Chaos;Child is already five years old and yet its social commentary is still as relevant and real as ever. Cleverly subverting the trend of teenagers solving with their youthful confidence conflicts greater far than them (de facto rendering steins;gate, from the same series, far more stupid than it already was), the story of chaos;child revolves around a chain of horrifying murders and the shocking truths that supposedly hide beneath the surface of a modern day media sensation.
Yet, that is indeed just the surface. Chaos;Child ventures into many different territories but at the core it is a work on the excessive power of mass media, internet noise, information wars and the terrifying coldness and the feeling of lack of purpose in modern times. While maintaining a coherent flow, sometimes slowing its pacing by giving the readers many moments of characters interactions, insight and respite to breath in and assimilate the many events transpiring, the plot always moves forward, asking relevant questions about the contemporary world and letting its characters answer them as they see fit. Are those the right answers? The wrong ones? It is hard to say. Living through difficult times is such an idiosyncratic experience that it is tempting to judge and impose our external views upon them, but even though we can express judgment is it really more important to understand and explain than to just simply understand?
Chaos;Child looks upon its characters, their struggles, their decisions, their successes and failures and, like an indifferent, omniscient eye, witnesses the worst inhumanities and never relents. When something bad happens there ain’t no silver lining or positive angle; characters might suffer and then have to deal with the consequences, even accepting their own mistakes, recognize their own flaws and act upon them, trying to better themselves or keep on running away. The underlying heroism in chaos;child does not equates to saving the world, sometimes it is just enough to accept our own limitations and do the best we can to make things slightly less worse for those we care about. As said before, there are no easy answers about what can be done to solve every problem; a tragedy is the misfortune brought upon oneself as a result of one’s own action. Oedipus was a tragic character because he killed his own father and married his mother as a result of his beliefs; Milton’s Satan was a tragic character because he decided to rebel against God due to his own hubris; Miyashiro Takuru is a tragic character because… well, that is the story to be found in Chaos;Child.
The production values in the visual novel are also amazing. The characters’ sprites are expressive, well-acted, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu probably gave his performance of a lifetime as Takuru. The sound design and soundtrack are eerie, creepy, haunting at times; there are many genuinely tense and scary moments, where the tension is so fully realized by combining sounds, writing and acting performances, reading on for too long in those moments might prove painful, yet one can hardly stop as long as the rhythm doesn’t relent.
Chaos;Child should be on everyone’s read-list for the sheer importance of the story, for how well it understands what is fundamentally nonsensical about the culture in 21st century and for how, rightfully so, it has proven to be the heir we were waiting for to the likes of serial experiments lain or kon satoshi’s works.
Yet, that is indeed just the surface. Chaos;Child ventures into many different territories but at the core it is a work on the excessive power of mass media, internet noise, information wars and the terrifying coldness and the feeling of lack of purpose in modern times. While maintaining a coherent flow, sometimes slowing its pacing by giving the readers many moments of characters interactions, insight and respite to breath in and assimilate the many events transpiring, the plot always moves forward, asking relevant questions about the contemporary world and letting its characters answer them as they see fit. Are those the right answers? The wrong ones? It is hard to say. Living through difficult times is such an idiosyncratic experience that it is tempting to judge and impose our external views upon them, but even though we can express judgment is it really more important to understand and explain than to just simply understand?
Chaos;Child looks upon its characters, their struggles, their decisions, their successes and failures and, like an indifferent, omniscient eye, witnesses the worst inhumanities and never relents. When something bad happens there ain’t no silver lining or positive angle; characters might suffer and then have to deal with the consequences, even accepting their own mistakes, recognize their own flaws and act upon them, trying to better themselves or keep on running away. The underlying heroism in chaos;child does not equates to saving the world, sometimes it is just enough to accept our own limitations and do the best we can to make things slightly less worse for those we care about. As said before, there are no easy answers about what can be done to solve every problem; a tragedy is the misfortune brought upon oneself as a result of one’s own action. Oedipus was a tragic character because he killed his own father and married his mother as a result of his beliefs; Milton’s Satan was a tragic character because he decided to rebel against God due to his own hubris; Miyashiro Takuru is a tragic character because… well, that is the story to be found in Chaos;Child.
The production values in the visual novel are also amazing. The characters’ sprites are expressive, well-acted, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu probably gave his performance of a lifetime as Takuru. The sound design and soundtrack are eerie, creepy, haunting at times; there are many genuinely tense and scary moments, where the tension is so fully realized by combining sounds, writing and acting performances, reading on for too long in those moments might prove painful, yet one can hardly stop as long as the rhythm doesn’t relent.
Chaos;Child should be on everyone’s read-list for the sheer importance of the story, for how well it understands what is fundamentally nonsensical about the culture in 21st century and for how, rightfully so, it has proven to be the heir we were waiting for to the likes of serial experiments lain or kon satoshi’s works.