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Mars [マース] #6
Mars, Tome 6
Kira is a lonesome waif who cares more about her art than anything else. Rei is an arrogant, rebellious and tough playboy who wears his delinquency like a badge. When these two opposites find each other, the sparks fly, but they also attract some unwanted attention.
180 pages, Poche
First published January 13, 1998
73 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
About the author
Fuyumi Soryo
149 books351 followersFuyumi Soryo (惣領冬実) is a Japanese manga artist from Beppu, Oita, Japan. She is a graduate of the Oita prefectural Geijutsu Midorigaoka High School.
She was born into the home of a master of the Kanze school of Noh. In her childhood she liked to draw pictures of horses and things but had no special interest in manga. While enrolled in fashion college, she happened across Shogakukan's Rookie of the Year Contest and applied to raise money for the Sōen fashion contest. There she received an honorable mention, and debuted with "Sunspot Visitor" (Hidamari no hōmonsha) published in the April 1982 edition of Bessatsu Shōjo Comic (now Bestucomi).
Her works translated abroad include Mars and Eternal Sabbath. In 1988, she was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga for Boyfriend. Currently her last manga series is Cesare which centers around the infamous Borgia family of the Italian Renaissance and Cesare Borgia himself.
She was born into the home of a master of the Kanze school of Noh. In her childhood she liked to draw pictures of horses and things but had no special interest in manga. While enrolled in fashion college, she happened across Shogakukan's Rookie of the Year Contest and applied to raise money for the Sōen fashion contest. There she received an honorable mention, and debuted with "Sunspot Visitor" (Hidamari no hōmonsha) published in the April 1982 edition of Bessatsu Shōjo Comic (now Bestucomi).
Her works translated abroad include Mars and Eternal Sabbath. In 1988, she was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga for Boyfriend. Currently her last manga series is Cesare which centers around the infamous Borgia family of the Italian Renaissance and Cesare Borgia himself.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
January 14, 2012
I could have done without the Masao storyline. I think the series had enough to deal with with Sei, Rei's dream of being a motorcyclist, Kira's home life and their romance. Of course the series would have been shorter without him around to muck things up but Masao also just creates some problems with the authors story telling for me.
A derogatory term for a homosexual man was used within the first several pages. I really can't stand that term even though the character it was used on is a bit weird. It took down Rei in my eyes. There are people getting beaten up fairly badly in this volume as well as mention of someone getting murdered (manslaughter/self-defense). There is quite a bit of talk about Rei and Kira not having done it yet as well as Harumi and Tatsuya having done it.
A derogatory term for a homosexual man was used within the first several pages. I really can't stand that term even though the character it was used on is a bit weird. It took down Rei in my eyes. There are people getting beaten up fairly badly in this volume as well as mention of someone getting murdered (manslaughter/self-defense). There is quite a bit of talk about Rei and Kira not having done it yet as well as Harumi and Tatsuya having done it.
May 7, 2021
This was OTT with all sorts of extreme drama and violence (including physical and emotional abuse, fyi) and pretty much every relationship is unhealthy, but at least it was fast-paced and entertaining, unlike some installments where little happened.
July 6, 2022
Warped personalities coming to light
I thought this would discuss queerness and homophobia but it only grazed the surface before it completely changed its course. This volume was actually about the new character, Masao, and Rei's connection from the past and what makes them the same with the scars they carry around—and what separates them; which was the level of intensity and conscience. I would have cheered having a queer character but something rotten (brought by trauma, not queer identity) is really strong with the guy that made me dislike him. And tragically, Rei's not backing out with his bad boy front and homophobic slur that made other students curse him. Rei's cruelty coming to light made Kira highly conscious of him. He's really bad news, but I swear he is tame when he's with Kira.
The volume ends with a choking cliffhanger (no pun intended.) Will this particular scene destroy the line that completely separates the two?
