Hybrid Child [OVA 1]

I FOUND AN ENGLISH SUB OF HYBRID CHILD! YES, YES, YES. Er, um. Sorry, ever since I heard this OVA would be coming out I’ve been super excited for it. Hybrid Child is a short manga done by Shungiku Nakamaru, who is most recognized as the writer of Junjou Romantica. If anyone knows me, they know that she is my favorite shonen Ai/yaoi writer. So as soon as I heard this would be out, I was through the roof.
However, an eEnglishsub took me forever to find. Was it worth the search, two German downloads and something that I think it Arabic? Let’s find out sha’ll we.

The first story in this OVA covers the first story of the Hybrid Child manga, it gives us a rough idea of what a Hybrid Child is. It’s something that is neither human, nor machine. Something that is shaped and grows according to it’s owners wishes and how it’s treated. In this case, it grew into the Akihiko Usami clone that is Haruki. [I love this mangaka to death but so many of her characters look the same xD]

We meet Hazuki and his owner/gay lover Kotaro Izumi on a hot afternoon as Kotaro loafs around not doing his homework because it’s too hot. Must be nice to know you can be stupid and still have a set future because your family is rich. Which is honestly what the core of this story is, it’s this spoiled rich brat learning how to be responsible as he looses the thing he loves the most.

Not long into the story, we find that Hazuki is breaking down from the inside. Kotaro brings him to Kuroda, the man who created the Hybrid Child to begin to ask for repairs. Kuroda’s an ass, there is no way to sugar coat that. He is a complete and utter jackass.

After giving him much greif, Kuroda tells him that if he can find something known as the Moonlight Droplet, he can use it to fix Hazuki. So Kotaro, who has most likely never done a day of physical labor in his life. Goes out with a shovel and begins digging all over to find it.
If I hadn’t of known this story had a happy ending going in, I would of just died of heartbreak halfway through watching. I was sobbing as it was and I knew that the story ended on a high note. I’d read the manga and I was still crying my eyes out at how both of the characters felt as Hazuki’s ‘death’ was approaching.

It’s scary, watching someone try as hard as they can but not being able to save the one they love despite their best efforts. The animation and seiyuu work just add to this as you watch Kotaro try as hard as he can to save Hazuki.

Hazuki isn’t human, but he still feels loyalty to Kotaro and says that he owes everything he is to him. He’s dying, he’s dying and all he’s worried about is if Kotaro is going to be okay without him! Like, these feelings are portrayed so vividly that even if you know in the end that Kuroda does fix Hazuki and they get to be together in the end. You forget it for even just a second and get caught up in the whirlwind of the characters emotions.

I adore this story and everything in this OVA was amazing, it wasn’t like Love Stage!! where I felt boerd because it was like reading the manga all over again. It was seeing what i’d read before come to life and getting to feel the emotions even more vividly then I did before. This is a good view for both avid fans of her works and your more casual yaoi reader, compared to Junjou or Sekai the boys love is very toned down. No sex scenes, they only kiss once but it’s still clear that they truly care for one another.

The second OVA has yet to come out, as with many of her other works it will switch to another couple. However I look forward to it immensely if this is the kind of production value we can look forward too. I’ll try to keep an eye out for it and as soon as I can snag an English sub i’ll try to review it.

part 1 gets a solid 10/10, now excuse me. Where’d I put that box of tissues…?

~Midnight