Wow, this is such interesting world building.

In 2023, if seems as if every franchise will have it's lore over explained. Every tiny bit of minutiae will be explored and covered via side stories told in every form of media imaginable. "Blame!" is the opposite of that. It throws you head first into the deep end of a foreign, dangerous, and alien world. And in that way it's thematically apt!

This is a world long dead, living on via inertia alone. The inhabits of this city don't know much more than the reader, and any answer is slowly revealed simply by exploring further into the city. The artwork here is beautiful, filled with detailed cityscapes and horrifying creatures. I think the action scenes can be a bit messy, but the imagery itself is enough to keep reading.

I'm not entirely sure why I've avoided this for as long as I have, but I'm excited to finally get around to reading Blame! ( )

I have been eyeing this series for a long time but something about it (uneasiness underlined by gothic lanky characters I guess) was putting me off.

Few days back I was reading some other books and came across this volume and said, OK, lets give it a try.

I can only say - what a ride.

First, this is so dystopian, post-apocalyptic and otherworldly it is unbelievable. This is time after a great collapse of humanity, nobody remembers how long and why. Automated city (akin to Asimov's Robot City), known just as City, is growing uncontrollably across the surface. Purpose, reason for grow is a mystery, sheer size and structure and purpose of buildings is unknown. In these artificial concrete and steel canyons what is left of humanity tries to find meaning and to survive - author manages to present various strains of humanity as they evolve through centuries, from elf like silent nomads to old good humans going crazy in isolation or trying to salvage what they can using technology they only know how to use but not how to maintain or produce. Then we have Administration - mysterious entity in control of City - then Safeguards, robotic extermination creatures, bizarre blend of technology and biology, aiming to destroy the humanity, and Silicon Life creatures - independent artificial organisms also bent on destroying humanity but also in conflict with City's systems. And then we have Kyrii, mysterious man who seeks humans that still have so called Net terminal gene, only way that humanity can retake the City. This puts him in the sights of City security and Silicon Life creatures.

Art is very very dark. I have to admit that in this volume art is relatively simple, especially when it comes to people and creatures, you can just feel how author was more at ease with truly beautiful panoramas of never ending artificial structures and bio-mechanical creatures roaming the area. When it comes to people, in general art looks very amateurish, very bland and as such is in sharp contrast with wild biotechnology constructs and environment.

We do not know much about Kyrii but after his botched mission at the very beginning he is sent on the long search and there are literary pages after pages of Kyrii just going through tunnels, over unimaginable canyons without saying the word - feeling of loneliness is just palpable. And when action takes place it is swirl of blades, gunfire and fast reflexes, usually the Kyrii's signature weapon - graviton beam emitter in a form of a pistol - takes the front place in this situations.
You know how in some action movies you see a huge gun fire, but then there is absence of sound and few seconds later everything in front of it goes bye bye? Author manages to do this through images, it is just beautiful - the very firing of weapon looks awe inspiring and terrifying, and when explosion comes up you are very much aware of the sheer destruction caused.

Excellent art and very intriguing story.

Highly recommended to all fans of SF and cyberpunk. ( )

Compilado dos primeiros 9 livretos de Blame!, apresenta uma construção de mundo tão aterrorizante quanto fascinante - uma cidade que cresceu sozinha durante sabe se lá quantos milênios, tornando-se natureza e degradando a existência a um clima selvagem e violento, nem sempre, mas predominantemente de práticas de coleta e predatórias, ou ainda de enclaves onde não há observância de direitos civis. É verdade que essa visão de mundo vem acompanhada de uma narrativa de videogame de terror, um pesadelo em um labirinto de cimento cheio de inimigos e explosões, fusões homem máquinas pendendo para o grotesco. E que aí há um caráter pouco desenvolvido, fragmentário, por vezes tosco. Mas acaba que, via atmosfera-mundo cyberpunk criada, faz parte. ( )

