MADK
Content warnings: This
series is 18+, and as such is intended for mature audiences. It includes
explicit depictions of gore, cannibalism, and rape, as well as
prostitution and emotional manipulation.
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I debated with myself on whether or not I wanted to review this manga
here, because the content is pretty extreme, but I realized I had
already reviewed Saya no Uta, so it wouldn't really make sense to draw
the line here. I just decided to be upfront about the content and allow
people to choose if they wanted to continue reading or not, so that's
what we'll do. In my own personal opinion, I consider both this manga
and Saya to be primarily horror media, despite the heavy sexual
elements.
MADK (an acronym for Motsu Akuma to Danshi Koukousei) is a fantasy
horror 'yaoi' manga written and illustrated by Ryo Sumiyoshi. I only
have 'yaoi' in quotes because while the plot does heavily revolve around
the sexual relationship between two men, I don't consider this to be a
romantic or erotic piece of media at
all. I first heard of this manga.. like, eight hours ago, as of the
time of this writing. I saw it mentioned briefly in the comments of a
YouTube video about horror manga, and the person's reaction to the title
made me curious, so I looked it up. It is currently two volumes (12
chapters), with a third volume potentially in the works.
The first chapter starts the manga off with a strange, jarring tone that
doesn't quite reflect the rest of what's to come. It mixes dark humor
with a weirdly vulnerable look at a person struggling with unhealthy
sexual fantasies. Makoto, a lonely and alienated high school student,
summons a demon with a ritual he found in an occult book. The demon
promises to give Makoto his deepest desire in return for his soul. And
what exactly is Makoto's deepest desire?
While taken aback, the demon - who is known only as J - accepts Makoto's
request. Over the course of the next month, Makoto eats his way through
J's flesh and organs, with the demon's still-conscious upper body
keeping him company. Makoto confides in J that he has always been
haunted by these uncontrollable, deviant desires, but is terrified of
ever hurting somebody in real life. He thinks it would be better to let
himself die rather than risk hurting someone in the future. J praises
Makoto's selfless instinct to protect others.
The two have sex in a very explicit and somewhat horrifying scene, with
J encouraging Makoto to use his body in a way that would kill an
ordinary human. Makoto sobs after the fact and curses himself for
enjoying it, but tells J that he is satisfied, and that it's time for
him to die. However, intrigued by Makoto's strange desires, J instead
turns him into a demon and takes him under his wing as his apprentice.
After the first chapter, I wasn't really sure what I was getting into.
It felt like it could maybe be a gory, hyper-sexual sort of gag comedy,
but Makoto's self-hatred and the brutal sex scene also hinted at
something much more serious. I decided to keep reading, unsure of how to
categorize it or even how I felt about it after such an introduction.
Makoto awakes and J fixes him a new body. Makoto will live a lavish life
under J's supervision, but he's also struggling with being forced to
continue living - in an entirely new world, at that - after being
promised that he would die. J sends him to work at a brothel owned by
another demon, Datenshou. Makoto slowly begins to learn how things are
done in the demon world, and tries to come to terms with his newfound
relationship with J. Is he really the beautiful, indulgent savior that
Makoto wanted, or is he just a monster that enjoys playing with his
emotions?
It was around the third chapter that I really noticed and began to
appreciate how gorgeous the artwork in MADK is, despite the graphic
content. Take this crowd shot, for example - Sumiyoshi's designs for
these demons don't shy away from being inhuman and unattractive, and his
linework is impeccable as well. I found out that he worked as a design
consultant on the Monster Hunter series, and that his other works also
feature inhuman, monstrous characters - it seems to be a bit of a
trademark for him, and he's clearly well-suited for it.
Makoto continues to struggle with his emotions. J coddles him and
embraces him in his time of need, yet forces him to engage in violent
sex with a stranger. He praises Makoto but simultaneously treats him as
insignificant. Makoto, instead of breaking under this difficult and
confusing treatment, adapts to it, and finds himself caught up in the
selfish, sadistic mindset that defines a demon. Makoto is not the first
to be toyed with and manipulated by J, but he may be the first one with
the personality and willpower necessary to turn the tables on the
powerful demon.
That's an approximate summary of the first volume. The second volume
takes place after Makoto has been in the demon world for three years -
not only has he learned how to survive in this world, he's learned to
twist the rules and its inhabitants to suit his needs. For only being 12
chapters long, by the time I finished the manga, I was genuinely
invested in the characters and felt as if I understood a large portion
of the world and how it worked. Sumiyoshi writes J's deceptive behavior
in a fascinating way, and it's equally fascinating and horrifying to see
how Makoto takes on bits of J's personality, perhaps without even being
aware of it. Since the manga is not finished, it isn't 100% clear what
J's true motivations are, but there's enough there to keep you thinking.
The side characters also feel remarkably fleshed out for the short
amount of screentime that they receive - J's reach has affected many
more people than just Makoto and those in his immediate circle.
I read the whole manga in about an hour and a half earlier today, and I
was shocked by the fact that once I read both volumes, I was genuinely
upset that I couldn't get a resolution to the story. I had no intention
of getting invested in this random ero-guro manga I looked up based on a
single YouTube comment on a video I've already forgotten the name of,
but sometimes, these things just happen. Sumiyoshi takes a lot of the
uncomfortable tropes that seem so pervasive in yaoi - imbalance in
relationships, rape, sexual coersion and violence - and uses them as
thematic building blocks in a dark, unfolding story instead of just
throwing them in the mix for audience 'excitement' and writing them off
later.
Seeing the more realistic and dark side of obsession and emotional
manipulation was quite a refreshing surprise. Coupled with the
surprisingly dense worldbuilding and detailed, elegant artwork, this
manga really caught me off guard. It was definitely something that I
found engaging and interesting, but the sexual violence throughout can
be quite shocking and brutal, especially a scene that happens near the
end of the second volume. Makoto and J's sex scene in the very first
chapter is very harsh as well. As always with content like this, if you
decide to read it, make sure you are prepared and can handle it. That
being said, it was quite an unusual and engaging read, and I am kind of
happy that I happened to stumble upon the comment that led me to look
into it!