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Terra Formars #1
Terra Formars, Vol. 1
In the late 26th century, overpopulation on Earth is reaching the breaking point, and humanity must find new frontiers. The terraforming of Mars has taken centuries but is now complete. The colonization of Mars by humanity is an epoch-making event, but an unintended side effect of the terraforming process unleashes a horror no one could ever have imagined…
After humanity’s first manned mission to the Red Planet was lost, a second expedition arrives. The explorers prepare to exterminate the cockroaches that were used to transform the Martian environment, but are shocked to discover that the insects have mutated into giant, aggressive humanoids with one overriding goal—exterminate the humans! However, this crew of explorers has each undergone the “Bugs Procedure,” terrifying experimental surgery designed to make them more than human…
216 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2012
26 people are currently reading
349 people want to read
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March 26, 2023
Suffering from a drastic increase in population, the earth is suspected to soon be completely drained due to "energy issues and environmental destruction" in light of this news scientists are attempting to terraform the planet mars turning the sandy dune planet into a vegetated and habitable human home.
Somehow they're able to accomplish this feat with only cockroaches and moss but we shan't dwell on that fact. Anyways some time passes and a crew is assigned the mission to travel to mars and exterminate all the cockroaches. (Bc cockroaches are fucking nasty)
The occupants of Bugs 2 aren't your run-of-the-mill astronauts, in fact, they aren't astronauts at all. They were chosen simply because they were the poor of society and the easiest to prey on.
The roaches sent to mars some years ago were all genetically modified to be able to survive on the harsh conditions of mars, it seems however they may have adapted a bit too well to the conditions there.
Upon investigation, it seems apparent the roaches have evolved far beyond speculation. Now with immense musculature, irregular stature, and hominoid physicality, these roaches prove to be more than a match for human combatants.
However, It just so happens the occupants of Bugs 2 have one last trick up their sleeves. (or rather inside their sleeves and directly into their veins) A super serum if you will, incorporating DNA from earth insects. The idea was to fight bugs with bugs I suppose? But it's a rather splendid idea indeed as it works well to set up some interesting combat encounters!
Some of the concepts here are whacky and over the top, but if you're down for writing that's a little more out there I would have to say pick this book up. Ripped 9ft tall roach men are genuinely spooky. 😱😰😱
Somehow they're able to accomplish this feat with only cockroaches and moss but we shan't dwell on that fact. Anyways some time passes and a crew is assigned the mission to travel to mars and exterminate all the cockroaches. (Bc cockroaches are fucking nasty)
The occupants of Bugs 2 aren't your run-of-the-mill astronauts, in fact, they aren't astronauts at all. They were chosen simply because they were the poor of society and the easiest to prey on.
The roaches sent to mars some years ago were all genetically modified to be able to survive on the harsh conditions of mars, it seems however they may have adapted a bit too well to the conditions there.
Upon investigation, it seems apparent the roaches have evolved far beyond speculation. Now with immense musculature, irregular stature, and hominoid physicality, these roaches prove to be more than a match for human combatants.
However, It just so happens the occupants of Bugs 2 have one last trick up their sleeves. (or rather inside their sleeves and directly into their veins) A super serum if you will, incorporating DNA from earth insects. The idea was to fight bugs with bugs I suppose? But it's a rather splendid idea indeed as it works well to set up some interesting combat encounters!
Some of the concepts here are whacky and over the top, but if you're down for writing that's a little more out there I would have to say pick this book up. Ripped 9ft tall roach men are genuinely spooky. 😱😰😱
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February 15, 2021The way one ends up reading a particular book, the manifold ways that conspire to make someone become the reader of a book, are often too convoluted to be properly tracked. In this case, I had watched the anime way back in the day, and had vaguely considered checking out the source material if only to contrast it with much more influential Shingeki no Kyojin. But what made me actually finally jump the gun and read it, at this point in time, was my having recently read that infamous Clarice Lispector book featuring the cockroach. You may be saying, 'wait, there is more than one'; which is true but you also probably know the one I mean. Yes, that one.
So, from speculative, highly rarefied and ambitious Brazilian fiction to bloody, gruesome and not particularly deep action manga: It may seem completely random but I find it oddly complementary, if you will. Cockroaches for the win, I suppose? Why not!
At any rate, Terraformars is something of a mixed bag. It is quite solid as far as combat manga goes, with a fast pace that delivers oodles of blood, the detailed artwork going a long way into making this gore fest a delight for those who appreciate truly violence graphic material. There is even a plot, albeit somewhat vague at this point in the narrative, and an attempt at making us care for most of the cannon fodder.
So what is the problem, one may ask. Well, the problem is that it overlaps, in many respects, with the before mentioned and much superior title, Shingeki no Kyojin. As it so often happens, the comparison is not entirely fair. Terraformars is hard sci-fi, complete with the action taking place on Mars in the future, after much of the Earth has turned into nothing short of a hell-scape. The giant humanoid cockroaches are not all that similar to the Titans in SnK either, for starters, they do not actually eat human beings (at least not at this point, it would not surprise me if that happened further down the line) and of course, the insect component that is basically the entire premise of Terraformars is quite unique. At least, the centrality it has, plot-wise, is unique: this combining of insect abilities with human strength has been around for a long time in fiction and has traction in 2D culture as well; the Chimera Ant Arc in Hunter x Hunter immediately coming to mind.
But I suspect that double whammy of extreme violence and giant monsters killed much of the buzz Terraformars might as well have garnered for itself. If you are only going to pick up a title of this kind, then you are better off with SnK.
Comparisons aside, though, there are problems aplenty here. For starters and to start with the obvious: the giant humanoid cockroaches. That the science behind their evolution into, well, giant humanoid cockroach, is shaky is not that important. In a lot ways, Terroformars is surprisingly accurate in its science and I would not expect it to actually present a believable version of biological evolution. The problem I have with giant humanoid cockroaches is that they simply do not look like cockroaches. They look like gorilla-like super ripped giant humanoids that happen to have antenna.
They remain horrifying but simply not in an insect-like kind of ways. The apelike appearance may actually be deliberate as the manga likes to draw parallels between people and cockroaches and it makes sense to refer, if only visually, to humanity's biological past. But unfortunately, the cockroaches remain too much like gorillas. To the point that we need be reminded that they are indeed cockroaches. Their nature as cockroaches is crucial but you would be hard pressed to figure that out if not for the antenna, and even then, I am unsure I would have recognized as having any connections with insects.
Much more problematic, though, is the way certain characters react to encountering these monsters.
