#souryo fuyumi

[shoujo-memory]

Mars by Souryo Fuyumi

[theleviathanofhigh]

Cesare fandom

you still there? Literally logging in for the first time in years LOL. Would love to reminisce with other far-flung fans. 

[xenosagaepisodeone]

[ira-sairain]

So i was reading the manga Cesare by Souryo Fuyumi, but had to put it aside cause of my exams.

I just picked it back up and you're telling me that most of the things I studied were explained in that manga?? I could have studied reading this beautiful piece of literature instead??????

I am both miffed *and* impressed tbh

[engshoujosei]

MARS

15 volumes (out of print by Tokyopop, and digital-only by Kodansha) + Mars: Horse with No Name (1 volume, prequel, only by Tokyopop)

Licensed by Tokyopop (expired), now Kodansha

Popular Rei and shy Kira are worlds apart, until one fateful day brings them together. Rei stumbles upon Kira in the harassing hands of her sleazy art teacher and saves the quiet girl from his clutches. And when the jock plants a kiss on a statue of Mars in the studio, Kira finds herself drawn in and even summons up the nerve to ask him to model for her!

Status in Country of Origin

15 Volumes (Tankoubon - Complete) 8 Volumes (Bunkoban - Complete)

Tags:

20th Century

Abusive Parent/s

Adapted to Movie

Adapted to Taiwanese drama

Adultery

America

Artist/s

Attempted Murder

Breakup/s

Bullying

Burnout

Character Growth

Cheating/Infidelity

Couple Growth

Dark Ambience

Dead Parent/s

Delinquent/s

Distant Parent/s

Family Drama

First Love

Friendship

Heavy Atmosphere

Hidden Past

High School

Japan

Jealous Friend

Living Abroad

Marriage

Melodrama

Mental Breakdown

Mental Illness

Misunderstanding/s

Motorcycle/s

Murder/s

Opposites Attract

Past Plays a Big Role

Phobia/s

Playboy/Playgirl Becomes Monogamous

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Prodigy

Racing

Reconciled Couple

Serious Female Lead

Sexual Abuse

Suicide/s

Talented Female Lead

Tragic Accident/s

Tragic Past

Trauma

Twin/s

Unrequited Love

Violence

[citeierrado]

[alxfsl]

Just re-read because I forgot how beautiful was this story.

[skybruises]

[seasaltmemories]

Mars Review/Analysis

Mars was a series I had vaguely known about for a while. I've seen the iconic statue kissing scene, the male lead ranked as one of ppl's faves problematic love interests, and even had a mutual who talked about reading the series once a year. However it wasn't until a discussion on the portrayal of sex and other mature topics in shoujo that I figured it might be useful for me to read such a foundational work

Cue me reading the first chapter and breathlessly telling people it alone would count as the one of the best of shoujo. I binged the rest of the 15 volume series in a week, and through so many familiar ups and downs, it still felt like something special.

CW: Suicide, Sexual Abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia

Summary time:

Kira, a shy high school student, lives only for her art. Rei, An arrogant, rebellious and violent playboy, wears his delinquency like a badge of honor. They are exact opposites in every way, but when Kira sees Rei kissing a statue of Mars, she overcomes her fears and asks him to model for her. And, to everyone's surprise, Rei agrees.

On the surface it seems just like a typical good girl/bad boy story, and it is hard to say it isn't, but so much of what makes the story work is the details. Their meet cute is subdued, nothing but an excuse to get them talking again, but as they talk more and more, their chemistry just shines through. I don't know if it just fits my specific tastes, but it really is the stuff of girlhood dreams. Rei has this easy-going charm that is hard to look away from, and you can see Kira start to fall fast and hard despite herself, and by the end of volume 1, they've shared their first kiss and are more or less an item for the rest of the series

It is a pretty fast courtship for most romance stories, but the fact we skip the pining to get straight to an established relationship means we get this sort of easy physical affection that is so refreshing. Frankly I would enjoyed just watching them be absolutely adorable, but as we uncover both their dark pasts, they take on this young, restless "us vs. the world" love I can't resist

I mention before how a lot of Rei's appeal lies in his laid-back nature, rather than brood in a corner, he's outgoing and popular but the same carefree nature means he doesn't put much stock in social convention or consider the consequences his poor impulse control can get him in. It's a much more thought-out portrayal of a "bad boy" even as the dramatic details of his backstory build up. Considering his mother's early death, his estrangement from his father, and the fact he saw his twin brother commit suicide in front of him, it is clear his ease with everything is more bc of a general apathy, even towards his own wellbeing

Kira we learned started the series still recovering from the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather, as her relationship develops with Rei, she has to process a lot of trauma she still has surrounding her sexuality. It is clear her introverted, passive nature is not just a means of making her more relatable/easier to project onto, and that the real Kira has only started to come back out of her shell

