MAR Heaven

 

Finally got around to reading this major series by Anzai Nobuyuki, MAR Heaven, and while it was enjoyable, Flame of Recca still remains the stronger of the two. MAR Heaven is one of those early-2000s isekai series set in a fantasy world filled with magical weapon artifacts called ARMs. The story follows a high school boy named Ginta, who is transported into the MAR world and embarks on an epic adventure to save it from evil organizations, accompanied by allies and a sentient Ball and Hammer ARM, with quite a personality.

Since the MAR Heaven manga run is essentially half the length of Flame of Recca, the peak satisfaction from the series isn’t as high, and it can get formulaic at times. In contrast, Flame of Recca feels more original. Nobuyuki-sensei definitely recycled several elements from Flame of Recca in MAR Heaven, for better or worse; you’ll notice some character designs feel familiar, and the ARMs are essentially a fantasy version of Madougu.

Personally, I really like the ARMs concept; it’s like taking Doraemon’s gadgets and expanding them into a fantasy framework. Unfortunately, MAR Heaven never fully realized that potential. Its shorter run and weekly serialization forced it into monotonous tournament-style battles, often neglecting character development and leading to a climax that feels overall very weak than it could have been.

Even so, MAR Heaven is still better than most mass-produced isekai of the present. It was successful enough to spawn several multimedia adaptations, including a Nintendo DS game that I personally encountered.

On a closing note, it turns out that Anzai Nobuyuki-sensei was an assistant to Kazuhiro Fujita-sensei, the author of Ushio and Tora, which explains the similar dynamics between Ginta and Babbo.