Hybrid Child

It really hasn't been long since I've been into the whole "Yaoi/shounen ai" fandom, but so far I've became a dedicated fan, having gone as far as reading/watching almost every manga/anime/ova the fandom has to offer, and among them, "Hybrid Child" holds a special place in my heart.

Story: (9)
The story is somehow different, I'm used to yaoi being placed in a much lighter atmosphere so hybrid child presented a pleasantly different feel than the other shows.
The show focuses on three different stories that are not connected to each other, each one of them tell us more about the relationships between men and their hybrid childs. The first one was a good start to the show, I found it very sweet and it brought tears to my eyes. the second story wasn't as good, but as it progressed a bit I sympathized more with the characters. The best story has to be the third that tell the story of the maker of the hybrid child, I spent the last two episodes in tears really.

All in all, the stories were nice and though they were short we learned enough about the characters and their back-stories.

Art: (8)
If you've watched Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Junjou Romantica then you will be familiar with the art style. A Major flaw is that all characters have the same face XD But It's not a major problem for me because I'm pretty much used to it. As for the quality of the art, it's actually better than SIH and JR.

Sound (8)
The OVAs have no opening, only an ending which goes well with the overall mood of the show. The ost was appropriate as well and the seiyuus were all amazing.

Characters (9)
Although the characters were, in certain aspects, very similar to Nakamura-sensei's other works, they still have their own backgrounds and stories to tell. The characters are a very strong point of this show. There wasn't any annoying characters or ones you would hate or dislike. They are easy to relate to characters and I believe you'd come to like them all.

Enjoyment and overall (10)
Having just finished the OVAs for the third time already, you can pretty much tell I enjoyed it, though I'm not really sure if enjoy is the right term, as the story is a true "tear jerkier" Nevertheless, among all the other shounen ai/Yaoi series out there, Hybrid Child, is indeed a special one and you couldn't go wrong watching it, whether you were a Yaoi fan or not, because you will be swept away by the beauty of the story and relationships this show offers.

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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 late 19th 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!

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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 of how 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.

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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, Hybrid Child 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 >.>

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