MADK is essentially a lonely woman masturbation material done in exquisite art with perfect fantasy anatomy (as you would expect from Suzuri Ryo, who specializes in it). Cannibalism, sexual sadistic disorder, defying god, defying family, demonic intrigues, coercive sex, coercive prostitution, patricide, homicide, demon-i-cide, rape, lots of spilling innards... It’s dirty, dark, and twisted. It does picture abuse and violence. I was and still am reluctant to read it on most days. I am amazed by it and happy it exists. Because while most of its themes aren’t healthy and few of the fetishes click with me, it’s an honest, raw and generous part of ... someone’s sexual mind delivered on a pretty silver platter. And because the main demon has carefully drawn catlike toe beans.
Many people asked for MADK to be added to the database. And, I figure, I could take the initiative to hint on the why. Labeled by its editor as "a pillar of fallen morals" it’s a darker kind of yaoi, toying with deviant interests. But it’s so open about it, so dedicated to the goal and displays such quality that it feels strangely wholesome, and can be enjoyed for the journey even if it doesn’t actually make you moist.
In many ways because it distances itself from real life. The events are fantastical and quickly move to a hell, the characters are demons or occultly warped. They clearly have other societal rules and capabilities, the manga itself acknowledges they are not virtuous and practise bad things. Everything is clearly on the other side – of realism, of morals, of your bedroom door. Cause you as a reader too consented when you opened the book, you had been warned. The only moral judgement that this work is willing to give is to bigotry aimed at the different, which is fair and also applies to its consumers in a way.
I wouldn’t call this porn though, paradoxically. There’s functional plot about the protagonist advancing in the world of demons with heavy foreshadowing for another act of cannibalism in the end. The hero tries to establish himself in the new environment, his master toys with him relentlessly, and someone is going to eat someone in the end – but who eats who and in which order and how? The answer is something to look forward to, even though I don’t expect MADK to end up being as much of an epic as it could've been. Occasionally you witness dramatic moments, when the main character deals with self-acceptance and emotional turmoil, but human emotions may not be his problem anymore - and it's another conflict to follow.
Sex happens a lot, as in it's a constant presence, the narrative moves from instance to instance, but not much time is spent on individual sexual acts. It’s more about their context, the increasing weirdness and characters developing through them. It's like, if something is broken or torn off, you'll be likely shown, body parts going in orifices normally – not so much, acclimatization means the next step. And it's not that graphic gory, the punchline is how pretty the - reversible (so far) - damage is. It's more decadent poetry than butchery, velvety skin torn off with caresses rather than fountains of blood. Actually, I would say that taking flesh off is the main explored fetish.
The otherworld and the demons are the stars of the show. Their designs are masterful, varied and sophisticated. The range of animal features is much wider than usually – wings, horns, odd eyes are present, but there’re also plant-like and mushroom-like demons, and one noble demon is a giant octopus-dragon with a human head, who wears a dick-like turban. You’ll even get additional juicy anatomy details in specials. Clothes and interior designs also don’t disappoint, ornate and ethnically diverse, the main couple preferring opulent frills of XVIII century Versailles and rococo decorations.
Talking about dick hats – one thing I may actively dislike is chibi faces and jokes at inappropriate moments. The author gushing over their characters is understandable and deserved here, but it still rubs you the wrong way when someone’s is pictured as child-like adorable when he has just torn someone's head off, which happens a lot. The manga has a playful mood as a whole though, even if not often genuinely funny, it’s almost always entertaining.
The whole MADK is like that – an intelligent person retelling you their sexual daydream in an elegant fun way. A piece of a high-grade fujoshi experience shared rotten heart to rotten heart. The imaginary events are messed up, but it’s not like it’s a didactic novel, you discuss wanking. The fetishes are odd, but admitting them is an act of opening up, so you respect and cherish the moment. The fictional world is even more disturbing than the events of the story, but it’s a display of imagination and inventiveness you have rarely seen before. You may not like all the jokes and the downplaying of violence, but you chalk it up to trying being pleasant. The vocabulary and the literary qualities are astonishing. It does make you excited if not full-on aroused. And if you are honest – you know your fantasy worlds aren’t much purer. So you are not judging. You thank the storyteller profoundly, sip you tea, take notions of novel sexual anatomies and enjoy. If you know what I mean here or are simply open to experimentation within yaoi/guro/supernatural/monster dudes sphere, MADK can be one hell of a pleasure.
Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Motsu Akuma to Danshi Koukousei Japanese: MADK InformationType: Manga Volumes: 3 Chapters: 22 Status: Finished Published: Aug 28, 2017 to Jun 30, 2022 Theme: Mythology Serialization: Canna Authors: Sumiyoshi, Ryou (Story & Art) StatisticsScore: 7.991 (scored by 2,200 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: N/A2 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #2739 Members: 7,541 Favorites: 346 |
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