GOD MARS I

[prettywu]

I got the review of this Mars Manga (Comics style)
Counterpart of the series in J Fan Manga
Artist: Fuyumi Soryo
Author of review: Karen D.
Date review submitted: June 10, 2003


I haven't read a more romantic manga in my life. Mars is beautiful, and a true masterpiece.

The story starts off with a girl named Kira who's sketching drawings at the park. Suddenly, this guy, Rei, goes up to her and asks for direction to a hospital. She quickly draws the direction for him on a piece of paper, without noticing that on the back is a sketch of a mother and a child. She leaves quickly after because she's shy and doesn't talk to guys. Later at school, who else buy Rei show's up at Kira's class. He sits next to her, and in her head she doesn't think he would remember her. Instead, he DOES notice her and starts whispering to her to get her attention. Since she's so shy, she tries to ignore him so she won't get in trouble. Rei gently pulls her braided hair and says "Hey, I'm talking to you." Impossible to believe, but Rei saved the paper she gave him because of the picture on the back. Rei finds the picture to be a symbol reflecting his own life.

From there on, the romance between Kira and Rei just gets bigger and bigger. Their first kiss is a scene to remember. There's action, racing, suspense, a lot of drama and love, and some comedy here and there. Even without the comedy, this manga would do just fine since it's a definite page-turner. The art is also just as beautiful as the story. It's very detailed in every single line, and the facial expressions are so powerful that it will have you laughing when they're laughing and crying when they're crying. This manga is good to share with your non-manga friends; I'm sure they'll love it.

Overall Rating: 9

[prettywu]

Artist: Fuyumi Soryo
Author of review: rinangel
Date review submitted: July 13, 2003


A bad boy can change a good girl forever.

Well, that one sentence pretty much says it all. Kira is a very shy young unpopular girl who loves to draw (VERY well). Rei is a punk who smokes, swears, and is popular with girls and guys alike. Rei asks Kira for directions to the hospital one day, and Kira quickly sketches him a map of where the hospital is on the back of a sketch of a mother holding a child, and takes off as she was never fond of Rei for his bad reputation, and also because she's too shy to speak to anyone. Out of no where, Rei saves Kira in the art room when she's being sexually harassed by a teacher (yes, it's quite gross.)

Kira sees Rei kiss a statue of the Greek god, Mars, and immediately realizes his beauty. The two quickly become girlfriend and boyfriend. Other females become jealous of Kira for this, and this conflict continues on into the later volumes.

I for one, thought Mars was a so-so book. The "opposites attract" idea wasn't at all original, though they made it seem like it was supposed to be. I really can't see what beauty Rei has. Big eyes, strange smile? I don't find that thrilling. It seems like the artist is trying to build a plot, but after a while, it feels like the same thing with a few things added. I couldn't feel much suspense either. Rei and Kira are a close couple, and nothing can change that. The artwork isn't all that beautiful. The eyes are too big (Kira's in particular) and is it just me, or does Rei look like a girl on the first volume cover? But what Mars really lacks is an original plot... or maybe I'm just not into romance.

Overall Rating: 6

[prettywu]

MARS Manga Synopsis

Characters:

* Kira Aso : a shy art student


* Rei Kashino : a rebellious motorcycle racer, and a handsome playboy, with warped personality....

Imagine what kind of romance this odd couple has.

Difficult.

Both have dark pasts (Kira was raped by her stepfather, and Rei saw both his mother and twin brother (Sei) commit suicide).

As these two battle their personal demons, they learn to not only love each other, but themselves.

Before she knows Rei well, Kira thinks that Rei is just a rude playboy. On the other hand she considers Mr.Yoshioka, the English teacher, as a polite man. However after Rei saves her from being raped at the art room by Mr. Yoshioka, she learns that people can't be judged by their outer looks. From here on Kira is interested to Rei, and since he is so handsome, she is asking him to model for her painting.

Harumi, Rei's old friend, who is in love with him, is jealous to Kira. She brings her to a quiet place, and demands Kira not to speak to Rei again, or she will burn Kira's hand with cigarette. Unconsciously, Kira asks "If I cry for a week because of the pain it causes will it be ok for me to like Rei?". Suddenly Kira realizes that she falls in love to Rei.

Harumi is even more upset now. She threaten Kira to give Rei up. If she doesn't want to, then Harumi will break her hand, so that Kira will never able to paint again. Just when Harumi is about to break Kira's hand, Kira screams "Sorry Rei, for not being able to give you my drawings" (Rei loves Kira's drawings). This forces Harumi to stop, since she realizes just how deep Kira's feeling for Rei is.

