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Terra Formars #2
Terra Formars, Vol. 2
2ª missão. Reencontro com o Fatídico. Vinte anos após o fracasso da missão da BUGS-2, na Tailândia, Akari Hizamaru luta em um ringue de vale-tudo, na esperança de ganhar o prêmio para salvar sua amiga de infância de uma doença incurável. Porém, um misterioso casal o convida para participar de uma nova missão de ida a Marte. Será o começo de outra batalha mortal: Homem versus Baratas?!
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First published August 17, 2012
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February 28, 2021This second volume is something of a change of pace. Not only does it take place twenty years after the events of the first one as it is very low on the roach count, I'm afraid. While there is some of the franchise's graphic violence, the bulk of this particular volume focuses on introducing the next batch of cannon fodder characters and in developing them.
Terraformars is not exactly known for its character development but this is a decent attempt at making us care. We are introduced to Akari, a Japanese young fighter forced into illegal fights so as to earn money for a life-saving surgery for his very Ill Little Girl childhood friend- this is played absolutely straight and is actually very plot relevant- and two Mexican teenagers who crossed illegally into the States and are struggling greatly with poverty, discrimination and lack of prospects.
All this is delivered with some humor but for the for the most part, it all in dead earnest. Which brings me one of the good things in this manga that hardly gets covered (cannot blame readers either, the giant gorilla-headed, man-bodied cockroaches angle tends to overwhelm anything else and since the plot can be a bit all over the place, it is to be expected that all else falls to the wayside): namely, class.
Over the years I have noticed a shift in 2D culture, one that nullified class as conflict or even as an actual reality. While anime and manga never did place class as a main concern- at least not to my knowledge- several titles would consider it: classical shoujo in particular (and even current one, it seems entertainment targeted at girls and women has a greater class consciousness) would often have a main thrust the struggle of the lower middle class, or even actual poor, character, as they navigate life and interactions with a world where privilege runs rampant.
These days, though, virtually everyone lives in a bubble of worldly comforts, so speak. Strife is limited to interpersonal relationships and/or whatever villains may be.
There are exceptions but the trend is very obvious: the hero does not struggle financially nor do their peers and poverty, when at all presented, is a phase that gets overcome remarkably easy (note all the many Isekai stuff where the lead has no skills, no money but in no time is living in a mansion and has servants) or is a comedic shtick more than anything else.
Terraformars is very different. As the professor says in the first volume, even death row convicts have rights but the destitute have none. What forces the hand of people into undertaking a surgery with a 36% survival rate and and in this volume, knowing that you will have to face against monstrous critters that can literally rip you into shreds, is that you desperately need the money.
The two Mexican kids, Marcus and Alex (it may be explained why all the Mexicans have English sounding names but I did not catch it; more on the linguistic problems I had with this) are in a precarious situation: with no legal recognition, they cannot be hired for any actual job but are exploited by gangs. Ironically, they escaped Grand Mexico partially to escape from gang violence.
Of course, none of this is presented with any subtlety. But the awareness that severe financial duress will push even good people into doing terrible things is greatly appreciated. At one point, a potential employer tells Alex that in the good old days he used to employ illegal workers because it was so profitable, skimping on wages and all that, but that now the authorities are cracking on such matters so it is not worth the risk.
But of course, all this is leading up to enrolling these characters into joining U-NASA's mission, now helmeted by a goateed Shokichi, to send another manned mission to Mars. Why return to Terraformar infested Mars? Because of a virus of Martian origin (that may be the same that was already killing people twenty years ago, including Wood's father and many of his generation; I think this is addressed but I am not entirely sure) is becoming increasingly more widely spread. So living samples are required and who is to get them?
Terraformars has a schizo relation to science. On one hand, it is full of the kind of magical science one would expect from such a premise, what with surgeries that combine insect and human DNA and really whacky evolution but on the other hand, it occasionally goes very realistic in its insect trivia, complete with actual quotations from books.
