"Madlax" is set against the setting of Gazth-Sonikan war and the first episodes in contrast to the tranquil Nafrece with the war-torn Gazth-Sonika; later, the story moves completely to the combat zone, focusing on the central characters, such as Limelda Jorg, and their suffering. In an interview, the director Mashimo stated that "[t]he story is about portraying inner struggles of people, while showing what life is like in this place of madness and this other place of peace". Accordingly, the series' title is a portmanteau of two English words, "mad" and "re"lax"ed", mirroring the authors' intention to portray the two extremes of human being.