Entries for: April 2009

Mars

April 3, 2009

Looking back at an older series, Mars is a shojo series written by Fuyumi Soryo. Spanning fifteen volumes, plus a "prequel" volume, the series first premiered in the Japanese anthology Bessatsu Friend in the late 1990s through till 2000, with the prequel chapters actually being released before the series finished. Tokyopop picked this one up in 2003 and has since released the entire series. At first, Mars seems like the classic "good girl with a bad boy" story, with high schooler Kira Aso as a shy, withdrawn painter meeting Rei Kashino, a popular school skipping, seemingly rough thug who rides a motorcycle.

In the first volume, we are introduced to these two as they meet unexpectedly at a park when Rei asks for directions and Kira, without answering, quickly sketches some on the back of a picture she drew. When Rei later sees the picture, he keeps it thinking its beautiful, then realizing Kira is in her class, he starts bothering her until she answers wanting to know more about her art. It also introduces Harumi, another classmate who wants Rei for herself and quickly is infuriated by Kira being the new object of his attention, and Tatsuya, Rei's best friend. Of course, Harumi resorts to bullying as the two grow closer, while Tatsuya deals with his own crush on Kira while realizing Rei is falling for her.

As the series progresses, though, each of these seeming "stereotypical" characters branch into conflicted, multi-dimensional characters. Rei is rough, he can be violent, and is a known player, but with Kira he finds the gentler side of himself and a sense of peace as he struggles to remember, then face, the multiple tragedies in past and the deaths of his mother and brother. He also quickly is shown to not just be someone motorcycle hobbyist, but a professional racer with both the ambition and skills to become a world class champion. Through their sometimes rocky relationship, Kira not only comes to terms with her own haunted past, she finally mends the part of herself broken long ago and finds her own inner strength in her love for Rei. Of course, things aren't completely easy, as not only do they have to deal with Harumi, though she quickly turns around and becomes Kira's best friend after seeing just how strong the quiet girl can be, but also a thieving upper classman, disapproving parents and teachers, and a downright psychotic kid from Rei's past who doesn't like seeing Rei changing. As noted earlier, the main series is 15 volumes long. There is also a sixteenth volume, Mars: A Horse With No Name, which is a "prequel" story in that it tells how Rei and Tatsuya first met, but it really is best read after the main series.

Mars is one of my absolute favorite shojo series. I honestly re-read it 2-3 times a year, or more. The story has a lot of depth, with interesting twists and turns that are, at times seemingly over the top, and yet amazingly realistic. While Soryo does include some "standard" elements of this type of story, she also avoids taking the easy way out of situations, and doesn't wrap up many of the subplots in neat little bows. Her art is well done, with a wonderful range of expressions in her characters and an amazing attention to detail in scenery and, particularly, the many motorcycles seen throughout the series. She also does well in including just enough information within scenes to explain the motorcycle world to those who may not understand it, without overloading. Tokyopop's translation of the series is not bad. There are a one or two places with pretty obvious grammar errors that make sentences awkward, and I suspect they tried to "Americanize" a little, but for the most part, its well done. It is easy, to me, to see how this series was one of the top selling ones in Japan when it was released, and as all of it is still available, I still highly recommend it.

Rating: A+

March 2009 Purchases

April 3, 2009

Bleach, Volume 26 (03/03/2009)

Nana, Volume 15 (03/03/2009)

Hell Girl, Volume 01 (03/07/2009)

Hell Girl, Volume 03 (03/20/2009)

Hell Girl, Volume 04 (03/20/2009)

Hell Girl, Volume 05 (03/20/2009)

Prétear, Volume 03 (03/20/2009)

Some anime for a change thanks to BestBuy's dumping all titles at 50% off!

My-HiME, Volume 7 (03/03/2009)

Ouran High School Host Club: Season 1, Part 1 (03/03/2009)

Ouran High School Host Club: Season 1, Part 2 (03/03/2009)

Ghost Hunt: Season 1, Part 1 (03/08/2009)