Hybrid Child

Could you love a doll long enough to watch it grow up like a normal human? The hybrid child is a doll that grows older when their owner shows him (because the dolls we are shown in the anime are, of course, male due to the yaoi aspect) love. In this anime, we are given three stories of their owners loving their Hybrid Child. The three stories effectively show the bonds between humans and their hybrid child. In the final story, it becomes more of the bond between two human men, one of whom is the creator of the hybrid child. We get a sense ofhow his project really grew to be his life, and how it changed the lives of the two men in the previous episodes. The characters are all different from each other, as is the relationships between human and hybrid child. Kotarou and Hazuki in the first episode bicker and banter, but when Hazuki's life is at stake, you see how strong their bond is and how far Kotarou is willing to go for him. The additional story within the episode of how the two came to know each other is especially touching. In the second episode, we have a young hybrid child and an older man. This is not a perverted story, mind you; this one is about the hybrid child, Yuzu, questioning why, after all the time he's been with Seya, he hasn't grown yet. Does Seya not love him? The last story is without a doubt what makes the story: this is the story of Kuroda, the creator of the hybrid children, and how his love for Tsukishima drove him to create all of these hybrid children. The art is something one would expect from a yaoi when it comes to the characters: they do share the same facial shape. Think of the characters from Junjou and Sekaiichi (all by the same author) and you'll understand. However, the backgrounds are superb. I found myself pausing every so often to admire the scenery, as it's very well done. I appreciated the attention to detail. The OP and ED aren't noteworthy. There's classical music throughout the anime, helping to evoke emotion within scenes. It's used effectively and upon second viewing I did find myself enjoying and appreciating the music more. I enjoyed myself a lot. Just like with Junjou and Sekaiichi, I will add Hybrid Child to the list of things I will watch over and over again.

I'm only writing this review because a) this anime doesn't have too many reviews b) everybody's gushing way too much over it. As a casual yaoi fan, I can see why this anime would excite fujoshis - it's everything they would want, without the smut and cheap tactics animators often stoop to using to please their fan base. I went in completely blind, not knowing what the anime was and it pleasantly surprised me. I would suggest you to go in blind as well; that's the best way to enjoy it. But if you're still interested in knowing what it's about, here it is (without spoilers): Set in late19th C Japan, the stories revolve around Hybrid Children (neither human nor machine) who look, walk, talk, grow and feel exactly like humans, except for the fact that they aren't really human. They're owned by their respective masters, who inevitably forge strong bonds with them. The first 2 stories focus on two different masters, their bonds with their Hybrid Children, their circumstances etc. The third story focuses on the creator of these Hybrids, his background and the reason he chose to create these dolls. Much like most of these reviews mentioned, I didn't expect the stories to be so, well, dark. Yaoi is not something you associate with death and destruction, you know. So that was something that made me appreciate the anime a little. Some of the scenes were beautifully done, esp in ep 4; they conveyed the mood of the protagonist's mind beautifully without putting it into words. The dialogues, even though fanmade subs, were pretty moving and I imagine they sounded even more beautiful in Japanese. The music too added beautifully to the entire atmosphere of the anime. The biggest gripe with this anime was its art form. First off, not a fan of the Junjou Romantic style of art. Second, pretty much every face in this anime was the same. Sometimes the hair and eye colours of different characters were the same, which ended up making me wonder if I was watching a continuation of the previous eps, or if this really was a new character. Poor animation on part of the animators. Apart from that, I found that story of ep 2 lacking a little. It focused more on emotions, while the plot moved very, very slowly. Another issue with the anime was how the jokes or funny moments were incorporated with chibi art forms. Really? When you're making an anime with such serious topics (or at least, non-frivolous topics) this chibi style of art form only takes *away* from the seriousness of the entire setting you've painstakingly built. They were jarring and completely unnecessary. Even so, at the end of the day, if you're a casual yaoi fan like me or a hardcore fujoshi - you'll like this anime because it really is something different that you seldom get to see in the yaoi genre! PS. Eps 1, 2 and 4 have after credit scenes. Don't forget to watch them!

What can I say? Recommended? Absolutely yes! In my opinion it is considered a masterpiece, I could not even wait for sub that I already have finished seeing in raw version. I read the manga in the past, but then upon hearing the news that it would become an anime I immediately had doubts, which instead have turned into satisfaction. It has really exceeded my expectations, despite already the manga was wonderful. Start by saying that I absolutely prefer it to the other of Shungiku Nakamura ("Junjou Romantica" and "Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi"), perhaps because it is presented in a different tone. While the first two are romantic-comedy, HybridChild is dramatic themes and gloomy. Essentially, it speaks of these dolls that with love and affection (but also negative feelings) grow to physical and mood. There are three different stories in this anime which correspond to episodes 1, 2 and 3-4. The first story revolves around Kotaro Izumi, a boy from a rich family, who finds a boy-doll (Hazuki) in the trash; despite his parents are against it, he does not give up and continues to care for him. The second story talk about Yuzu, another boy-doll, which is adopted by Ichi Seya. This story has an important meaning, especially because it tells us that in life things that happen isn't always happy, but also sad. The third story, my favorite and the most dramatic, portraies of friendship between Tsukishima and Kuroda (or maybe love?), they are two sons of chieftains important. Unfortunately the unexpected happen and Tsukishima must take responsibility for everything, but with disapproval of his friend. Then we can deduce that the protagonist of Hybrid Child is Kuroda, also because it appears in all three stories. Take me to the point of being moved is a difficult feat, but "Hybrid Child" has done it. The designs are very well made and the animations are quite fluid. Another thing that surprised me a lot, is the soundtrack: it's beautiful and it's put in the right place. Hybrid Child is really amazing although it only has 4 OVA. P.S: Sorry for my English >.>

This anime is a masterpiece. It's original, beautiful, honest, and gut-wrenching. Please watch it. If you're into yaoi, if you're not, it doesn't matter, it deals with love in its purest form and it's wroth watching. Anime don't usually make me emotional, and I certainly didn't expect this one to. But from the beautiful music to the moving dialogue, the story moves fluidly through the episodes, separate but they all come together in the end. You won't regret watching it, so just do it. Warning: Feels, feels everywhere.