"The Black Bird" is a very famous work.

This sentence does not mean that it is a masterpiece, but I have been recommended by many different people in different ways and on different occasions.

- "Let's go check it out, it's interesting." ”

Ask them more, plot characters and the like, but they can't ask anything, just say "just know when you see it".

After being suggested to watch "Kuroko" again, I couldn't suppress my curiosity after all, and typed these three words into the search bar.

A fairy-tale real-life story unfolded before my eyes.

A mysterious girl with a crow with her arrives at a nameless town on the border by stormy and snowy night.

Maybe the town has a name, but who cares?

I don't care anyway, and the author doesn't seem to care.

The old man, who was alone at home, received the guest from afar, and the fire that was lit dispelled the chill along the way.

The light leaking from the window lattice could only illuminate a small distance outside the house, and the thick inky black in the distance was like a huge mouth open in the abyss.

"It's getting dark so fast. She exhaled through the glass and looked at the blurry darkness.

The maiden has no name, and the people here call her "crow" because of the blackbird who is always quiet by her side and never chirps.

"Raven, do you have a name of your own?"

"A girl's real name can't be easily told to outsiders. ”

"Crow, where are you from?"

"A far, far away place, you've never heard of it. ”

"Raven, what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you why. ”

"Crows, it's best to stay away from them. ”

"Huh?" the girl tilted her head to look at the old man who seemed to be reminding her kindly, her eyes wide and as black as a crow on her shoulder, "Is that so?"

"......" the old man wanted to say something, but stopped it in time.

"Yes, I don't think they're good people!" As if noticing his hesitation, the girl's expression returned to a smile that had remained unchanged from beginning to end.

"I'll stay away from them. ”

- After all, being killed so many times, even if you don't die, it's a little painful.

Yes, you should understand that this is a story that is not so fairytale-like development.

As a qualified reviewer, I shouldn't have spoiled this.

But to mention the key to attracting sentient beings in "Black Bird", we have to talk about the plot inside.

The kind of plot that seems to be expected by everyone but is still brilliant, the kind of twist that seems to be a routine but abruptly changes in unexpected places.

Stop at the level of deep real-life discussion, and then turn to more dramatic fantasy stories.

It is also real and illusory, ambiguous and unclear.

The virtual narrative finally ushered in the most realistic ending.

I think I finally understood why the people who recommended it to me were so hesitant to say more.

If you haven't seen this work yet, you can quit now.

Once you've seen it, it's not too late to move on to the rest of it.

……

Okay, all of you who are still here, I will assume that you have all watched "Black Bird".

Please be aware that the following contains spoilers.

Like many people who watched it for the first time — and were lucky enough not to be spoiled — I had no difficulty guessing the story behind the town by following the clues given by the camera.

A nameless place with a pen, ignorance, remoteness.

A young, beautiful, delicate and innocent girl.

It's easy to imagine what to expect, isn't it?

Of course, there's no such thing as a color-restricted plot that you might think.

This small town, buried by wind and snow, has its own way of life.

The sun rises and the sun sets, and the rest of the time prays to the invisible idol in the center of the town.

I don't know the background of the time in which "Black Bird" takes place, whether it is a modern society or an alternate world?

I do not know.

But according to the heroine's clothing style and some utensils she carries with her, it is not difficult to judge the general level of development of the whole world.

- A mechanical device of at least the first 20th century, a mix of classical Victorian and steampunk clothing......

In any case, the era in which she lived seemed alien to this ancient and desolate town.

Another very suggestive feature is the close-up of some details that the author deliberately presents.

The dark red blood stains buried by the heavy snow, the broken chains wrapped around the trunk of the tree in front of the door, and the ...... that appeared so many times

I can't see the face of the god clearly.

Tell me what you guys came up with?

Religion.

Yes, religion.

It is still obviously unorthodox, superstitious by people in ignorant areas, and a cult.

It's a timeless classic.

Especially in the current situation where subjects that are too realistic can easily touch the red line, the fictional religious themes of the alternate world are undoubtedly a good way to avoid harmony.

- Of course, after reading the author's life, I have reason to suspect that he just thought the subject was more surreal and fantastical......

Ahem, skip the nonsense just now.

