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ゴッド チャイルド [God Child] #2
Godchild, Vol. 2
International hit by the creator of Angel Sanctuary
Deep in the heart of 19th century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society into which he was born. Forced to become an earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old half sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.
Red butterflies, demon possession, tainted jam, and murder… Well-loved manga creator Kaori Yuki presents the second installment of Godchild , written in three parts, with just the right amount of suspense and bizarre plot twists guaranteed to make gothic comics fans fall in love with this series even more!
Deep in the heart of 19th century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society into which he was born. Forced to become an earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old half sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.
Red butterflies, demon possession, tainted jam, and murder… Well-loved manga creator Kaori Yuki presents the second installment of Godchild , written in three parts, with just the right amount of suspense and bizarre plot twists guaranteed to make gothic comics fans fall in love with this series even more!
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
9 people are currently reading
628 people want to read
About the author
Kaori Yuki
201 books675 followersKaori Yuki (由貴香織里) is a Japanese manga artist.
She debuted in 1987 with Natsufuku no Erii (Jap: 夏服のエリー) on the manga anthology Bessatsu Hana to Yume published by Hakusensha.
She is best known for her gothic manga works, such as the Earl Cain series (Jap: 伯爵カイン, Hakushaku Cain) and Angel Sanctuary (Jap: 天使禁猟区, Tenshi Kinryōku)
Her work is typically serialized in one of Hakusensha's two shōjo manga anthologies, Bessatsu Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume. In 2010, Kaori Yuki was one of many manga artists whose work would appear in the new shōjo manga anthology Aria by the publisher Kodansha on July 28, 2010.
Her doujinshi-ka name is MoonClock.
She debuted in 1987 with Natsufuku no Erii (Jap: 夏服のエリー) on the manga anthology Bessatsu Hana to Yume published by Hakusensha.
She is best known for her gothic manga works, such as the Earl Cain series (Jap: 伯爵カイン, Hakushaku Cain) and Angel Sanctuary (Jap: 天使禁猟区, Tenshi Kinryōku)
Her work is typically serialized in one of Hakusensha's two shōjo manga anthologies, Bessatsu Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume. In 2010, Kaori Yuki was one of many manga artists whose work would appear in the new shōjo manga anthology Aria by the publisher Kodansha on July 28, 2010.
Her doujinshi-ka name is MoonClock.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 28, 2016
Cursed Earl Cain solves an array of mysteries in Godchild, set in Victorian England. The art is gorgeous and the murders are gory and sure to please horror fans.
The trouble, I think, stems from the shallowness of the plot and characters. Though interesting and intricately-drawn, the characters aren't terribly well-rounded. The plot, however, redeems itself a bit in this volume: the Butterfly Bones story is longer, more thought out, and allows me to get to know the characters -- including the side ones -- in much more detail. I felt much more involved in this story than the other short stories presented so far.
Maybe the true problem comes from the art itself: some of the scenes are hard to track. I couldn't always identify the speaker, and, since I had to stop every few panels to figure out who was saying what, I couldn't focus much on the story (and I've been reading manga for years, so that's not the issue).
Overall, this is an interesting idea, but it doesn't pan out well. Not for me.
The trouble, I think, stems from the shallowness of the plot and characters. Though interesting and intricately-drawn, the characters aren't terribly well-rounded. The plot, however, redeems itself a bit in this volume: the Butterfly Bones story is longer, more thought out, and allows me to get to know the characters -- including the side ones -- in much more detail. I felt much more involved in this story than the other short stories presented so far.
Maybe the true problem comes from the art itself: some of the scenes are hard to track. I couldn't always identify the speaker, and, since I had to stop every few panels to figure out who was saying what, I couldn't focus much on the story (and I've been reading manga for years, so that's not the issue).
Overall, this is an interesting idea, but it doesn't pan out well. Not for me.
October 25, 2022
Really love how the author assures us that no weird incest stuff is gonna happen between Cain and Mary haha God bless you Yuki sensei.
January 21, 2024
Cain is back to solve another slew of mysterious happenings around London.
Not much is done to further any sort of overarching plot in volume 2, and as far as the individual mysteries were concerned, the quality varied wildly.
Perplexingly, the most involved of the mysteries, 'Butterfly Bones', was easily the weakest, and author Kaori Yuki appeared to have bitten off more than she could chew, all of the elements coming together so clumsily that the 'reveal' of the villain at the end felt like a failed attempt at a twist rather than the logical conclusion to a twisty tale of intrigue.
