My feelings for Mars are a bit difficult to describe, but I’ll try anyway (why else did I write this much).
For the first five volumes or so, I was absolutely stunned by it and then unsurprised because it was made by the same author of another work I was deeply engrossed with, which was Eternal Sabbath. However, one focus of their genres’ aspect differed greatly, considering Mars was more centered on a shoujo perspective while Eternal Sabbath was seinen. Despite this (because the audience is VERY different), I felt it was an amazing and captivating read and was astounded by the amount of depth the characters had and remembered this was what impressed me so much about her other work. Sometime during or after volume five, however, I could feel the focus of the story shifting and becoming more psychological; it already had the psychological tag beforehand, I’m sure, but it became more of the prime focus for a few volumes, which was something I was not too ecstatic about. Don’t get me wrong because I love the psychological genre, and the author best exemplifies this in Eternal Sabbath (which I know I’ve mentioned three times now), but I felt that this should have ended before a certain character was introduced and more heavily involved. The story kept going, but I felt like it was rather unnecessary, even though it did build up and create more character growth and development than ever before and giving a greater insight to the main characters, which certainly made the buildup seem worth it for the most part. However, maybe it’s because I knew where this was headed that I was a bit irked by this new direction the manga was taking (did I already mention that there was someone I really did not like? Who knows).
As others have pointed out, there is a certain flaw that wraps up the problems of the characters rather too nicely and simply, when this manga was all about struggling and enduring and confronting issues straightforwardly; it seemed like such an easy way even though it was most certainly NOT without its own setbacks, or at least, initially.
Mars was definitely worth the x amount of hours I spent binge reading it in one sitting, but not the entire x hours, as I could have also been spent on more productive means (such as sleeping, eating). My issue lies with length of volumes, which I consider some to be “extra,” especially concerning the ending.
Again, I liked the character growth, but I felt like one character in particular, was rather annoying, although he did serve a useful purpose in revealing the inner layers of the main characters even more so than before, which really peaked my interest and kept me interested enough to see how it would ultimately end.
Now, the ending wasn’t anything really terrible that I would berate badly enough to make me try to forget I ever read the series at all, but when I remember how Eternal Sabbath ended (yes I am bringing this up again, and for the last time), I felt like it could have been executed better, or been given one more volume to finish (even though I complained about the number of excess volumes before).
Overall, I enjoyed it for the most part, because despite certain flaws (again, also mentioned below), it also combined elements of surprise and suspense that kept me coming back for me enough to continue reading all night/morning instead of just simply spoiling the ending for myself by skimming through.
If the question being asked is if I would read it again... Yes, I would, but I would not give this series an outstanding ovation because of certain plot points that irked me to such a degree (which you can find below, contained in the hidden section (ahem, spoilers!), which I hope you won’t read because the story is much more interesting than even I give it credit for).

... Last updated on February 12th, 2017, 8:37am

Yes, this series has a lot of drama. It sometimes seems like a soap opera. Love triangles, amnesia, car crash, childhood trauma, mental illness, bad parenting, suicide, violence, bullying. . . the list is long.



But underneath all the action is the author's understanding of humans. We get hurt, but life goes on. One accident alone can cause overwhelming pain, and all the deaths around us can make our world seem crazy. All we can do is keep on living. So we stand up again, and put a bandage over the scars. We all can either die or keep existing. This manga made me think about how I've taken a lot for granted. The messages the author delivers through MARS really resonated with me, and i found myself crying at how immature this manga made me feel.

There are lots of plot holes in this story, and the characters are all flawed-- i don't like the main guy for his violent temper, for example. But to me, MARS is a sincere love poem to humanity. For all the pain and cruelty that we give each other, we humans are a beautiful paradox of fragility and strength. Humanity is just like the God of War, Mars, cruel but kind, and burning with violent passion.

I recommend this to everyone who has ever gone through hard times.

... Last updated on May 15th, 2016, 12:06pm

This is the best shoujo (josei would have also made sense) that i ever read and impossible to put down.
The art is great, the topics the manga carefully addresses feel well researched and the romance is one of a kind. The way the series handles death/suicide and sexual abuse and sexuality is unsurpassed in the genre and only Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan (9,5/10) comes close. Every single characters is alive and it must have been thrill ride to read the series weekly back in the day. I couldn´t even find real flaws while i reread the series a while ago and the structure of the narrative itself is a sight to behold too. So much foreshadowing! No subplot is wasted and the series ended on exactly the right note. Fuyumi is my favorite female mangaka and i hope that she will finaly be acknowledged with a few anime adaptations one of these days. It least she has the award side covered (but sadly not for this gem). Overall a rare perfect series.

... Last updated on July 18th, 2015, 6:44am

I love this manga. I read it almost obsessively (I hardly stopped reading long enough to take care of basic human needs) and finished it in two days. Though the love story is really sweet and makes you want a much less disturbed Rei for yourself, the story is so dark. It's definitely going to stick with me a long time. The art was gorgeous and perfectly portrayed the mixture of light and darkness in everyone. I'll admit that Rei had one heck of a past, but so did Kira, and often the past would mess with the two of them in the form of Sei, Shiori, Takayuki, the step-dad, and worst of all Masao, just to name some. I won't say who exactly these people are (spoilers would ensue if I did, and you really have to read this manga all the way through to get the full effect). I will say that Kira and I have a very similar past, so I know that her reactions were very realistic even though I don't have anyone like Rei to protect me. This manga is a definite must read for older teens and young adults. I absolutely believe that fourteen year olds and under SHOULDN'T read this. It's too intense and horrible and sad, while at the same time beautiful and moving and bittersweet. All in all, a 10 for all the things mentioned above. I wanted to give only a 9 because of how heartbreaking this story is (with a happy ending, of course) but just couldn't. It left too deep of an impression on me.