This brings me back to the characters. As is to be expected, they drop dead left and right. Since most die almost as soon as they are introduced, they get a brief introduction and an explanation of their insect powers. The problem with this approach is that it becomes very predictable. The moment the narrator starts explaining just what powers each character has, you know they are about to die and you will hardly ever be proven wrong. Some do not even get this perfunctory fleshing out and are just dispatched, never to be heard of again and oddly enough, this probably works better: at least the deaths are not telegraphed.
In one particularly ham fisted example, a character sees fit to dump their entire backstory.
While there are many problems, the action is tight, with very solid and detailed artwork that conveys fast movements as well as innards with a kind of almost lunatic precision. I often find it difficult to follow combat manga but this one is crystal clear and immensely easy to follow. On the other hand, I found it surprisingly difficult to read. Each time an insect ability was explained I had to hit the dictionary as I am not familiar with such vocabulary and insect terminology is already a mystery in English, let alone in Japanese. In most cases I had to look up the actual animal as the name meant so little to me. This does not matter much; the manga can be enjoyed without bothering about all this but I am anal about this kind of thing.
Overall, this is a fun ride but a flawed one. Here is to hoping future instalments will improve.
So, from speculative, highly rarefied and ambitious Brazilian fiction to bloody, gruesome and not particularly deep action manga: It may seem completely random but I find it oddly complementary, if you will. Cockroaches for the win, I suppose? Why not!
At any rate, Terraformars is something of a mixed bag. It is quite solid as far as combat manga goes, with a fast pace that delivers oodles of blood, the detailed artwork going a long way into making this gore fest a delight for those who appreciate truly violence graphic material. There is even a plot, albeit somewhat vague at this point in the narrative, and an attempt at making us care for most of the cannon fodder.
So what is the problem, one may ask. Well, the problem is that it overlaps, in many respects, with the before mentioned and much superior title, Shingeki no Kyojin. As it so often happens, the comparison is not entirely fair. Terraformars is hard sci-fi, complete with the action taking place on Mars in the future, after much of the Earth has turned into nothing short of a hell-scape. The giant humanoid cockroaches are not all that similar to the Titans in SnK either, for starters, they do not actually eat human beings (at least not at this point, it would not surprise me if that happened further down the line) and of course, the insect component that is basically the entire premise of Terraformars is quite unique. At least, the centrality it has, plot-wise, is unique: this combining of insect abilities with human strength has been around for a long time in fiction and has traction in 2D culture as well; the Chimera Ant Arc in Hunter x Hunter immediately coming to mind.
But I suspect that double whammy of extreme violence and giant monsters killed much of the buzz Terraformars might as well have garnered for itself. If you are only going to pick up a title of this kind, then you are better off with SnK.
Comparisons aside, though, there are problems aplenty here. For starters and to start with the obvious: the giant humanoid cockroaches. That the science behind their evolution into, well, giant humanoid cockroach, is shaky is not that important. In a lot ways, Terroformars is surprisingly accurate in its science and I would not expect it to actually present a believable version of biological evolution. The problem I have with giant humanoid cockroaches is that they simply do not look like cockroaches. They look like gorilla-like super ripped giant humanoids that happen to have antenna.
They remain horrifying but simply not in an insect-like kind of ways. The apelike appearance may actually be deliberate as the manga likes to draw parallels between people and cockroaches and it makes sense to refer, if only visually, to humanity's biological past. But unfortunately, the cockroaches remain too much like gorillas. To the point that we need be reminded that they are indeed cockroaches. Their nature as cockroaches is crucial but you would be hard pressed to figure that out if not for the antenna, and even then, I am unsure I would have recognized as having any connections with insects.
Much more problematic, though, is the way certain characters react to encountering these monsters.
This brings me back to the characters. As is to be expected, they drop dead left and right. Since most die almost as soon as they are introduced, they get a brief introduction and an explanation of their insect powers. The problem with this approach is that it becomes very predictable. The moment the narrator starts explaining just what powers each character has, you know they are about to die and you will hardly ever be proven wrong. Some do not even get this perfunctory fleshing out and are just dispatched, never to be heard of again and oddly enough, this probably works better: at least the deaths are not telegraphed.
In one particularly ham fisted example, a character sees fit to dump their entire backstory.
While there are many problems, the action is tight, with very solid and detailed artwork that conveys fast movements as well as innards with a kind of almost lunatic precision. I often find it difficult to follow combat manga but this one is crystal clear and immensely easy to follow. On the other hand, I found it surprisingly difficult to read. Each time an insect ability was explained I had to hit the dictionary as I am not familiar with such vocabulary and insect terminology is already a mystery in English, let alone in Japanese. In most cases I had to look up the actual animal as the name meant so little to me. This does not matter much; the manga can be enjoyed without bothering about all this but I am anal about this kind of thing.
Overall, this is a fun ride but a flawed one. Here is to hoping future instalments will improve.
May 25, 2015
It's the 21st century, and the plan is to one day colonize Mars. One of the main problems though is the surface of the planet is too cold to support human life. Scientists develop a plan to heat the planet by using mold which will coat the surface turning it black and attracting the rays of the sun. Cockroaches are sent to help feed the mold. (Does this whole concept sound a little weird? It gets weirder.)
Many years pass, and a manned mission is sent to the planet to assess the situation. The mission goes horribly wrong and no one survives. So what does NASA do? They send another mission up. This time, rather than waste a valuable group of astronauts, they train convicted criminals for the mission. Their job is to exterminate the cockroaches which have apparently evolved into 7' killer humanoid creatures.
In order for the convict astronauts to stand a chance against this apparently indestructible foe, they undergo operations that allow their DNA to transform them into human-insectoid hybrids with the help of some sort of triggering injection. Each convict has a "power-up" from a different insect. One has the strength of an ant, one the stinging power of a wasp, etc.
When the convicts eventually come face to face with the anthropomorphized cockroaches, the action is quite brutal and violent. This is not for younger readers!
There also seems to be some hidden conspiracy going on behind the scenes which seemed quite ridiculous to me. Overall, this manga was just a bit too weird and not well thought out.
UPDATE: When I originally read this, it was from an advanced copy in e-book form. I picked up a physical copy and re-read it, and I liked it more than the first time. I think the advanced version suffered from a translation issue or something because the text seemed very different. The story is still a bit weird, but now I want to continue reading the series and see where it goes. One thing I forgot to mention in my original review was the art work which is fantastic! I am increasing my original rating from 2 stars to 3 although it's more of a 3.5.