I thought this would discuss queerness and homophobia but it only grazed the surface before it completely changed its course. This volume was actually about the new character, Masao, and Rei's connection from the past and what makes them the same with the scars they carry around—and what separates them; which was the level of intensity and conscience. I would have cheered having a queer character but something rotten (brought by trauma, not queer identity) is really strong with the guy that made me dislike him. And tragically, Rei's not backing out with his bad boy front and homophobic slur that made other students curse him. Rei's cruelty coming to light made Kira highly conscious of him. He's really bad news, but I swear he is tame when he's with Kira.
The volume ends with a choking cliffhanger (no pun intended.) Will this particular scene destroy the line that completely separates the two?
December 28, 2020
... i know this was written in a different time in a culture different from the one I grew up in...but the homophobia, why?
February 18, 2019
Actually shifting my opinion on this due to the homophobia present in part of this. Also.....Masao is a bit much. So much draaaama
May 19, 2022
SICKENING
June 20, 2022
Really could do without the homophobia and the new character, Masao, in general. Hopefully the next volume will get better.
April 2, 2025
Some straight guys act weird when they find out someone that is gay has a crush on them. Because of that, I do kind of get why Rei reacted the way he did when he found out about Masao’s feelings for him, but that doesn’t mean he should have called him a ‘fag’. There are other ways to let him down. I’m glad he apologized relatively quickly for that.
It sounds to me like Masao killing Yuji was manslaughter. He was trying to stick up for himself against his bully and ended up killing the guy, but he was clearly a psychopath. The way he talked about the murder that he caused, shows how messed up he is in the head.
It sounds to me like Masao killing Yuji was manslaughter. He was trying to stick up for himself against his bully and ended up killing the guy, but he was clearly a psychopath. The way he talked about the murder that he caused, shows how messed up he is in the head.
August 23, 2023
This manga being kinda normal so far
This panel:
...Daddy????
(And it all went downhill from there)
This panel:
...Daddy????
(And it all went downhill from there)
November 11, 2022
VIDEO REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/1L5Z0wV0UwQ
The new character we met at the end of the previous volume, Masao, is scary. 😅 😅 😅
Once I met him, that is one of two things that I distinctly remember when I read these first few volumes in high school because the feelings of low-key fear as a reader was just as intense then as it is now. It's hard to see him and Rei talk about being in the "same circles"and can completely understand Kira's concern/fear that he was being pulled into that lifestyle again.
While there was a brief moment that I felt her "whinier" then she has been before, I think her voicing (or internally voicing) what she knows about Masao by the end was such a real thing. I can't say I wouldn't have been freaked out even more especially when she suddenly discovers the "truth" behind Rei's "lies," even though technically they weren't lies. However, add that to the fire of all that's happening, and yeah, that seems like a realistic response to be scared of a man (not Rei) who has no remorse for taking people's lives (and even relishing in that fact).
Considering how far Rei has come, it was saddening? disappointing? to see him act the way he has in this volume. He almost seems like a different person and feel this volume could be defined as scary and saddening. The artwork has a really unique style in the shojo world because it does not have the brighter look to the characters that I feel shojo manga typically has. I feel more often than not there is always a hint of sadness on every page (just some more so then other pages).
I'm desperately wanting to see what happens next, but at the same time I'm really nervous to find out (even though I know at some point I'll be reading it LOL). I guess for now, I'll take a breather and go do some dishes to clear my head. I feel I've read heavy manga before, but for some reason this felt different and think it's probably because of the very warped perspective Masao has even though he would argue it's not necessarily warped. I know these lines he voiced really bothered me and had me 😅 😅 😅 when reading (especially what follows him saying though I decided to refrain from including it in my review).
"Human history was pretty much a history of massacre. Until about 100 years ago, people k*lled others for their own greed or beliefs. In our generation, we pay lip service to things like human rights and love of humanity… Thanks to that, our true human nature is portrayed as warped."
