Mars Red

This review contains an optional spoiler section at the end.

- How does it end?
- It’s a tragedy.

One word: cinematography and theatrics.

If someone told me before I have seen Mars Red that it’s a TV anime entirely drawn in cinemascope size (2.35:1), my first thought would’ve been, “Well, that’s pointlessly pretentious. Not like a TV anime is shot on 70 mm film and meant to be projected on cinema screens.” Boy, am I happy to be wrong on this one. Every other scene of Mars Red is an absolute masterpiece of shot composition, properly utilizing the wide aspect ratio for grand panoramic views and pensive camera ... pans. It wouldn’t be weird to think you’re watching Quentin Tarantino’s work, so skillful the presentation on the pure craftsmanship level is.
And it’s not like I’m implying this is a case of style over substance - in Mars Red style IS substance. The show is adapted from a stage play, and it wears that origin on its sleeve. The cast members can’t walk three steps without quoting some classical drama (the fact that several of them are actual thespians helps). And then the storylines of the early episodes mimic the very same classics in a deliberate, ostentatious manner. So the wide shots don’t just exist for the sake of pretty pictures - they are contributing to the show’s extravagant theater-like atmosphere and to its exclusively visual storytelling, the much-vaunted “show, don’t tell” principle, which many like to use as a buzzword but few appreciate when it’s seriously put to practice, as lack of spoonfeeding makes the story cryptic and genuinely hard to follow (I had to watch the first episode twice to fully understand what transpired there - and I saw many not only completely miss the ENTIRE story of that episode but also miss even the fact that they’re missing something - but more on that later).
Also, it’s about vampires, which I hope is something I don’t have to explain because any self-respecting vampire fiction fan should understand that vampires means pathos and pathos means vampires.

Do note that the show has two distinct “phases”, and so far I’ve been talking about its first half. The second half ditches the episodic structure and the theater homages in favor of a single main plotline, but what it loses in aesthetics gets compensated twofold in weight of its dramatic writing - Episode 6 is a particularly profound highlight.
Here, I ought to elaborate on the show’s setting and how it contributes to the tone and the narrative. It’s Taishou Era (the early 1920s) Japan - no doubt the consequence of Kimetsu no Yaiba’s success, that nonetheless has more significance than just being a marketing gimmick. The Taisho Era was the golden age of the Japanese Empire - coming out of World War I on the winning side with massive territorial gains and ushering the decade of prosperity, progress, modernization, and social change. It’s not an accident that the male characters of Mars Red are manly military men with iron-cast jawlines, nor is it one that the female characters are plucky, go-getting “modern girls” (the Japanese name for flappers). There couldn’t be a better stage for a theatre-inspired story.
So, what the central plotline of the second half of the show does on that stage is denouncing the militaristic ethos birthed from that decade (embodied by the character of Lt. Gen. Nakajima) - the ethos responsible for railroading the Japanese Empire into World War II and spelling its demise. Furthermore, the main plot is counterpointed by personal dramas of the cast members playing out amidst the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 - another defining event of the Taishou Era.

Returning back to the “show, don’t tell” point. Honestly, at times what this series does feels more like “don’t show, don’t tell.” Important plot developments happen off-screen between episodes, with the audience left to figure out wtf had happened only by the breadcrumbs in characters’ dialogues and reactions to the aftermath of those. It’s like the show was purposefully trying to filter out the “plot” audience that watches anime to see if aliens will explode the earth with a blue laser - instead of watching it for character arcs, exploration of themes, or audio-visual presentation - as figuring out the plot here is a nigh-impossible task. This is the first series since The Tatami Galaxy that feels intentionally designed for rewatches. The first rewatch is a much more enjoyable experience than the initial watch-through - and I don’t mean this as an abstract impression, but as my actual first-hand experience. I have rewatched the entire show before it finished airing to confirm for myself if things that I felt were unexplained/plot holes actually were those things - or if I just missed/didn’t get it the first time. Rest assured, it’s the latter - not a single question about the plot points, character motivations, etc. that I had on my first watch was left unanswered after a rewatch. So, yeah, look at the screen when watching anime.
Still, don’t expect a Madoka-tier perfectly-structured, easily-digestible screenplay. Watch this show only if you’d like to appreciate some amazing cinematography and submerge yourself in some stageplay pathos. I really don’t have all that many words to describe those, as it’s kinda a misguided effort trying to describe with words what’s so beautiful about the sunset over the ocean - one just has to see it.

