Copyright © 1996-1999 Souryuu Fuyumi

Thanks to the popularity of series such as SAILOR MOON, MARMALADE BOY and FUSHIGI YUUGI, shojo anime and manga have garnered plenty of fans in the USA—a market that has, until recently, been almost exclusively dominated by the shonen genre. While popular in countries such as Thailand or Korea, Japanese manga still has little more than a niche audience in the USA and many of the best titles never see the light of day.
MARS, a long running series by Souryuu Fuyumi, is one such manga. Currently up to its ninth volume, it is a powerful story of two high school students, a shy girl and a young man full of anger, who fall in love despite their extreme differences. But as ugly secrets and shocking pasts slowly come to the surface, their relationship is driven to the breaking point in a storm of taut emotion. Souryou crafts a tight, balanced plot that leaves no room for boredom or complaint.
It is a theme that has been done thousands of time before, so MARS makes no claim to originality. It is in the art and the execution that it outshines the competition. There are so many stories that simply throw misunderstanding after misunderstanding, rival after rival, at two people who profess to love each other more than anything yet degenerate into petty squabbles caused by their own insecurities. How many times have you felt the urge to yell at a character for displaying the ultimate in stupidity? MARS has been running for several years, and the grace with which it step-sides these pitfalls is most certainly a factor behind its popularity.
The manga starts off focused on a girl named Kira. She is a talented artist, but her quiet and assuming nature leaves her with few friends, and, because of her rather extreme reactions of fear to the opposite sex, the boys tend to avoid her. However, when Kira runs into Rei, the "bad boy" of her school, she becomes drawn to him in a way which even she cannot understand. Rei represents a complete opposite: a playboy who is arrogant, rebellious, impulsive and violent. He is handsome to the point of almost being a work of art. To everyone's surprise, Kira suddenly asks Rei to be a model, and, even more surprisingly, Rei agrees. The title MARS refers to the Roman god of war, which is what Kira's interpretation of the fire and anger within Rei turns out to be.
Their relationship begins in the art classroom, is shaken by personal demons, then grows and strengthens despite the odds. Later volumes delve into Rei's past and shed light on his self-destructive nature, and further on we learn more about Kira as well. At no point does the author let them appear as anything less than two selfless people in love who do their best to surmount crises that they have little control over.
This story would be far less successful if not for Souryou's art. Her characters are tall and lanky, the lines fine but confident. There are few backgrounds, but that is because Souryou puts all her energy into people. She excels at facial expressions, especially those of strong emotions such as shock, disbelief or desperation. As for the overall look, imaginative angles and skillful panel layouts make this a joy to page through.
As far as shojo titles go, MARS is in the category aimed at older teenagers. Its rather forward approach to topics such as sex and suicide may surprise those unfamiliar with the genre, but, because it does not skirt or focus solely on these concepts, it maintains a sense of reality despite what are admittedly extreme circumstances.
With hundreds of titles sitting on the shelves, buying manga is a real hit or miss experience. This is one title that I stand solidly behind—you don't come across something this good everyday.

Published by Kodansha
Vol 1-9, ongoing
approx. 200 b/w pages per volume
vol.1 ISBN4-06-303030-X C9979
vol.2 ISBN4-06-303041-5 C9979
vol.3 ISBN4-06-303054-7 C9979
vol.4 ISBN4-06-303065-2 C9979
vol.5 ISBN4-06-303076-8 C9979
vol.6 ISBN4-06-303095-4 C9979
vol.7 ISBN4-06-303106-3 C9979
vol.8 ISBN4-06-303126-8 C9979
vol.9 ISBN4-06-303140-3 C9979
¥390+tax per volume
Available now in Japan
Where to buy