MAD

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

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.

Interesting story, u can clearly get the influence from American cinema in the setting, from Alien to Mad Max: Fury Road.

For people familiar with post-apocalyptic and sci-fi, there isnt really something super new and mind blowing, as u can identify a lot of commom tropes in this kind of stories and its easy to get to where the plot is going, but seems to be a slow-burn story, with the major parts taking their time to start to get more "intense"

The artstyle is quite simple, but seems to be intentional to give this more "graphic-novel" vibe, with nerly no scenary and following a more "realistic" ... drawing style.

Dark Sci-Fi with an alien-eating cult at the helm. I'm sold.

MAD is the definition of "A picture is worth a thousand words" and that is evedant in the exposition. MAD rarely explains the logistics behind the alien invasion that's taken place in this world, but what little it does reveal is done seemlessly through character interactions. It also shows subtle hints and portray the grim details of humanity on the brink of extintion, that includes the despiration that leads the remaining survivors to do whatever it takes to live.

That's a non-spoiler description of what you can expect from MAD. To get more into the ... specifics, the first thing that caught my eye was the minimalistic and creative way the art was drawn. It has that very rough and rigid art style which is at it's best when transitioning from scene to scene (such as shifting focus to another set of characters). Everyone likes to compare it to JJK or Chainsaw Man, but in my opinion it flows much like a continuation from page to page rather than obvious stopping points. The reason i point all of this out is to say it's story and world-building is much leaner and focused but more in-depth that i forgot i was reading a manga that's published weekly.

Now it's not without it's faults though, and my biggest issue with the manga is the character presentation. To keep it simple, I feel like they are very surface level and haven't been expanded on to make their actions feel justified. To avoid spoiling, the most important characters survive another alien invasion on their " Safe haven" and outside of the protagonist (John) and the main antagonist (Leon), we don't know much about them or what they've been through. Without information on their backgrounds it's impossible to tell if they are as incompetent as they seem or just have no survival instincts. Even from chapter 1, John tells his survivor group how they are basically walking right into a trap and will be killed by either aliens or other humans, and the leader, Ethan, says they must take the chance because of "Hope". For any of my gamers out there, that sure sounds a lot like Dutch telling Arthur to "Have some goddamn faith!" and excuses poor leadership.

Other than that though it's paced incredibly well, nothing feels rushed or drawn out, conclusion or boiling points in the story happen organically (and brutally) and the alien designs are absolutely stunning. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes dark fantasy or sci-fi and can handle the gruesomness it displays.