Many years pass, and a manned mission is sent to the planet to assess the situation. The mission goes horribly wrong and no one survives. So what does NASA do? They send another mission up. This time, rather than waste a valuable group of astronauts, they train convicted criminals for the mission. Their job is to exterminate the cockroaches which have apparently evolved into 7' killer humanoid creatures.
In order for the convict astronauts to stand a chance against this apparently indestructible foe, they undergo operations that allow their DNA to transform them into human-insectoid hybrids with the help of some sort of triggering injection. Each convict has a "power-up" from a different insect. One has the strength of an ant, one the stinging power of a wasp, etc.
When the convicts eventually come face to face with the anthropomorphized cockroaches, the action is quite brutal and violent. This is not for younger readers!
There also seems to be some hidden conspiracy going on behind the scenes which seemed quite ridiculous to me. Overall, this manga was just a bit too weird and not well thought out.
UPDATE: When I originally read this, it was from an advanced copy in e-book form. I picked up a physical copy and re-read it, and I liked it more than the first time. I think the advanced version suffered from a translation issue or something because the text seemed very different. The story is still a bit weird, but now I want to continue reading the series and see where it goes. One thing I forgot to mention in my original review was the art work which is fantastic! I am increasing my original rating from 2 stars to 3 although it's more of a 3.5.
March 27, 2013
What in the name of the seven blazing hells is this?
Here we have a story about astronauts fighting giant, mutant cockroaches on Mars. I can live with that. I can live with the bad science behind the premise.
But, I absolutely cannot live with the fact that the cockroaches are depicted as seven foot tall black guys:
Brutish, stupid seven foot tall black guys with curly black hair who bear absolutely no resemblance to cockroaches at all -- they aren't even hexapodal.
This is worse than the Sambo-looking guy in Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon.
Here we have a story about astronauts fighting giant, mutant cockroaches on Mars. I can live with that. I can live with the bad science behind the premise.
But, I absolutely cannot live with the fact that the cockroaches are depicted as seven foot tall black guys:
Brutish, stupid seven foot tall black guys with curly black hair who bear absolutely no resemblance to cockroaches at all -- they aren't even hexapodal.
This is worse than the Sambo-looking guy in Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon.
March 21, 2019
Leave it to Japan to have a story where we go to Mars to try and make it livable but first sent cockroaches to help teraform the planet only for them to become humanoid and have the strength to snap our necks with one move.
So yeah. That's basically the idea. We have a bunch of characters from different countries ranging from USA, Japan, China, and more. Together they are sent to Mars to try and make it a livable situation for more humans to come. However, when they get there they meet Humanoid looking roaches which attack and kill them. Think attack on titan meets bug wars. Since the humans can also inject themselves with something that gives them the power of bugs. Yeah...this shit is bonkers.
Good: The art is actually really solid. I enjoyed the fights, everything easy to follow, and for once they gave distinction to each race. That was a plus in my book. I also enjoyed the pacing as everything happens pretty quick. These creatures kill you so it's not like we're going to have the power of friendship stopping these bad boys. The ending also sets it up for more stories but maybe not with the same crew? A interesting choice.
Bad: The character's don't get flushed out enough. You get a glimpse of their past life when they die but it's done usually in a single page. So it feels more like a add-on then a actual reason to care for them. Also, the big bad are too over the top here. Yes, even in a series about roaches who can kill us.
Overall, a really fun if not really dumb story. I enjoyed it a lot reading it but also can understand why someone would hate it. Still, fun is fun. A 3.5 out of 5.
So yeah. That's basically the idea. We have a bunch of characters from different countries ranging from USA, Japan, China, and more. Together they are sent to Mars to try and make it a livable situation for more humans to come. However, when they get there they meet Humanoid looking roaches which attack and kill them. Think attack on titan meets bug wars. Since the humans can also inject themselves with something that gives them the power of bugs. Yeah...this shit is bonkers.
Good: The art is actually really solid. I enjoyed the fights, everything easy to follow, and for once they gave distinction to each race. That was a plus in my book. I also enjoyed the pacing as everything happens pretty quick. These creatures kill you so it's not like we're going to have the power of friendship stopping these bad boys. The ending also sets it up for more stories but maybe not with the same crew? A interesting choice.
Bad: The character's don't get flushed out enough. You get a glimpse of their past life when they die but it's done usually in a single page. So it feels more like a add-on then a actual reason to care for them. Also, the big bad are too over the top here. Yes, even in a series about roaches who can kill us.
Overall, a really fun if not really dumb story. I enjoyed it a lot reading it but also can understand why someone would hate it. Still, fun is fun. A 3.5 out of 5.
May 16, 2014
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
I've read a lot of, how shall we say, "out there" plots for manga over the years. A guy who grows a girlfriend on his hand, for example (midori no Hibi) comes to mind. And if the silliness doesn't get to you, you can have a great time with the series. But Terra Formars [sic], a sci fi horror title, kind of crossed a few lines for me. The silliness of the concept (7' mutated brutish cockroach people on Mars who need to be exterminated by criminal astronauts injected with various bug DNA) and the egregious (even for manga standards) violence make this a hard title to like.
Story: a group of 'astronauts', each with a criminal background and forced on the mission, agree to be operated on and then sent to Mars in order to defeat mutated anthropomorphic cockroaches. The cockroaches then start picking them off one by one as each crew member morphs into a different bug/human hybrid to fight the roaches.
Since this is a shounen manga, we get copious descriptions of all the bugs that were used for the human/bug hybrids. Ants, mosquitos, beetles...it gives the author/artist an excuse to create different 'power ups' to his characters so they can have their heads torn off. Yep, school boy fantasies run rampant here.
The crew doesn't do much but hang around on an oddly spacious spaceship (the inside can't possible match the outside - really poor perspective by the artist) and then look surprised when they actually see the mutant cockroaches (wasn't that their mission in the first place - to kill the mutant roaches? You'd think they wouldn't be surprised or go up and try to talk to one).
The mutant cockroaches? Now here's perhaps the most egregiously idiotic part of the story: they are drawn like 7' tall black men, complete with cliche afro, big lips, and no emotions/brutish. And of course, they all look alike - because, all black people look alike, right? Really?! This is 2014, right? There's some seriously WRONG concepts going on with the cockroaches and it turned me off this title completely. If the pointless violence wasn't enough, let's completely stereotype a race as well. But hey, we also have the gung ho muscley American (he's the captain, natch), sweet little Japanese girlie girl, large Russian woman, and Thai with a martial arts background. Yeah, no stereotyping going on here....
Of course, all the people back on Earth monitoring the astronauts are crazy and E-vil. As in, rolling eyes and small pupils E.V.I.L. Oh my.
