Mars Red (2021)

Director: Kohei Hatano, Shinya Sadamitsu
Studio: Signal.MD
Starring: Junichi Suwabe, Hidenori Tokuyama, Jurota Kosugi
Episodes: 13

Synopsis:
A veteran of the Siberian Expedition is chosen to head an experimental unit of vampire soldiers.

Impressions:
I hadn't read anything about the series before picking it up and the title doesn't exactly indicate "secret vampire army in Taisho Era Japan". The Taisho Era seems to be getting a lot of love lately, but it's actually the perfect setting for a story like this, during a lull in Japan's militarism when a character like General Nakashima would be most driven to swim against the current, instigating our conflict. Vampires could also be seen as a metaphor for the Western military technology the Japanese had been scrambling to adopt ever since the Meiji Restoration. The political wrangling behind the scenes also has some parallels to some of the real-life activities during the time period. Themes of tragic romance permeate the series from the first episode on and it's interesting how Oscar Wilde's Salome is woven into the storyline. The look of the series is quite distinctive, flat and rarely using shading, almost like a woodblock print. It doesn't seem like there was a particularly large budget, but the studio does a good job of keeping the production values consistent even if it means being a bit sparing in visual panache. Overall, I was fairly satisfied with what I got and would recommend giving it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It