The others felt as though they carried less weight plot-wise, but perhaps because she didn't weigh them down with too many plot elements, they felt cleaner in terms of overall execution.
The illustrations, however, were just as if not more gorgeous than in volume one, with a real lushness that suits the Gothic Victorian setting.
Not bad enough to put me off of the series, and I was fine going along with the ride as I was reading, but certainly not a super strong installment.
Not much is done to further any sort of overarching plot in volume 2, and as far as the individual mysteries were concerned, the quality varied wildly.
Perplexingly, the most involved of the mysteries, 'Butterfly Bones', was easily the weakest, and author Kaori Yuki appeared to have bitten off more than she could chew, all of the elements coming together so clumsily that the 'reveal' of the villain at the end felt like a failed attempt at a twist rather than the logical conclusion to a twisty tale of intrigue.
The others felt as though they carried less weight plot-wise, but perhaps because she didn't weigh them down with too many plot elements, they felt cleaner in terms of overall execution.
The illustrations, however, were just as if not more gorgeous than in volume one, with a real lushness that suits the Gothic Victorian setting.
Not bad enough to put me off of the series, and I was fine going along with the ride as I was reading, but certainly not a super strong installment.
July 10, 2012
I think The Cain Saga, and its sequel Godchild, have the most messed up and tragic characters I've seen so far. It's dark, it's gloomy. Don't expect happy endings in these two mangas, dead bodies keep pilling up. All the characters are so complex.
The Cain Saga art is not as good as Godchild, one can guess the artist art was not mature yet unlike when she made Godchild much later. Still it's a must to read to fully understand what happens in Godchild. There are a lot of good contents to find there too (like about how Oscar and Cain met). In the other hand, Godchild's art is so beautiful it's mesmerizing. The characters are so beautifully drawn and each have their unique look.
The hero Cain gets involved in different events so the mangas are a bit like short stories put together, all of them involving some supernatural of some sort. He has on his side the ever faithful Riff, his butler and friend. But in the background lies his father's shadow and his secret organization, who become Cain's ennemy throughout the series. Among the ennemies is the fascinating half-brother of Cain, Jizabel, who is also part of said organisation. Jizabel is helped by Cassian.
It's interesting to see the mirror relationship between Cain and the protective Riff and Jizabel and the protective Cassian.
I really love these two mangas. I love rereading them, going back into the story, and seeing again those fascinating characters living briefly up until the ending.
P.S. My review is about both series. I got The Cain Saga in French since the Englih version was not out.
The Cain Saga art is not as good as Godchild, one can guess the artist art was not mature yet unlike when she made Godchild much later. Still it's a must to read to fully understand what happens in Godchild. There are a lot of good contents to find there too (like about how Oscar and Cain met). In the other hand, Godchild's art is so beautiful it's mesmerizing. The characters are so beautifully drawn and each have their unique look.
The hero Cain gets involved in different events so the mangas are a bit like short stories put together, all of them involving some supernatural of some sort. He has on his side the ever faithful Riff, his butler and friend. But in the background lies his father's shadow and his secret organization, who become Cain's ennemy throughout the series. Among the ennemies is the fascinating half-brother of Cain, Jizabel, who is also part of said organisation. Jizabel is helped by Cassian.
It's interesting to see the mirror relationship between Cain and the protective Riff and Jizabel and the protective Cassian.
I really love these two mangas. I love rereading them, going back into the story, and seeing again those fascinating characters living briefly up until the ending.
P.S. My review is about both series. I got The Cain Saga in French since the Englih version was not out.
December 26, 2013
I can't give five stars because of the author including Monarch butterflies and Huntsman spiders as natives of England! And yes, I do know a huntsman was found in Sussex in a shipping container last month, but that doesn't count ;-)!
The stories, however, are very good despite this and I loved the Japanese flavour introduced with Lady Tohko and Lukia in Butterfly Bones. Cain meets his father again and Delilah manipulate the situation causing tragedy.
Bloodberry Jam is such a sad story but has a bitter sweet end.
I didn't really care for the actual story in Lion's Crest, just about how it shows more of the deep bond between Cain and Riff :-)!
The stories, however, are very good despite this and I loved the Japanese flavour introduced with Lady Tohko and Lukia in Butterfly Bones. Cain meets his father again and Delilah manipulate the situation causing tragedy.
Bloodberry Jam is such a sad story but has a bitter sweet end.
I didn't really care for the actual story in Lion's Crest, just about how it shows more of the deep bond between Cain and Riff :-)!
