Mars Manga review

Warning: Recommended readers 18 years and above -- Profanity, rape, murder, blood and list goes on... 

English: Mars

Type: Manga

Volumes: 15

Chapters: 90

Status: Finished

Published: May 13, 1996 to Dec 13, 2000

Genres: Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life, Psychological

Authors: Souryo, Fuyumi (Story & Art)

Serialization: Bessatsu Friend

I'm sad to see that this manga is not well known around fans of the genre.

I found out about this manga in this site while I was browsing around.I read one of the reviews here and thought to myself,why not try it?It has gotten a really high rating and must be good.Alright,sometimes high rating can be in fact misleading so I wasn't so excited at first and wasn't expecting a lot from this one.. However I was wrong.

This manga is psychological, I warn you if you cant handle it, dont read it but let me tell you this--

this is one of the best shoujo mangas that I have ever read. Honestly, there were points in time where I had no idea why it was even being called a shoujo manga anymore. It managed to capture so many different genres, I am sure that there are a lot of people out there that will like it. 

Kira, a shy high school student, lives only for her art. Rei, An arrogant, rebellious and violent playboy, wears his delinquency like a badge of honor. They are exact opposites in every way, but when Kira sees Rei kissing a statue of Mars, she overcomes her fears and asks him to model for her. And, to everyone's surprise, Rei agrees. 

This story of a boy on the wrong side of the tracks, and a shy artist girl both falling for each other, captivated me. Its not some innovative blast of originality, there's no genre deconstruction, no super twist that tips the world upside down. It’s just a love story told really well.

Despite the cute character of Kira, and the fact that she cries every five minutes which admittedly grates, it doesn’t feel saccharine at all. The character conflicts, the world the story is set in, the way everything pans out, it feels authentic, and when it doesn’t it’s at least in service of the story. Because its 15 volumes, stuff just has to keep happening to our main characters, it wouldn’t be much of a story if only a handful of things happened, but Fuyumi has the skill to make it engaging and flow from one story arc to another seamlessly.

You're willing Kira and Rei to pull through it all, like lovers on the run from the world. The biggest criticism of the manga would be that the last major threat; the last antagonist; that last hurdle that every story must have, in this case began to feel too generic for my liking, but it never becomes boring at least and resolves itself swiftly

The characters are really deep.In my opinion it's the characters that attract you so much as to continue reading the rest of it.For me at least no matter how good the story of a manga can be,if the characters are just uninteresting,it'll discourage me from reading the rest.While it's not really hard to find good character development and good interaction between characters in shoujo manga(I think that's where shoujo wins shounen) this one presents another persepcrive of the characters.Here we're also shown the very dark side of both protagonists.And when I say dark I mean with the whole meaning of the world.That of course is one of the things that makes the characters even more realistic.

At first you'll doubt the art but as you continue reading the manga the art improves. It’s clean, soft, and beautiful to look at. Fuyumi makes it look so easy. The beauty is in the simplicity. There's no unnecessary detail, just what is essential. Essential for characters, essential for the story. The scene composition is masterful, and so is the design of the panels. It just flows so well. The best way I can describe it is that it all makes sense. 

Mars, the red planet, the warrior of war, the fiery passion in us that love ignites; drives us out of our minds; pushes us forward whether we like it or not, and makes us sacrifice anything and everything to sustain it. You see it all in this manga, and that’s why I gave it 10.