In this case, the way a virus mutates across hosts so as to infect human beings, is horrifyingly real. And in 2021 it has an added ring of truth to it that one did not, at all, expect from this shlock-fest.
That the virus cannot be cultivated and thus samples must be harvested from Mars, does sound very plot convenient but I do not think it is any more unlikely than other manga.
But of course, several problems remain. We get to hear the exact same plot points about warming Mars and using the roaches over and over again. The first volume being something of a standalone prequel- so much so that it became an OVA when animated- and it never becomes any less silly; but the new characters must be told this and since there are plenty of those, it becomes very repetitive. Then, from the new cast, we get a German officer whose name just had to be Adolf; of all the many, many, many names that they could have picked, they went for this one. It is a minor peeve, perhaps, but it is so odd.
Also, while much is made about getting samples of these super roaches, they have actually captured at least two- albeit dead ones- but one of them is used as a literal punching bag instead of being properly analyzed. I get that these corpses don't carry the virus but I cannot think they are entirely useless, considering how little they know about this species, they should be laser focused on dissecting and studying them.
Other problems abound:
I have alluded to this before but this is not an easy manga to read. There are technical terms that I am utterly unfamiliar with and while this volume does not have the details on bugs as the first one did, it has a character whose lines I simply cannot, at all, follow. His lines are a string of kanji more often than not but more taxing is the way in which his syntax is so unusual. I am always tempted to skip him altogether as all he does he provide commentary anyway but course, that cannot be, and I spent a lot of time trying to puzzle what he is even talking about. Usually it's roaches, yes, but what precisely about the roaches? I will never sleep until I know, it will haunt my days and haunt my nights.
But there is also Michelle, about the most interesting of the batch: She's an American who inherited her insect abilities and thus is really powerful. She is one of the few females who can really hold her own in a fight- and how!- and is not just there to die so as to motivate some guy. Michelle is great.
Overall, this is the usual mixed bag Terraformars fare even if it is not as action packed as usual. It knows how to end with a bang and at this point, Humanity versus Cockroaches, as the franchise actually calls this existential conflict (Mars is too small for people and gori-roaches, I'll have you know), is like a train wreck: there is no looking away from it. I could be doing something productive with my time, I have over ten thousand books on my tbr, many of which are really important and seminal works, but what am doing? Reading about Giant Humanoid Roaches and roach trivia, an entire page of which, that is actually sourced from a university stamped book.
I would pay good money to see the reactions of these scholars to the manga: "Oh, my work got cited manga, you say? How unexpected! But this is cool, I did not know entomology was becoming mainstream, let me see...OH MY EYES, MY EYES, WHAT IS THIS, WHWHWHWHW".
Terraformars is not exactly known for its character development but this is a decent attempt at making us care. We are introduced to Akari, a Japanese young fighter forced into illegal fights so as to earn money for a life-saving surgery for his very Ill Little Girl childhood friend- this is played absolutely straight and is actually very plot relevant- and two Mexican teenagers who crossed illegally into the States and are struggling greatly with poverty, discrimination and lack of prospects.
All this is delivered with some humor but for the for the most part, it all in dead earnest. Which brings me one of the good things in this manga that hardly gets covered (cannot blame readers either, the giant gorilla-headed, man-bodied cockroaches angle tends to overwhelm anything else and since the plot can be a bit all over the place, it is to be expected that all else falls to the wayside): namely, class.
Over the years I have noticed a shift in 2D culture, one that nullified class as conflict or even as an actual reality. While anime and manga never did place class as a main concern- at least not to my knowledge- several titles would consider it: classical shoujo in particular (and even current one, it seems entertainment targeted at girls and women has a greater class consciousness) would often have a main thrust the struggle of the lower middle class, or even actual poor, character, as they navigate life and interactions with a world where privilege runs rampant.