May 20, 2020
4.5 stars
December 30, 2022
4.5 stars out of 5
Since I wasn’t too big on the one volume of The Cain Saga, I knew buying the first four volumes of Godchild for a combined total of $20 ($4.95 per volume) would be a big risk. It seems that the risk has paid off, as the second volume of Godchild is sooooooooo damn good. It’s better than the first, and I’m hooked for sure. But why? Let’s look through this volume to find out why!
I didn’t mention this in my review of the first volume, but Godchild is split into small arcs that are 1-3 chapters long each. I won’t spoil each, however, because of that reason. So these won’t be spoiler free unless the story becomes more serialized later on. The first arc of this volume is the four chapter long Butterfly Bones arc, which takes up a bulk of this volume. Afterwards, there’s two single chapter arcs, those being Bloodberry Jam and Lion Crest. They were alright, but both didn’t measure up to Butterfly Bones in my opinion. Butterfly Bones is a great and interesting arc, and hooked me onto this series.
I really liked the first volume of Godchild, but I loved the second volume. I’ll definitely read the rest of the series, and I might even give The Cain Saga another shot. I also now prefer Godchild over Black Butler. Also, weirdly enough, there’s even some Pandora Hearts vibes here, and since I love that manga, this is right up my alley! I can’t wait to dive into the third volume!
Volume Reviews
Volume 1
-- Sebastian C
Since I wasn’t too big on the one volume of The Cain Saga, I knew buying the first four volumes of Godchild for a combined total of $20 ($4.95 per volume) would be a big risk. It seems that the risk has paid off, as the second volume of Godchild is sooooooooo damn good. It’s better than the first, and I’m hooked for sure. But why? Let’s look through this volume to find out why!
I didn’t mention this in my review of the first volume, but Godchild is split into small arcs that are 1-3 chapters long each. I won’t spoil each, however, because of that reason. So these won’t be spoiler free unless the story becomes more serialized later on. The first arc of this volume is the four chapter long Butterfly Bones arc, which takes up a bulk of this volume. Afterwards, there’s two single chapter arcs, those being Bloodberry Jam and Lion Crest. They were alright, but both didn’t measure up to Butterfly Bones in my opinion. Butterfly Bones is a great and interesting arc, and hooked me onto this series.
I really liked the first volume of Godchild, but I loved the second volume. I’ll definitely read the rest of the series, and I might even give The Cain Saga another shot. I also now prefer Godchild over Black Butler. Also, weirdly enough, there’s even some Pandora Hearts vibes here, and since I love that manga, this is right up my alley! I can’t wait to dive into the third volume!
Volume Reviews
Volume 1
-- Sebastian C
May 6, 2020
This is a review of the entire series.
Synopsis: Deep in the heart of 19th century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society into which he was born. Forced to become an earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old half sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.
Review: A detective manga series that draws a lot of inspiration from classic gothic horror fiction and tropes. It's a love letter to writers such as Agatha Christie, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, the Bronte sisters, the Grimm brothers and even Shakespeare. Family curses, a brutal father and son rivalry, religious allegory, destined betrayal, violent supernatural murders, dark fairy tale undertones, a gloomy atmosphere and melancholy characters. The art is flowery and gorgeous to look at, the classic tropes are pleasant for fans of classic horror elements and there's a few scenes that pack quite an emotional punch. It's a bit melodramatic and over-the-top at times, but it actually gives it more of that authentic, pulpy feel of popular penny dreadfuls from the Victorian era.
Synopsis: Deep in the heart of 19th century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society into which he was born. Forced to become an earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old half sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.
Review: A detective manga series that draws a lot of inspiration from classic gothic horror fiction and tropes. It's a love letter to writers such as Agatha Christie, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, the Bronte sisters, the Grimm brothers and even Shakespeare. Family curses, a brutal father and son rivalry, religious allegory, destined betrayal, violent supernatural murders, dark fairy tale undertones, a gloomy atmosphere and melancholy characters. The art is flowery and gorgeous to look at, the classic tropes are pleasant for fans of classic horror elements and there's a few scenes that pack quite an emotional punch. It's a bit melodramatic and over-the-top at times, but it actually gives it more of that authentic, pulpy feel of popular penny dreadfuls from the Victorian era.
February 18, 2019
This 2nd volume has another three gothic stories - the first two, Butterfly Bones and Bloodberry Jam have Cain embroiled in two melodramatic murder mysteries. The third Lion crest, fits thematically being another murder mystery but has tome nice Cain/Riff moments particularly at the end. This also plays down the almost unhealthy relationship between Cain and his young sister Mary hinted at in volume 1, setting it back to an older brother/sister devotion rather than incest.
