is a Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Moto Hagio is a Japanese manga artist. Regarded for her contributions to ''shōjo'' manga ( manga aimed at young and adolescent women), Hagio is considered the most significant artist in the demographic and among the most influential manga artists of a ...

. It was serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

manga magazine Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

'' Shūkan Shōjo Comic'' from 1978 to 1979.

Synopsis

In the

near future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale m ...

on Earth has led humanity to colonize space.

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

was colonized in 2050, though extremely high rates of

stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...

among the colonists made long-term colonization impossible; the planet was transformed into a prison in 2070 before being abandoned in 2150. Some children born on Mars developed genetic mutations giving them parapsychological powers, which became more potent across subsequent generations of Martians. When humanity attempted to re-colonize Mars in 2264, they discovered the surviving Martian population, and attempted to exterminate and experiment upon them. The primary action of the series focuses on , a fifth generation Martian possessing the power of

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

, and

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...

. She is exiled to Earth in 2276, where she is forced to conceal her Martian identity. There she encounters , an alien who comes into conflict with both humanity and the Martians. Sei ultimately dies, but her consciousness survives in a sort of

limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...

; there she meets various spirits with vague sexual identities, which allow her to be reborn as a sixth generation Martian.

Production and release

''Star Red'' was conceived after Hagio's editor at '' Shūkan Shōjo Comic'' suddenly asked her to create a new manga, and informed her that she had three days to produce a full-color ad page promoting the series. The author, intrigued by the planet Mars, elected to create a story about a Martian child raised on Earth who returns to Mars. To create the Martian landscapes, Hagio used photographs taken by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

during the ''

Viking 1 ''Viking 1'' was the first of two spacecraft, along with ''Viking 2'', each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. The lander touched down on Mars on July 20, 1976, the first successful Mars land ...

'' Mars exploration mission as reference material. The first chapter of the series was published in ''Shūkan Shōjo Comic'' on May 28, 1978. Because of its rapid production schedule, the series began publication before Hagio had planned its ending; this is why the character of Yodaka, who gives birth to Sei, changes sex from male to female over the course of the story. The final chapter of the series was published on February 5, 1979.

Reception

In 1980, ''Star Red'' was awarded Best Comic at the

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fict ...

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Sho-Comi 1978 manga Shōjo manga Shogakukan manga Science fiction anime and manga Moto Hagio