Mars no Kiss

I came upon this while searching for something 'fun and easy' to read to pass the time. I saw the synopsis looked interesting and it was only four chapters long, so I gave it a go. I was amazed by how much I liked this manga and, by the end, I genuinely wished it was much longer.

On the surface, it seems like your pretty typical fare. Two good looking girls from opposite sides slowly form a relationship and eventually things escalate to a higher level. This basic descriptions applies to pretty much 90% of yuri manga out there. What separates Mars no Kiss from most of them is that the MC, Yukari, is a surprisingly complex character.

Most manga of this type have pretty one dimensional characters. Their personality is one of the manga archetypes (e.g. tsundere, hot blooded idiot, yamato nadeshiko, etc), they are kind and get along well with classmates (which is generally how they meet their love interest), and their character undergoes little to no development. Yukari, however, does not fit any of that. She is, by all accounts, a pretty normal girl with her own set of troubles. She is also a pretty normal student and is not bullied or popular. In other words, Yukari is a pretty normal person...something which is pretty uncommon in manga and, paradoxically, makes her a bit unique.

By that's not all that makes her special. When we meet her, we are shown that she has trouble with an overbearing mother and the result is that she has become strongly inclined to rebel in classic ways (older boyfriend, being sexually promiscuous, body accessories which her parents dislike, etc). However, as we go along, we learn that both her overbearing mother and her own behavior has resulted in an acute sensitivity to being self-consciousness and, despite her brazen confidence at times, we do learn that she is actually prone to low self-confidence at times.

As the chapters passes, we learn her thoughts/feelings on things and we see her develop in response to new realizations. Everything happens in a surprising smooth and notable way. Eventually, she blooms into what is arguable her 'true self' and the moment is rather beautiful.

I went on a lot about Yukari. The other MC, Miki, is also a good character and works well as a supporting role. However, I do think Yukari carries this manga and I'm very impressed with how the author designed her and the story so well in such a small amount of chapters.

Anyway, I went on a lot about the story, but there's really much more to it than what I said. Considering it's so short (unfortunately), it would be a shame for anyone to miss this. I definitely recommend reading this!

Holy heck this was the best yuri manga I've ever read. I'm a pretty selfish person when it comes to crying, but holy shit was I bawling by the end like a baby. First manga that made me cry, maybe I'm just a huge yuri fanatic.

Story: 10
I don't come across well-written manga containing yuri. A lot of it is geared towards men with a heck ton of fanservice geared towards a straight man's mind. I'm a poor woman who just wants to see some girls kissing and happy, and this totally appealed to it.

The pace was just enough that I'm screaming "Oh of course that's gonna' happen!" or I'm sweating from worry. Just enough! A lot of manga usually drags me along with unnecessary crap just to make it long enough. Or too fast where I have to reread it a couple times because I'm super sure I don't know what I just read.

Even though I didn't get my preferred ending, I was HELLA satisfied. It didn't make me happy with the happy ending right after the credits. The ending broke my damnned yuri heart and I liked it. (not a masochist)

Art: 10
Now first thing I've gotta' say is I'm a feminist til' I die. I'm sick of every single woman I see in media with huge boobs and a tiny waist to be worth looking at and not made fun of. The body types were pretty realistic. The girl who you might call a "slut" and "easy" didn't have boobs that could suffocate someone. It was nice!

Even though I don't like judging a whole anime or manga series by art, hot damn am I wooed by it. Any anime could take me with fluid animation, and any manga could take me with art that is just plain out good.

I also enjoy Yukari's design, she looks like a Gyaru girl to some degree.

Character: 9
While the writer had them portray stereotypes, it wasn't cringe-worthy. Which is definitely /not/ easy.

Enjoyment: 10
Sometimes I have to really push myself to get through a manga, but this kicked my butt. I was hurriedly clicking to get through it, on the edge of my seat.

Overall: 10!
I'm not even sure how I could give this heavenly manga less then a 10. I'd be very delighted for a sequel, or simply similar work from the makers.

This manga is only four chapters long and only one volume long. It’s actually really bittersweet.