11/10 (on a 15-point scale) for “historical drama that epitomizes the art of visual storytelling.”

P.S. Below is a list of plot points established in the first episode purely by visual/indirect storytelling. The list is meant for those who have seen the episode. It’s there for a case study of how a “deep” anime actually looks like.









*Spoilers begin here*

1) Misaki was Maeda’s fiancee. I’m not explaining this one, it should be obvious to anyone who looked at the screen when watching this episode.

2) Maeda has recently lost his dominant right arm and wears a prosthetic. You can see him struggling to write readable kanji with his left hand around 00:50, as well as generally using only his left hand for everything while holding his right arm in an unnaturally stiff way. Later, around 10:35, Lt. Gen. Nakajima apologizes for summoning Maeda three days earlier [than his medical leave ends] and inquires about the arm, to which Maeda replies, “I can use it.”

3) Misaki’s first name is revealed around 11:15 by a case file, and then her full name is spelled on a letter Maeda holds around 12:45 - and it’s Nakajima Misaki. Meaning, she is a relative (an educated guess would be - a daughter) of Lt. Gen. Nakajima. When Nakajima instructs Maeda to dispose of her if she is not usable, and makes a point that personal feelings should not interfere with the duty - he talks to himself just as much as he talks to Maeda.

4) Defrott is a vampire and he’s the one who turned Misaki. She was mortally wounded in an accident that happened in his presence, and expressed regret about missing the chance to show her performance of Salome to Maeda - and so Defrott gave her a second chance. Defrott reveals his and Misaki’s motives in a conversation with Maeda around 15:30, and then with Salome quotes around 17:30.

Bonus: the title Mars Red alludes to the god of war and the color of blood - it’s a story about using vampires as a military force. Something tells me that the Venn diagram of people that got this meaning on their own and people that disliked this show is nil.

"Speak again, Jokanaan. Thy voice is as music to mine ear"

Mars red is in my opinion the most underrated anime of the 2021 Spring Season.

I'll start off by saying this anime isn't for everyone. It doesn't treat the audience like idiots, you have to pay attention to the small details and the subtleties to truly appreciate what this anime has to offer. I definitely feel like it's targeted at a more mature audience than your average anime so if you're looking for the usual Vampire Shonen this most certainly isn't the anime for you.

Based on a stage reading play, it's not afraid to set ... itself apart, rather it embraces its roots in its adaption to the animated medium. It does it so well that it should be commended as from my limited knowledge of the screenplay, it's an incredible adaption.

With that in mind, I'd argue that its first episode is one of the single best opening episodes of any anime ever. It ticks so many boxes for me, outstanding music and art style + animation, an intriguing plot with a hint of tragedy as well as gorgeous set pieces making full use of the powers that Vampires have, what's not to love.

The art style is really appealing, with a kinda nitty gritty vibe that perfectly compliments the world we find our characters in. Add to that the 21:9 letterbox aspect ratio (more accurately 2.35:1 Cinemascope) and it makes for what I feel is the perfect atmosphere in a story about vampires.

In addition to that maybe one of the least appreciated aspects is the superb shot composition. With great use of light, wide angles and dynamic camera work throughout the first episode I was left completely floored at nearly every scene. Often the wide angle shots would almost imitate that of a play stage. It's clear a lot of thought and care went into the production of this anime and I just wanted to express how much I appreciate it.

And of course there's the music. THE MUSIC. It's nothing short of phenomenal, the main theme really gives me Violet Evergarden vibes which may be cause for some bias but I'm running with it anyway as within the first 4 minutes of the first episode I'd fallen in love with the OST. It's not often that an anime will have me literally picking out the various instruments I'm hearing but I found myself doing that here.

I do however need to mention the constant use of plays in dialogue, characters are constantly referring to or quoting lines from plays such as Salome (by Oscar Wilde) in the first episode and Romeo & Juliet in the second episode. With each new episode, a new play seems to be the theme which I personally find really interesting but I understand this might not be for everyone, particularly those with little to no interest in plays.

Overall I find this anime to be a hidden gem in the incredible line-up that is the 2021 Spring Season, I feel like people wrote off this anime after it failed to live up to their expectation of a Vampire Shonen and without any established fanbase, the odds were certainly against Mars Red. But honestly, I'm far happier with what we got instead, a truly unique and masterful screenplay adaption with a truly gorgeous ost.

