Takopi's Original Sin is a Japanese manga created by Taizan 5. The series ended up gaining great praise in Japan, with the two volumes selling more than a million copies. The story also earned numerous award nominations last year. Both volumes were released together in a omnibus for North America.
Takopi is an alien that comes from a planet full of love. He comes to earth and can not return to his own planet. One earth, he meets a young girl and he tries everything in his power to make her smile. Will the choices he make be an original sin?
When I was reading this manga, I kept thinking about the characters. This story's foundation is based off the emotional depth of the characters who you won't really feel are very likable. You will feel emotions of sadness, anger, and pity, toward these kids however, thats where it ends. Tokopi is the most likable character in this story and what transpires just makes the reader feel on edge. These kids are taking on adult problems that they shouldn't even be thinking about. Whats worse is that the adults in the situation throw these problems on their children instead of letting them be young. Soon each child reaches a breaking point that causes mass destruction to themselves. Takopi tries to help at the expense of himself. Still, no matter the effort, murder and suicide still occur. I'm going to warn you that Takopi's Original Sin is a trip that will wear you out emotionally until you give a sigh of relief at the ending. The manga cover gives a little hint to the tone of this story so you've been warned.....
The art style does no fit the tonality of the events. Some dark stuff happens using cute character drawings. However, the cuteness doesn't dim the depressing tone. Instead, it makes the visuals even sadder to the reader. It's like having a cute wrapped Christmas gift that you open up to find some rocks inside the box.......
Takopi's Original Sin is a manga about starting again when starting again seems impossible. I could see this series being an anime or animated film. It would be interesting to see how the emotions are conveyed in different media forms.
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