MARS (2004)

This is the second drama to have captured my undivided attention. I've never seen a drama that can portray mental illness, suicide, rape and such dark subjects and portray it well.



Vic and Barbies preformances were flawless and spectacular. Other than the 1 Litre of Tears drama, I've never seen such amazing acting.



The director had a habit of not playing music at times which just added to the creepy atmosphere. I thought it worked well with the scenes. When there was music, such as the theme song, they were all well chosen.



This is one drama you won't regret watching.

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Instant Favourite. I had to boot out one my all-time favourite dramas in my list to make room for this one, the moment i finished watching it.
This drama has everything you would expect from and Asian drama AND more. It's all i thought about for days, I literally dreamt of the characters when i slept.
The story, although it is appears to be a stereotypical 'good girl meets bad boy' theme, is actually far more deeper then that. The girl wasn't always so reserved, and the boy wasn't always such a womanizer. It really touches upon the consuming physiological problems that tragedy can create. Its normal to see the male lead 'change' throughout the drama and become a better person while falling in love with the female lead, but it is extremely rare to see both characters changing so much; together.
The acting was amazing. That's to be expected with Barbie and Vic. I laughed and i cried with these characters. I felt their heartbreak as much as my own.
Its the rare kind of drama that gets better with each passing episode, and at the end you just wish you could watch it all over again with new eyes.
I would recommend this to anyone.

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This drama is different. Good-different. Amazing-different. Phenomenal-different. It details the growth and struggles of two young people trying to face their pasts, their fears, and finding solace in one another. There is no overlying mystery plot, no birth secrets, no rich handsome boss/coworker/perfect-man and poor cute employee/teacher/student/average-girl. The attraction begins right away, and the characters are what makes this drama.

I first got into MARS because of Meteor Garden, which also starred Barbie Hsu and Vic Zhou. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the two of them. Meteor Garden was their first acting gigs, and I figured they didn't have the experience yet to be truly great. Boy was I wrong (and gladly!). The amazing depth with which they imbued their characters left me wanting more in the subsequent dramas I watched. Sigh...

Music/aesthetics wise - this drama was waaaaaay back in 2004, when taiwanese dramas had terrible funding, bad fashion (at least how we would consider it now), and different filming styles. Don't expect amazing packaging or cinematography, and expect most of the boys to wear their hair long. In this case I feel like MARS doesn't suffer from it however, since the character's personalities are the most appealing and strongest parts of the drama. There are two songs that are particularly gorgeous, but most of the other tracks were instrumentals and easily forgotten. Not that that's a bad thing (I'm looking at you Almost Paradise!).

A word of warning however - this drama deals with dark issues, and may contain possible triggers. I'd suggest looking up the summary before watching it, because I know that personally I watched it better knowing the general subject and plot.

Now where to find the next drama up to par with this one?

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A drama with a lot of substance and heart. It handles a beautiful love that is mature and also warms your heart.

The lead characters come from a place of great trauma and carry dark shadows within them, but the feel of the drama is far from gloomy or sad. It is the beauty of the characters that they find happiness and comforts even with a background of pain.
I really liked the character graphs of Chen Ling and Qi Lou. The actors too were perfect for the roles. Every other character in the drama too is well written and real. There are no fluffy or pointless characters.

The drama handles many serious issues in our society and characters with mental instabilities/psychological problems, and it does so with great sensitivity and care.

I liked the music, because I felt it was used appropriately and enhanced the beauty of the scenes. The happy moments had a track that made you feel the happiness, whereas in the more tense scenes, the background score completely stopped, adding to the intensity.

The first half does remind you of Devil Beside You- probably because of the character of the male lead and having been shot in the same campus, but MARS is definitely more intense and on a broader canvas than DBY.

I can't think of any drama that I've as completely appreciated as MARS. It took me in completely, and I will happily re-watch it any number of times.

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I'm a HUGE fan of the manga! and I can say I absolutely loved this drama! It stayed very true to the manga, and for that I am very grateful!

