HORROR SPECIAL: MADK

Author: Ryo Suzuri
Illustrator: Ryo Suzuri
Publishers: Sublime; Canna Comics
Age Group: Mature
Genre: Horror Gay (BL) Romance
Type: Manga

Content Warnings: All the content and trigger warnings.  

Do not read if you are under 18, preferably under 25. 

Don’t even pick this book up unless you’re on a watch list somewhere! 

Spoilers ahead

A whirlwind of emotional damage and whiplash. I can’t even compare it to a rollercoaster. It’s more like a bungee jump followed by a zip-line into a tree. 

A weird mashup of horror and romance that delves into the dark sides of love. 

Plot

Makato has long been ostracized because of his odd hobbies and a kink others would see as disgusting. One day he finds a book on summoning demons and manages to summon the intimidatingly beautiful and rather chatty Archduke J. The demon offers to grant Makoto’s deepest twisted desire in exchange for his life. Once Makoto has sate his demented appetites, he fulfills his end of the this bargain, only to find he’s been reborn as a monster…in hell! 

Reborn in hell as J’s demon underling, he learns and grows into his new role, his infatuation with J turns into an obsession—an obsession to surpass the very demon who birthed him. Living among so many unique demons helps Makato to grow into his new role. But he finds he can’t ignore the feelings he’s harboring for the demon who brought him to hell, the beautiful but very twisted Archduke J! 

Character Development

I have to say this has become one of my favorite series. I love the depravity and humanness this series explores with its characters. 

Makato is just a teenager with some dark weird kinks. He’s been ostracized his whole life. He’s known he’s weird and his kinks aren’t normal. To prevent anyone being hurt, he summons a demon to help him explore them in exchange for his soul. He’s a very sweet boy that’s very human in nature even as he becomes a ruthless demon through his series. He’s not all dark but not light either. He’s shades of gray and I love that about him. He’s very relatable in his thoughts and how he interacts with other demons. 

Archduke J is the embodiment of a dark angel. He is seen as Makato’s messiah from the confines of human society that bind him to be a good person. He’s the safe haven that Makato has always wanted. He’s pretty twisted himself and doesn’t even bat an eye. He’s as silver-tongued as they come and you never know exactly what he’s thinking. 

Dentensho (D) is another initialed demon who runs a brothel and works under J. He’s a giant sweetheart for a demon. He’s been in love with J forever. He’s honestly my favorite. An Incensate, a demon that uses incense and pheromones to manipulate others to his will. He’s based off a trumpet mushroom, has no orifices, and identifies as male because the clothes are more comfortable.

Fjord (F) is a diva of hell. He goes around and sings, dances, and other things for his various patrons. He used to work at Dentensho’s brothel before J took a liking to him. He becomes Makato’s only actual friend in hell since they’re similar in age. He’s a pretty laid back character based on leafy green vegetables. 

Shax (S) is a fallen archduke of hell that runs a bar. He’s in love with Dentensho. He lives in the slums and runs his bar there. He’s a proud bird demon (stork?). He makes a deal with Makato to save Dentensho from…. Well let’s just say Dentensho also falls….

World-building

The world building in this is very interesting. We learn a lot from Makato’s perspective. 

Demon’s have to constantly read between the lines and never trust one another. If a demon falls in love it leads to their ruin. 

Demons can’t say another demons name that has more power than them. Makato figures out that it’s all about fear. If you’re scared of a demon, you can’t say their name. Having power over another demon makes it so your name has power. If a demon says your name that has less power than you do, their bodies and souls shatter. In essence, they cease to exist. 

If a demon has strong regrets they become shades, cursing and haunting others but bound to a specific place. 

We also find out that demons can steal parts of other demons creating their own version of what they want to look like. Makato uses this to his advantage to keep his body how he wants it and get around a protection spell that J places on him. 

This world doesn’t just have demons but also has clans such as werewolves and the Incensates. 

Themes

Obsessive love will always lead to ruin. 

I think this is the theme. Love can be extremely beautiful but it can also become dangerous and depraved. We see this multiple times throughout this series where love leads to the ruin of a demon. Shax falls because he love Dentensho. He removes himself willingly because he doesn’t want to go into oblivion. 

Dentensho loves J so much that he goes kinda insane when he tells Makato about J’s weaknesses so Makato can investigate J’s past to take him down. Going insane, he no longer runs the brothel but becomes a high earner until Shax saves him with a deal he made with Makato. 

Wald, Archduke J’s mentor, loved J so much he became a shade when J surpassed him and disappeared. At the same time, J loved Wald so much that it created a hole in his heart. He yearned for someone to surpass him so he could go into oblivion. 

We see Makato’s obsession of love and hate for J consume him to the point that when he finally surpasses J, J makes a pact with him. Makato’s heart in exchange for being able to say J’s real name for eternity. I want to say here that hate is not the opposite of love but a byproduct of love. If you hate someone, you still love them to a degree, it’s just that the hurt twists that love into hate. The true opposite of love is apathy. (Thanks for reading my ted talk).

We’re left with one final twisted love we have no idea how it’ll end. Fjord has also fallen for Makato and knows he’ll always do his bidding. We don’t know how that will unravel, but we can assume not well. 

Observations & Predictions

I would love to see an expansion of this series, but it’s considered complete. I think the author did an excellent job bringing horror and romance together while also humanizing all of the strange grotesque characters. The world building makes it feel real. 

This series is definitely not for everyone. It’s grotesque and heartwarming. You’ll squirm in the best and worst ways. Prepare to be uncomfortable.

Some of my favorite lines from this series: 

“You let your hate fuel you, empower you. But you don't’ succumb to it so much it consumes you…most either Clint to their hate until it overwhelms and ruins them or they let it fizzle out. They forget and settle into whatever they’ve become. Everyone who survives forgets their hate (Archduke J, Volume 2).”

I believe this is quite true for humans. You have to let it go eventually or you’ll delve into the depths of insanity. 

“The relief of knowing it’s okay to let go. but at the same time the disgust at being so thoroughly understood (Archduke J, Volume 3).”

This really hit me because I think we all want to be understood but at the same time none of us want to be so thoroughly understood that we fully submit to another person. We all want to stay our individual selves. 

Recommendations

Horror BL:

Killing Stalking 
By: Koogi

My Ranking

Plot: 10/10
Character Development: 10/10
World-Building: 8/10
Overall: 9/10