If you can overlook the art, you will enjoy this series immensely.
Set in some distance future, a group of friends who dwelled on Mars, are chosen to live on Earth in Normal City. The group of friends consist of the loud and crass Sion Revy, boy-crazy Jean-Tania Campbell, the quiet and reserved, but emotionally intense Mars Heaven. They are chosen due to their special power: ESP, extra sensory perception. They live together with a new housemate named Isha Green, who, like them, is an ESPer, but different than them because he follows the rules set by the aministrator of this project. Isha, an aspiring singer, resembles the man in Mars’ dreams
(literally, because Mars can go into people’s dream). The three friends begin their new lives in a strange new city and even try to go to school like other teenagers. But what set them apart also endanger their lives, especially to Mars, who, underneath the calmness, is filled with ion and intensity.
Like most viewers have mentioned, the art is strange and old, some people might even say bad, but the plot and character development make up for the awkward art. The pacing of the storyline keeps me on my feet and is never boring. The first volumes introduce the characters and the premise of ESP, which gives them abilities such as teleportation, telekinetic, psychic connection, fighting and blowing things up with their minds, and the ability to dwell into people’s dreams. The later volumes focus on the plot and character development, as well as revealing the antagonist, who is a truly creepy man.
Mars Heaven is a great character, much like Clare from Claymore (I can’t help but notice the similarities in their personalities). Mars is strong but can be unstable, especially when she finds out who, or what, she is. Her power is so strong
that it eventually becomes her downfall, because she uses it to a point of self-destruction, which also makes her a tragic character.
The ing characters such as Mars’ best friends, Sion and Jean, are impressively developed. Their personalities are strong and their interactions with each other are believable. Isha is a bit of a bland character (compare to Venus), but who, along with Sion, acts as a comic relief (only every once in a while, since this manhwa is a far cry from comedy). The addition of Venus (great play on names, by the way: a feminine name for a boy, and Mars, a girl with a masculine name, the name of Greek god of war and the name of her former planet) is surprisingly enjoyable. While he its some connections, and feelings, to Mars, he remains a spectator up until halfway of the series, then he becomes more involved with Mars. In a way, I was rooting for
Venus and Mars, more than Isha and Mars.
The art of this manhwa might puts some people off from reading this series, but the storyline is, most assuredly, excellence. Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone who like some action, drama, tragedy, ESP and sci fi stuff, with unforgettable characters and storyline. This is one of the series I would happily reread again and again.