These days, though, virtually everyone lives in a bubble of worldly comforts, so speak. Strife is limited to interpersonal relationships and/or whatever villains may be.
There are exceptions but the trend is very obvious: the hero does not struggle financially nor do their peers and poverty, when at all presented, is a phase that gets overcome remarkably easy (note all the many Isekai stuff where the lead has no skills, no money but in no time is living in a mansion and has servants) or is a comedic shtick more than anything else.
Terraformars is very different. As the professor says in the first volume, even death row convicts have rights but the destitute have none. What forces the hand of people into undertaking a surgery with a 36% survival rate and and in this volume, knowing that you will have to face against monstrous critters that can literally rip you into shreds, is that you desperately need the money.
The two Mexican kids, Marcus and Alex (it may be explained why all the Mexicans have English sounding names but I did not catch it; more on the linguistic problems I had with this) are in a precarious situation: with no legal recognition, they cannot be hired for any actual job but are exploited by gangs. Ironically, they escaped Grand Mexico partially to escape from gang violence.
Of course, none of this is presented with any subtlety. But the awareness that severe financial duress will push even good people into doing terrible things is greatly appreciated. At one point, a potential employer tells Alex that in the good old days he used to employ illegal workers because it was so profitable, skimping on wages and all that, but that now the authorities are cracking on such matters so it is not worth the risk.
But of course, all this is leading up to enrolling these characters into joining U-NASA's mission, now helmeted by a goateed Shokichi, to send another manned mission to Mars. Why return to Terraformar infested Mars? Because of a virus of Martian origin (that may be the same that was already killing people twenty years ago, including Wood's father and many of his generation; I think this is addressed but I am not entirely sure) is becoming increasingly more widely spread. So living samples are required and who is to get them?
Terraformars has a schizo relation to science. On one hand, it is full of the kind of magical science one would expect from such a premise, what with surgeries that combine insect and human DNA and really whacky evolution but on the other hand, it occasionally goes very realistic in its insect trivia, complete with actual quotations from books.
In this case, the way a virus mutates across hosts so as to infect human beings, is horrifyingly real. And in 2021 it has an added ring of truth to it that one did not, at all, expect from this shlock-fest.
That the virus cannot be cultivated and thus samples must be harvested from Mars, does sound very plot convenient but I do not think it is any more unlikely than other manga.
But of course, several problems remain. We get to hear the exact same plot points about warming Mars and using the roaches over and over again. The first volume being something of a standalone prequel- so much so that it became an OVA when animated- and it never becomes any less silly; but the new characters must be told this and since there are plenty of those, it becomes very repetitive. Then, from the new cast, we get a German officer whose name just had to be Adolf; of all the many, many, many names that they could have picked, they went for this one. It is a minor peeve, perhaps, but it is so odd.
Also, while much is made about getting samples of these super roaches, they have actually captured at least two- albeit dead ones- but one of them is used as a literal punching bag instead of being properly analyzed. I get that these corpses don't carry the virus but I cannot think they are entirely useless, considering how little they know about this species, they should be laser focused on dissecting and studying them.
Other problems abound:
I have alluded to this before but this is not an easy manga to read. There are technical terms that I am utterly unfamiliar with and while this volume does not have the details on bugs as the first one did, it has a character whose lines I simply cannot, at all, follow. His lines are a string of kanji more often than not but more taxing is the way in which his syntax is so unusual. I am always tempted to skip him altogether as all he does he provide commentary anyway but course, that cannot be, and I spent a lot of time trying to puzzle what he is even talking about. Usually it's roaches, yes, but what precisely about the roaches? I will never sleep until I know, it will haunt my days and haunt my nights.
But there is also Michelle, about the most interesting of the batch: She's an American who inherited her insect abilities and thus is really powerful. She is one of the few females who can really hold her own in a fight- and how!- and is not just there to die so as to motivate some guy. Michelle is great.