The new character we met at the end of the previous volume, Masao, is scary. 😅 😅 😅
Once I met him, that is one of two things that I distinctly remember when I read these first few volumes in high school because the feelings of low-key fear as a reader was just as intense then as it is now. It's hard to see him and Rei talk about being in the "same circles"and can completely understand Kira's concern/fear that he was being pulled into that lifestyle again.
While there was a brief moment that I felt her "whinier" then she has been before, I think her voicing (or internally voicing) what she knows about Masao by the end was such a real thing. I can't say I wouldn't have been freaked out even more especially when she suddenly discovers the "truth" behind Rei's "lies," even though technically they weren't lies. However, add that to the fire of all that's happening, and yeah, that seems like a realistic response to be scared of a man (not Rei) who has no remorse for taking people's lives (and even relishing in that fact).
Considering how far Rei has come, it was saddening? disappointing? to see him act the way he has in this volume. He almost seems like a different person and feel this volume could be defined as scary and saddening. The artwork has a really unique style in the shojo world because it does not have the brighter look to the characters that I feel shojo manga typically has. I feel more often than not there is always a hint of sadness on every page (just some more so then other pages).
I'm desperately wanting to see what happens next, but at the same time I'm really nervous to find out (even though I know at some point I'll be reading it LOL). I guess for now, I'll take a breather and go do some dishes to clear my head. I feel I've read heavy manga before, but for some reason this felt different and think it's probably because of the very warped perspective Masao has even though he would argue it's not necessarily warped. I know these lines he voiced really bothered me and had me 😅 😅 😅 when reading (especially what follows him saying though I decided to refrain from including it in my review).
"Human history was pretty much a history of massacre. Until about 100 years ago, people k*lled others for their own greed or beliefs. In our generation, we pay lip service to things like human rights and love of humanity… Thanks to that, our true human nature is portrayed as warped."
June 19, 2023
yaawwnn im afraid to say this series is the definition of mid it tries so hard to be deep with the topics ans the themes but everything is so surface level even for a 90s manga and you can tell the writer wants the manga to be taken seriously but theres no subtlety and i cant take anything seriously. Doesnt help that the side plots are boring like seriously first shion and now masoru ??? I cant help but ask whats the plot of this series cause so much is happening and we’re straying so far from the og plot 😭. And maybe im feeling this way cause i just finished kimi ni todoke which was life changing and amazing but the romance isnt all of that either. Also i know this is a 90s manga but the way this manga addresses its themes of gender,queerness and sexuality is…🥴 like i said i know its a 90s manga so i don’t expect it to be that progressive but even for a 90s manga its just very very surface level the way it deals with it themes and topics.
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July 17, 2024I will refrain from rating this one because the derogatory term used to describe an LGBT character took me off. The Masao storyline gives me chills, the amount of people with deep scars on Mars is amazing. Actually, the whole Manga is all about mental health and abuse, Masao only adds to all the trouble and drama Kira and Rei are already going through, and while I´d like to hate him for it, you can see that he has so many traumas of his own that is no surprise he´s that way.
December 16, 2020
4/5 stars for MURDER
March 27, 2022
problematic tropes are strong in this arc. I can't look away from this trainwreck tho :v
March 1, 2022
Vol 6 is where things start to ramp up for Rei and Kira mostly because there's a new kid on the block, Masao Kirishima, who claims that he's in love with Rei. Masao is a beautiful boy who is often mistaken for a girl and his fascination for Rei is intense. As is his fascination with Kira. Rei learns that this isn't his first time meeting Masao, that in fact, he saved Masao's life two years previously. But while Kira's empathy for Masao is through the roof, Rei sees Masao for what he truly is, and he's afraid.
This is an excellent volume. I love the Masao arc of the MARS story because it makes it more complex. What I don't necessarily like is his physical character design. Probably because I watched the drama first and Kubota Masataka doesn't look a thing like the manga character, but I loved him as Masao so I had this fake idea in my head of what he should look like. So the manga design was a bit of a shock. I'm also not sure I like the whole gay psychopath thing. But psychopaths aren't limited to sexual preference, I guess, and this series was a product of the 90s, so there we have it.
