Takopi’s Original Sin anime is a show I want to avoid, at all costs, due to its harrowing nature, but since I barely see anyone talking about it, I’m going to step up. Prepare to enter a world of sorrow, misery, and oppression, all centered on a group of children and one tiny alien.
Takopi, the cute alien just trying to spread happiness
Everyone, welcome Takopi, a Happian that crash landed on Earth, probably because his spacecraft was blown out of the air by American jet fighters. They tend to do that.
Happiens are aliens that traverse the cosmos, looking for other alien lifeforms and making them happy. Quite a jolly little bunch, aren’t they? And as shown in the image above, they are small, cute, and pink little creatures, the perfect plushie!
So, who does our pink little friend meet while on Earth? I bet there’s a lot of people that would be SUPER FREAKING EXCITED TO MEET AN ALIEN!
Alas, Takopi falls into a town called “Child Abuse” or something like that, and he meets Shizuka Kuze.
From sweet to sour, very quickly
Takopi’s Original Sin chapter 1 immediately made my heart, head, and soul hurt. This manga unapologetically took a SEVERE AND SHARP turn pretty early in the story. Thankfully, the memory of that chapter prepared me for the first episode of the anime.
That’s a lie, I cried. I cried a lot during the first episode.
But Dante, what’s wrong with you, why are you crying???? I’m crying because the Takopi’s Original Sin anime perfectly uses its dazzling colors and goofy art style to lull you into a false sense of security, even though you KNOW something bad is about to happen, you drop your guard due to the pure vibes and the looks of the show. Then it happens.
And since the show TELEGRAPHS IT WAY BEFORE IT HAPPENS, THE DREAD HITS YOU ONCE, WHEN YOU FIRST FIGURE OUT WHAT’S COMING, AND THEN AGAIN ONCE YOU SEE A LIFELESS BODY ON THE GROUND.
A bit too real
Takopi’s Original Sin anime is ruthless, it’s unforgiving, and it’s completely cruel when it shows bullying, violence, and cruelty among children. It hits too close to home for me, especially since most of this was the usual order of things when growing up in our town.
Being a kid and not being able to understand why your peers hate you, torture you, mock and ridicule you is very damaging for a young mind. Some kids are molded by the experience and rise above it, being reborn as strong, independent, and capable people.
Others, not so much. Others break down, slowly withering away due to the constant fight-or-flight responses. After all, childhood is meant to be experienced through fun, playfulness, and exploration of all the world has to offer. But when you’re someone like Shizuka, even an extraordinary event like meeting a real-life alien isn’t anything to get excited about. At the end of the day, meeting an alien won’t bring dad home, won’t make your mother a good parent, won’t stop the constant bullying at school, and won’t save you from this hell you call a life.
Not for everyone
I’d be lying if I recommended this show to everyone. This is a show very grounded in some dark and serious societal issues. It doesn’t shy away from showing the full extent of bullying and how it happens in schools.
The worst thing is, even the bully, Marina, a kid who RELENTLESSLY hounds Shizuka and puts her through hell, is just a kid whose father cheats on her mother with Shizuka’s mom, who’s an escort.
Because of this situation, Marina’s mother takes out all her pent-up rage and resentment on Marina, who then takes it out on Shizuka. It’s a very typical cycle of abuse, one with no end in sight, as an adult starts it, and the children who carry it on aren’t even aware of what they’re doing.
In the midst of all of this, Takopi experiences firsthand what trauma looks like, and since his race is a happy and peaceful one, seeing how violence affects him is very disturbing.
In the end, Takopi isn’t much different from a child, at least in this scenario. He came to a new place, met a new species, and was immediately confronted by the worst humanity has to offer. And we see all of that in the first episode.
I’m not sure if things get better later on in the manga, since I dropped it pretty early on due to the content being too much for me to handle at the time.
Will it be nuanced or just an edgefest?
Will the Takopi’s Original Sin anime explore these themes maturely and thoughtfully? Or will it become another edgefest that uses cheap shock tactics on children? That remains to be seen, but the first episode is a step in the right direction.
As I said before, this is a very hard watch, at least for me. If you’re not a fan of “heavy” subjects, I’d recommend you skip this one. If you want to watch it, head on over to Crunchyroll.
For a disturbing psychological show of another kind, check out my latest review of The Summer Hikaru Died anime.
