View source for Star Red

{{distinguish|Red star}}
{{Short description|Japanese manga series}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| image           = File:Star Red cover.png
| caption         = Volume 1 ''[[tankōbon]]'' cover, featuring Sei
| alt             = Stylized illustration of a white-haired woman posing in a red-and-white outfit
| ja_kanji        = スター・レッド
| genre           = [[Science fiction]]
| creator         = [[Moto Hagio]]
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type            = manga
| author          = Moto Hagio
| publisher       = [[Shogakukan]]
| demographic     = ''[[Shōjo manga|Shōjo]]''
| magazine        = [[Sho-Comi|Shūkan Shōjo Comic]]
| imprint         = Flower Comics
| first           = May 28, 1978
| last            = February 5, 1979
| volumes         = 3
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}

{{Nihongo|'''''Star Red'''''|スター・レッド|Sutā Reddo|lead=yes}} is a Japanese [[science fiction]] [[manga]] series written and illustrated by [[Moto Hagio]]. It was serialized in [[Shogakukan]]'s [[List of manga magazines|manga magazine]] ''[[Sho-Comi|Shūkan Shōjo Comic]]'' from 1978 to 1979.

==Synopsis==
In the [[Near future in fiction|near future]], [[overpopulation]] on Earth has led humanity to [[Space colonization|colonize space]]. [[Mars]] was colonized in 2050, though extremely high rates of [[stillbirth]] 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 [[Parapsychology|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.{{sfn|Long|2014|p=11}}

The primary action of the series focuses on {{nihongo|Sei Red|レッド・星|Reddo Sei}}, a fifth generation Martian possessing the power of [[telepathy]], [[Psychokinesis|telekinesis]], and [[teleportation]]. She is exiled to Earth in 2276, where she is forced to conceal her Martian identity.{{sfn|Long|2014|p=12}} There she encounters {{nihongo|Erg|エルグ|Erugu}}, an alien who comes into conflict with both humanity and the Martians.<ref>{{cite web |title=6月10日は火星探査機「スピリット」打ちあげの日。本日読むべきマンガは……。 |url=https://konomanga.jp/guide/66383-2 |author=Maejima, Satoshi |website=[[Kono Manga ga Sugoi!]] |publisher=[[Takarajimasha]] |access-date=January 3, 2022 |language=Japanese |date=June 10, 2016 |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103212043/https://konomanga.jp/guide/66383-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sei ultimately dies, but her consciousness survives in a sort of [[limbo]]; there she meets various spirits with vague sexual identities, which allow her to be reborn as a sixth generation Martian.{{sfn|Long|2014|p=18}}

==Production and release==
''Star Red'' was conceived after Hagio's editor at ''[[Sho-Comi|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.<ref name="tankobon">{{cite book |last1=Hagio |first1=Moto |title=スター・レッド, vol. 1 |date=1983 |publisher=[[Shogakukan]] |isbn=4-09-190717-2}}</ref> The author, intrigued by the planet Mars,{{sfn|Hagio|2016|p=168}} elected to create a story about a Martian child raised on Earth who returns to Mars.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hagio |first1=Moto |last2=Onda |first2=Riku |author2-link=Riku Onda |title=原点"との邂逅 |journal=SF Japan |date=October 31, 2006 |publisher=[[Tokuma Shoten]]}}</ref> To create the Martian landscapes, Hagio used photographs taken by [[NASA]] during the ''[[Viking 1]]'' Mars exploration mission as reference material.{{sfn|Hagio|2016|p=20}}

The first chapter of the series was published in ''Shūkan Shōjo Comic'' on May 28, 1978.{{sfn|Hagio|2016|p=14}} 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.<ref name="tankobon"/> The final chapter of the series was published on February 5, 1979.{{sfn|Hagio|2016|p=14}}

==Reception==
In 1980, ''Star Red'' was awarded Best Comic at the [[Seiun Award]]s.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Clute |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Langford |editor2-first=David |editor1-link=John Clute |editor2-link=David Langford |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]] |date=December 20, 2021 |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/seiun_award |title=Seiun Award |access-date=January 14, 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}

*{{cite journal |last1=Long |first1=Margherita |title=Hagio Moto's Nuclear Manga and the Promise of Eco-Feminist Desire |journal=[[Mechademia]] |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |date=2014 |volume=9 |pages=3–23 |doi=10.1353/mec.2014.0003|s2cid=122333047 }}

*{{cite book |last1=Hagio |first1=Moto |author1-link=Moto Hagio |title=萩尾望都 SFアートワークス |date=2016 |publisher=[[Kawade Shobō Shinsha]] |isbn=978-4-309-27701-1 |language=Japanese}}

*{{cite journal |last1=Kotani |first1=Mari |author1-link=Mari Kotani |title=L'espace, le corps et les aliens dans la science-fiction féminine japonaise |translator-last=Gerbier |translator-first=Laurent |language=French |journal=ReS Futurae |date=2017 |volume=9 |issue=9 |doi=10.4000/resf.988 |trans-title=Space, Body, and Aliens in Japanese Female Science Fiction|doi-access=free }}

{{refend}}

{{Moto Hagio}}
{{Sho-Comi}}

[[Category:1978 manga]]
[[Category:Shōjo manga]]
[[Category:Shogakukan manga]]
[[Category:Science fiction anime and manga]]
[[Category:Moto Hagio]]