As of the time that I'm writing this review, only 4 episodes have aired. So I can't say much about the story or characters as I'd like to give both a chance to develop as the anime progresses, that said I have no complaints thus far, there's plenty of mystery for us to slowly unravel, the characters are all interesting in their own right and their interactions feel very much alive, there's also been room for some decent gags despite the morbid and serious tone that we're introduced to.
Overall the characters and story are decent and certainly show promise.

With all that said I have to admit this is my first review on this site. I felt that this anime was so criminally underrated that I just had to put my voice out there to maybe bring some attention to it. I hope I was able to portray my appreciation for this anime to anyone reading this, even if just a little bit.

But regardless if I did or not, for now I'll hold out hope that this anime gets the attention it deserves and I look forward to how the story and characters progress.
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As a final conclusion now that the anime has ended, it most definitely did not disappoint, whilst the episodic play structure was done away with in the latter half of the season in favour of following the main plotline the story and characters remained ever engaging.
What surprised me the most perhaps is how major plot points would occur between episodes and it would be up to you the viewer to work out what had happened by the clues given to us through subtle details such as during conversations between characters. Like I said before, this anime doesn't treat the audience like idiots, it most certainly doesn't spoon feed you the plot. The on saving grace in this regard is that the plot is fairly straightforward so it's easy to grasp if you pay enough attention.

All in all this is an amazing anime, a truly unique experience found nowhere else. And whilst it's not the easiest recommendation for your typical anime watcher, this will most certainly find a place in my top 20 list perhaps even top 10.

Mars Red is without a doubt one of the best shows airing this season, and yet it is overwhelmingly underappreciated, with one of the lowest scores of the season (6.88 as of the time i'm writing this review). This has left me completely befuddled and I struggle to comprehend how somebody could give this show less than a 7 or a 8 after watching the first few episodes. The possible reasons for which i will illustrate briefly below


Mars Red starts off with one of the best, if not THE BEST opening episode i've ever seen in anime. The writing was simply BRILLIANT, for it introduced ... to us enough pieces of an entangling mystery to piece together what happened at the end. The anime doesn't tell or explain to you what happens, it shows you what happens through subtle, cryptic dialogue or facial expressions and lets you infer the rest. This might be one reason for its low rating, maybe people just didn't like the theatrical writing (the show is based on an original stage play) and found it contrived or pretentious, which i strongly beg to differ. If anything, this adaptation of a play thoroughly stirred my emotions and captivated me for it truly is an anime like no other (Mars Red is the first anime based on a stage play)...


ART: 10

Mars Red is a beautiful show. I can't understand how people say its an ugly show. The backgrounds are truly gorgeous and wallpaper worthy. If anything, this show reminds me of the monogatari series, with its similar aesthetic, frame cuts, and aspect ratio. which enhances the immersion of the experience by making it cinematic.


Sound: 10

The OST is simply phenomenal. I was almost brought to tears with how beautiful it is. The OP song by the Wagakki Band, famous for their senbonzakura cover with traditional japanese instruments, is an absolute bangar and so is the ED song by HYDE, a veteran Japanese rock star.


Character: 10
Characters are very interesting so far, this definitely isn't your cliched vampire story for it actually delves a lot deeper into the thoughts and feelings of its characters instead of giving us non stop brainless action.

Weird artstyle but I like it. Better than generic artstyle anime have these days. Sound is good, OP is by Wagakki Band, ED sounds good. I usually skip OP and ED but not this anime. OST fits well too.

Story, pacing, artystyle is unorthodox and needs to get used to, but once you get used to it, it's great. Artstyle reminds me of more storybook-like artstyle. The direction is also quite unusual from usual anime, it's almost as if it is a play. Apparently, the original source material is from a play, so I guess that's why.

Pretentious, chaotic, and lazily open-ended. And pure relief when I managed to finish the last episode.

∞ Who is Mars Red aimed at? Definitely not an average anime follower.
I doubt that even folks drown to niche shows are going to find Mars Red charming. It's very theatre-heavy and into the most confusing way of storytelling. Don't get me wrong. I love me some mental challenge, but that lack of explanations would frustrate even the most chill person.
Those with a degree in English literature could be the ones to enjoy this, but even there I'm not so sure. I still believe that anime isn't ... all that deep.

