprits were sick-minded and almost inhuman, but somehow it's as if we could understand the reason behind their acts.

And the main character, Cain C. Hargreaves is one of the best characters ever made. His flawless personality is so humanly possible, and his relationship with Riff is simply the most well-developed master-servant relationship I've ever saw.

Enjoyment (10/10):
Yes, you will enjoy every chapter of this manga because every character was carefully built, and every plot twists would just make you feel excited to know what would happen next.

Overall (10/10):
Godchild is one of the best manga out there and I still couldn't believe how long it took me to find this manga. I would recommend this manga to anyone who wished to read a heart-wrenching drama with a thick plot and gorgeous artwork. But, don't blame me if after reading this you wished that this manga could've gone longer :D

This manga isn't for the faint of heart or those with a weak stomach as it pulls no punches when it comes to this dark manga.

Set in an English background, there could not be a darker manga than this without adding gore to it (which this manga doesn't have a lot of gore in it - but it is only for mature readers as it includes scenes of violence, incest, & sexual situations).

If you have the nerve to delve into the dark that is goth, this manga is for you.

I read this back-to-back with Cain Saga. While Cain Saga's storylines were at times hard to follow, I preferred the storytelling there. While it was sometimes melodramatic, the drama ebbed and flowed better.

In God Child, the story is easier to follow, but I found that the tension didn't rise enough to form proper "peaks" to keep me invested. Towards the last volumes, I just wanted to get done with it.

The story felt overall flat, or too mellow. The only point of excitement happened when Riff met with the doctor, but it mellowed down again fast. I was especially disappointed in the villain(s). ... They all seemed to exist only to act as a task/target for Cain, without having much (or any) character growth or proper motives for what they were doing. I enjoyed the side characters' shenanigans better. The ending was ok, though the "final boss" was a disappointment.

The artwork in God Child is noticeably better than in Cain Saga, most likely due to Yuki having more drawing experience. I still had some difficulty recognizing returning characters in the later volumes though.

I have mixed feelings about this one. While this has better art and is more cohesive compared to Cain Saga, the storytelling feels boring. It might be that time hasn't been kind to this manga.