HW Art Cars | Mad Manga

The Mad Manga is a Hot Wheels Original designed by Jun Imai, which debuted in the mainline back in 2012. Since then this casting has been produced in other themed series of cars as well as included in multipacks (3, 5, and 9 packs). It is considered one of the most popular unlicensed cars ever produced by Mattel due to its design.It has certainly have its charm that is straight out of a Japanese Anime or even in graphic novels also called a "Manga." It’s styled with the Japanese bōsōzoku (Japanese: 暴走族 meaning 'violent running gang') custom style, which features over-sized Fender fairings, slanted head, and tail lights, the "shark nose", huge air dam, and exaggerated exhaust pipes is definitely a hit among collectors and fans who are into anime that’s is worth taking a closer look.

In 2015, Hot Wheels slowly streamlined its thematic segments for the mainline basic range which includes the HW Art Cars series. There have been five castings included in this mini-collection that would become a staple theme for the next mainline series of cars for Hot Wheels, which not expands from five cars to ten, currently in 2023.

This Japanese-inspired car has appeared mostly as part of the HW Art Cars twice being part of the 2015 and its most recent mainline inclusion in 2021. It was also part of the HW Night Burnerz in 2013 and part of a 5-pack in 2019. In case you missed out on the debut model, it was included in the Super Rigs as the car compliment for both variations of the Galactic Express in 2016 and 2018.

Mad as a Shark

The Mad Manga is a predator on wheels with a distinct look that has an aggressive design with all the sharp edges that makes it look fast. Its custom style appearance gives you that JDM vibes that were heavily modified to run into a straight line. The way it fits in the HW Art Cars theme is that line art is part of the car’s identity.

This was the first deco for the 2015 release, and during that time it was considered an uncommon casting since it became a hit with collectors. The rise of the popularity of JDM castings was a rarity during this time, and it slowly progressed because of designers Jun Imai and Ryu Asada influencing Hot Wheels casting with Japanese culture and the adoration for anime art.

Rounding Up the Theme

This is not an underrated car, but quite an uncommon casting if you look beyond not being a licensed car. The popularity of this casting has produced a roadster variant named the Track Manga and a Tooned version known as the Manga Tuner. Both of the cars mentioned were an inspiration from the Mad Manga.

By keeping it as part of the theme, the Mad Manga appears to be out of place. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s not only the deco that you should be looking beyond the theme itself. The design aspects for this theme come into play as this car does have the angles while the Bread Box has that shape based on a loaf of bread.

Abstract Art with an Edge

There have been five castings being part of this segment, but the fifth car is also the most challenging to find because it was a regular Treasure Hunt, and that is the Volkswagen Beetle in pink with the Peace sign art. But the next best thing to take a look at this theme is the four castings that are not as challenging to find that you need to twist someone’s arm for you to complete a set as a personal opinion.

The Beetle had one variant, while the rest came in two colour deco. The Mad Manga is one of them that had a secondary release in black the same way the Bread Box had an Orange version, but I didn’t get it because of the painted wheels that came in blue and yellow. It’s not like the first release had its wheels entirely painted, but it was passable enough to have the rims only painted unlike the later.

Overall, the concept behind the Mad Manga is one of the best castings produced for Hot Wheels that always fly off the rack. Its aggressive look and sits close to the ground is certainly something you rarely see in an original casting. The long exhaust is great too, but over time you must take care of it as this one shows some stress already even though it’s in storage.

It is worth noting this car represents Japanese culture in the way the Austin Mini Van represents British culture. The artworks on each car were that simple, but going back to the time of seeing these on the pegs it was the Hiway Hauler 2 that stand out because it reminded me of a local artist who draws cloud art with faces on them.

The current HW Art Cars have been great, but not unlike this set of castings that started a thematic segment that Hot Wheels continue to incorporate within the main line’s basic assortment. The most recent ones were a hit or miss, and I have some personal favourites.

For now, the Mad Manga completes this personal collection that you might find interest in hunting in the local die-cast swap meets or toy fairs whenever you can.