∞ Why so low score? Confusing world. Dull characters. Nonexistent purpose to the story.

World. The more you get into it, the harder it is to figure stuff out. Especially after the major event that throws the world setting on its head. After that, conflicting pieces of information and no answers are the norms. Also, unnecessary time jumps further challenge your ability to piece unexplained narrative turns.

Characters. They all have undeveloped goals and predictable roles in the story. I would be hard-pressed to call any of them relatable or compelling. Initially, Maeda Yoshinobu had the most interesting character concept - a man whose sheer force of will made him stronger than any supernatural being. Sounds amazing, right? Yet he is criminally underused and his impact at the ending is...confusing and infuriating.

Vision. There is no genuine sense of purpose behind anime. Some vamps need to work hard to save their humanity, and some lost it. Vamps are truly fragile creatures. Well-intentional extremism never leads to great solutions in practice. That’s it. The end.

∞ Is there anything salvageable? Of course, but it's not worth to watch the whole season for it.
Designs of background and characters are far from generic and anime is highly atmospheric at moments. Some shots from the first couple of episodes had movie quality to them.
The ending song is great and is a clever way to tell the background story of one of the characters.

I really would like to give this one a 8 or higher but these damn plotholes. With every episode you end up asking yourself "did I miss something? When did that happened?“ and that’s the Elefant in the room because the story relies on you understanding what things are happening. There ist not that much exposition or a character that tells you what happened or something like that and that’s a shame. This anime has a fantastic stageplay and I liked the artstyle and it’s simplicity. There is so much potential but it ends up getting nowhere because you can’t follow what’s happening and that’s ... why I gave it a 7. It’s nothing more than good and even that is expressed with positive will.

When was the last time we truly got a serious depiction of vampires in anime, much less Frankenstein, Werewolves (e.g. Sirius the Jaeger) and so on? I sure as hell can't remember one in recent memory, not even in the past decade. Hollywood though, has some variables ones like the mediocre Van Helsing movie to the iconic Bram Stoker's Dracula. On the other hand, you have famous people like theater director and writer Bun-O Fujisawa, who is the brainchild for this show: Mars Red, a story of vampires living in the Taisho era of Tokyo.

Largely influenced by the learning journey in theater due to his ... family upbringing, Bun-O Fujisawa experienced many theatrical shows, even trickling down to even opera and musicals. His expedition to London to study theatre in London is quite liberal, and being a native Japanese, he has to prove his skills through his performance of his works in London, orchestrated in a carefully considered and methodically composed manner. If you can notice Fujisawa's trademark in Episode 1, where the "recitation drama" of Salomé, this is the result of Fujisawa having noticed that recitation dramas weren't building any momentum in Japan when that culture didn't exist, only often happening in places like bookstores. What he did was to induce performances almost exactly like a regular theater show with the flashy live band performances and the outfits; the only difference is that the actors remain stationary.

So then, Bun-O Fujisawa's depiction of Mars Red is simply taking the same trope or cliché, but expanding in a way that seems famililar, yet feels differently. The depiction of vampires not as conventionally powerful monsters, but as vulnerable people in society, the theme that humans and vampires alike possess both strengths and weaknesses, or so Fujisawa thinks that essence is very important to the anime (which having experience from similar plays in the past, I totally agree with this unique subtlety of a direction). What makes Mars Red appealing is in what Fujisawa says it best: "Don't you think that the appeal of vampires is that they possess two contrasting elements: superhuman powers and weaknesses? In the show, there's even more of a focus on their “weaknesses” compared to your conventional vampire. They are weak to sunlight, can't swim, and need blood. Because of their heightened senses, the stench and noise pollution of industrial Japan can only cause them pain. In this story, vampires are born within the paradox that is the modern science of the industrial revolution: it supports them in their weaknesses. Even then, science can't do anything about the problems of their heart that they face in eternal life. I hope you can enjoy this new tale about vampires." And indeed he has created his own spin of vampires that has its own charm, though an underrated one to some who can appreciate the enamor.

For more information about that one, I can reference you to ANN's interviews with the creator Bun-O Fujisawa himself, as is debut director Kouhei Hatano and screenwriter Junichi Fujisaku done very recently, paying homage to the legend that is Fujisawa and his Reading Theater stage play (seen in Episode 1). The TL;DR is this: Junichi Fujisaku, having done similar stories like Blood+ and Blood-C from the elusive Blood franchise, if you are a millennial or older who've watched the Blood franchise before, you can definitely feel the similarities in the scriptwriting, though this is an unique, standalone work on its own. It is a throwback to a classic that's made modern with its own flare and feel that makes Mars Red a compelling, moody story.