All I know is that Masao is scary as hell and I wouldn't want to walk ahead of, beside, or behind him down a dark alley. We've also got a bit scarier Rei in this volume too. So there's some physical violence going on, like putting out a cigarette in someone's hand and also attempting to choke someone to death. Scary stuff, which is why I stand by my belief that this series straddles two genres. You rarely find attempted murder in girl's manga.
This is an excellent volume. I love the Masao arc of the MARS story because it makes it more complex. What I don't necessarily like is his physical character design. Probably because I watched the drama first and Kubota Masataka doesn't look a thing like the manga character, but I loved him as Masao so I had this fake idea in my head of what he should look like. So the manga design was a bit of a shock. I'm also not sure I like the whole gay psychopath thing. But psychopaths aren't limited to sexual preference, I guess, and this series was a product of the 90s, so there we have it.
All I know is that Masao is scary as hell and I wouldn't want to walk ahead of, beside, or behind him down a dark alley. We've also got a bit scarier Rei in this volume too. So there's some physical violence going on, like putting out a cigarette in someone's hand and also attempting to choke someone to death. Scary stuff, which is why I stand by my belief that this series straddles two genres. You rarely find attempted murder in girl's manga.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2022
3 stars. One thing that I do appreciate about this manga series it's ability to talk about deeper and darker topics in regards to mental health and being a teenager. Not something often seen from the time this series was written. I can see why it impacted so many shojo readers in the 90s and early 2000s.
March 23, 2025
Mais ce tome c’est n’importe quoi 😑 La story line qu’ils amènent la c’est vrmt pas nécessaire mddrr
Je sais que c’est un vieux manga et je passe au dessus de certaines choses on va dire mais les insultes homophobes c non 😐 Ça m’a gâché le perso de Rei en l’espace des 3 premières pages 🥲
Par contre ça reste très dramatique et je vais continuer pr voir où ça mène
Je sais que c’est un vieux manga et je passe au dessus de certaines choses on va dire mais les insultes homophobes c non 😐 Ça m’a gâché le perso de Rei en l’espace des 3 premières pages 🥲
Par contre ça reste très dramatique et je vais continuer pr voir où ça mène
June 20, 2017
Sigo sin entender al toallero--!
December 10, 2022
i’m too emotionally invested in this now there’s no turning back.
December 17, 2022
Well that got way darker than I was anticipating.
February 10, 2025
Hmmmm I don’t know about this
October 28, 2010
Volume six takes of where the last one left off. There is a new guy at school who has a crush on both Kira and Rei. He has a violent past that Rei is involved in, and he has some serious mental problems.
I think that Kira and Rei relashionship is incredibly beautiful. They have been through so much stuff, and yet they have survived through all the bad stuff that have happend to them, but that doesn't mean that the universe will give them a break, oh no, the punches just keep on coming.
Before this volume I was starting to get a bit sick of this series. Kira is a big baby, and her crying all the time gets on my nerves, but in this volume there was very little crying, even though the new guy was putting a big strain on her and Rei relashionship.
This volume ended on a big cliff hanger, but sadly my library doesn't have the next volume in this series :(( which is really dissapointing because this series is amazing, and it is alot better then a lot of the other mangas that my library has.
I think that Kira and Rei relashionship is incredibly beautiful. They have been through so much stuff, and yet they have survived through all the bad stuff that have happend to them, but that doesn't mean that the universe will give them a break, oh no, the punches just keep on coming.
Before this volume I was starting to get a bit sick of this series. Kira is a big baby, and her crying all the time gets on my nerves, but in this volume there was very little crying, even though the new guy was putting a big strain on her and Rei relashionship.
This volume ended on a big cliff hanger, but sadly my library doesn't have the next volume in this series :(( which is really dissapointing because this series is amazing, and it is alot better then a lot of the other mangas that my library has.