I'd be lying if I acted like these issues were explored in nuanced, subtle ways, but even through the melodrama there was something real to it all that captured me. Like I usually struggle to latch onto most contemporary romances where the biggest obstacles couples face are their willingness to go ahead an make the first move. But these are real problems that real ppl face, even if it is heavily dramatized, and so their determination to stick together and make a place where they can be happy and safe just tugs at my heartstrings, even the breakneck pacing from one arc to the next, felt true to the whirlwind that is young adulthood. Did Fuyumi Souryo forget a plot thread when Rei's dream of becoming a pro racer fell away from the plot for like ten volumes? Maybe, but in life you're usually not really following a laid out plan and are more trying to survive from one crisis to the next while discovering patches of stability along the way

The melodrama really started to test my limits with the introduction of the antagonist, Masao. In contrast to Rei and Kira's detailed history of violence, Masao's just plain evil and attracted to the both of them for extra "creepiness" It's not just tasteless, it's boring, his entire arc nearly killed my interest in the series

Thankfully he only shows up for one arc in the middle and then briefly at the end to stir up more trouble. He's more bearable in those chapters thanks to the fact he's reflecting how much our main leads has grown, but his existence is painfully utilitarian, which applies to most of the rest of the cast, clearly only existing to highlight our main duo better. This also leads to some transphobia and insensitive portrayals of suicide.

Rei's mother and twin also suffer similar "secretly evil all along" reveals as Masao, which I do think cheapen Rei's struggle. Frankly we don't get enough time to unpack either character's history to really understand them, but even if the narrative doesn't suggest it outright, it is hard to ignore the feeling their deaths aren't so tragic bc of their flaws. Even so, they bothered me less than Masao for some reason. For all her violent tendencies, Rei's mother is still given sympathy that Masao never gets. And even though Sei's suicide note expresses a lot of misanthropy and sadism, to me there were enough lines almost suggesting he feared those tendencies within him and was also struggling in his own way. Perhaps their underdeveloped nature all helps keep either plot point form having to overstay their welcome

And that's the thing, despite all the dark and shocking plot twists I casually mentioned, what really stands out as I look back on the series, is the strong love Rei and Kira share. Going back to the plot summary, what you see is what you get. If you aren't on board with the series after volume 1, then it probably isn't for you. But few pieces of media have ever sold me on two character's love for each other as hard as this did. I mentioned before that I tend to need my media to acknowledge tragedy before I can accept their hope, but even when Mars isn't pulling out its soap opera cliffhangers, I always wanted to see how Rei and Kira would come together to support each other through their next stages of life.

[shojoboy]

rereading 7 seeds w my manga book club (insane choice. its been months lol) and god. i know i ve been saying this nonstop since i first read this manga in middle school but 7 seeds is a masterpiece. tamura yumi ranks up there w moto hagio and souryo fuyumi to me. this shit is REQUIRED READING

[asnowperson]

Umi no Yami, Tsuki no Kage (1989) OVA extra

I started reading Shinohara Chie's Umi no Yami, Tsuki no Kage series. I always watch the anime adaptation of the manga I read if it has one, so I watched this 3-episode OVA from 1989 too. There was a file with the word "extra" attached to it in the batch I downloaded. I thought it would turn out to be one of those weird 80s music videos with cut from the OVA, or some interview with anime staff/Shinohara, but to my surprise, I found something else.

So, they made a slideshow with art from Shocomi artists / very short animated clips with their characters with a little message from each author. This is like a catalogue of the most popular artists of the magazine in 1989, so I'll leave a little list here.

Also I need to note this down, because it made me laugh: I said every artist left a little note, but there is an exception: Souryo Fuyumi! She is the only one who didn't write anything for this special, and this is for some reason hilarious to me!

Appreciate the quality XD

1- Souryo Fuyumi

2- Fujita Kazuko

3- Ogoshi Natsue

4- Takeuchi Masami

5- Hayashi Asuko

6- Sugi Emiko

7- Kitagawa Miyuki

8- Shinohara Chie

[shoujo-memory]

Boyfriend by Souryo Fuyumi

[torposopla]

Rei has no right to be this beautiful, Fuyumi Souryo really understood the girls from my generation✨

[kashinorei]

Cesare - Fuyumi Souryo

[t-babylon]

I read in three days a manga called MARS and wow. WOW. The story is presented as "shy girl and popular boy start hanging out etc" but I swear it's way mooore deep than that. Once you read some vols you will realize that they had been trhough a lot in spite of their short lives and it just. hurt. a lot.

[withania-somnifera]

cesare il creatore che ha distrutto - souryou fuyumi