“Terra Formars” is an exciting, violent but addictive series that I am looking forward to! As humanity depends on the survivors on Mars, what happens when they are ambushed with new evolving Terra Formars? Recommended!
Image courtesy of © 2011 by Ken-Ichi Tachibana, Yu Sasuga/SHUEISHA Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Terra Formars Vol. 4
STORY BY: Yu Sasuga ART BY: Ken-Ichi Tachibana
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shueisha, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
Available on January 20, 2015
In order to protect their crewmates, Akari and Michelle use their abilities and head into battle against the Terraformars, who have adapted unique and terrifying new forms! The enemy’s astounding strength forces them into an unexpectedly desperate fight.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the other teams scattered around Mars become clear. The battle between humans and the demons they created reaches a new intensity.
With a new mission is being set by U-NASA (20-years after the disastrous BUGS-2 mission), this time, this latest expedition is for the survival of humanity as a virus has swept Earth and the only known antidote is in Mars.
New recruits have been selected and a powerful group of officers that are part of Annex 1 are on their way to Mars, but to the surprise of anyone onboard, the Terraformars have gotten aboard and now it’s a fight for survival in the spacecraft traveling to Mars.
As the onslaught of Terraformars have killed many of the officers of Annex 1, but those who have survived and fought back against the humanoid/cockroaches are now starting to discover that it’s not just cockroaches that are on the planet, somehow they have found a way to utilize the special abilities of previous officers from the failed missions and adapt their insect fighting abilities to their own.
Do the officers have a chance of survival on Mars?
Find out what happens in vol. 4 of the hit manga series “Terra Formars”!
What is “Terra Formars”?
In 2011, writer Yu Sasuga and artist Kenichi Tachibana would create “Terra Formars”, a manga series that would become a major hit in Japan.
First serialized in Shueisha’s “Weekly Young Jump” and an OVA and anime series slated later this year, “Terra Formars” was ranked #1 in the 2013 “Kono Manga ga Sugoi!” top 20 Manga for Male Readers survey.
With nine tankobon volumes published in Japan, “Terra Formars” vol. 1 will be released in the United States in July 2014 courtesy of Viz Media (on the Viz Signature imprint).
With Earth looking to colonize Mars which is undergoing its final stages of Terraforming and now becoming a green planet, a group of 15 men and women have been sent to Mars to check on the Terraformation of the planet.
Meanwhile, on Earth, the planet is falling into ruin due to environmental destruction and energy shortages, so Mars has been the focus by scientists.
Scientists have used moss and a black organism to darken the surface of the planet and causing it to absorb more sunlight, increase temperatures and melting the carbon dioxide.
The black organism used by scientists were cockroaches.
As the 15 men and women of BUGS 2 arrive on the planet on their mission to evaluate the planet but also to find out what happened to the first crew (BUGS 1) that landed on the planet.
The team discover that the Terraforming has succeeded but to their shock, the cockroaches have mutated with human bodies.
As the Japanese members, Shokichi Komachi and his childhood friend Nanao Akita try to make contact with one of the beings, the humanoid cockroach snaps Nanao’s neck.
And now the humans have become the hunted.
Because the cockroaches exhibit all abilities of a cockroach, it was learned that scientists embedded human DNA in them and their mutation has made them beings that would not just survive in Mars but also exhibiting human characteristics and a hatred towards humanity (as humanity has had a hatred towards cockroaches).
But humanity also has found a way for humans to counteract the cockroaches by using injections of insects on humans that will briefly give them insect powers. But is it enough for the humans to survive in Mars as they are now considered the pests for the planet in which the humanoid cockroaches are the primary species?
In volume 2 of “Terra Formars”, the manga is set 20-years later and Shokichi Komachi is now the new head of U-NASA. As one of the few survivors to escape from Mars and survive the cockroach onslaught, the Earth he has returned to is not just facing an overpopulation problem but also a widespread virus that came from Mars.
The bad news that the only way to stop it is to confirm the existence of the virus and determine its type and bring it back to Earth in hopes to create a vaccine.
But will Shokichi find a new group of people willing to sacrifice their lives for humanity by going to Mars and prepare for the onslaught of cockroach/humans that have infested the planet and want nothing more than to kill the humans?
As the Terraformars have invaded the spacecraft of Annex 1, it becomes a battle of survival as the recruits must prepare for a crash landing on Mars, but to find out that not only have Earth’s recruits have evolved, so have the Terraformars!
In volume 4, the officers come across different types of Terraformars that somehow have other insect abilities. Did they evolve that way or is someone responsible for the insects becoming bipedal humanoid.
The fourth volume of “Terra Formars” is rather intriguing as the most powerful officers must take on the Terraformars but to find out that there are other insect types or rather, a few of the cockroach humanoids have managed to tap into technology for them to incorporate other insect abilities to themselves.
But how is this possible? Or perhaps there is someone behind-the-scenes?
With the mysteries set in the story of “Terra Formars”, volume four of the manga series is also action-packed as the officers try to protect their own against the morphed/evolving insects. Especially Akari Hizamaru and Michelle who must fight to the death against these new monsters!
The artwork by Ken-Ichi Tachibana is magnificent. Characters are well-detailed, artwork is just pleasing and the action is well-featured. And of course, the writing and research done by Yu Sasuga has really made “Terra Formars” a fascinating and captivating series.
Overall, “Terra Formars” is an exciting, violent but addictive series that I am looking forward to! As humanity depends on the survivors on Mars, what happens when they are ambushed with new evolving Terra Formars? Recommended!