Finally Amazon.Uk has dispatched my orders, God Child (Count Cain Saga) volume 2 and 3! I am truly madly deeply crazily totally in love with the whole plot and characters. For Thou who detest Shoujo Manga that much, I tell Thou that the story is not that shallow though it shows tons of bishounen as crème de la crème *grins*.

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Can you not hear your Brother Abel’s blood crying out from beneath the ground, Cain?
(Alexis to Cain, in 'Butterfly's Bone')

God Child tells about a young England nobleman called Cain C. Hargreaves, a head of Hargreaves family, altogether with his faithful butler Riff, they resolved tons of murders and mysteries around them (It seems like unfortunate events always haunt him wherever he goes, a close resemblance to Detective Conan series). The story takes place in the 19^th Century in London. Within the first few of the volume, it depicts some artistic murders using Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales as well as Victorian-England infamous aspects such as Jack the Ripper, Occultism and Superstitions. But as the story goes on, the inconvenient truth about the characters will be brutally revealed, which makes the story even more twisted and shocking.

And the Queen of Heart said,
“Off with her head!”
(Alice in Wonderland-Through the Looking Glass)

The pairing Cain and Riff remind me of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (though I have no idea of who becomes who). Cain is the Earl of Poison, he is collecting poisons as hobby, expert in both piano and violin, and has a splendid analytical thinking concerning murders. As for Riff, he is both a friend and guardian and will supply information that he needs. It is a perfect couple for detective story, I think. Nevertheless, Cain deals with some poltergeists ceremony and erroneous belief in some stories (as they are quite popular in England at that time), while Sherlock Holmes, to my concern, doesn’t deal with those things.

Jack the Ripper is dead
Walking in the white chapel
The sounds of steps we dread
Jack the Ripper is here

More importantly, both stories mention about the notorious Jack the Ripper as a gimmick. I am not sure about Jack the Ripper in Sherlock Holmes, but the hypothetical speculation about Jack the Ripper in God Child really makes sense. This remarkable serial killer comes out in sub story; ‘Mark of the Red Ram’, about the mentally-ill Young nobleman who always write the word ‘Red Ram’ and paint it on the wall inside his isolated chamber, and it will eventually lead to series of murders pertaining to Jack the Ripper. Ladies and gentlemen, Red Ram could be reversely read as Mar Der (literally means ‘Murder’, a typical Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle’s favourites).

Lizzie Borden, took an axe
Hit her father, forty whacks
When she saw, what she had done
She hit her mother, forty one
(Lizzie Borden, Nursery Rhyme)

Another interesting point is the presence of Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhymes as a trigger of murders. I don’t think that Nursery Rhymes psychologically suit the children, since it sometimes shows nasty and malicious use of wordings. The Nursery Rhyme ‘Lizzie Borden’ is being used in the story titled ‘The Tragedy of Miss Pudding’ as well as other infamous Rhymes namely ‘Who Killed Cock Robin?’, ‘Black Sheep’, ‘Sundays Solomon Grundy’, et cetera, et cetera (even the titles make you creepy enough, isn’t it?)

“Everyone has a Judas nearby, and anyone can be Judas. Let me show it to you now”
says Cain

*spoiler alert*
The second last volume of God Child titled “Judas’ Kiss”. Readers, God Child has nothing to do with Bible story at all (exception the using of name Cain and Abel as main characters of the story). Thing is, the theme of sacrifice, trust and betrayal are fully applied within the plot. In the end, for somewhat evil reasons, Riff will betray Cain and pursue him in order to kill him. Cain –who has never known about this- in return, claims for revenge (the reverse side of great love is tremendous hatred =p) and swears to kill him with both of his hands.

"If you betrayed me, I will go and die."
(Cain to Riff in 'Kafka')

This story is full of deception and lies, with the scandalous endings that we cannot bear to imagine. Still I am thinking that Kaori Yuki is being too vicious to her own main characters, as she disinclines to at least create an itsy bitsy happy ending to them.

Anyway, I will be going to London in this coming Easter Holiday *drumrolls*. I can’t wait to see Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Big Ben, Baker Street, Buckingham Palace, et cetera, et cetera, which so far I can only find in Oscar Wilde and Conan Doyle’s writings *fainted in fascination*. I hope I don’t find any trouble in dealing with the Visa.

Am trying this test in Quizzila, and getting fascinated about the result *lol*.

Which God Child Character Are You?

You are Riff, loyal, mysterious, and shy. You are a nice person, and would do almost anything for your friends. Sometimes however you just seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...

Apratz yearns for flesh bread and bloodberry jam (trance in God Child ‘aftertaste’ =p)