Rei, who is very angry to Harumi for what she just did, shows his warped personality. He threatens Harumi back that if she ever lays her hands on Kira again, he will avenge Kira by killing Harumi.

That night Rei visits Kira at her house, and gives Kira her first kiss.

Kira's painting with Rei as the model is named Mars (as in Mars: the god of war). It won the first place in a competition, hence become pretty famous. Lots of people from Rei's past are able to track Rei's whereabouts again because of it.

Shiori Sakurazawa-- Rei's beautiful ex-girlfriend who is still deeply in love with him and wants Rei back.

Masao Kirisima-- A pretty boy who Rei once save from being killed by hostile bullies. He hates Kira because in his view she makes Rei 'weak' (Rei used to be a wild child delinquent, a side Masao loves the most from Rei).

Masao tried hard to separate the couple, to the point of attempting to kill Kira. He is mean and mentally ill.

As if these problems are not enough, Rei's mother asks her stepfather to come back -- and he tries to rape Kira again. Kira is running away from her home and staying at Rei's apartment-but soon her stepfather discovered her, and tried to bring her back. Rei punches him, and almost make him fall from the top of the apartment.

Angrily, Kira's stepfather screamed that he would bring law to this finish the matters. Realized that from the publics' eyes Kira's stepfather is a flawless and responsible businessman, while he is just an ex-child delinquent, Rei (who is absolutely against Kira 'stays' at the same place with her stepfather), ask for his father's help. It turned out Rei's father is a very wealthy and influential man, with his help Kira's stepfather dropped his plan to sue Rei.

However in order to get his father's help, Rei made a promise not to drive motorcycle again (which is very sad since he loves racing so much and dreamed of becoming a world-class racer someday). He also has to prepare himself to inherit the family's corporation.

Kira and Rei now stay at Rei's father house, a place where Rei spends his childhood with his mother and twin brother Sei. Kira soon revealed that Rei and Sei are the sons of Rei's current father's brother (in other words, Rei's current father is actually his uncle). Rei's mother had an affair with Rei's biological father when she is married to Rei's current father, and when she was pregnant with the twins, Rei's biological father died in a car racing crash (Now we know where Rei gets his talent and love to race).

[prettywu]

Since he can't have any child of his own, Rei's current father (a very wise and kind person) loves the twins as his own. Rei's mother, who doubts this, becomes overprotective to the children. She became a paranoid, who always think that her husband hates and will hurt the twins. She finally tried to kill the twins herself, luckily a maid saw this and she can be stopped. Later she hangs herself.

Sei (Rei's twin) and Rei grows very close to each other. Sei, just like Kira, loves to paint. He was a weak child, who was constantly being bullied by his classmates. Rei, as the strong one of the two, was always there to protect Sei. Sei loves Rei, and the real reason he commited a suicide (as written in Sei's suicide note that was found accidentally by Kira), is because he was too scared of being apart from Rei. By committed a suicide, he wanted to leave a big scar on Rei's heart and was hoping that Rei will also join him soon.

Everything seem to be perfect.

Rei's father lets him race again (he realizes that Rei will never ever be able to lead the corporation well, and suited better to the race world). Rei and Kira are back to Rei's old apartment (where they feel more at home), and they are getting married at a wedding-registry (legally married).

But Masao is back!!! He stabbed Rei (he wants Rei dead!!), since he knows about the wedding and realizes that he will never get his old 'wild' Rei back.

Kira and some of the couple's friends run to hospital, and sit at the waiting room (Rei's dad also come)…..then to her horror Kira sees Sei's ghost (still looks like 15 year old boy-- in the high school uniform in which he committed suicide in) walks to the surgery room, smiling to her.

In his dream, Rei found himself standing in the top of the school building where Sei committed a jump-suicide some 2 or 3 years back. Rei reaches out to Sei, both are smiling to each other, when suddenly the door slams, and Kira appears. Rei looked at Sei and said 'sorry'. With this word, Sei's image fades to thin air. Rei's then gains his consciousness....

All are well again---finally---at the final chapter Rei visits his father at his office. He brings the painting---MARS---Kira's gift to Rei's father to hang at his office. He asks Rei to have a child soon, since he is now married already anyway, to succeed the family's business (Rei just think 'hey, we can't have a child just like that, we're not like dogs you know?')

Then he meets Kira, who gave him Sei's suicide note. Rei just laugh at the letter. He can't understand why Sei thought of such things and committed a suicide. Then Rei burned the letter. He said when Sei can meet him again it will be when he is very old.

The story ends with a big race where Rei participates, Kira and Rei's father are also there-watching.

credit goes to vigxi

[prettywu]

[viCzhOu]

has anyone watched it yet? is it nice>?