Stage plays are nothing new when you reference that to the long extensive history, but in anime? This has always been a topic that is very hard to be translated into animation, and somehow Kouhei Hatano and his production team at Signal.MD managed to pull this off with much fanfare, even if the audience population scale of influence is small. Nevertheless, knowing its theater-cum-stage-play influence of a theme, Mars Red uses its many characters to develop their small "side"-stories that will converge to play like a major scene in most theatrical screenplays. Even Fujisaku admits that he tried to arrange the screenplay in a way that follows the source material. However, the format of an audio dramatic stage reading play does not include images, rather, tt uses the voice actors' performances and music to create an image in the audience's heads, similar to the techniques of Japanese Rakugo. Because everyone creates their own images, it may be the case that an anime, which has to portray images in a distinct form, can't surpass those imaginings, which is a huge undertaking to risk spoiling the tight story. Also, because the characters of Kurusu, Yamagami, Maeda, Suwa, Takeuchi, Deffrot, Nakajima, and Aoi all having their own story developments, Fujisaku had a feeling that it might lack dynamism as a series, so the first thing he did was rethink the theme of the anime series: The weakness of vampires is the strength of humans. Regardless, Hatano and Fujisaku made a conscious decision to be subtle with the storytelling, one which compels the audience to understand the time era which this show is based upon (reminder: Year 12 of the Taisho Era (1923), the climax of the source material) and why the dialogue is mentioned as such. At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer, and Fujisaku mentions that whatever the answers you arrive at while watching Mars Red, it is all valid.

Truth be told, I thought that the 2007 series "Romeo × Juliet" had the best depiction of any old-school classic theatrical shows to date when it comes to anime, of course, the real-life stageplays will always triumph over any form of media that tries to depict poetic stories. But while Mars Red might not break the same bank, I can at least appreciate all the symbolisms and subtleties that this show encapsulated, from the obvious plays of Oscar Wilde's Salomé, to even the whole kinda ridiculous Van Helsing-like vampire setting that when combined, gives a whole new meaning to the theatre act. As for what this show is about, please refer to the synopsis, as it basically tells the underlying story that's the tip of the iceberg, and it's true setting of something even deeper down the rabbit hole. But if that's not enough, Episode 1 is easily one of the best introductory episodes into Mars Red, as foretold by Fujisaku that the story won't work without it, as one of 3 pivotal episodes that will make-or-break the show as a whole.

Being a theatre play, the 21:9 cinematic letterbox scaling is a MUST to tell stories of this calibre, and the dark, somber visuals of Signal.MD's tight production schedule mirrors that of a play that is 13 episodes long (which equals 5 hours of runtime), but feels like we're watching a 2-hour Broadway show at max, if you're the type to appreciate theatre, musicals and the like. The visual composition of shows (not just movies) made purposefully in the 21:9 aspect ratio scaling truly gives shows an edge together with the storytelling elements that remark that of a typical movie-like feeling, if the story and plot holds up together nicely, which in Mars Red's case, can be a hit-or-miss.

The best part of the show has gotta be the music. More than lifting iconic orchestra plays like Salomé to even Frederic Weatherly's "Danny Boy", I just can't get enough of those musical references which play off the show's theatrical themes so well. Not to mention the OP and ED, this is one unexpected pairing that I'm truly thankful for, for being one of my top favourite OSTs of the season. Wagakki Band's OP that mixes rock music with traditional Japanese musical instruments, together with HYDE's incredible ED, is a phenomenal godsend banger of an OST. Even if you hate this show, the music's reason alone to watch this one.

How did this show got so badly lost in the shuffle of great shows in the Spring 2021 season is beyond me. All I know is that Mars Red is truly criminally underrated for its convoluted, yet easy-to-understand plot, and you'd have to be a bit literate in theatrical studies to fully enjoy this anime. Otherwise, this show is just not for everyone, and will only cater to the elitists of the masterfully crafted people who can admire and value the art of theatre.

Imagine movies. Imagine vampires.