The irony for me is that if I was going to fight cockroaches, I'd do it with a biological agent and not people. And if I did use people, I'd probably inject them with a cockroach's natural predator DNA - instead of random bugs to see what happens.
A silly or over the top and violent premise can be interesting in manga. Deadman Wonderland, for example, had quite a bit to say without stereotyping. But Terra Formars [sic] is a complete waste of time. It panders to the lowest common denominator 10 year old boy.
Reviewed from an ARC.
January 3, 2016
4 STARS!!
Lately I'm addicted to Horror/Tragedy/Bloody manga. Since I read Attack on Titan, blood and spilled organ is fine. Ugh, I know how sick is it! It's a guilty pleasure read to see some horrible shit happened.
Terra Formars is a different kind of disturbing. It's a little like GANTZ (My favorite) because of the SciFi background. And what's the most shocking shit ever is... COCKROACH!!! GAHHHHH I freakin' hate it in real world. But in Terra Formars, the cockroach turns to be 7 feet mutant resemble to black people. They have super human strength, agility and durability. The prologue was really fuckin' crazy.
After 500 years, human send the first expedition to collect sample but failed. All six people annihilated like a flea. Years later, they sent another group of fifteen people with synthetic power. I thought this group will bring success, but... NOPE!!! It's never easy. I think there is conspirator between this mars project. And what the fuck is the pyramid in Mars?! UGHHH... My head.
I might say Terra Formars is very promising series with different setting. It was violent, insane, and inhuman. I really wanna know how the fuckin' cockroach could evolve like that!
Lately I'm addicted to Horror/Tragedy/Bloody manga. Since I read Attack on Titan, blood and spilled organ is fine. Ugh, I know how sick is it! It's a guilty pleasure read to see some horrible shit happened.
Terra Formars is a different kind of disturbing. It's a little like GANTZ (My favorite) because of the SciFi background. And what's the most shocking shit ever is... COCKROACH!!! GAHHHHH I freakin' hate it in real world. But in Terra Formars, the cockroach turns to be 7 feet mutant resemble to black people. They have super human strength, agility and durability. The prologue was really fuckin' crazy.
After 500 years, human send the first expedition to collect sample but failed. All six people annihilated like a flea. Years later, they sent another group of fifteen people with synthetic power. I thought this group will bring success, but... NOPE!!! It's never easy. I think there is conspirator between this mars project. And what the fuck is the pyramid in Mars?! UGHHH... My head.
I might say Terra Formars is very promising series with different setting. It was violent, insane, and inhuman. I really wanna know how the fuckin' cockroach could evolve like that!
November 5, 2020
Violent, fast and absolutely brutal in every regard. Fun read.
November 26, 2021
Loved the anime of this series. Cold, bloody, and brutal. Don’t get attached to any characters here folks.
August 10, 2013
This is like a twisted episode of the Twilight Zone mixed with the movie Aliens
I have read a lot of sci-fi manga and most are either masked superheroes or giant robots or armored bi-pedal constructs called "mech". I like the premise of having Mars being terra-formed by humans hundreds of years into the future. So these scientists sent cockroaches and Earth molds to Mars, thinking that the Molds would warm the planet having the 'roaches as a source of food, never realizing that it never worked the way they intended to and many more years later the 'roaches evolved into humanoids that are physically far superior than humans. So after many more years of "research" they sent expenditionary groups to find out what really happened to the planet. A particular space program called "Bugs" was almost successful, only to be killed off by the humanoid 'roaches.
The series is full of the usual backstabbing political plot, added with revenge story, mix with the fantastic Japanese Sci-fi story and you get this. The plot is not segmented and may confuse the reader, for it jumps from one generation of humans being sent to Mars to another.
This is not for the weak of heart, matured readers only
I have read a lot of sci-fi manga and most are either masked superheroes or giant robots or armored bi-pedal constructs called "mech". I like the premise of having Mars being terra-formed by humans hundreds of years into the future. So these scientists sent cockroaches and Earth molds to Mars, thinking that the Molds would warm the planet having the 'roaches as a source of food, never realizing that it never worked the way they intended to and many more years later the 'roaches evolved into humanoids that are physically far superior than humans. So after many more years of "research" they sent expenditionary groups to find out what really happened to the planet. A particular space program called "Bugs" was almost successful, only to be killed off by the humanoid 'roaches.
The series is full of the usual backstabbing political plot, added with revenge story, mix with the fantastic Japanese Sci-fi story and you get this. The plot is not segmented and may confuse the reader, for it jumps from one generation of humans being sent to Mars to another.
This is not for the weak of heart, matured readers only
November 7, 2016
Mars has been terraformed, and the heroic Mars 2 team is on their way to see how well everything worked and clean up. It sounds glamorous, but their job is essentially that of exterminators--part of the terraforming process involves cockroaches. But, upon their arrival, they find that their prey has evolved, and there are aspects of their mission that not all team members have been told about ... such as what happened to Mars 1.
This could have been a fun science fiction title, a nice little mystery/environmental message type of thing. But instead it's just a mixture of fight scenes and conspiracies and intense looks and angst. Perhaps it gets better in volume 2, but I'm definitely not impressed with volume 1. Yes, there are some fun, quirky aspects, but, it's generally a retread of story elements we've seen before. And, in the character bios, did we really need to know the cup sizes of all the female characters? I think that one fact sums up what's wrong with this title better than I ever could. Despite the "M" rating Viz gave this, there is very little actual maturity in evidence here. And that's a shame, because, if it had any, this would be a much better book.
This could have been a fun science fiction title, a nice little mystery/environmental message type of thing. But instead it's just a mixture of fight scenes and conspiracies and intense looks and angst. Perhaps it gets better in volume 2, but I'm definitely not impressed with volume 1. Yes, there are some fun, quirky aspects, but, it's generally a retread of story elements we've seen before. And, in the character bios, did we really need to know the cup sizes of all the female characters? I think that one fact sums up what's wrong with this title better than I ever could. Despite the "M" rating Viz gave this, there is very little actual maturity in evidence here. And that's a shame, because, if it had any, this would be a much better book.
January 24, 2017
I found the premise to this manga to be pretty clever, although it is a variation of the old sci-fi trope of our technology turning on us. Still, it is a really cool riff on that core concept that I've not seen before. This volume is pretty much a little bit of plot and a whole lot of bloody combat. The lack of characterization to focus on the overall big-picture situation left some of the violence feeling gratuitous, and deprived all of it of any emotional impact. Strictly shock value here because we never have a chance to know or care about the characters before its over.