The main character, Yukari, has a very strained relationship with her mother. Her mother had been trying to control her in the guise of care for a while but it’s not too over dramatic as some manga make a mother-daughter relationship to be. There are good points to be made about the points her mother would try to make sure Yukari is doing the “right thing” and become the “ideal person” her mother desperately wished she would be. Sadly, in the end, the mother just uses her as a punching bag; as a way to get through her own day and to overcome her own insecurities, the mother projects them onto Yukari. Yukari rebels only to make her mother push her harder – which pushes Yukari further to rebel.

Yukari’s relationship with her boyfriend just isn’t as good either. All he ever wants to do is to have sex or have some kind of intercourse. At one point, he demands Yukari to get double eye surgery even though she’s not happy with the idea at all! Yukari tries to give her boyfriend a chance to sort of redeem himself by asking him to do other things other than sex or listen to her problems. Ultimately, and thankfully, she ended up just dumping him…at least I hope so. There was a part when Yukari told Miki that they had made up so it was just a little unclear (it’s possible she could be lying about it since Yukari really didn’t want to burden her with her problems).

Then Yukari has a blog. She has a blog where she just updates on her life, based on what was shown on the manga, and it shows some of the comments she gets. I can’t really comment on that as it’s just something as a reprieve for Yukari even when she’s becoming friends with Miki.

As for the relationship between Yukari & Miki itself, it seemed like a typical relationship among teenaged girls – one girl who would be sexually active would probably look down on the smart, nerdy, quiet type. And yet, Yukari was still somehow attracted to Miki.

She kept wondering if it’s because Miki was a virgin – in Yukari’s eyes, Miki is pure. She was the classic Japanese teenaged girl – studious, quiet, she never dyed her hair, & her skin is white and pure. Other than catching her kissing the statue in the Art room, Miki had never kissed anyone up until Yukari offered herself as practice. Yukari would look down on Miki at first but while Yukari claims to be completely different than her mother, in truth, she’s acting just like her. She was projecting her insecurities about her rebellion, her sexuality/sexual activities, the mere fact she has a boyfriend, on a teenaged girl who honestly was just lonely and wanted a friend.

As it turns out, though, it was Yukari who was just as equally lonely.

After Miki told Yukari about what she had to face, Yukari seemed to really connect with her more and see herself in Miki’s shoes. Maybe Yukari realized that she was just as lonely as Miki – maybe she realized that Yukari isn’t as free from her loneliness as she thought (with her relationship with her boyfriend).

When Yukari kissed Miki, she thought she was jealous and was possibly in love with her. She even said it in the narrative!

Personally, I think Yukari loves Miki maybe a bit more as a friend – as it was clear in the beginning that Yukari actually hated her so-called friends and it was clear that Miki was a genuine friend. Maybe Yukari is in love with the idea of her: the fact that Miki is pure and has gotten a boyfriend – not because of a rebellion or a need to undermine a strict upbringing but because she is just pure. Miki had stated that she was brought up strictly by her mother as well – to the point her mother chased all her friends away.

Yukari saw some strength in her that she thought she didn’t have in herself – instead of just saying, “Fuck it, I’m going to do what I want,” Miki just did what she was told and did some studying behind her mother’s back in a way. When Miki told Yukari about her getting a boyfriend, she got jealous. I honestly think it’s because of the aforementioned reasons. Miki didn’t have to do anything. She didn’t have to rebel to get her way.

Miki wanted a boyfriend and she got one whereas Yukari had to force her mom to accept it, that is, if she even knows. It seemed that Yukari’s more jealous of Miki’s perceived freedom but at the same time, Yukari was also sorting out her feelings for Miki as well.

I think overall that Yukari does love Miki and does acknowledge the fact that she’s probably in love with the idea of Miki. It’s a very bittersweet ending of a short yet beautiful manga. The art is gorgeous and it’s actually really different than most manga I’ve read, especially one shots.

Most likely, I’ve totally over thought this four chaptered, one volume manga but at the same time it really made me think about why the events happened and why it made me feel extremely sad for Yukari. I’m glad that she was able to stay friends with Miki and snuck in a kiss on her lips to at least get a chance to do it before she starts a relationship with someone else.