Overall, this is the usual mixed bag Terraformars fare even if it is not as action packed as usual. It knows how to end with a bang and at this point, Humanity versus Cockroaches, as the franchise actually calls this existential conflict (Mars is too small for people and gori-roaches, I'll have you know), is like a train wreck: there is no looking away from it. I could be doing something productive with my time, I have over ten thousand books on my tbr, many of which are really important and seminal works, but what am doing? Reading about Giant Humanoid Roaches and roach trivia, an entire page of which, that is actually sourced from a university stamped book.
I would pay good money to see the reactions of these scholars to the manga: "Oh, my work got cited manga, you say? How unexpected! But this is cool, I did not know entomology was becoming mainstream, let me see...OH MY EYES, MY EYES, WHAT IS THIS, WHWHWHWHW".
January 3, 2016
3.5 STARS!!
BLURB:
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…
Thailand, twenty years after the ill-fated Bugs 2 mission. Two American U-NASA agents arrive to find Akari Hizamaru, a “child born after the operation,” and recruit him for Annex 1, a new mission to Mars. The purpose of Annex 1 is to research the origins of a new disease that is ravaging the earth. But the reasons why U-NASA would need the incredible powers that Hizamaru possesses are still a closely guarded secret. Once again, humanity launches an expedition to Mars that has frightening implications for the future.
***
After the failure mission from BUGS I & II, they're still trying to search some volunteer and potential people. But now, there is a incurable disease on earth that cause percentage of death is 100%. Their new mission is to bring some sample from Mars including Terra Formars ALIVE! I was so happy to see one of the survivor who become captain right now. With some potential newbie and other seniors from various country, they launch again to Mars..
My previous opinion for this volume is... Gah, another group will be annihilate if they didn't develop any potential power. If they're still sending like the previous one, they will end in the same fate. I'm so happy in this volume that I found some favorite characters and I pray for them to be ALIVE! It's so rare to see them survive in this madness. If your heart couldn't process the previous volume, don't worry. In this story there will be minor damage. I mean, there are more bonding scene between the newbie and seniors and more talking. But what left the ending will surprise you... It was so fast and... BAM!
*Akari is my favorite. He's so handsome. LOL please be alive!*
BLURB:
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…
Thailand, twenty years after the ill-fated Bugs 2 mission. Two American U-NASA agents arrive to find Akari Hizamaru, a “child born after the operation,” and recruit him for Annex 1, a new mission to Mars. The purpose of Annex 1 is to research the origins of a new disease that is ravaging the earth. But the reasons why U-NASA would need the incredible powers that Hizamaru possesses are still a closely guarded secret. Once again, humanity launches an expedition to Mars that has frightening implications for the future.
***
After the failure mission from BUGS I & II, they're still trying to search some volunteer and potential people. But now, there is a incurable disease on earth that cause percentage of death is 100%. Their new mission is to bring some sample from Mars including Terra Formars ALIVE! I was so happy to see one of the survivor who become captain right now. With some potential newbie and other seniors from various country, they launch again to Mars..
My previous opinion for this volume is... Gah, another group will be annihilate if they didn't develop any potential power. If they're still sending like the previous one, they will end in the same fate. I'm so happy in this volume that I found some favorite characters and I pray for them to be ALIVE! It's so rare to see them survive in this madness. If your heart couldn't process the previous volume, don't worry. In this story there will be minor damage. I mean, there are more bonding scene between the newbie and seniors and more talking. But what left the ending will surprise you... It was so fast and... BAM!
*Akari is my favorite. He's so handsome. LOL please be alive!*
November 25, 2016
Do the writers have an idea that moss and algae are not the same thing?