Still the action is well handled in terms of pacing, realism, and artistic presentation, and I find the story premise and world-building fascinating. i'm willing to give this another volume or two to do a bit of a slow build on the character front.
Still the action is well handled in terms of pacing, realism, and artistic presentation, and I find the story premise and world-building fascinating. i'm willing to give this another volume or two to do a bit of a slow build on the character front.
August 4, 2014
Terra Formas is sci-fi for the Gantz- Knights of Sidonia crowd. Intelligent, quirky and savage in its reality.
Volume 1 really grips with the intro of the concept, cast and the terrifyingly familiar " enemy."
Volume 1 really grips with the intro of the concept, cast and the terrifyingly familiar " enemy."
July 21, 2018
I read "Terra Formers". This manga is so exciting. The plot is that the people who has special ability fight against antagonist, cockroaches that look like human in mars. The setting is interesting. Because they are in the world that past 500 years from now.
This manga is seinen manga so this is grotesque. But the battle scenes are so exciting and cool.
There are two main characters. They are so cool. But sub characters are also cool. All characters have excited scenes.
I think the theme of this manga is human dignity. Because the soldiers who fight in mars needs big money. If they go to mars, they get money but they have the risk of losing their life.
This manga is seinen manga so this is grotesque. But the battle scenes are so exciting and cool.
There are two main characters. They are so cool. But sub characters are also cool. All characters have excited scenes.
I think the theme of this manga is human dignity. Because the soldiers who fight in mars needs big money. If they go to mars, they get money but they have the risk of losing their life.
August 19, 2025
At times this feels like bland shock value, killing off characters we barely know left and right. At other times, however, it feels like a friend who's really excited to tell you insect facts.
It's a bit unusual reading a manga that has so much of an international element. Definitely the most casual reference to FGM I've ever seen.
It's a bit unusual reading a manga that has so much of an international element. Definitely the most casual reference to FGM I've ever seen.
February 21, 2020
I'm not going to hold it against the books, but I should have actually really read the description. Some interesting characters, but definitely couldn't keep my interest.
December 6, 2018
Thought it was a pretty cool read. Concept is cool and curious to read more of the series.
July 9, 2018
In the future, people try to pursue the Mars colonization project. But the surface of Mars is too cold to live for human. To improve this situation, send many cockroaches and raise temperature. However, cockroaches have evolved there in unique ways...
never-want-to-read
September 8, 2024I'm currently going through all the books on my Goodreads account to see what I still want to keep records of and when I came across this manga, I clicked DNF so fast 😭bro THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I am finishing this. It is too freaky and creepy; I think I may actually sell my copy.
Don't get me wrong the plot seems interesting and it was something I had wanted to read at that time, but I get scared easily and those cockroach monster things are just so creepy and ugly 😭😭😭so I don't think I'm gonna restart it or keep it.
Don't get me wrong the plot seems interesting and it was something I had wanted to read at that time, but I get scared easily and those cockroach monster things are just so creepy and ugly 😭😭😭so I don't think I'm gonna restart it or keep it.
July 10, 2016
<<< MINOR SPOILERS >>>
I was initially intrigued by the blurb on the back cover since it seems that space horror as a genre in manga is not often explored. And since there were multiple volumes of this story, I figured if I liked the first one, then there would be an ongoing story for me to enjoy.
Essentially, a group of astronauts, genetically enhanced with insect DNA, are selected from around the world for a mission to Mars. Their goal: eradicate the red planet of cockroaches that were part of an elaborate process to terraform Mars into an inhabitable planet for humanity. However, the crew quickly learn that the little cockroaches we are familiar with have mutated into giant lumbering killing machines. It's a fascinating premise that unfortunately fails to deliver.
We are introduced to each character - with a brief statistics card that includes their name, age and country of origin - as the story develops. Apparently, there are a few established romantic relationships hinted at, but little backstory to punctuate the sense of loss felt by the impacted characters. Most of the backstories are forgotten save for Ichiro Hiruma, who has a distinctive appearance. In fact, the writers overload the number of individuals because usually a space horror genre story will include 6 - 8 characters. The overabundance of characters muddle the story. Additionally, there is a scene in which it was discussed that the astronauts selected had dubious pasts that intertwine and are expected to create tension and explosive reactions between the astronauts if revealed. However, it seems this layer of subtext was dropped, at least in this first volume, and that is unfortunate since it would have helped this action-driven story.
This story had so much promise and sadly, it just didn't deliver the terrifying complex story it was set to do. Too many gaps were left unanswered or forgotten in this manga.
I was initially intrigued by the blurb on the back cover since it seems that space horror as a genre in manga is not often explored. And since there were multiple volumes of this story, I figured if I liked the first one, then there would be an ongoing story for me to enjoy.
Essentially, a group of astronauts, genetically enhanced with insect DNA, are selected from around the world for a mission to Mars. Their goal: eradicate the red planet of cockroaches that were part of an elaborate process to terraform Mars into an inhabitable planet for humanity. However, the crew quickly learn that the little cockroaches we are familiar with have mutated into giant lumbering killing machines. It's a fascinating premise that unfortunately fails to deliver.
We are introduced to each character - with a brief statistics card that includes their name, age and country of origin - as the story develops. Apparently, there are a few established romantic relationships hinted at, but little backstory to punctuate the sense of loss felt by the impacted characters. Most of the backstories are forgotten save for Ichiro Hiruma, who has a distinctive appearance. In fact, the writers overload the number of individuals because usually a space horror genre story will include 6 - 8 characters. The overabundance of characters muddle the story. Additionally, there is a scene in which it was discussed that the astronauts selected had dubious pasts that intertwine and are expected to create tension and explosive reactions between the astronauts if revealed. However, it seems this layer of subtext was dropped, at least in this first volume, and that is unfortunate since it would have helped this action-driven story.
This story had so much promise and sadly, it just didn't deliver the terrifying complex story it was set to do. Too many gaps were left unanswered or forgotten in this manga.
March 24, 2016
The art was great. Although you do get a bit snarky when you see this perspective repeated throughout the book. The 12 year old in me is loving this book.
The story was ok. The adult in me appreciates that it was aged up so that the humans become the "Pokemon" insects instead of carrying around poke-balls. NICE. And in typical fashion, this becomes a learning experience about all the strange and exotic insects there are in this world with how their survival traits suddenly become super powers in humans. That you can tell was the real focus of this manga.
But, then comes the part that annoys me, the two people monitoring from a distance with the good angel and bad devil dialogue going back and forth. And the one you think will be bad probably had the better advice!