I personally wasn't as keen on this volume as the previous, or indeed next one in the series - the murder mysteries are a tad over elaborate melodrama. Still fans of gothic Victoriana manga, especially titles like Black Butler should definitely check this series out.
I personally wasn't as keen on this volume as the previous, or indeed next one in the series - the murder mysteries are a tad over elaborate melodrama. Still fans of gothic Victoriana manga, especially titles like Black Butler should definitely check this series out.
May 24, 2020
There’s a weird running theme of incest(?) or just questionable sibling relationships. Though it’s always the brother in love/cares about the sister (a lot maybe a little too much ). I know why this is a theme because this is a reread but oof it’s still weird. I still enjoy the overall book and series.
May 2, 2022
2.5 stars, rounded up. Honestly, the story is just a bit confusing for me at times; Hard to keep track of everything. It's quite cliche, sometimes in a roll-your-eyes kinda way but also sometimes in a good way. I think it's a fun read though, I pick up the series when I want victorian era drawings and little murder mysteries.
September 14, 2023
More interesting than the last volume. Some decent stories. I like how the mangaka does her research into British themes, stories, and lore. A half Japanese character was introduced, and her stay of clothing as being reminiscent of a kimono, but stylized with lace was really unique. Kaori Yuki incorporates a lot of great designs actually.
October 6, 2023
I love how you get multiple little stories inside of one book it makes it feel like you are reading a lot inside of one quick read. After reading the Cain saga and the first 2 books of this series I now realize that these books are basically Sherlock Holmes but with poisons and that’s part of the reason why I love them so much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2017
Pending.
August 21, 2017
Erneute Mordgeschichten, die nur Cain lösen kann. Immernoch sind Bösewichte hinter ihm her, aber manchmal zeigt er Gnade und Mitgefühl mit den Tätern.
February 17, 2018
On the one hand, there was far too much woman-hitting (and by "far too much," I mean "once"). On the other, Cain and Riff are still making cow eyes at each other.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2020
Are these the best stories ever? No. But I highly enjoy them and that's what matters most to me!
June 23, 2021
Okay Kaori Yuki after that last chapter you still gonna try to say they ain't gay???
November 22, 2021
Really loved this series, great gothic Shoujo manga! Love the story, characters and art style 😻😁👌❤️
June 11, 2022
Great but gruesome series. So many creepy things going on! Amazing characters and illustrations.
August 5, 2024
Definitely better than the first volume, but still a bit confusing at times. I am not a big fan of episodic plots like these, I really need a good overarching story to feel engaged.
June 13, 2024
The main story of this one is called "Butterfly Bones", where Cain visits a distant relative. I liked Emile, but I have a weak spot for sad kids, I guess. He did deserve better.
January 30, 2016
I didn't like this as much as the first one, but I still loved it. Like its predecessor it was full of eerie stories based on nursey rhymes. It sounds lame, but it served in a way to make the stories even creepier. It wasn't any where near as gruesome as Volume 1. However, there were still freaky things happening.
The majority of this volume covered this story about ghosts and butterflies, which sounds lame when I explain it like that, but I swear it's way way more interesting than how I just described. This man's daughter has been possessed and there hold a seance to try to fix her. All these creepy things are happening and I'll admit I was confused until I got to the final part of the section, but once I read the conclusion it was like everything finally made sense. It was really good and I loved the part about how the man's wife had gone crazy and killed herself. The whole thing with the bird was disturbing and freaky. I also liked the story about the old woman based on the blackbird rhyme. The ending was superb. I never saw it coming and my mind was blown.
Cain didn't freak me out as much in this book. I'm still feeling like he's gay for his butler. The good thing was that I no longer am getting the vibes that Cain is hot for his sister. They seemed more bro/sis than in the previous one which I liked. There was an authors note that addressed how some fans were writing in about how it seemed like Cain and Mary were going to form some incestuous relationship. Thank god, she said straight out that it wasn't going to happen because it was gross.
The majority of this volume covered this story about ghosts and butterflies, which sounds lame when I explain it like that, but I swear it's way way more interesting than how I just described. This man's daughter has been possessed and there hold a seance to try to fix her. All these creepy things are happening and I'll admit I was confused until I got to the final part of the section, but once I read the conclusion it was like everything finally made sense. It was really good and I loved the part about how the man's wife had gone crazy and killed herself. The whole thing with the bird was disturbing and freaky. I also liked the story about the old woman based on the blackbird rhyme. The ending was superb. I never saw it coming and my mind was blown.
