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I've never written a review here because mostly I'm a complete non-believer in how valid or relevant those are, and I certainly never trust ratings - which is actually what brought me here. I like to test out anime with below 7 rating because more often than not I tend to find hidden gems and this is most definitely one of them!

Mars Red is simply beautiful in its execution, not as an anime, but purposefully as a piece of tragic theatre. From start to finish, it's a theatrical play - each character is putting on a performance for us as the audience. They have ... their dramatic moments that is elevated by the choice in classical music, their asides as they transition between the different acts of the anime, and character arcs that are intrinsically tied to the story-telling. Quite frankly, and this is ironic, the vampire aspect of this anime is probably the least important bit (at least that's how I interpreted it).

Sure there's dead bodies and blood, and most of the main cast are vampires, but that's really not the point! Instead, through the lens of this supernatural vampire filled world, Mars Red asks the audience these questions: what is a human life worth? How do we keep our humanity? What makes us lose sight of who we are and what we live for?

Of course, Mars Red isn't without its faults either. Some character arcs are more fleshed out than others, some of the "science" used to fill up what would otherwise become plotholes or world building holes are a bit too obvious, if not bluntly used. The ending was beautifully done to tie up the character arcs, but perhaps a bit too open-ended for the world itself. However despite these issues, I believe Mars Red fulfilled the purpose it had - a piece of theatre, characters giving us a performance, and the story asking us questions on our humanity.

And for my own aside: media literacy is truly down in the gutter these days because the poor reviews here tell on themselves. Probably the same people who think one piece is just a story about friends on an adventure.