For that, I would recommend this manga for those who enjoy the short, simple, & bittersweet shoujo ai manga. I had only started to recently read those myself so I’m not sure what to expect. My only gripe is that I wish it was longer but, for what it was, it was really good and I’m glad that I’ve taken the time to read it.

Nobody has written a review yet? This is my chance!

Mars no Kiss is a short, great yuri manga to read if you're waiting on something/someone, but do take a chance to read such a yuri-love manga. When I first glanced at this, all I thought at first was 'sex, sex, and more sex', but I was wrong as the manga went on.


Story(9)

Mars no Kiss starts out with Yukari hanging out with her boyfriend while singing kereoke. Not even after the first few pages, Yurari and her boyfriend have sex, but is stopped by a call from her over protected mother(she plays a big role of the story). After she ignores the call from her mom, Yukari continues giving her boyfriend a blow job. Once after Yukari get home and is chewed out by her mother for painting her nails and skirt being too short, the story shows a flashback of some embarrassing moments because of her mother. A little onward down the story, we first meet Miki as Yukari picks on her as Yukari calls Miki a: loner and pathetic, but the ironic part is when the teacher is doing seat charting, Yukri is put right next to the seat of Miki. Once this happens, Yukari gets a little jealous as she thinks that Miki's life must be perfect, but still does not like her. After a scene with her boyfriend and her, we're back at school. Yukari was think how Miki must still be a virgin and how she learns to masterbate when Yukari's phone goes off in class. After being chewed out, we see Yukari after school as she leaves when she sees Miki sneaking around and goes into the art room. Yukari follows Miki- trying not to be found- and sees Miki kissing a statue. Once seeing this, a teacher spots Yukari, ask her what she's doing, and Yukari sprints for her life.

After this, Yukari is confronted by Miki as she asks her why she didn't tell anyone. Yukari's reply was, "Nah, it'll cause a lot of trouble, so I won't bother." After Miki thanks her, Yukari and Miki walk home together for the first time and got to know each other a little better. After this, Miki tells why she was kissing the statue, and from that point on, their friendship began. Next day, Miki and Yukari head to the library and talk about sex stuff. Yukari even teaches Miki a really cool trick while at the library. For the first time- after leaving the library- Yukari stands up to her boyfriend(which doesn't end too well). Next day, we see Yukari and Miki still talking about sex in the library. Later we head to a scene in class where we find out that Miki is a virgin(which we probably already knew), and Yukari acts surprised. Later that night, Yukari has a fight with her mom and her boyfriend, and wishes Miki could listen to her problems.

The next day, Miki offers to hear Yukari's and Yukari does just that. Even Miki tells some of her problems to Yukari. We even come to find out that Miki's mother is just like Yukari's- stricted-, but much worse. After the conversation ends, Yukari and Miki's friendship grow twice as much as it was before. The story then shows as Yukari goes on a life journey through her mind. Later that night, Yukari would break up with her boyfriend once and for all. When the third chapter ended, we come to know that Yukari probably like Miki, Miki had found herself a boyfriend, and Yukari storming out of the library in jealousy.

When the last chapter began, we see that Yukari has skiped school, criied, and cut her fingernails just like Miki's. Once Yukari returns to school the next day, Yukari makes it up with Miki and go along with there day. When they meey up in the library, Yukari and Miki began to talk-like they usually do-, but the atmosphere starts to pick up. Yukari this states that when two people with classes kiss, their glasses bump into each other, so Yukari brings along glassez to practice. At this moment, the greatest moment in this manga happened as they finally kissed. After that, Yukari confesses to Miki and she accepts them.

Art(9)
I give the art for this manga a 9. The art didn't disappoint me and it was great for the manga.

Character(10)
The characters of the story were just perfect. The characters actions lead up to a great ending with no craziness.

Enjoyment(9)
If you enjoy a nice little yuri romance, this manga will not disappoint you.

Overall(10)
This one of the greatest yuri manga that I've ever read. The overall is a 10 and nothing lower.