YMMV / Mars (1996)

• Ass Pull: Some of the reveals get close to no foreshadowing, some even seem to contradicting what the characters said earlier in the story.
• Diagnosed by the Audience:
  • Rei's attitude toward violence is both casual in his use of it and explosive in how quickly he will turn to it, and this has been the case since he was a kid. He also is bored by school and has a hard time sitting still and not moving, pointing to a need for constant stimulation. While this does check some of the boxes for sociopathy, Rei is not shown to be a liar or manipulator, as he is much more prone to dealing with things head on, for better or for worse. He's also able to form genuine emotional attachments to others, like Kira, Tatsuya, and the Katayamas, and feels remorseful for his reckless behavior if it gets those he cares about hurt or in trouble. This all points more to a lack of impulse control paired with apathy as a trauma response than outright socio/psychopathy. Seeing as both his mother and twin brother were also psychologically unstable people prone to violence, however, the story does seem to suggest that whatever may be wrong with Rei is hereditary.
  • Shoko's behavior towards Rei and Sei was never really normal, something Rei slowly begins to remember towards the end of the manga. Before trying to kill them, she intentionally pricked Rei's hand with a needle to make the point that when he hurts, she hurts too. All with an unsettingly calm smile on her face.

• Moral Event Horizon: Mr Yoshioka was already a sleazeball, but after Rei humiliates him in front of the class by calling him out as a sexual harasser, he attempts to murder Rei in cold blood by sabotaging his bike's brakes, almost causing Rei to get splattered by a truck. And, aside from Rei threatening to return the favour, terrifying him into quitting, he gets off scott-free and even has students talking about what a great teacher he was.
• Tear Jerker: So many moments. Some are sneakier than others, like when Rei's dad starts crying in the Dénouement.
• Values Dissonance: When Kira starts work at a fast food joint and gets sexually harassed by customers, her manager not only doesn't call the cops, he apologizes to the harassers when she slaps one of them. Of course, when Rei comes in and beats the hell out of the harassers, he doesn't get called on it either.
  • While the above case was arguably Deliberate Values Dissonance as the manga doesn't agree with the manager's actions at all, the story's treatment of Violet, the pre-op transwoman who lives in the same apartment block as Rei, would raise a few eyebrows today. While a lovely person who befriends Kira and helps her adjust to her new life when she runs away from home to live with Rei, the series treats her largely as comic relief who doesn't hesitate to lift her skirt and flash people. Rei persistently refers to her with male pronouns and during a discussion where Violet expresses an ability to empathise with Kira due to having been sexually assaulted by a teacher while she was in junior high, Rei casually dismisses the comparison by claiming it "just made [her] bloom faster".
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: The series deals with very dark subjects like suicide, sexual abuse and also has an explicit sex scene, yet Tokyopop kept the rating at Teen 13+.
• Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: Kira's mom, your daughter tells you that your new husband has raped her and so you kick him out of the house. But just because he says he's changed, your willing to put your daughter at risk by moving him back in???
• The Woobie: Take your pick! There's...
  • Kira, a victim of rape and incest with PTSD so bad that she Does Not Like Men and can barely stand being touched by a man. She is later victimized again by a teacher and her mother decides to get back together with Kira's Lecherous Stepparent to make life easier for her as she's struggling to make ends meat.
  • Rei, an impulsive and violent teen also suffering from PTSD after finding his mother's body post suicide by hanging as a child and from his twin brother committing suicide in front of him.
  • Takayuki, a man who was married to a woman that hated his guts, cheated on him with his always favored younger brother, and had her lovers' twins. That same brother dies tragically in a car accident, which causes said resentful wife to go catatonic, eventually leading her to try killing their kids and successfully killing herself, leaving him to raise two boys that aren't his. And he does! Until one of them commits suicide. And the remaining son? Hates his guts because he's been manipulated from childhood by that same resentful mother to think Takayuki hates him. Man can't catch a break.