It was ok overall. Will I watch the live action movie from Japan? Uh...probably. Will I read the rest in this series? Hum....maybe not.
The story was ok. The adult in me appreciates that it was aged up so that the humans become the "Pokemon" insects instead of carrying around poke-balls. NICE. And in typical fashion, this becomes a learning experience about all the strange and exotic insects there are in this world with how their survival traits suddenly become super powers in humans. That you can tell was the real focus of this manga.
But, then comes the part that annoys me, the two people monitoring from a distance with the good angel and bad devil dialogue going back and forth. And the one you think will be bad probably had the better advice!
It was ok overall. Will I watch the live action movie from Japan? Uh...probably. Will I read the rest in this series? Hum....maybe not.
August 16, 2014
Terra Formars is a science fiction manga that takes place on Mars, and if you aren't totally creeped out by roaches, then you might be able to deal with this very violent, but action-packed, story. The astronauts sent on this mission are not picked for their intelligence or exceptional skills; rather, this group is made up of those considered disposable. Some are poor, some are criminals, but all are not valued by those in power and running the mission. These Terra Formars are treated as science experiments to send off to Mars to deal with the roach problem.
In making Mars habitable for human beings, the scientists have introduced moss and other plant and bug life into the Mars ecosystem.... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
In making Mars habitable for human beings, the scientists have introduced moss and other plant and bug life into the Mars ecosystem.... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
July 19, 2016
Tedious and nasty sci-fi manga about super-powered losers fighting evolved humanoid cockroaches. Advantage cockroach, as it happens - this is a Suicide Squad type of setup where you shouldn't get attached to any characters. (The writing and art are a great help in not letting such bonds form.) The endless violence is not gratuitous - it's the whole point of the comic - but the glib misogyny is. The whole thing reads and looks like an early 90s Image rip-off with more gore, and has won a big post-Attack On Titan audience of fans who don't mind their nihilistic adrenalin rushes cut with liberal amounts of comics baking soda and dog worming tablets.
September 1, 2016
Very good, not for people who hate cockroaches
May 31, 2017
What did I just read? Cockroaches in Mars which became Homo Erectus like from beings just like in the Prometheus movie?
Lol.
Lol.
November 20, 2014
Well, this one has an interesting premise.
November 25, 2016
I heard praise for this manga and hate for the movie adaptation, but I think this manga is plain stupid and tries to be deeper than it ever could be.
It already started weird with this odd focus on Japan at the start. The German-American and the British guy treat it as foreign, the Chinese guy thinks they are "so sensible", as if there are no other topics.
And as for the whole premise:
They at least get the low temperature on Mars and how to terraform it by releasing trapped CO2 right, but to have the surface of the planet absorb more sunlight they use moss and certain "black creatures"? How would that work? How on earth would that trap sunlight? I think big forests would work much better. Plus they say the "black creatures" would eat the moss, die, the moss would grow on the corpses and so on... Reading it again of roaches as part of terraforming, just reinforces the ridiculousness.
And they reeaaallllyyyy could have been a tad more subtle when they foreshadowed cockroaches as the enemy of this series. They did not need to mention them so often.
And considered that the crew are not trained astronauts or fighters and are all criminals and so, they might as print "you are dead" on their foreheads.
And these cockroaches, respectively the first we see are three giant, extremely muscled black humans with giant clubs (made out of what?) who constantly say "Jooo" (or whatever they say in Japanese)... yeah... I can see why people might be uncomfortable with this. And yes, I know that it looks like one form of homo erectus, but I have my doubts that this is all there is to this.
And what is the dumbest storytelling cliché here? The first casualty is the woman scared of moths (who could still talk despite her screwed around neck, that was suddenly unscrewed) to give development for her male friend, the dumb Darwin quote (which possibly meant "fittest" and not "adapted"), that they actually claim evolution is possible in that cold environment and how they think the murdering roach is afraid. And the only guy with combat experience (who is an Israeli named God Lee) just goes out there into territory he has never seen before (btw. we never saw him before here) to face foes he never saw and thinks his "flamethrower" will work and then it doesn't because somehow the roaches became fireproof. And I have no idea how any of that is supposed to make sense.
And if this idiocy wasn't enough: according to this old Newton guy humans especially hate cockroaches (I would say most hate spiders and snakes more) because they are so similar to us and we do not want to recognize our ancestors... and considered that the "thought text" wonders whether the roaches hate humans... are we supposed to think that the whole fight is instinctual?
The cockroaches not only have managed to use the guns of the BUGs 01 crew somehow, they hold them like film gangsters, one of them can talk just fine and if the plan at the BUG 02 was to lure the roaches there and at the same time stop the air supply and start a fire... how is anything of that supposed to be taken seriously?
In fact that two others apparently killed several roaches despite not being the strongest characters, is because they are protagonists and don't have a vagina.
And the abilities these roaches have respectively suddenly developed are dependent on the plot and nothing else, the same with the humans. There is no rhyme or reason to anything here.
In fact I wondered whether writer and artist did not communicate when they did this. In fact it seems to be more important to give us useless backstory instead of intriguing characters, strategy and a coherent plot.
Towards the end we ventured downright into made-up shit territory, not only did insects not just simply occur suddenly in evolutionary history, but there is no existence for a culture on Mars (apparently this was inspired by those pictures showing "faces") and especially not period genes of humans and there is no lost planet named Rahab and humans and cockroaches are not enemies by nature.
Oh and the protagonist says he has no idea what the roach wants with the corpse of his dead girl, well, welcome to the club. However that is not as head-scratching as the whole "her insect cells still react" BS. But that is still not as baffling as kicking the roach into the crotch if it has no balls, sure it still hurts but not as much as crushed nuts.
In the end not only are the only two survivors two Japanese men, but we got some extra stories from Japanese mythology that has no connection to the manga (ethnocentrism much?) and an extra suggesting the roach wanted the corpse because of the silk spinner genes she had and they need that apparently. How did they know this? No idea.
Look either you own a silly concept and go all out or not do it at all, garbage like this is not worth anyone's time.
It already started weird with this odd focus on Japan at the start. The German-American and the British guy treat it as foreign, the Chinese guy thinks they are "so sensible", as if there are no other topics.
And as for the whole premise:
They at least get the low temperature on Mars and how to terraform it by releasing trapped CO2 right, but to have the surface of the planet absorb more sunlight they use moss and certain "black creatures"? How would that work? How on earth would that trap sunlight? I think big forests would work much better. Plus they say the "black creatures" would eat the moss, die, the moss would grow on the corpses and so on... Reading it again of roaches as part of terraforming, just reinforces the ridiculousness.
