takopi's original sin is an excellent case study on child psychology, human morality, right and wrong, innocence and the loss of it. every decision made in the story serves to give even further insight on the plot and characters to strengthen at least one of these themes, not just for shock value (though in the first couple of episodes the shock value is very much there and drew in the fake edgy viewers who think they're into psychological shows)
#####(i'm about to use an em dash; i'm not using chatgpt, i'm just a former fanfic writer)
the story—amplified to an extreme degree by the animation, direction, and sound—presents itself in a way that makes you root for one of its core [human] characters, then rips that foundation apart by showing that these characters are very much flawed and are not saints. not one of them is innocent, at least that's what we're led to believe on a surface level.
spoilers in the next paragraph
Spoiler, click to view
we're first introduced to shizuka and instantly what happens in episode 1 hits like a bombshell, leaves us wondering what happened to her which led her to take such an action. and we go in with marina pinned as "bad" and shizuka pinned as "good". but as we progress into the story, we learn that shizuka is also a sociopath who manipulates azuma to keep herself safe and protect her delusion, all because he receives the validation he craves from his mom, from her. so surely azuma is the only victim, right? episode 4, we learn that, in the past (or in the future), azuma leaves a relationship with marina for shizuka. this plot twist was a controversial one, but it serves to further show us how none of these people are "innocent" people.
>"How can a bad kid be a good kid at the same time?"
the truth is, how can we say one is truly not innocent? especially if that person is a child. does one's circumstances make them innocent, regardless of their deeds? can redemption and forgiveness come from sinners regardless of their sin, simply because they've been hurt in the past? can you blame a child for turning to negative outlets for their trauma, when their trauma has taught them nothing but? these are complicated questions which i will not be answering, but they are questions that takopi's original sin poses, makes you ponder. and no matter what answer you come up with by yourself, the show has achieved its goal.
>"Maybe the mistake was thinking I could save her"
the world of takopi's original sin might not be like our own, but that doesn't mean it doesn't play by the same psychological rules. the traumas these kids face seem to be amplified tenfold to what the average traumatic childhood is like in real life, and there exists an overly-positive, innocent presence in takopi to balance that out, both for better and for worse at different points in the story. i find myself drawing parallels to things i've experienced growing up, things others i know have experienced. and that's what makes it that much more powerful. (hopefully) not many of us are able to say we fully relate to shizuka, marina, or azuma. but many of us still are able to relate to them nevertheless, at least to some capacity. and that fills one with both dread and hope.
i leave you with this thought:
>"No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks"
-Mary Wollstonecraft