August 12, 2022
Trigger warnings for homophobia, f slur, bullying, violence, blood, suicide, murder, swastika (in the background of one panel mention WW2).
Mars continues to stay beautiful and dark in this volume. The story is brilliant in the way it delves into the psyche of teens and extreme trauma. It’s horrifying in its representation of violence and trauma but also some how the emotions of Rei And Kira seem so relatable and human. Though I still do wish Kira took more of a stance in her own life, I’ve come to enjoy her character a bit more. With Rei, you can really tell that the series so far centres around him and delves into his character study and the development of who he was and who he is becoming.
I could not stress enough how much you should look into the trigger warnings before reading this series, as it’s not light hearted in the slightest.
Also, god damn, the art style is sooooo gorgeous!!! I am in love!!!!
Mars continues to stay beautiful and dark in this volume. The story is brilliant in the way it delves into the psyche of teens and extreme trauma. It’s horrifying in its representation of violence and trauma but also some how the emotions of Rei And Kira seem so relatable and human. Though I still do wish Kira took more of a stance in her own life, I’ve come to enjoy her character a bit more. With Rei, you can really tell that the series so far centres around him and delves into his character study and the development of who he was and who he is becoming.
I could not stress enough how much you should look into the trigger warnings before reading this series, as it’s not light hearted in the slightest.
Also, god damn, the art style is sooooo gorgeous!!! I am in love!!!!
November 12, 2015
Rei is the type of guy that Kira couldn't stand; flirty, reckless, and a biker. When a chance encounter leads to Rei saving Kira from a teacher with bad intentions, neither of them know the extent to which the other will impact them.
On the outside, MARS is a typical coming-of-age story centered on the relationship between good girl and a bad boy. But underneath the romance lie stories of suicide, rape and murder; the idea that everyone has a secret to hide, even those who seem most innocent. When the dark pasts of Rei and Kira come to light, they struggle to keep their relationship together.
This is definitely one of my favorite manga series out there, I highly recommend it for the shoujo fan! :)
On the outside, MARS is a typical coming-of-age story centered on the relationship between good girl and a bad boy. But underneath the romance lie stories of suicide, rape and murder; the idea that everyone has a secret to hide, even those who seem most innocent. When the dark pasts of Rei and Kira come to light, they struggle to keep their relationship together.
This is definitely one of my favorite manga series out there, I highly recommend it for the shoujo fan! :)
January 21, 2022
Technically a 3.5 for me. I honestly do not like Masao's character and found him just unnecessary. I know Fuyumi Soryo wanted to add another element for Kira and Rei to overcome but I think Masao's character was an unnecessary addition. I just find him creepy personally.
August 23, 2013
The drama is escalating.
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February 26, 2016WHEN DID THIS SERIES GET SO DARK?!!
December 16, 2017
This manga started out as a pretty normal romance manga that featured motorbikes and 6 volumes in its now evil gay murderers ok then!
September 8, 2022
This whole creepy psyho Masao sideplot feels so unnecessary 🤦🏻♀️
September 7, 2021
This volume introduces more of a back story to the new kid in school, Masao. What I found interesting about his story is how parallel it is to Rei. What makes it difficult for me is Rei's romanticization vs Masao's simultaneous demonization. Kira and also, the reviewers down below seem to empathize with Rei more just because he's a lead protagonist and Kira's boyfriend and they tend to excuse his violent tendencies but in the same way, call Masao "a psycho" or "fucked up". How is he really much different from Rei?? If you excuse Rei then you can excuse Masao. Or villanize them both.
For me, personally, I think this volume tackles the conversations of mental health in all the wrong ways. Instead of talking about why the characters may be acting the way they are, there is never a time where we get to the root of their problems (their traumas). I think this volume succeeds in making Rei truly the most unlikable he has been since the series started. There are truly other ways this storyline could have been designed but yet got flubbed so hard. Rei is becoming a villain and it could have been so different.
