#8.5

It's a chilling horror to look upon the beautified corpse of the one you love. A man who adored you, smashed to pieces by carriage wheels. Pasted back together in a suit with flowers. Neat and tidy, for the end. The corpses lover drinks himself into a stupor at the sight, and in his mania he brings back the only parts that aren't rotten.

See 911 either is meaningful or big and sweeping with rescues. And a lot of times both. This week had a bit of fun yes, and actual scariness but it was lacking.

I thought there was going to be a multi episode dive into Mara staying with Chim and Maddie. And how that affects their relationship with Hen and Karen. I think the writers missed the mark on that one.

Plus this Christopher thing is dragging out. Why is Christopher allowed to be away from his father for months? Like the reason the writers used wasn’t solid enough. I don’t think Eddie’s parents are being of help. I think they’re being selfish. Does Chris at this point just want Eddie to come get him?

And what is even happening with Eddie while Chris isn’t with him? He alone. Buck is busy with Tommy. I mean I think more deeper self realization moments are needed. I think Eddie perhaps has to admit he misses the family dynamic he had with Chris and Buck.

I really did like Peter Kraus’s rendition of Dracula. I thought he did the accent terrific.

I thought it was interesting during the scene with the man who got his head stuck in the pumpkin, Buck says walking in with lube, “Lube flying in” and hands it to Eddie. I see what you’re doing writers. I see. I WANT PINING!!!!!

I thought the scene with Denny was amazingly acted by Declan Pratt. Karen played by Tracie Thoms is also phenomenal. But the scene wasn’t very fluid to me.

Or it could be I’m not following the parallels, Easter eggs, or hidden messages. It was just frustrating. Yes, I appreciated seeing a bare chested Buck. I’ve had a dislocated joint and it seriously hurts. That scene was not pleasant to watch. But loved Eddie being in the room. And did anyone else notice he did not have a guest badge while Tommy did. Was that an Easter Egg? He is around a lot with Tommy and Buck. I think Tommy feels like the odd man out.

I appreciate Tommy being there for Buck also. But did they both have to laugh at Buck and his fascination with curses?

Isn’t Buck allergic to ibuprofen? Or an ingredient in it? Why did Tommy not know? Or what was it recklessly written in?

by Fuyumi Soryo | 15 chapters | 1996-2000

8.5/10

I’m sick of all these shoujo schoolgirl romances that aren’t willing to make their “bad boy” archetypes actually bad: dangerously violent, traumatized, panic attack-prone motorcycle racers. I think that’s the best way to describe the male love interest of Mars, Rei Kashino, a daredevil who is psychologically haunted by his twin brother’s suicide three years before. Then there’s Kira Asou, a quiet and closed-off artist loner carrying her own trauma from sexual assault. When the two begin an unlikely romance they slowly learn and grow together. Sometimes they mess up and hurt each other along the way, but the key trait of their relationship is how they manage to change each other, and change together. 

It’s surprising how many shoujo series take the idea of change and growth at a superficial level, or just allow relationship dynamics to fall into lazy tropes and patterns for comfort/amusement. Which is weird because the shoujo genre mostly consists of high school romances, and isn’t adolescence defined by transformation? Mars, on the other hand, understands this and takes it to heart - Fuyumi Soryo never shies away away from the discomfort that comes with growing maturity. She’s written characters here that are desperate and sensitive and cunning; who understand that if they don’t adapt, they won’t survive. 

Soryo’s panels descend hazily into cascading vignettes. The emphasis on verticality gives the effect of a heart dropping in its chest, adding to the serious tone maintained throughout the entirety of the manga. The gravity of drama is also emphasized by the sparse internal narration from Kira. Sometimes we get a few short lines of thoughts she’s having, but most of the time her emotions are conveyed through flashbacks or just frames that show nothing but her eyes (the artist looking on attentively). The emotional beats and body language are reminiscent of Joanna Newsom’s “It Does Not Suffice”: I have gotten into / Some terrible trouble / Beneath your blank and rinsing gaze...

As for the dialogue, the characters are refreshingly articulate about their feelings and speak with a lucidity that prevents Mars from ever feeling juvenile or trite or too “loud”. Just like Kira’s character, there’s a quiet restraint to the storytelling that develops from the tight linework and intense storytelling.

As a result, I was pleasantly shocked at how believably this manga treats trauma. I never felt like I was being hit over the head with obvious emotional notes. It really delves into the complications of grief and guilt as we’re let in to each character’s particular struggle. In one sequence shown below, snatches of violent memory are interweaved with expressions of a physical intimacy: In an expert handling of the panel form, a moment that should be tender and loving fractures in the prism of Kira’s mind.

Mars isn’t afraid to stray from moral questions, either. Characters are often preoccupied with “good” and “bad”, punishing themselves or confessing to violence or mean-spirited responses to the trials and tribulations of life. These issues seem to haunt Rei in particular as he attempts to balance his recklessness and dark past with his love for Kira. Rei’s struggle with his own moral flaws draw in the reader just as it draws in Kira’s gaze. Subconscious thoughts threaten the hope for a better life as dangerously as Rei’s motorbike tearing through the racetrack.

Rei (to Kira): When you look at me like that, I really can’t stand it. I keep thinking that one day you’re going to look at me the same way Sei and my father did. My father’s eyes...so full of hatred, but scared, too. He doesn’t think of me as another human being... those eyes deny everything about me. When someone looks at me like that, I don’t know what I am anymore. I don’t know who I am anymore. 

(Mars, Volume 7)

Despite how serious the subject matter gets, Mars is ultimately about two kids who are hurt and trying their best to do right by each other. Soryo balances realism and melodrama as she creates an all-consuming vortex that is the central romance of Mars. It’s the kind of romance only adolescent minds can get caught in: So entwined that they need each other to stay upright and so soft they they change in response to the other’s every move. You really feel the depth and power of that vortex...maybe the kids are going to be alright.

Rei: A long time ago, when [Shiori] or Sei would cry, I really wanted to do something. But...

When Kira cries... I just... don’t know what to do. It makes me want to cry, too.

(Mars, Volume 5)

Supernatural Motels - Season 8