Madness (manga)

Madness is a Japanese yaoi and adventure manga series written and illustrated by Kairi Shimotsuki. It is serialized in Comic Manga Lynx, under Gentosha Comics, Inc.. It is set in 3000 AD, where Catholic priest Izaya and his mass-murderer teammate Kyou fight to save the world from a series of natural disasters. The manga is licensed in North America by Tokyopop's imprint Blu.

Plot
It is the year 3000 AD and Airishuu Izaya Luke is a Catholic priest of the Cult of Saint Ruka and is charged with watching over Kyou, the leader of a group of murderers called Madness. But after a series of natural disasters occur, Kyou, the former members of Madness, and Izaya set out to save the world.

Characters
Airishuu Izaya Luke (イザヤ) is a compassionate Catholic priest of the Cult of Saint Ruka. He strongly believes that there is good in everyone and is first to see the kind side of Kyou. He was a very strong Believer in his religion which advocates God and judgement; that the murder of people is wrong. However, when he discovers that it was Ruka all along that was attacking him and Kyou, he loses faith in himself and God until Kyou tells him that it is his heart that tells him what is good and evil. He still strongly dislikes fighting however he resolved to put himself in danger's way because he wishes to assess for himself what is good and what is evil. Since he is a Believer, he is using his knowledge of Ruka's bases to help lead Kyou and his colleagues. He is often the center of argument in the group because he is Kyou's love interest and Supressor. As Kyou's Supressor, he has to keep Kyou's bloodthirsty side in check as Kyou gets carried away sometimes by bloodlust. Miyabi would rather have him stay safe because he is the younger brother of someone Miyabi cared about but Kyou insists on taking Izaya along. Oboro isn't very fond at times of Izaya because of his closeness to Kyou.

Kyou (きょう) is a former mass murderer of the group Madness who teams up with Izaya. He has trouble recollecting memories of his past but he remembers that was born inside a cell of some sort and as a boy had a lust to kill. He weilds a large sword. He was captured and kept in a cell under Ruka's supervision. Because he disappeared, he was proclaimed dead by other members of Madness. It was here that he met Izaya who was very kind to him and snuck into his cell sometimes to keep him company. He has two sides of him of which one side is his bloodthirsty side. There is some speculation as to whether this is due to the chip or simply due to his nature. His other side is very kind towards Izaya. Because his bloodlust tends to get the better of him, the only one to stop him was his Suppressor which is currently Izaya. Miyabi, who used to be his love interest, used to be his Supressor until she disappeared. Like all members of Madness, he has a chip that is inserted into his brain which controls his actions if activated. He has no recollection of having the chip inserted into his brain. The members of Ruka appear to have a control which can activate this chip which causes Kyou to vomit. Sometimes Miyabi and Kyou fight over Izaya.

Miyabi (みやび) is Kyou's first Suppressor and another infamous member of the group, Madness. She is a beautiful, albino woman who left Kyou for dead because she didn't want to kill anymore. Like Kyou though, sometimes her bloodlust gets the better of her though this is due to the chip which Ruka implanted inside her brain. She is very skilled with a long sword. She has a pet bird named Hakuou which brings her her long sword when she needs it. She worked at a brothel where Izaya first meets her. Izaya is the first to see that she was not very happy with what she was doing. Izaya lets her come along on their journey because he believes she would be a much better Suppressor than him. She always has Izaya's best interests in mind and always seeks his safety. She sets off to kill the members of Ruka so that Izaya may remain safe even though she hates killing. Kyou despises her for trying to kill him and the two constantly argue over Izaya.

Oboro (おぼろ) is a former member of Madness and Kyou's sidekick. He weilds a large barrel gun. He is very loud, jokes around a lot, and says whatever is on his mind without much regard for Izaya's feelings. He is often bossed around by Kyou to which Oboro complies. He often expresses his love for his "niisan" Kyou who rejects him by punching him in the face. He is very jealous of how close Kyou and Izaya are and often walk in on them when Kyou is making love to Izaya.

Kai (かい) is a doctor for Madness and often treats Kyou and Miyabi for their wounds. His "hospital" also serves as a base for Madness. He greatly values his assistant and android doll Amane and grew very angry when Ruka infiltrated his facility and attacked Amane's room filled with parts. He mentions that his kiss to Miyabi was simply because he was testing her skin. Should Miyabi die, he wishes to graft her skin onto Amane.

Amane (あまね) is an android doll created by Kai as an assistant in the lab. He is also Kai's love interest. Amane is very suspicious of anyone to get between him and Kai. He first calls on Ruka to give them information that members of Madness were in the laboratory when Kyou and Oboro came to Kai with a wounded Miyabi so that they would come between Miyabi and Kai.

Manga
Madness is written and illustrated by Kairi Shimotsuki. It is serialized in Comic Manga Lynx, under Gentosha Comics, Inc.. The manga is licensed in North America by Tokyopop's imprint Blu.