It's what Mars Red is all about. But seriously. The one main thing that I want to really give props and amazement to when it comes to this show, is the movie like quality in terms of how it's shot, how it looks, and everything that comes with it.There is just something rad and cool about it, and to give off those vibes,

Much like the sound, it's fit for purpose, but the tension within each scene, you can really feel that, and you can feel that there is so much care gone into both of these. Really well done.

But what ... about the story huh? How does that match up with all this? Well.


Story and characters.
Mars Red can seem like a long movie, then an episode to episode basis honestly. Which only adds more to the show in general. As if by each end of episode, it's as if it's going to the next scene within the next episode. The story mainly follows Vampires and our MC is a human, part of a crew to stop vampires getting out of control. With many elements relating to vampires thrown into it. As if the vampire population has exploded so much, that some need dealing with before it's either too late, or it becomes a problem for them, and the general public.

The characters in the show give off a real serious vibe. Even the good ones, there isn't any cutesy, or moments of that nature within these characters. Some are good people yes, some are very concerning, but the general theme of the show, keeps a steady and serious tone within it's cast, and it's shined brightly with how it's been delivered. Within good reason of course.

Mars Red is certainly very interesting, and the style of it just adds to it, far as I'm concerned. Which has kept my interest throughout, and it can do for you as well. More honestly need to be watching and enjoying it, it's a great watch.

Show don't tell

Is one of the first and most important rules of story telling. it's a rule that pretty much everyone knows, everyone understands why it's important, but next to no one actually cares about it.

I mean we all acknowledge that most shounen anime explain what is happening in the fight, while it's happening. and we all make fun of it, but from everything that I have seen rarely anyone actually cares.

there is a certain truth that I have learned from looking at people's takes when it comes to this subject, and that's the fact that the casual watcher would rather have info dumps, ... than to have to pick up small things to get the story.

now don't get me wrong, if the show don't tell is used for a simple to follow enough story like a silent voice, people do understand it's magic, but when it's used on something a little more complex, that's when we reach a problem

which brings me to this show. If you go though and read the negative reviews, you will start to see a pattern. half the people claim this show has many plot holes, doesn't make sense and is boring, and the other half of the people claim it to be absolutely amazing.

there isn't really a middle, people either didn't like or loved the story.

Now here's the thing, 90% of the time, when someone uses the phrase "you just didn't get it" it's just a lazy excuse to ignore actual, real criticism.

or it's used when two idiots are arguing about a show that has clearly left things for interpretation over if it has meaning or not.

but this is not that. this show has a clear story, there isn't anything to be interpreted. so when I say the fact that this show had heavy use of show don't tell is the reason many people actually didn't get the story, I'm not being an asshole, that is actually pretty much the case.

the first episode alone was one of the best first episodes I have ever seen, and you can go read the comments on it. you will find people praising it like it's the greatest thing ever, while also having people calling it dull, boring, and uninteresting.

Now that you know why the reviews are super mixed, and the why the rating is so low, let's get to everything else.

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Story 7.75/10

A semi-historically accurate Tragedy with vampires and military. Just as everything else, the story embraces that stage play feel, which if you didn't know, is what the show is based on.

the show has three aspects to it's story, the character driven subplots, the overall military plot. and the overall tragedy plot.

out of these, the tragedy plot is near perfection and the character driven subplots are amazing...

but the military stuff, their kind of just, ok. that aspect has a villain who is pretty uninteresting and one dimensional. and honestly, it's a little dragged out.

nevertheless, that's only a third of the show, and even that plot line has some great character moments.

The ending is also extremely good, which if you're anything like me, you will care about it a lot.

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Art 9/10 - Animation 5/10 - overall 7/10

the art is stunning, but the animation doesn't do it justice. there is a pretty shit looking fight in the second half. although the last episode fight which was by far the most important was pretty damn decent animation wise.

for the most part, other than that 1 fight ,the animation was good enough when it mattered.

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Voice acting (dub) 9/10 Music 9.5/10

I haven't seen the sub, but the dub was pretty damn good, with a pretty damn well written script

and the music is, one of my favorite soundtracks in all of anime. there is nothing but praise to give it. in fact I'm listening to it while writing this. it's just too good.

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characters 8/10

Not all, but most of the main characters were fully 3 dimensional, well realized, developed characters with clear motivations and story arks. of course there were a few characters that got the short end of the stick, but you can't expect a full cast of complete character arks in 13 episodes.

not every show can pull off an odd taxi.

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enjoyment 9/10

despite the fact that many people call this show boring. I enjoyed every second of it.