... Last updated on November 23rd, 2012, 12:14am

This manga changed my perspective of shoujos 180 degrees.

Up until reading this manga I was reading the cliche romance stories and I was getting bored. Then I stumble across this manga. From the art I could tell it was old and that made me ignore it for a while. I came across it again later and did a little research (I hate devoting time to something I think I'm going to hate) and found that it had a psychological genre.

Now, note that this was YEARS ago when I was first getting into mangas and from the ones I had read so far I thought it was funny that these childish love stories could have any psychological depth to them. So, I decided to give it a go.

My goodness did I fall in love. Since then I have read countless mangas, some ranging from the usual cliches to the deep and tragic and none, so far, have surpassed this. I believe this is something every mangaka should look up to and every manga should strive to be like. To have a story that plays with fire, that dangles you over an emotional edge just to bring you back again, and to just make you fall in love with the characters from first sight.

It's simply amazing and I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE PAGE! The plot was amazing, the characters were engaging and it was so...real. To those who do not like the "dramatics" then you do not understand good literature. It's one of the bases of a good love story because there is no love without problems.
To those who did not like the psychological part, then you cannot fully grasp the story or characters without understand that these "issues" are what makes the characters so frighteningly real.

No one's perfect, but even so, I thought Kira and Rei were. Separated they were pathetic people, together those two could face anything and that's why I loved it so much. They were like yin and yang, they completed each other. One gave strength while the other gave brains. One gave violence while the other gave calmness. It was like light vs dark but somehow they intermixed to create something beautiful.

I'm getting all hallmark with this comment, but let me just say that I love this manga and everyone should give it a try. Even if you don't like it, this amazing piece of work AT LEAST deserves a chance. It's too good to ignore.

... Last updated on June 19th, 2013, 7:14pm

i read this cause people said it had real romance rather that that kinda love at first sight stuff, and i have to admit, at the beginning i really liked it but it just started going downhill from when he kissed the statue. it was really overly melodramatic and most of the time i felt like the story was contradicting itself because they wanted to add another "twist" to the plot line.

as it progressed, the story seemed less like a romance to me and more like a mystery novel of trying to get to the bottom of Rei's past and mental issues. that aspect of the story is fine but at times i completely forgot Kira was even in the story, that shouldn't happen. so anyway not my cup of tea, i can see how some people would like it but i wouldn't recommend it

Ok here we go, I don't generally write reviews for mangas but after reading a handfull of the ones already up here i decided to have a go at it. I want to defend this manga, its personally one of my favorites. But i'm not going to be all like "IT'S GOOD, YOU DON'T LIKE IT? YOU SUCK"

I highly enjoyed it, i don't understand why anyone would think that there was to plot or character development, i thought the characters developed nicely. Yes the main character is weak, but she does find strength later on, you need to read the whole thing first before judging, this is why i don't go complaining in reviews about why i didn't like a manga cause firstly it's probably just not tuned to my tastes, or i never ended up finishing it.
I also don't find the backgrounds of the characters to be TOO unrealistic, at least not as unrealistic as a posy of super rich kids attending a school for the mass of super rich people out there and then ONE girl who on the brink of poverty just happened to make it into the school. But then again there's nothing wrong with that, it adds to the comedy, and just isn't my cup of tea.
What i'm trying to get at is i found this to be a wonderful manga because there was nice development, it had me hooked, and it was very like something i would read.
you can't call this one unrealistic and say hana yori dango isn't. Life comes with TONS of different situations so just cause all of them don't follow the same story line doesn't mean they aren't very relate able, not to mention is it were COMPLETELY realistic it would be pretty boring no? honestly if the manga were based off OUR lives people would be reading about kids who sat their large rear ends in front of a computer reading manga all day. it just depends on the person.

... Last updated on December 25th, 2009, 6:13pm

Mars is what every shoujo manga should aspire to be, pure and simple. In the hands of a lesser mangaka, Mars could easily have turned into just another bog-standard cliche-fest, but Soryo-sensei is a masterful storyteller and dramatist. The pacing is just right, nothing is superfluous to the central story. Soryo-sensei obviously knew what she was going to do from the start, and was not tempted into trying to prolong the series, even though it was popular.

The strengths of this manga lie in the characters. Sure, it's all very melodramatic and angsty, but the characters react in ways that you believe real people might act. No one is perfect and some wounds never heal. There isn't a single harem or flowery background in sight in Mars. And that's because Mars doesn't need them. Soryo-sensei presents her story and characters with such confidence and skill that you can't help but fall in love.

Everyone who enjoys shoujo should read Mars. You'll find it sets the benchmark for anything else you'll ever read.

I didnt really like this manga. While it has some good points to at least be able to finish it, it also has some, in my opinion, unrealistic stuff and situations that bother me.

I liked how the story focused on surviving despite all the different setbacks. Also how the main couple had separate lives before and after their relationship which continued on into their future. There was notable improvement from Rika starting out and Rei who slowly realized how self-destructive his prior lifestyle had been. However, I feel like the ending lacked the impact since it had been resolved easily compared to everything else going on at the time.

Art is dated but still works with the story. I'm a bit bothered by how she draws girl's eyes since they look awkward with the realistic art style. I didn't mind it that much compared to other retro titles.



... Last updated on August 9th, 2016, 6:52pm