1920s Japan is not a popular setting. Historical, Edo-style Japan, sure. 1920s America, we’ve got it. But 1920s Japan, when things were beginning to modernise but tradition was still holding on strong? That’s a lot more rare to see. Mars Red has some great views of Tokyo during that time period, and the setting affects the clothing, weapons, and architecture which all lend themselves to the overall atmosphere of the anime. It’s really cool to see something different!

Okay, so the opening and ending themes may not be about the anime itself, but they definitely affect our feelings when we are watching! The opening song, “Seimei no Aria,” is performed by Wagakki Band, and the ending song, “ON MY OWN,” is by HYDE. These two artists are huge in the Japanese music scene, and rarely do anime music. It’s really special that they’re performing the music for Mars Red, and both songs should be added to your playlist ASAP (they’re already on ours).

Most people know the basics of vampire lore; they burn up in the sun, they drink blood to survive, they are basically immortal, they can turn humans into vampires with their bite. We do not have to be told this kind of information because we already know it. The only time that vampire lore needs to be explained is when something new is being added or twisted. So far, Mars Red follows very traditional vampire lore, just in a Japanese setting. Thankfully, the anime does not waste time explaining vampire lore unnecessarily. We already know it, so Mars Red can focus on its own plot and characters instead of rehashing age-old information.

While Mars Red has had a little bit of action in the form of some short-lived fight scenes, it’s also had a lot of talking. And most of that talking has been lore-heavy, which means it can get a bit boring at times. The anime has thus had a bit of a slow start, only touching on the main plot a little bit, so we have our fingers crossed for more vampire action and fight scenes in the coming episodes to liven things up!

Mars Red has quite a few characters, but only the main one, Yoshinobu Maeda, has had very much information given about him. Several of the other members of Code Zero have cool designs and seem to be quite interesting, but Mars Red had spent little time developing them. Many have only said their name once or twice, so it’s hard to remember them. Mars Red will only have 13 episodes but we hope that some of the side characters will get a bit more development before the end of it.