Obviously, I love the story. It has everything, interesting and unique characters with very complex pasts/personalities, amazing character development, and a great ending that leaves the audience not only satisfied but also inspired!

The only annoying part is the fact that for some strange reason they tried to make the characters 2-3 years older! which creates huge inconsistencies, since the whole story would only make sense if they were underage! so yeah, I basically ignored the whole college-grad school references and thought of them being in high-school, going to college!

The acting was good and the main characters had good chemistry!
I would say other than the stupid age shift, this drama had two other problems: bad cinematography and excessive repeat of the music! The lighting in many scenes was off, and the song, even though I LOVED it, was repeated so many times that it kind of annoyed me!

Let me just say this one more time, the story is AMAZING! It has many deep psychological elements to it that makes it one a kind! Although at a first glance it might seem like every other drama, but it's very unique. Give it a shot, I promise you won't regret it!

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I can't believe I took so long to watch this! I had plans last year to watch it as soon as I was done with Meteor Garden. But, you see, the thing is, while watching Meteor Garden, I shipped Si and Shancai real hard. No, seriously, I loved them together so much that whenever Shancai went all girly-girly around Lei (vic Zhou's character), my face would turn as grim as Si's and I literally had to fight the urge to skip their parts, fearing I might miss something important. This, and also I watched Vic Chou in a movie called "loving you a 10000 years" and (no offense) but that is possibly the worst movie I have ever watched in any language known to man. It was just lame. And, trust me, it doesn't take much in a movie or a drama to impress me.

Anyways, back to the drama - WHY DIDN'T I WATCH THIS SOONER?! WAE WAE WAE??? This is just amazing. The plot is so intriguing. Not just the romantic parts but also the stuff about mental illnesses and stuff. It's very thrilling. I LOVE VIC CHOU! I seriously cannot believe he didn't win the best actor award for this drama. Same for Barbie Hsu. I mean, their expressions (once again I'm not talking about expressions of love and longing.)were just so beautiful. Gave me goosebumps the whole time.

The kind of characters they built for this drama really impressed me. Ling is the most perfect guy in the most imperfect sense possible. His shades of his personality and different layers of his character, the laugh, the tears, the past. It just moved me, I don't know why. Same goes for Qui Luo. I love the way her character developed after Ling came into her life. I loved their little shack that they made for themselves. I loved the music of the show. I have most of the songs on my phone.

Coming to the rewatch value, I'll definitely give it a 10 because I already watched it twice (no kidding) and I am definitely going to go watch it again for sure. Especially a few favorite parts for which I even remember the episode numbers now (lol).

I'd say if you are an Asian Drama fan, don't skip this one!

PS- Still can't believe Vic Chou didn't win the best actor award for this. My faith in the world of righteousness is shattered. But I'll try not to dwell on that.

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1) The reason I watched this:

I had this drama on my PTW list for a long time, I've delaying it for ages then one day, I decided to go fo it.

2) Storyline/Plot:

As a person who haven't read the manga and have no idea about this drama's story, I believe that the storyline was somehow strong.

Positive points:

*The plot was set up in a good way plus the story's development was meaningful since it gathered rigid events.
*This is the type of drama that won't let you lose interest in its events simply because mysterious twists were always present.
*This drama's storyline was a great mixture between romance, mystery, psychology and even some little horror moments; that's why I would say that the storyline is rich and enjoyable.
*There were some brilliant suspens moments that would fill you with anticipation and expectations.

Negative points:

*There were some unnecessary events or let's say they were "badly expressed".
*Some moments were really annoying to watch.

Story: 8.5/10

3) Acting/Cast:

*Zhou Vic : he has always been my weakness point but seriously he managed to portray the character in a perfect way.
He completely owned the role whether in sadness, happiness, his gloomy or his cheerful character; he knew how to deliever feelings.

*Hsu Barbie : As an actress she had a good show but I can't say the same about her character which took the wrong turn sometimes.

