In a bold bid to colonize Mars, 21st-century scientists embark on a terraforming project that seeds the red planet with algae capable of absorbing sunlight and purifying the atmosphere, while cockroaches—whose corpses help spread the algae as they feed—play a strangely vital role in the plan. Five hundred years later, the first crewed ship lands on Mars and faces a brutal onslaught from giant, mutated cockroaches with extraordinary strength, creatures that will come to be known as the Terraformars. The six-member crew is wiped out after sending a final warning back to Earth. The narrative broadens to the next phase of exploration, introducing an ensemble cast that includes Ichiro Hiruma, Takayuki Yamada, Jin Muto, Tomohisa Yamashita, Ko Honda, Shun Oguri, Asuka Moriki, Rinko Kikuchi, Mina Obari, Eiko Koike, Sakakibara, Rila Fukushima, Shokichi Komachi, Hideaki Ito, Nanao Akita, Emi Takei, and Maria Renjou, Rina Ohta. These figures stand at the center of a sprawling, perilous mission that stretches beyond a single voyage.
Two years after the initial disaster, a multinational expedition named BUGS II is dispatched to collect ten roach samples of both sexes and to exterminate the mutated invaders in an effort to seize control of the red planet. The mission unfolds against a backdrop of escalating risk and scientific curiosity, as teams push the boundaries of human capability. In the face of the Terraformars’ formidable strength and agility, some crew members undergo genetic modification to inherit traits from other organisms, a drastic and dangerous process that requires implanting a special organ with only a 36% chance of survival. The operation is presented in clinical terms, a stark reminder of the high stakes involved in touching the very boundaries of biology and survival.
On the ship, power struggles emerge as multiple factions vie for advantage, complicating alliances and turning cooperation into a fragile balance of competing interests. Despite the internal turmoil and brutal battles, the survivors manage to gather enough samples to fuel research toward a cure for the Alien Engine Virus, or A.E. Virus, and return home with new knowledge that could alter humanity’s fate. Yet the danger remains, and the question of origin lingers: the Terraformars did not simply arrive with the current expedition—they appear to have arrived on Earth long before, multiplying and adapting far more effectively than expected. As their numbers rise and their plan to subdue the planet takes shape, humanity is forced to confront a threat that has evolved beyond its initial encounter, demanding resilience, cooperation, and the relentless pursuit of a cure. The saga culminates in a tense, ongoing struggle to outpace an adversary that has learned to thrive on Earth, leaving the future of the planet hanging in the balance.
