Nov 2, 2024
I really like MAD so far. In a word, it's Fujimoto-esque. The closest thing it reminds me of is Fire Punch (except the art. The closest thing that reminds me of is Chainsaw Man part 2). The basic premise is that the majority of the human race has been wiped out after aliens - which are copyright-infringingly close to just being Xenomorphs - came down in meteorites. For all intents and purposes, humanity is dead. There are no hidden cities, just disparate bands of maybe a dozen survivors trying their best to not get noticed by a single one of the aliens, because if they
...
are they're dead. The protagonist is John, a normal guy trying his best to survive, when the group of survivors he's with picks up a signal and make their way towards it.
The first chapter excellently plants enough implication about the grim setting, and from the second chapter on it begins to weave a compelling mystery. But I won't spoil anything more than that. Needless to say, the characters are compelling and quirky, the story is intriguing and the comedic moments are a blend of dark and hilarious.
The art really is its biggest flaw so far, though. With a lot of visually unimpressive manga, you can at least say it has its good moments. I can't really say that with MAD. It more resembles a storyboard than anything else, and the designs for the aliens and the sci fi equipment are all very generic. I would advise going into it expecting a webcomic level of quality more than a professional manga.
Overall, the story is very compelling but the art lets it down a bit. It's the author's first serialised manga, so I expect that to get better over time. If you enjoy dark stories, apocalypses, Fujimoto manga or thrillers hearty recommend.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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