*The chemistry was one of the greatest chemistries that I've seen so far. I enjoyed every scene they had together.
*The rest of the cast was cool too plus their acting skills were good too.

Cast: 8/10
Acting: 8.5/10

4) The ending:

It one of those endings which anyone would love to see on screen. Overall it was good enough.

The ending: 8/10

5) My impression (How did it afect me):

*It's true that I had to skip some parts in order to make the drama's episodes equilibrated but I never lost interest in its events.
*Zhou Vic was simply amazing here not only as *insert shallow feelings* but also as a good actor who knew how to portray his role.
*Although I liked this drama, I can't say that I was obsessed about it.

My impression: 7.5/10

6) Overall:

*If you want a good change from typical romantic comedies then you like this.
*If you like romance mixed with psychology then this is for you
*If you like Zhou Vic then you need to watch this because this was his best role ever.

Overall: 8.5/10.

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One thing I can say about Taiwanese dramas and I'm just going to put it out there, they tend to do romances better than Korean dramas. Sure, there are exceptions but the more that I watch, the more that I come to this conclusion. This was a GREAT story from start to finish!! 21 episodes and I was never bored!! It took us from the very start of a relationship, to the end. It shows the conflict, very well done as well as the happy times! The chemistry between the two leads, Barbie Hsu and Vic Zhou, off the charts!! The protagonists were many but unlike Korean dramas, those story lines were not dragged out to the end, I hate that!! I especially liked how the secondary characters, Da Ye and Qing Mei were portrayed. We got to watch their story and relationship evolve and you can't help but love that too!! This drama deserves high ratings and the I will definitely be re-watching it and recommending it to my drama buddies!! If you want a really, well-done romance to watch, this is it! Guarantee!!

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In my opinion MARS is a really hard drama to watch...if you want to watch something light right now please don't bother with this one.MARS is my favorite drama out there and I think that it suceded in overlaping even the korean dramas and japanase ones.

Story: It's the most developed one that I've seen until today.It's the full package of romance, action, drama and mistery.It made me fall off my chair from laughing sometimes, but on the other hand it made me use so many many tissues most of the time.Is a very serious story which touches ideas and problems that were never touched once before.

Acting/Cast: What can I say about this....I really loved the chemestry between Barbie Hsu and Vic Zhou since Meteor Garden, but here was really outstanding.I love Brbie Hsu..she is my favorite TW actress, not only she is beautiful but also has great talent.It always seemed to me that she and Vic were soulmates because of their interection and underestanding with each other.The characters were so well portraid that it made the story come alive.

Music: It was really beautiful.Trust me..I don't like TW music..I really find it annoying most of the time but this one was so beautiful that I don't know what to say.The song Ling/Zero described so well the drama that only listenig to it brought my tears.

Rewatch Value: I really don't rewatch dramas often because it's boring for me to know what happens next and so on...but I would definetely rewatch this one..I don't know why but only rewatching some scenes or listenig to the songs makes me shed tears of sadness.For me this drama is one in 5 years or so.

Overall: For me a drama can get 10 points only if it can remain in my head for a long period of time and it can make me compare it with others.This one succeded in this and it also made me to open my eyes and to be happy for what I have because their are many more people more unhappy and with more problems out there than me.

So I think that when you are in a state of mind of watching a REAL love story not a "fantazy" one you should give this try and let it get into your heart

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Mars. Was he the coward, who the Greeks say was bloodthirsty and belligerent, and yet was afraid of failure? Isn't he supposed to look mean and ferocious?; Indeed he is the God of War, but I heard that the Romans described him differently. ; Really? ;They said...Mars...wore shining armor, look dignified. He was a dark hero who helped people overcome tragedy.