I was more hyped for the fights than most battle shounens, even though the animation isn't even that good.

I cried, I laughed, and I Felt for the characters.

and that is something special. I was fully invested, which at least for me, doesn't happen too often.

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Overall my final score is an 8/10

It's certainly not for everyone. but if you think you're the type of person who would like a uniquely directed, tragedy that doesn't hold your hand, watch it.

thanks for reading.

Edit: it's now a good 2 years later, and I finally got the chance to rewatch this series, and frankly, it's far better than what I remembered, so keep in mind that even this review, is underpraising the series. I will likely make a whole video essay on it the first chance I get on my Youtube channel. so keep an eye out for that.

This Anime is really underrated. Artwork is new and catchy, Characters are good, Story is simple and straight forward, but what makes this anime shine is it's theatrics the dialogues scene transitions and emotions they are just breath taking.

like books references used in Psycho Pass and Bungo Stray Dogs this anime uses Theatrical(Drama) element which is really beautiful.

It's been a long time since we have seen an anime with simple story and stunning visuals with a new element, Mars Red falls in this category.

Some people say it's story is not clear but it's just a way of narrating story by ... the end all the pieces add up and ending doesn't disappoint us.

It's like watching a beautiful drama played by excellent actors at stunning locations. Give it a try and you will definitely like it.

This was the most confusing show in terms of storytelling. The first couple episodes were pretty okay as things were slowly set up. However, about after an earthquake, the show spiraled into a mess where every time I watched a new episode, I thought I just missed some episodes before. The plot jumped between characters at a seemingly random fashion that I had no idea what’s going on. Despite this, I still get the general sense of what was going on.

The animation was not an issue here. It looked different from other anime, and it made the show felt more mysterious and like a ... play. There wasn’t much vampire action, as the animators seemed to try to avoid animating the fight scenes in full sequences.

With a confusing story came confusing characters. Maeda was a MC for the first half, and for some reason he vanished and got relegated into a side characters. There was a relationship between two vampires, Deflot and Rufus that made no sense because they didn’t have a proper backstory at all. Other side characters were also confusing as well.

The ending of this show, again, didn’t hit at all because of how disoriented the storytelling was. Some characters just lost for no reason. The more I watched the show the more “what” moments I had.

Overall, despite decent animation, the jumbled story took away a lot of entertainment that I could have. Quite a wasted potential. 4/10

NO SPOILERS REVIEW

This show was so frustrating to watch, because it was actually amazing up to episode 6. Then each episode following, drastically got worse and worse.

It's like the studio was told they had 24 episodes to work with, and then 5 episodes in they were told they were only getting 13.

Story: 3 Poor

As good as it was at the start, by the time you finish the show, you'll feel empty inside. Random gaps of events just missing for no reason, extremely predictable, plot armor present. Legit hyped up the same character reveal at the end of the episode six times in a row. Breakneck ... speed level of rushing towards the end.

Art: 6 Fair

Pretty good character designs and backgrounds, animations were average, nothing crazy.

Sound: 8 Very Good

The music was very memorable, the OP, ED, and even the BGMs. All of it was enjoyable to listen to.

Character: 4 Decent

Some characters were given backstories and within those, they were good. However most of the characters did not, and so if I were to sum up everyone together I'd say between decent to poor. Lot of cardboard characters unfortunately.

Enjoyment: 5 Mediocre

First half was a 10, and the second half was a 1. Meeting in the middle with 5 only seems right. I loved and hated it.

Overall: 4 Decent

While I honestly feel this show should sit at a 3 Poor after watching it all the way through, I have to give credit where credit is due. Even though all the good doesn't outshine all the bad, it was still initially good.

I highly suggest you stop after episode 6, and just imagine what would happen next. Leave it on a high note.

It's a good anime, not a great anime.

It's got interesting and human characters, an interesting fantasy system and an interesting setting (roaring 20s Japan where westernization and democracy are at their peak but the military is becoming increasingly dictatorial and nationalist as well). The art is largely pretty great, it has a few iffy moments but other than that, I liked it. The sound never feels off or out of place, and I liked the opening track. I really don't know what's off about this anime, but something is missing, something that makes this a good anime and not a great one.

Edit: episode 10 to 11 felt like it skip 6 episodes and was a little confusing, its ending was dramatic and fast like the anime was set up to be overall a good show.