What Masao said about humanity and their relationship with violence and how humans are naturally violent and everything has been an opinion, I've held for years. I've written papers about the topic tried to tentatively approach the idea with professors and classmates as well. I think violence is not created, it's inborn. In nature, it's the key to survival. Obviously, you should not be killing something/or someone if you can help it. But violence as self-defense...cannot be removed from the human experience. Just my thought. I think he brought up some valid points (not the parts when he said he enjoyed killing his bully though) I think it's important to see his side as well as anyone else's. Objectivity is key to understanding any plot. Any story. To understanding life.
I will be finishing the series, moving forward with volume 7 ONLY because of my growing morbid curiosity and absolutely nothing else. I hate truly that so many manga artists create such hostile, toxic, and violent male characters and then try to make them "loverboys" in the same breath. It's a worthless trope. But hey, it was the 90's and bad boy complexes were all the rage! Suffice to say, It not only romanticizes all the wrong attributes a character has to offer but it also does no good. Not for the plot, not for the development of the character, and certainly not for the readers who feel that they identify with such immorality.
Rei is not the love interest we should be rooting for. He is messed up on so many levels....but alas make a character "hot" and then, by all means, we must ignore everything that makes them truly a paradoxical menace to society. It blows that the lead male characters in shoujo or any other manga for that matter...get to be so awful and still get to be loved and fandom'd over. I don't know what kind of message that sends to the audience. I love (shoujo) manga just as much as the next person but it seems to be that all the worse things a person can possibly do, in the culture and books are normalized, accepted, and romanticized (especially in male characters). And that sucks.
With that being said, I gave this volume, 4 stars because though some things bothered me...I was very enthralled and entertained by the plot. It's interesting, for sure. But it's safe to say if Rei doesn't start improving his shitty antics soon, I will stay sincerely not a fan.
For me, personally, I think this volume tackles the conversations of mental health in all the wrong ways. Instead of talking about why the characters may be acting the way they are, there is never a time where we get to the root of their problems (their traumas). I think this volume succeeds in making Rei truly the most unlikable he has been since the series started. There are truly other ways this storyline could have been designed but yet got flubbed so hard. Rei is becoming a villain and it could have been so different.
What Masao said about humanity and their relationship with violence and how humans are naturally violent and everything has been an opinion, I've held for years. I've written papers about the topic tried to tentatively approach the idea with professors and classmates as well. I think violence is not created, it's inborn. In nature, it's the key to survival. Obviously, you should not be killing something/or someone if you can help it. But violence as self-defense...cannot be removed from the human experience. Just my thought. I think he brought up some valid points (not the parts when he said he enjoyed killing his bully though) I think it's important to see his side as well as anyone else's. Objectivity is key to understanding any plot. Any story. To understanding life.
I will be finishing the series, moving forward with volume 7 ONLY because of my growing morbid curiosity and absolutely nothing else. I hate truly that so many manga artists create such hostile, toxic, and violent male characters and then try to make them "loverboys" in the same breath. It's a worthless trope. But hey, it was the 90's and bad boy complexes were all the rage! Suffice to say, It not only romanticizes all the wrong attributes a character has to offer but it also does no good. Not for the plot, not for the development of the character, and certainly not for the readers who feel that they identify with such immorality.
Rei is not the love interest we should be rooting for. He is messed up on so many levels....but alas make a character "hot" and then, by all means, we must ignore everything that makes them truly a paradoxical menace to society. It blows that the lead male characters in shoujo or any other manga for that matter...get to be so awful and still get to be loved and fandom'd over. I don't know what kind of message that sends to the audience. I love (shoujo) manga just as much as the next person but it seems to be that all the worse things a person can possibly do, in the culture and books are normalized, accepted, and romanticized (especially in male characters). And that sucks.
With that being said, I gave this volume, 4 stars because though some things bothered me...I was very enthralled and entertained by the plot. It's interesting, for sure. But it's safe to say if Rei doesn't start improving his shitty antics soon, I will stay sincerely not a fan.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews