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.