I'm unsure as to why this is below a 7, unless people watched only the first episode and didn't understand it so dropped it. The story gets explained as you go on if the first episode had you stratching your head.

Story
its great and intresting something different, the era its set in just seems to click with the vampire theme.

Art
I like the art and look fits with the 20th century theme.

... Sound
old sort of classical music i would call it, not my thing but its fits this anime

Characters
i like the characters, the main character is awesome

overall
im on episode 7 and overall i am enjoying it alot, if you only watched episode 1 then marked it low then i recommand giving it another chance.

This anime is so underrated , the first thing that attracted me from the start is the way the creators and the studio put a touch of stage play into the anime, its something new and addictive, actually after watching I started searching for the play "salome" which appear again and again in the anime, also the anime has no overdrama, something that make it closer to reality also never to mention the obvious hard work of the creators to make the environment close to the era or period of time so you find weapons,cars,equipments... from the same period of time, I know most of ... the people dont care or notice this but got to admit this is a work of art, also the story is overall about vampires the thing that drop the anime from reality (at least most of the people think that vampires are not real) so there is that, if it was a story about something at least thought to be real it would have been even beter work of art, cause I at least dont see real environment that alote in anime in general, there is last thing that made this anime special too, its the minor events, which is that all the plots and fights are in small scale, no big armies and big wars (yet), and no coplication which is easy to understand and keep up with the anime.
For the story I gave 7/10 ;
the way the story is told is amazing no doubt , but if you just look at it till now, its not bad but not the best story (maybe I feel this because of the blanks that still arent filled) ,I cant find the connections between some things, but if it get filled I guess it will be almost 10/10, but again I still dont understand the story in general and many mechanics that are not explained , so for now 7/10 for me.

I don't usually write reviews, haven't even amde an MAL account. But seeing the lack of reviews, and being appaled by the amount of stars given to the anime, I felt like I ahd to give the animators and everyone working in this series credit.

Mars Red is the best anime I've seen this season, along with Odd Taxi. Maybe I have weird tastes, but this show carries the name of quality to a level where you forget you're even watching an anime. You can see the relevant ratings have given, the 9s being me nitpicking to find a fault. If you're into seeing ... some new blood this season, I cannot recommend this more. The pay off (esp. when you come to ep. 7) resembles puzzle piieces slowly clicking together.

You won't be dissapointed, that much I can say.

I've paid more attention to the animation than the story ,I've find myself saying "looks so good" lol
The art style amplifies the storytelling and with BGM making the environment, Seem like a dramatic tragedy play.

I can see this art style look good in almost all historical/Supernatural anime
such as xxxHOLiC, would look good in this art style. And the CG Graphics blend well with the art style .
I almost didn't notice the CG Parts characters at first.


I just wanted an excuse to write a review because I really thought that art style is sooo good. People should give it a try ... but the anime isn't for everyone. If you like Supernatural anime because of the environment that it makes .then this is a good one

This anime is not bad and I do like it because theme is about vampires and how the colors weren’t as bright as modern anime which fits with the whole historical vampire thing. The opening/ ending is good and it gets a little sad later on. Also, there were some actions such fighting in the show but it’s not really intense or long but at least there’s something. For those who is watching the first episode, I suggests to continue watching and not drop it if you are confused because they will explain it later on after the first episode.

Contains Minimal spoilers

I'm not gonna type some long review about everything and anything in the anime,

this anime was a hidden gem mainly episodes 1-7 they left it up to the viewers to figure stuff out episode 1 didn't make alot of sense but after watching episode 7 it all made sense and i understood how carefuly and beautifully the story is written. later episodes they do become kind of confusing... where did everyone go? how do stuff constantly happen in different location each location seemed random new and unrelated but i believe it's not the main point of it

Last thing was Rufus The ... stuff that happened to him at the end were very confusing but not hard to understand - Goodnight Danny Boya

I feel like it had potential, but it just falls flat on it's face pretty hard.

You probably know the trope of over explaining things in anime, well
this is the opposite, most things that would need an explanation aren't explained. Be it character motivations or actions, effects, twists.

Because of this, most of the time when there is an emotional moment, you just know that it SHOULD be emotional, but it really isn't.

It's theatrical, which is something you either like or not, but a lot of times it just felt out of place fore me.

Overall, it's pretty forgettable; even though based on the premise and what actually ... happens in the anime, it really shouldn't be.