And they reeaaallllyyyy could have been a tad more subtle when they foreshadowed cockroaches as the enemy of this series. They did not need to mention them so often.
And considered that the crew are not trained astronauts or fighters and are all criminals and so, they might as print "you are dead" on their foreheads.
And these cockroaches, respectively the first we see are three giant, extremely muscled black humans with giant clubs (made out of what?) who constantly say "Jooo" (or whatever they say in Japanese)... yeah... I can see why people might be uncomfortable with this. And yes, I know that it looks like one form of homo erectus, but I have my doubts that this is all there is to this.
And what is the dumbest storytelling cliché here? The first casualty is the woman scared of moths (who could still talk despite her screwed around neck, that was suddenly unscrewed) to give development for her male friend, the dumb Darwin quote (which possibly meant "fittest" and not "adapted"), that they actually claim evolution is possible in that cold environment and how they think the murdering roach is afraid. And the only guy with combat experience (who is an Israeli named God Lee) just goes out there into territory he has never seen before (btw. we never saw him before here) to face foes he never saw and thinks his "flamethrower" will work and then it doesn't because somehow the roaches became fireproof. And I have no idea how any of that is supposed to make sense.
And if this idiocy wasn't enough: according to this old Newton guy humans especially hate cockroaches (I would say most hate spiders and snakes more) because they are so similar to us and we do not want to recognize our ancestors... and considered that the "thought text" wonders whether the roaches hate humans... are we supposed to think that the whole fight is instinctual?
The cockroaches not only have managed to use the guns of the BUGs 01 crew somehow, they hold them like film gangsters, one of them can talk just fine and if the plan at the BUG 02 was to lure the roaches there and at the same time stop the air supply and start a fire... how is anything of that supposed to be taken seriously?
In fact that two others apparently killed several roaches despite not being the strongest characters, is because they are protagonists and don't have a vagina.
And the abilities these roaches have respectively suddenly developed are dependent on the plot and nothing else, the same with the humans. There is no rhyme or reason to anything here.
In fact I wondered whether writer and artist did not communicate when they did this. In fact it seems to be more important to give us useless backstory instead of intriguing characters, strategy and a coherent plot.
Towards the end we ventured downright into made-up shit territory, not only did insects not just simply occur suddenly in evolutionary history, but there is no existence for a culture on Mars (apparently this was inspired by those pictures showing "faces") and especially not period genes of humans and there is no lost planet named Rahab and humans and cockroaches are not enemies by nature.
Oh and the protagonist says he has no idea what the roach wants with the corpse of his dead girl, well, welcome to the club. However that is not as head-scratching as the whole "her insect cells still react" BS. But that is still not as baffling as kicking the roach into the crotch if it has no balls, sure it still hurts but not as much as crushed nuts.
In the end not only are the only two survivors two Japanese men, but we got some extra stories from Japanese mythology that has no connection to the manga (ethnocentrism much?) and an extra suggesting the roach wanted the corpse because of the silk spinner genes she had and they need that apparently. How did they know this? No idea.
Look either you own a silly concept and go all out or not do it at all, garbage like this is not worth anyone's time.
January 9, 2022
I read up through vol. 7 and yeah, I'm not going to finish this one.
I've heard about Terra Formars for years and always thought it was a horror experience along the lines of Gantz or something, but having read what I have and skimming the internet for information about the progression of the rest of the story, I think I can be pretty confident in saying that this story was a bust.
The premise is that: humanity, on the verge of destroying Earth through resource strain, has decided to terraform Mars using cockroaches and moss to develop an atmosphere and melt it's ice caps. When a team is sent there years later to kill the cockroaches and check that it's atmosphere is ready to sustain human life, the cockroaches have undergone extreme evolution and slaughter any humans that come to Mars. The majority of the story follows the second experimental team who've had their genes spliced with that of animals so that they can fight the roaches on even footing.
One of my favorite things about manga and anime is the crazy/creative plots. Terra Formars could have been a really good horror manga, but it sucks.
-There are too many characters introduced at the same time and they're all given the same bland, hurried backstories. Nobody is introduced into the story organically, relying heavily on weak backflashes interjected with horrible timing. Too many characters look the same, and I'm given the impression multiple times through the story that I should know who someone is when I have no freaking clue if I've ever seen them before or if I'm getting them mixed up with somebody else.
-Fights are sometimes hard to follow and I don't typically mention art style unless it exasperates an already existing problem. Well, guess what: the art style exasperates the bad fight scenes.
-The science is ridiculous, and where in some stories you're just supposed to go with it as a fun what-if scenario, Terra Formars doesn't have the character or plot to make it work.
-The story probably would have been stronger if it just followed the first or second team meeting the roaches for the first time and their struggle to survive, but it introduces Bloody Monday levels of bad political spy nonsense with mad scientists and none of it was intelligent enough to make me care about anything that was going on.
-And then there were the cliches. I don't know how many times a character died and the story tried to get melancholy about it, or a character made some big emotional internal speech about humanity and what it means to be a fighter or whatever. Needless to say, none of this was done well. The story was way too ridiculous and poorly written to make any kind of meaningful statement.
-There were a lot of confusing transitions between scenes, making the story feel choppy on top of it's already existing problems.
-The reasons given (if given at all) for betrayals were either cartoonish or unbelievable.
-There were a lot of characters from various countries in this manga and none of them were portrayed accurately and often times unflatteringly.
Terra Formars isn't great. Even if you're looking for dumb action, it's pretty bad. And if I'm feeling the same way by vol. 7, then it certainly isn't worth me finishing.
I've heard about Terra Formars for years and always thought it was a horror experience along the lines of Gantz or something, but having read what I have and skimming the internet for information about the progression of the rest of the story, I think I can be pretty confident in saying that this story was a bust.
The premise is that: humanity, on the verge of destroying Earth through resource strain, has decided to terraform Mars using cockroaches and moss to develop an atmosphere and melt it's ice caps. When a team is sent there years later to kill the cockroaches and check that it's atmosphere is ready to sustain human life, the cockroaches have undergone extreme evolution and slaughter any humans that come to Mars. The majority of the story follows the second experimental team who've had their genes spliced with that of animals so that they can fight the roaches on even footing.
One of my favorite things about manga and anime is the crazy/creative plots. Terra Formars could have been a really good horror manga, but it sucks.
-There are too many characters introduced at the same time and they're all given the same bland, hurried backstories. Nobody is introduced into the story organically, relying heavily on weak backflashes interjected with horrible timing. Too many characters look the same, and I'm given the impression multiple times through the story that I should know who someone is when I have no freaking clue if I've ever seen them before or if I'm getting them mixed up with somebody else.
-Fights are sometimes hard to follow and I don't typically mention art style unless it exasperates an already existing problem. Well, guess what: the art style exasperates the bad fight scenes.
-The science is ridiculous, and where in some stories you're just supposed to go with it as a fun what-if scenario, Terra Formars doesn't have the character or plot to make it work.
-The story probably would have been stronger if it just followed the first or second team meeting the roaches for the first time and their struggle to survive, but it introduces Bloody Monday levels of bad political spy nonsense with mad scientists and none of it was intelligent enough to make me care about anything that was going on.
-And then there were the cliches. I don't know how many times a character died and the story tried to get melancholy about it, or a character made some big emotional internal speech about humanity and what it means to be a fighter or whatever. Needless to say, none of this was done well. The story was way too ridiculous and poorly written to make any kind of meaningful statement.
-There were a lot of confusing transitions between scenes, making the story feel choppy on top of it's already existing problems.
-The reasons given (if given at all) for betrayals were either cartoonish or unbelievable.
-There were a lot of characters from various countries in this manga and none of them were portrayed accurately and often times unflatteringly.
Terra Formars isn't great. Even if you're looking for dumb action, it's pretty bad. And if I'm feeling the same way by vol. 7, then it certainly isn't worth me finishing.
February 9, 2021
Nel 2559 quindici ragazzi scelti vengono mandati in missione su Marte per monitorare l’evolversi della vita che è stata qui impiantata 500 anni prima. Su Marte è stata piantata una distesa di muschio (è ora infatti conosciuto come il pianeta verde) sulla quale sono stati rilasciati diversi scarafaggi come vettori di nuova vita. I ragazzi non sono però preparati a ciò che li aspetta: gli insetti, infatti, si sono evoluti in umanoidi e presto li attaccano ferocemente. Si scatena una vera e propria guerra, e i pochi sopravvissuti proveranno a riconquistare il pianeta.
Questo primo volume (che ho letto in inglese) mi ha decisamente convinta, e sono molto curiosa di continuare con la storia. I personaggi sono ben introdotti grazie a delle piccole schede che ne indicano le generalità e le principali caratteristiche. I disegni sono molto particolareggiati e questo aiuta tantissimo a non fare confusione tra i vari protagonisti, rendendoli riconoscibili al primo sguardo.
La storia si dimostra fin da subito molto dinamica, con colpi di scena continui e tanti combattimenti. Non mancano però il pathos e l’intrigo politico, motori principali delle azioni dei personaggi. Mi è mancata un po’ la descrizione di Marte e del suo ecosistema, ma sono sicura (o almeno lo spero fortemente) che questo aspetto sarà approfondito nei seguiti.
La serie è costituita al momento da 22 volumi editi in Italia da Star Comics, ed è ancora in corso di pubblicazione. Ne sono state tratte sia una serie anime che un film. Questo manga rientra nella categoria 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯 quindi è rivolto a un pubblico adulto e tratta tematiche complesse con approfondimento della dimensione psicologica dei personaggi e dei disegni dal tratto ricercato (anche se ci sono delle eccezioni).
Questo primo volume (che ho letto in inglese) mi ha decisamente convinta, e sono molto curiosa di continuare con la storia. I personaggi sono ben introdotti grazie a delle piccole schede che ne indicano le generalità e le principali caratteristiche. I disegni sono molto particolareggiati e questo aiuta tantissimo a non fare confusione tra i vari protagonisti, rendendoli riconoscibili al primo sguardo.
La storia si dimostra fin da subito molto dinamica, con colpi di scena continui e tanti combattimenti. Non mancano però il pathos e l’intrigo politico, motori principali delle azioni dei personaggi. Mi è mancata un po’ la descrizione di Marte e del suo ecosistema, ma sono sicura (o almeno lo spero fortemente) che questo aspetto sarà approfondito nei seguiti.
La serie è costituita al momento da 22 volumi editi in Italia da Star Comics, ed è ancora in corso di pubblicazione. Ne sono state tratte sia una serie anime che un film. Questo manga rientra nella categoria 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯 quindi è rivolto a un pubblico adulto e tratta tematiche complesse con approfondimento della dimensione psicologica dei personaggi e dei disegni dal tratto ricercato (anche se ci sono delle eccezioni).
June 16, 2017
Terra Formars Volume 1 is a violent action sci-fi story about space colonization that introduces a conspiracy plot reminiscent of the Alien series. Unfortunately, it required too much suspended disbelief for me to 'buy' the fantastic sci-fi explanations of evolution and gods in an otherwise 'hardcore' action book. I also thought that listing breast sizes for the female crew in their crew bios was unnecessary, but sadly not unheard of in manga.
The number one reason I couldn't enjoy Terra Formars Volume 1, however, was the horrible design of the Mars inhabitants. They are depicted as gigantic, hyper-muscular dark-skinned men with textured hair, flat noses and long philtrums, and flat black circular eyes. It's impossible to not see a grotesque, ape-like caricature of a black man when I look at these illustrations. I certainly don't think "yep, I can tell that these people evolved from cockroaches" when I look at them.
Why did the author and illustrator team decide that the Martians should look like that? Exoskeleton color can't be an excuse because there are other characters in the story (the 'good guys') who have DNA from a bullet ant, a member of the steninae family, and a weevil (all bugs with dark exoskeletons) but their bodies and faces certainly don't look like that. The author and illustrator could have come up with a cool design for the Martians' appearances (it's sci-fi! come on!) but instead, they lazily drew from racist imagery. I doubt that was unintentional.
The number one reason I couldn't enjoy Terra Formars Volume 1, however, was the horrible design of the Mars inhabitants. They are depicted as gigantic, hyper-muscular dark-skinned men with textured hair, flat noses and long philtrums, and flat black circular eyes. It's impossible to not see a grotesque, ape-like caricature of a black man when I look at these illustrations. I certainly don't think "yep, I can tell that these people evolved from cockroaches" when I look at them.
Why did the author and illustrator team decide that the Martians should look like that? Exoskeleton color can't be an excuse because there are other characters in the story (the 'good guys') who have DNA from a bullet ant, a member of the steninae family, and a weevil (all bugs with dark exoskeletons) but their bodies and faces certainly don't look like that. The author and illustrator could have come up with a cool design for the Martians' appearances (it's sci-fi! come on!) but instead, they lazily drew from racist imagery. I doubt that was unintentional.
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