Last month, we offered you a selection of Yuri manga. From now on, we will focus on the ever-expanding world of their male counterpart, the Yaoi! In this new column, we will present each month a work in this genre. Today, it's time for Ryo Suzuri's erotic-horror manga, MADK!
The story
Makoto is a shy and withdrawn young boy. Her special interests have led to her being rejected by her comrades and relatives. Because Makoto's passions are not those commonly accepted: serial killers, cannibalism, witchcraft, demonology… Through these works, he seeks to understand and curb the morbid impulses that assail him and that he finds it increasingly difficult to repress. Desperate, terrified of harming someone, Makoto summons a demon, without much belief, hoping for relief. Then appears J, Archduke of the Underworld, demon with devious charm. The latter accepts Makoto's request, in exchange for the latter's life: to let the young boy devour his flesh and his entrails. But the counterpart will prove more terrible than expected…
MADK, an erotic-horror tale
MADK ( for Motsu Akuma to Danshi Koukousei, literally "The entrails of a demon and a high school student") arrived in France in July 2019, thanks to Taifu editions. And the least we can say is that this first volume has shaken up the codes of Yaoi! The shock begins from the cover. The logo is spread out in blood-red letters, over the entire height of the page, with a steep handwriting, which one could imagine panicked. Behind stand Makoto and J, entwined in a deadly dance where carnal aesthetics and the idea of devouring are already present. Ryo Suzuri lays with talent and in a few boxes the foundations of his story and directly gives power and depth to his main character, Makoto. Indeed, he first appears sad, his face circled and waxy. In a subtle play of light and shadow, the mangaka makes us take the full measure of the suffering that crosses this boy, ostracized, judged and rejected even as he struggles to stay afloat and not give in to the terrible impulses that assail him. The same goes for the character of J, Archduke of the Underworld. His angelic and demonic appearance is reminiscent of what he represents for Makoto: a redemptive demon. With his cabotin airs, it is very easy to get attached to him and find him "cute" and "nice", as Makoto sometimes thinks. However, Ryo Suzuri was quick to remind us of his demonic nature and the merciless violence he can display. After a first chapter in the world of humans, the plot takes place in the heart of the Underworld. MADK gives us to see this place as a site with Victorian airs, especially with the castle of J which is reminiscent of that of a certain count of the Carpathians. This is reinforced by the clothing of the characters, especially J and Makoto whose outfits seem to respond to each other and foreshadow the fight that will oppose them. Because we know very early what will happen to Makoto: after several hundred years, he will become the demon Archduke M, whose power will surpass that of J. Given the terror that the latter is able to inspire through words alone, we look forward to following the evolution of Makoto! Here, the fight becomes almost metaphorical: everything will be made of manipulation, innuendo and surpassing oneself and others. The verb becomes a weapon, potentially destructive if we are not careful. When we understand this, the games of glances staged by the mangaka become almost terrifying! By placing us in the same place as Makoto, forced to constantly adapt to a world whose rules he does not know, it reinforces the bond that the reader shares with him. Verbal jousting becomes fights as well as moments of seduction. Each struggles to dominate the other and this is felt even in the sex scenes.
Ryo Suzuri, taboo breaker
Because MADK is indeed a Yaoi and like any mature Yaoi who respects himself, it contains sexual scenes. Few in number, they put themselves at the service of the narrative and always involve an evolution in the inter-character relationships. But their reduced number does not diminish their impact, quite the contrary! Because it is here that Ryo Suzuri arrives at the top of his art and breaks the glass that protected us until then from the oldest taboos. Cannibalism, murder, incest. These are the three fundamental taboos on which all humanity is built, those against which our psychic barriers defend us continuously, according to Sigmund Freud. However, in MADK, Ryo Suzuri seems to take a malicious pleasure in staging them all. Whether between J and Makoto, whose teacher-student relationship can be seen as a reflection of a parent-child bond; but also in the sexual desires of the young boy, who takes pleasure in devouring his partner; and finally in the carnal ritual shared by many demons, where sex and death intertwine. Thus, MADK shocks, questions and can make you uncomfortable. And this is where his goal seems to be taking shape: to question what we define our humanity on. Because, after reading this first volume, it is impossible to condemn Makoto, who nevertheless concentrates in himself all the taboos. And what about Hell and the demons that populate it? While they can be terrifying, this is where Makoto finds the only support and compassion he never had as a human, especially with the characters of Datenshō and Fjord. Without seeming like it, MADK puts us in front of ourselves and that part of our psyche that we hesitate to look in the face. Moreover, in MADK as in his other works (published under the name of Ryo Sumiyoshi: Centaurs and Ashidaka – The iron hero, available from Glénat), Ryo Suzuri takes the side of minorities, of those who are rejected for what they are. Boy torn by morbid impulses, centaurs hunted and enslaved, humans with multiple mechanical arms accused of being the cause of a plague … All his characters, in their strengths as well as in their weaknesses, show us that humanity is not necessarily the prerogative of those we believe. Ryo Suzuri stages strong and combative figures and sublimates them with his controlled and precise line. Her qualities as an outstanding storyteller plunge us into uncompromising and complex stories, which we nevertheless have great pleasure in following because they echo in us. As you will have understood, MADK is a unique Yaoi, which informed readers will appreciate at its true value. We can't wait to discover the rest of Makoto's wanderings in the Underworld and see how he will evolve, until he surpasses his master. This still promises many quality volumes! If nearly two years have passed since the release of the first volume, Taifu editions have announced the second for May 28, 2021. The available visual is already very striking and seems to tell us that terrifying and dark hours still await Makoto! Ryo Suzuri offers us with MADK a horror tale mixed with an eroticism with licked aesthetics. This dive into the heart of the Underworld can not leave indifferent, which is why the reading of this first volume requires to have the heart well hooked. MADK is therefore not to be put in all hands, but those able to receive it will cross the path of a masterpiece in the making!