This is how it starts. This drama has won me right after the first episode. It has been on my list since a long time ago but finally I decided to watch a few days ago. And then everything changed. I have never watched anything similar to this, maybe there are a little few Asian dramas in the whole world like this one but it's honestly really rare. Different from everything else, in so much more deeper and darker psychological level that every second I was truly in a state like the main characters, I felt every single emotion they felt, I smiled, cried, yelled, was so angry and crazy at times they I could kill like Chen Ling thought he could, I was in love, I felt so much passion, desire and true meaning of a strong real love, exactly like that I have never felt while watching any drama in my entire life.
What is it that makes this drama so different from others and that makes me to write and feel like this? Well, when you start to watch you see that there are some guy who is a popular playboy and very handsome, and you see some girl who is very shy, artistic and doesn't talk to anyone. So at first you think this is going to be some cliche romance drama with the plot you have seen so many times. But you're wrong. Sooo wrong. Because already in the second part of the first episode you see that it's different, that you've got some strange feeling inside your body which tells you this is going to be something amazing. There is no some twisted mystery plot, no birth secrets, no rich handsome boss and poor cute girl, no love triangles, no annoying people and yelling all the time. The attraction between the characters begins right away, and they are what make this drama.
And the story begins.
Of course I'm not going to tell the story 'cause you have that already in the description of the drama, but what I'm going to tell is that this is the most beautiful and the strongest love story ever. Literally. I mean two young people trying to face and struggle with their pasts, their fears, their tragic and sad experiences and finding solace in one another. And they succeed in that. Because they simply fell in love. Honestly. Truly. They helped one another to face with all difficulties and overcome everything with the strength and power of real love. Vic and Barbie have done amazing job,they had amazing intense chemistry all the time, I really admire them, they are really very talented and fantastic actors. I think it is very hard to play a role where your character is psychological damaged and where the character is in some hand a little bit crazy with many problems and issues in the head and in the heart. I don't need to say that Vic became my favourite actor, actually in my top 5. ;-) And his character is the best ever, I fell in love with his hair, his style, his bike, his attitude, I like it very much that he is not perfect, he has so many flaws and that's why he became my favourite character in the whole dramaland.
Also, the character of Tong Dao is such an amazing addition to the already dark, depressed and psycho feeling. Oh my God, do you know how I love his character? Not in some positive way, it's just I think that he perfectly fits in here with his twisted and creepy behavior and you'll see why. An Jun Can was a genius in this drama, I was so scared of him in some scenes, great really.
Music- no words, just listen. I still shiver and tremble and still in my mind are the songs from MARS. Especially the opening song, MASTERPIECE.
So, in the end only to say that YOU HAVE TO WATCH MARS, IT'S A MUST WATCH DRAMA and you'll definitely won't be the same after watching. At least you gonna fall in love with Vic (or Barbie) and you gonna enjoy in beautiful music if you don't like the drama. But honestly there's no way you not gonna like it.
All I know that I became a little obsessed with characters from MARS and literally played some scenes more times than once because the conversations between them are so precious and intelligent, I enjoyed in every detail. DRAMA MASTERPIECE. Oh yeah did I say that kiss scenes are so hot, sexy and so natural and real? I felt like I was with them in drama in their intimate moments and kissing them all the way. ;-)

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This is basically my review from Dramacrazy, just edited (and extended LOL) slightly ^^

This drama is such a compelling watch. It delves into subjects such as mental illnesses, rape, and suicide, not usually shown in dramas. This drama pulls you in and makes you think about life and love. This is the story of Chen Ling (Vic Zhou) and Han Qi Luo (Barbie Xu). They meet and are instantly pulled towards each other, but before they can ever be together, they both must face their pasts.

I loved every piece of this drama. It was definitely one of the best I've seen in years. The depth with which character is played out really amazes me. They take a moment and bring it to a whole new level, a lot of the time without speaking a single word. On the surface, it may look like any other love story, but it is so much more than that. It digs into the very core of what it means to be a human. MARS touches your heart and makes you think.

I've watched this drama multiple times and each time it never failed to make me cry. There was something just about Mars that stayed with me and I don't think I'll ever forget it.

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