∞ 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.
