“BLAME!” is a fascinating, dark yet entertaining manga series. It may not have lot of dialogue but I really dig the artwork and how Tsutomu uses imagery to tell his story and uses dialogue when needed.
© Tsutomu Nihei. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: BLAME! Vol. 1 – Master Edition
STORY AND ART BY: Tsutomu Nihei
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Kodansha
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: Vertical
RATED: T for Older Teen
RELEASE DATE: September 13, 2013
In a future version of Earth, there is a city grown so chaotically massive that its inhabitants no longer recall what “land†is. Within this megastructure the silent, stoic Kyrii is on a mission to find the Net Terminal Gene—a genetic mutation that once allowed humans to access the cybernetic NetSphere. Armed with a powerful Graviton Beam Emitter, Kyrii fends off waves of attacks from fellow humans, cyborgs and silicon-based lifeforms. Along the way, he encounters a highly-skilled scientist whose body has deteriorated from a lengthy imprisonment who promises to help Kyrii find the Net Terminal Gene, once she settles a score for herself…
From “Knights of Sidonia†and “Biomega†creator, Tsutomu Nihei, comes his 10-volume manga “Blame!†courtesy of Vertical.
The Vertical release are “Master Editions”, which are larger sized book versions (not the usual small manga size), about ten inches in height.
The manga series is set during a time when the contagion stopped humans from connecting with the city and afterward, the city expanded on its own and humans were seen as illegal residents and exterminated.
The series begins with a man named Kyrii who is trying to escort an android girl and he possesses a powerful weapon known, a Gravitational Beam Emitter.
The girl grants him access to go up, as Kyrii is atrying to find anyone with the net terminal gene (humans who can connect to the city and possibly stop the contagion).
But as he goes up, he shocks other humans who thought there were no human survivors. Humans who have a hard time believing that he came from 5000 Strata down.
But as he advances up, he is trying to avoid huge monstrous mechanized things known as “Builders†but specifically hostile cyborgs known as “Safeguard†who try to destroy anything human.
Will Kyrii find what he is looking for?
I am a big fan of Tsutomu Nihei’s work. A lot of his work are sci-fi, futuristic and intelligently written.
And the concept of “Blame!†is very interesting about how humans have created a network that builds its own cities through mechanical beings known as Builders but unfortunately, a contagion somehow entered the system, separating human and machine and now with no connection to the network, the Builders are continuing it’s building and have sent defense robots known as Safeguards to target humans.
Long ago, humans had a gene to control the network, but not anymore and now humans try to survive in the city with dwindling food supplies.
For the most part, the manga series features wonderful art. Tsutomu tends to use a lot of artwork with no wording, to show how vast the network is and how monstrous the Builders are.
“BLAME!” is a fascinating, dark yet entertaining manga series. It may not have lot of dialogue but I really dig the artwork and how Tsutomu uses imagery to tell his story and uses dialogue when needed.
I’ve only read the first volume, so I’m looking forward to reading more volumes of “BLAME!” in the near future.
Recommended!