Maddies Manga

In a world where a lack of sunlight has caused plants to cease to grow naturally, science has evolved to the point that doctors can now use humans as vegetation incubators. Kamiya, living in such a bleak world, is forced to make a difficult decision.

You can check out volume one of this series for yourself below!

Author

This series was written by Kasumi Yasuda.

Genre & Tropes

Plant horror, fantasy, drama.

Info about this series (ongoing)

There are currently 12 volumes in Japanese, and eight in English.

TL;DR rating

I’m very happy that I went into this volume almost completely blind. I had no expectations, so I was blown away by every twist and turn the story took!

Official Synopsis

The earth of the distant future is covered in thick clouds, and the sun no longer shines. Plants wither, and oxygen is thin. To fight extinction, humankind has developed a technology that turns humans into plants, providing a small amount of oxygen. Is this process sustainable? Is it ethical? Toshiro Kamiya must consider these questions as he’s faced with a difficult choice—save his family or save himself.

Kamiya is at the end of his rope. His mother is ill, and his job barely pays for her medication, much less food. With few options left, he considers the life-changing process of transfloration. Ready to give his body up for a payday, Kamiya is about to explore the limits of society’s waning humanity.

My thoughts on this volume (Spoilers!)

This volume was a rather dark, twisted one, I say lovingly. The story is set in a world that is shrouded in darkness, where the inhabitants have began to change for the worse. Putting aside the fact that some people have been turned into plants and plant incubators, it feels like a good majority of the characters we see in this volume have lost their will to live normal lives. We see abusive fathers, hopeless factory workers, and mental health patients with nowhere to go.

This setting feels eerily realistic, as I can only imagine how hopeless the world would feel should the sunlight one day go out forever. After all, I get almost depressed at the thought of my city being covered in snow for half the year… I could only imagine how hard it would be to live somewhere that’s cold and dark all of the time. I am a bit curious to see more of the world building, as it seems like factory work is one of the main jobs that people are able to do now—did the natural disaster cause some sort of war to break out? Or, did the government put all the money into building resources to aid the scientists and doctors who are implanting seeds into humans?

This volume follows a rather hopeless boy—a high school dropout named Kamiya. After a sequence of bad events happen to him, he sees no choice but to request to have a seed planted in him. This process is typically one only granted to those who are otherwise about to die. There is a rather large payout, and the recipients are free to live the rest of their lives doing whatever they want, spending their earnings however they see fit… for about three years. That’s about how long it takes for the plant to fully sprout and take over its human hosts body. Once the plants take over, it’s unknown whether the human inside is still alive or not. On top of that, it’s unknown whether they still have a conscious should they still be alive. So for someone to choose to undergo this procedure… they would have to be completely out of options.

Just because the procedure is typically only given to those that are about to die, doesn’t mean that there’s no way to rig the system, and Kamiya does just that. After going through the process, he gains the unique ability to be able to somewhat understand what the other plants / plant-people are saying—something unheard of until now. What’s a main character of a horror novel without an interesting supernatural power, right?

While I did find it to be a tiny bit cliche that our main character is the one “special” person in this world, I did really enjoy him! He’s a rather moody, calls it like he sees it character. While he technically works for the government, the doesn’t stop him from doing whatever he wants, within reason of course. I really liked that he didn’t let his new circumstances stop him from following his whims! As he lives such an unfortunate life, I can only hope that he can live the rest of it doing new and interesting things.

Lastly, I can’t end this review without talking about the art for a second. In any body horror series, for me, the artstyle is imperative. I would actually say that the art and plot are on par. If it’s difficult to understand what’s happening to a character—i.e. if the art is too abstract—I can’t appreciate it. If it’s constantly overly detailed, my brain can’t decide where to focus. The art in Fool Night does a wonderful job of knowing when to be more detailed, and when to be more simplistic. The author seems to always take the time to make sure the plants are drawn with great detail, but they oftentimes leave their non-plant backgrounds more simplistic. Even when there’s not necessarily anything scary happening, there is always at least a subtle focus on the plants.

While the body horror in this volume is rather minimal, it is still indeed there. Because it’s so minimal, the few times that there are more slightly grotesque panels, they really stand out.

I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!