Not that this is the biggest idiocy in this volume. How can anyone think this is well written? They even try to act as if the origin of this obviously engineered virus (that actually looks like a scaly Egyptian Ankh and for some reason cannot be cultivated) is some mystery, in fact these morons do not even consider that the roach head they have might be the origin. And apparently they need to go to Mars to get samples of the virus, for some reason, as the virus apparently can spread on earth and kill people, so apparently there is an environment in which it can thrive, so why can't they cultivate it? Why not take samples from the infected? Heck, what difference does it make to take samples on Mars? And why can't robots do the job? This story is really just a dumb excuse to have humans fight roaches.
Ps. So according to that one newscaster this is the first manned flight to Mars. They showed us how big the other two ships were, how on earth do you keep that hidden? Heck, why still claim this is in the 27th century when everything not related to the Mars mission looks like from the late 1990s or early 2000s?
Not that this is the biggest idiocy in this volume. How can anyone think this is well written? They even try to act as if the origin of this obviously engineered virus (that actually looks like a scaly Egyptian Ankh and for some reason cannot be cultivated) is some mystery, in fact these morons do not even consider that the roach head they have might be the origin. And apparently they need to go to Mars to get samples of the virus, for some reason, as the virus apparently can spread on earth and kill people, so apparently there is an environment in which it can thrive, so why can't they cultivate it? Why not take samples from the infected? Heck, what difference does it make to take samples on Mars? And why can't robots do the job? This story is really just a dumb excuse to have humans fight roaches.
Ps. So according to that one newscaster this is the first manned flight to Mars. They showed us how big the other two ships were, how on earth do you keep that hidden? Heck, why still claim this is in the 27th century when everything not related to the Mars mission looks like from the late 1990s or early 2000s?
December 8, 2018
Si la Image más descerebrada de los noventa hubiera sido una editorial japonesa sin duda hubiera sacado un manga como éste, una mezcla demenciada de la película "Starship Troopers" (tomándosela en serio) con el tebeo noventero de superhéroes. El primer volumen tiene un pase por la absurdez de la propuesta, alguna escena chocante pero graciosa (llegan a Marte, abren la puerta de la nave y pam!, la primera ostia en toa la boca), la tosca y brutal ultraviolencia y el tono general de estar haciendo un tebeo estúpido a propósito. Lamentablemente, en lugar de apretar el acelerador del desparrame, la violencia desquiciada y la desvergüenza, en este segundo tomo se opta por, ejem, la "caracterización" y el plot, y el resultado es francamente aburrido. En cuanto al dibujo de Sasuga, parece un becario de Dan Panosian pero algo más apañao, graves problemas con la anatomía humana, la composición y la perspectiva, pero al menos, narrativamente, se deja leer.
February 25, 2014
Inconmensurable.
September 7, 2018
This book only makes sence if you read the first book
January 30, 2021
This series is really boring...
This volume is just a bunch of background of various characters to build up to them getting attacked by another giant roach. This time on the ship it's just one instead of many but one can do major damage, murdering people, and of course giving us a titty shot incase you were bored or something. Overall, all the backgrounds were cliche, nothing really worked for me in this volume, though the fights themselves are easy to follow and brutal. Just meh at best though.
This volume is just a bunch of background of various characters to build up to them getting attacked by another giant roach. This time on the ship it's just one instead of many but one can do major damage, murdering people, and of course giving us a titty shot incase you were bored or something. Overall, all the backgrounds were cliche, nothing really worked for me in this volume, though the fights themselves are easy to follow and brutal. Just meh at best though.
August 3, 2020
Después de la carnicería, gore, sci-fi , que era todo el rpiemer volumen, ahora pasamos a algo mas lento...ese punto en donde hay un nuevo grupo de personajes que se conocen, crean lazos, se quieren, hablan de traumas de la infancia/adolescencia , y es lindo, hasta que...ZUAS, empiezan a aparecer los bichos y empieza a correr sagre y deja a los personajes en un punto muy jodido. Muy fanatico de la serie.