Going back to the story itself, the town originally ran according to its own rules.

Although that law may not be correct, or even inhumane......

As for the inhumanity, you can try to pay attention to the ratio of men and women in the characters, especially the ratio of older men to women.

There are very few women, so few that one wonders how the population here is sustained.

So far, all women look very young in appearance, estimated to be under the age of twenty, and upward......

Not a single one.

This is no longer a hint, it is simply explicit.

What about the slightly larger ones?

I can't imagine where they're going.

And in the case of such a large consumption of women of appropriate age, how to maintain the population base and how to ensure that there are enough newborns......

This is another topic that is very scary.

It's not that I'm thinking too much, absolutely not.

If it were another author, it might be true that he didn't think much about it, so that there was a mistake in the setting.

But this one is admittedly fond of adding a lot of information, and his works are full of easter egg metaphors.

Let's turn our attention back to the heroine, the mysterious crow girl.

She suddenly broke into this isolated place, disturbing the stagnant calm.

The contrast of emotional colors here is very remarkable, and as long as there is an occasion for her appearance, even the picture seems to be much more vivid.

At least it's no longer the chilling numbing sensation of a dead man's coldness.

When I guessed a little truth, I also raised my heart for her.

Coming to such a strange place where safety is completely unguaranteed, but not showing any vigilance.

It's like the group of protagonists who deliberately want to die in some old-fashioned horror movies.

Is she just an ignorant girl who wants to die?

No.

It's like an answer to your gut feeling.

Or maybe it's the answer that we tell us with the details of the stacking.

It's just ...... Not afraid of life and death.

From the vague mention at the beginning, to the naked murder scene later, "Black Bird" hardly left us any buffer time.

It was just a sign of doubt in his heart, and he immediately spread out the bloody truth to others.

The impact is beyond words.

The crow, the girl named "The Crow", was killed by the mad believers with a sarcastic smile.

The next day, it appeared in front of everyone's eyes in perfect condition.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" she still wore that sweet smile that had not changed for a long time, "Is there anything strange about me?"

Pain and death seemed to her as if they were a daily occurrence.

How terrible it is to be able to face all the people who have killed you with a smile on your face, isn't it?

And the fact that the person you have killed is in front of you again, which is enough to drive people crazy.

They couldn't kill her.

They gradually descended into madness.

Witch, witch, or something else?

It doesn't matter.

Even if he has lost his three views of being a human being, the fear of unknown life is still engraved on his genes.

Fear?

Regret it?

Hopeless?

It's just the price they have to pay.

The girl looked at the increasingly tense atmosphere of the town, and smiled innocently and flawlessly.

Yes, that's it, fate has set the trajectory.

The crow on her shoulder spoke for the first time, and it was less like a crow's cry and more like some kind of hoarse whisper from a foreign land.

"Ahh She stood at the edge of the town and took one last look at the houses that faintly lit up.

It was the house where the old man who had received her on the first night lived.

She hadn't seen him in days.

I don't know where I went.

But forget it, it doesn't matter.

Just like the ending of this place, it doesn't matter.

Human beings are all the same.

It's boring.

As when she came, the girl took the crow into the snowy night.

What remains behind him is the last hustle and bustle that has not been seen here for nearly a hundred years.

This is where the story comes to a happy end.

……

Seems a little unsatisfactory?

But that's the end of the original, there is no ending.

But that's not all.

After my non-technical research—I actually asked a friend—I found something related to Kuroko.

This author, yes, is the pit you all know, he actually published an article related to the creation of "Black Bird" in his official account, which talked about a little follow-up.

The follow-up was so short, so short that I couldn't bear to read it.

In order to save you time, I will summarize it directly here.

Walking out of the snowstorm, the girl meets another boy who has been waiting here.

And then there's their conversation.

"Human beings are still so ugly, and I have almost experienced a thousand kinds of malice in this world. ”

"Human beings also have good hearts. ”

"I can't see it, I can't see it at all!

"That'...... Then embark on a journey with me, and I will show you the thousandth and thousandth beautiful hearts of mankind. ”

"It's only one, why do you need a thousand kinds of good memories!"

"No problem, beautiful Raven Daughter, would you like to tour the world with me?"

"Okay. ”