MARS RED “The Last Blue Sky” Review
MARS RED “The Last Blue Sky” is the sixth episode in the MARS RED anime. And very much unlike episode 5 this one is a tear fest. It starts off very much alike to episode 5. Where people are showing their hands and revealing themselves to be traitors but that ending got me. It got me good.
Finally some answers
The episode begins with Aoi going through all the strange happenings she’s been trying to report on and investigate. When suddenly the crowd outside the station grow animated and it’s clear they were vampires. The sun is up though, so they combust immediately. This only makes her more determined as she has now seen a human combustion anomaly for herself. She pushes her superior to get behind these cases and allow her to report on them but it’s not happening. He refuses.
Meanwhile Kurusu and Yamagami are underground following Takeuchi’s instructions through the sewers to where this strange new vampire unit could be. Suwa and Takeuchi are in the area where all the iron coffins are and count around 80. However there is one empty coffin. Knowing Nakajima is behind all of this Takeuchi mentions he “knew he was up to something.”
Meanwhile Kurusu and Yamagami finally reach the point Takeuchi said the vampires came from. They bump into Maeda just standing there. The scene suddenly shifts into Lt. Nakajima, Kurusu, Yamagami and Maeda in the Code Zero planning room. Nakajima is confronted by Kurusu and Yamagami. They find out that all of the humans that have been made vampires in Nakajima’s vampire unit are from the same unit as them. They had all been artificially made vampires using specially adapted Ascra. Lt. Nakajima has one last bottle left. Telling Maeda he’s the only one left who’s not taken it. Yamagami and Kurusu beg him not to, ask him how he can just watch all this inhumane behaviour and stand by. Even be a part of it. But he’s defending Nakajima to the death.
Saving Maeda
Suddenly an earthquake rumbles through the area. Kurusu falls. Nakajima and Yamagami fall together and land near each other. Asking for a light, Yamagami lights his lighter to see Maeda under the rubble with a steel bar sticking out from his back all the way through his body. Yamagami is determined to save Maeda but as the rubble is cleared the sun starts to shine on the area they’re stuck in. One more big post is the only thing pinning Maeda down. Yamagami has to carry it away from Maeda but doing so will put him in direct sunlight. As he carries the heavy stone away he asks Maeda to “look after Kurusu, he’s a good kid.” Before he steps into the light and dies combusting as Maeda watches, unable to do anything.
Review
I am in pain, I tell you. Pain! I loved Yamagami, even though he had death flags waving from the start I honestly was not ready. He was the matriarch of the group and the big brother / father figure to the young Kurusu. The theme of the vampires having more humanity than the humans is brought up multiple times again this episode. Not only in the way that Kurusu and Yamagami are both horrified by Nakajima’s actions but Maeda defends him and is cold towards his so called comrades. But the way that Yamagami died. Saving someone who had just stabbed and betrayed him simply because it was the right thing to do and likely because he believes Maeda will do the right thing in the end. Will he? Who knows. But what I do know is that I’m interested to see Kurusu’s reaction to seeing Maeda again. Will he blame him for his friend’s death? Will he end up being a sort of villain type? Or will he show restraint and forgiveness?
As much as we got answers about the vampire army there are now so many questions. Mainly concerning the cast and their futures. What will they all decide to do going forward? Maeda was horrified at his friend’s death but will he turn coat anyway. Was Maeda faking being on Nakajima’s side the whole time? I’m thing that’s it because his reactions would make no sense otherwise. One second he’s calling them “vampires” and dehumanising them every chance he can get next he’s screaming at Yamagami to stop. Or is it the case that losing his loved one has made him almost not care about the lines of humanity, immortality, morality and immorality anymore? Until he watched Yamagami die, of course.