Cain didn't freak me out as much in this book. I'm still feeling like he's gay for his butler. The good thing was that I no longer am getting the vibes that Cain is hot for his sister. They seemed more bro/sis than in the previous one which I liked. There was an authors note that addressed how some fans were writing in about how it seemed like Cain and Mary were going to form some incestuous relationship. Thank god, she said straight out that it wasn't going to happen because it was gross.
February 14, 2015
The evil father is alive and admits that his illegal organisation is created solely to torment his only son. Despite him saying that al of it is for the atonement of Cain's past sins (non-existent, if you ask me). Honestly, his father is grieving for the death of his sister(lover, really) that dies while giving birth to Cain. He did not get past the anger part in his grieving stage.
The Five Stages of Grief
D- Denial
A- Anger
B-Bargaining
D-Depression
A-Acceptance
That's a long way to go…
Cain is already 17.
Aside from that, I'm amused with the relationship between Riff, Cain and Merry.
Riff has to take care of Cain and Cain had to take care of his sister. None of them are even old enough to take care of each other. All of them grew up way too fast. Riff and Cain has a bit of a shounen ai feel. Lol.
The Five Stages of Grief
D- Denial
A- Anger
B-Bargaining
D-Depression
A-Acceptance
That's a long way to go…
Cain is already 17.
Aside from that, I'm amused with the relationship between Riff, Cain and Merry.
Riff has to take care of Cain and Cain had to take care of his sister. None of them are even old enough to take care of each other. All of them grew up way too fast. Riff and Cain has a bit of a shounen ai feel. Lol.
January 19, 2021
This series has a prequel series written by Kaori Yuki called “The Cain Saga”. Please note that you don't have to have read Godchild before it or it before Godchild.
More ‘murder of the week’ mysteries for Cain to figure out. (It feels like one of those detective shows where dead bodies keep popping up out of nowhere).
But there’s a slight twist. Introducing: CAIN’S DADDY ISSUES!
This series has 8 volumes.
More ‘murder of the week’ mysteries for Cain to figure out. (It feels like one of those detective shows where dead bodies keep popping up out of nowhere).
But there’s a slight twist. Introducing: CAIN’S DADDY ISSUES!
This series has 8 volumes.
January 17, 2016
I wasn't super fond of the butterfly story, but I loved the jam story and Eliza's story (I wonder if Cain will ever love again). I think the last two stories adhered more to the gothic theme of murder and fairy tales. If the first story had a stronger relationship with Godchild's inclination to twisted fairy tales, then I would have given this volume a higher rating (especially since the butterfly story took up more than half of the manga).
I love Yuki's creative liberties with Victorian England and Japanese style. Her art is, again, much improved, detailed, and beautiful.
I love Yuki's creative liberties with Victorian England and Japanese style. Her art is, again, much improved, detailed, and beautiful.
May 30, 2018
Ревю на I и II том в Wanderbook - клик, клик
With no doubt one of my favourite manga series. In these first two volumes the stories are mostly individual in every chapter with the going-on mystery wtih his father. The relationship between Cain, his sister and his butler are what I like to see, opposed to later volumes. All in all, it means those volumes are perfect for rereads and enjoying my favourite characters and the beautiful art of Kaori Yuki.
With no doubt one of my favourite manga series. In these first two volumes the stories are mostly individual in every chapter with the going-on mystery wtih his father. The relationship between Cain, his sister and his butler are what I like to see, opposed to later volumes. All in all, it means those volumes are perfect for rereads and enjoying my favourite characters and the beautiful art of Kaori Yuki.
November 25, 2015
This was not my favorite volume in the series, primarily because I didn't care for "Butterfly Bones," which consumes the first half of the volume. I wasn't very interested in the story and there wasn't a lot of action--mostly, there was dialogue and tragedy. I liked Lukia and her design, but otherwise it was hard to stick with that particular story.
I did enjoy "Bloodberry Jam" and "Lion Crest," though. I found Mary and Cain to be more likable in this volume, and the art was stunning as always.
I did enjoy "Bloodberry Jam" and "Lion Crest," though. I found Mary and Cain to be more likable in this volume, and the art was stunning as always.
March 21, 2008
Now I've read the second volume. What can I say - I'm sucked in by the art and Cain's aloof personality. And there's so much bizarre dark stuff going on ... it's like the proverbial "train wreck." A very beautiful train wreck. I'm just trying not to think too deeply about it, and enjoy the art and stories at face value.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews