By Kairi Shimotsuki
BLU, 261 pp.
Rating: M (18+)

In a post-apocalyptic future world, society is ruled by violent gangs, and none are as ruthless as Madness, headed by Kyo. Kyo was killed three years ago, but the rest of the members of Madness remain at large. At the beginning of the story, we find out that Kyo has been kept alive in the basement of a church by a priest named Izaya, and his bloodlust is awakened once again when a former Madness member rolls into town and tries to steal Kyo’s old sword. The story picks up from there, with Kyo turning into his former savage self and dragging Izaya along with him for the ride as he hunts down and collects bounties and allies among the former members of Madness.

This is one of those action-oriented shojo/shonen-ai series that I lack a term for; they’re like mild seinen series with pretty men who have sex. These are usually pretty hit-and-miss for me, and Madness is no exception. As a BLU manga, I was expecting it to be very romantic, or at the very least, to have a lot of sex. The pieces are there, including Izaya, an aggressively wimpy priest who looks just like a girl, and Kyo, the power-crazed muscled maniac. They seem fond of each other at first, but then there is absolutely no romance, or even chemistry, between the two for most of the book.

Later, we find out that Kyo has a split personality and it’s the mild Kyo that likes Izaya, but the person we see most of the time is angry Kyo, who seems to want nothing to do with him. There are hints that Kyo’s brother and others want to dally with Izaya, but this is restricted mostly to crude jokes and one dangerous situation. Surprisingly, there are only two graphic sex scenes, and one of them is with a big-breasted woman and a comically rotund man. Make of that what you will.

Romance aside, the plot is rudimentary and frequently doesn’t quite make sense to me. There are a lot of fights between Kyo and others, but the confusing art makes it next to impossible for me to follow what is going on in the action scenes. The outcomes are always clear, but there are frequently panels or even pages that are a complete mystery. This, coupled with what appears to be a simple power trip for Kyo and a standard ally collection, make the plot of the series not much of a draw, either.

The characters are also unpleasant, and it doesn’t take long for Izaya’s whining for Kyo not to kill or hurt anyone to wear thin. Basically, Kyo will engage in a fight, and Izaya will always try to stop him. Kyo takes Izaya along with him as a “suppress,” but it’s not clear what function that serves. The characters make it sound like Izaya is supposed to stop Kyo from going insane and killing people, but I’m not sure why Kyo would willingly handicap himself like that among bloodthirsty bounty hunters. Plus, whenever Izaya’s “suppress” powers activate, it looks more like he brings Kyo back from the dead, so I’m not sure if that will eventually go somewhere or not.

I couldn’t find much to like in this story at all. Aside from the action scenes, the art is pretty nice, with lots of nice detail, but that’s completely negated during the frequent fights. With a weak plot, unlikable characters, no romance, and no sex or gore, I’m not entirely sure what the draw is supposed to be.

Volume one of Madness is available now.

Review copy provided by the publisher.