December 7, 2022
"Terra Formars, #2" by Yu Sasuga is devoted to developing some of the background for characters in the series. It is an attempt to make the readers understand and care for some of the characters in the series who are being sent to Mars as, basically, cannon fodder for humanity's attempt at transforming Mars into a habitable planet for human beings. Well worth a night to buzz through. Still have many volumes to read.
March 8, 2018
As opiniões se dividem, mas Terraformars continua sendo “highly entertaining”. A despeito da ideia original ser absurda e tals, o mangá consegue prender nossa atenção e nos faz roer as unhas nos momentos de tensão. É ficção, muito boa, por sinal, e mesmo as forçações de barra estão valendo, visto que o cenário geral é tão legal.
April 18, 2019
Pakko oli lukea lisää, vaikka ötökkähirviöt ja ihmisten teurastus ällöttivätkin kovasti.
January 27, 2021
3.5/5
August 15, 2023
This is a really good volume and really feels where the story of the manga picks up.
March 26, 2025
The third mission. A motley crue of characters. Didn't quite get to Mars.
July 27, 2015
Ok. There is a Second Storyline: 20 years has passed from B.U.G.S II Mission. In this volume there will be new members for one more mission to Mars. Among us will be.the surviving member from B.U.G.S II Mission, the daughter of the Captain of that mission, two mexican friends who have crossed the U.S.A as wetbacks, and a boy whose origin nobody knows. they will be from the Japanese-American Squad from Annex I. Their mission: find a cure to mysterious virus from Mars. But the aggresive Roaches waits for exterminate the human race.
Well, with this new storyline, Terra Formars introduces new characters, new humans stories and the main survivor from first storyline. The result is an intrresting human relationship that, personally, I have enjoyed.
The revenge is just get to started.
Well, with this new storyline, Terra Formars introduces new characters, new humans stories and the main survivor from first storyline. The result is an intrresting human relationship that, personally, I have enjoyed.
The revenge is just get to started.
July 6, 2023
Terraformas 2
Ok esto es como varios años después, nuevos reclutas para la tripulación, más tiempo para conocerlos, el viaje a marte es el ultimo capitulo.
Y vaya que se pone interesante para después, incógnitas de como o quien
Lo que sí, parte de la misión es buscar algo donde cultivar un virus nuevo
Consigue enganchar para ver que pasa después
3 stars
Ok esto es como varios años después, nuevos reclutas para la tripulación, más tiempo para conocerlos, el viaje a marte es el ultimo capitulo.
Y vaya que se pone interesante para después, incógnitas de como o quien
Lo que sí, parte de la misión es buscar algo donde cultivar un virus nuevo
Consigue enganchar para ver que pasa después
3 stars
October 29, 2014
Not as good as the first book
This volume got a little high school for me, and jumped around a bit too much from a perspective and points of view. The last volume had a bit more action and story progression, and felt original. This volume felt a bit repetitive except for the twist at the very end. I will give the next volume a shot though.
This volume got a little high school for me, and jumped around a bit too much from a perspective and points of view. The last volume had a bit more action and story progression, and felt original. This volume felt a bit repetitive except for the twist at the very end. I will give the next volume a shot though.
January 10, 2018
Much like the 1st volume but with more emphasis on the new characters and with less background information. But you grow to like the characters by their actions as you read which I liked very much. It's mainly a set-up for what's about to take place in the 3rd volume, more or less.
June 17, 2013
Un poil mieux que le tome 1.
August 9, 2016
Not as good as the first - but still entertaining.
November 6, 2016
Un deuxième tome plein de rebondissements. On en apprend plus sur la situation sur terre au 26ème siècle, et les nouveaux personnages ont l'air très intéressants.
September 13, 2015
Not sure where thet can go with the story of this, but interested
April 13, 2017
I'm wasn't exactly sure how to rate this. I'm really enjoying the crazy brutal fighting but it is a really silly concept. Also this issue had too many boobs in it for my taste. Still, I'll probably pick up the next one.
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