Reading this graphic novel is like watching over someone's shoulder as they play a pretty dull video game. The protagonist is a first-person shooter questing after any human containing a genetic MacGuffin in a high-tech wasteland that literally consists of hundreds of levels. He has a gun so powerful it bowls him over on his ass whenever he fires it. Everyone and everything he meets either tries to kill him or gets killed in the crossfire. I'd guess any popularity this series has may come from the gory fights and imaginative tech on display in the artwork. But the art on the faces and bodies of actual humans is actually pretty mediocre. Hard to believe this tripe is from the creator of [b:Knights of Sidonia 1|11100681|Knights of Sidonia 1 (Knights of Sidonia #1)|Tsutomu Nihei|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1339575885s/11100681.jpg|16022788], a Battlestar Galactica/Shogun Warriors mash-up that actually included interesting characters and a plot. ( )

Recently, I’ve had Blame! recommended to me a few times so when I had the opportunity to read the first volume of the Master Edition, I jumped on it. Blame! Vol. 1 by Tsutomu Nihei is a manga set in a post apocalyptic world which follows a lone man on his search for the Net Terminal Gene.

Blame! follows Kyrii, a man who lives deep within a city so large it has encompassed everything. There is nothing but metal, level after level, with no ground to speak of. Kyrii is searching for the Net Terminal Gene – a mutation that connected humans to the cybernetic NetSphere long ago. Alone, he searches the vast city for any clues to the gene.

The world this manga is set in is fascinating. The entire world is cold metal. Everything takes place within an immense, labyrinthine structure, a city that, while once great, has now fallen into ruin. Corridor after corridor, floor after floor Kyrii searches for any clues about the Net Terminal Gene. Only a sliver of sky is seen, and even then only once. A once thriving, highly technical world is now gone. Humans – true humans – are incredibly rare. Cyborgs exist, but even then, the vast majority of this vast complex remains uninhabited.

The sheer size and scope of the ruins Kyrii explores is best understood later within the volume. Depictions of long corridors and an endless expanse of floor upon floor of metal causeways truly show just how vast this world is, and, beyond that, just how empty. The city is unnervingly empty. Even enemies aren’t plentiful. Characters met in one section don’t always know about the pockets of civilization found in other sections. No one knows just how high the floors reach. Those on higher floors have no idea how many floors lie below them. Floors that lie across bridges house creatures so different from Kyrii that they might as well be, and probably are, entirely different species.

I was held completely captive by the dilapidated sci-fi world alone. I love this aesthetic, and I am always on board for mysterious pasts and fallen civilizations. While little of the world and either its current or former inhabitants is known in beginning chapters, more information does come to light as the manga continues. Later in the manga more information is given as the main character himself comes closer to his goal. Inferences can also be made by what the characters don’t know, and its these inferences that can be the most unnerving.

Now, the art can be a bit gory. Kyrii comes into contact with multiple groups of enemies throughout the story. Due partially to the type of weapon he wields – a Gravitation Beam Emitter – the destruction is a bit intense. Enemies are, at times, quite monstrous. They are unsettling at best and grotesque at worst. This is something I love, but do be aware that there are blood, guts, and some terrifying looking monsters within this manga.

Kyrii isn’t one for emotions. He is stoic, calm in the face of terrible danger and grotesque monsters. Thus far little is known about his personal history. He isn’t necessarily a character one follows because he is likable or easily relatable. He’s the sort of character one reads about simply because he’s so incredibly good at what he does. If utterly decimating hordes of bad guys is what you like the most in a main character, Kyrii fits the bill rather well.

There is very little dialogue in this manga. The main character is often on his own exploring the far reaches of his world, ever in search of his goal. He doesn’t talk to himself as he traverses one level after another nor are any of his thoughts outlined in text. There is dialogue when Kyrii comes across pockets of civilization, or another lone wanderer.

Yet, no dialogue is needed most of the time. The setting itself speaks volumes, more than any sort of info dump or self-reflection could. For example, there is a line where a character says that they don’t know what dirt is. The following cells and pages show exactly why.

Events begin to really pick up towards the end of the volume. More characters are introduced, more dialogue is present, and more world building occurs. Some of the earlier chapters, while visually interesting, do feel as if little progress is being made. This does change towards the latter half of the manga.

I really enjoyed Blame! Vol. 1 by Tsutomu Nihei, and will definitely be continuing with the series. One thing of note if you’re planning on purchasing this volume. This particular edition is the Master Edition, which an over-sized, very lovely edition. However, it is pricey, so keep in mind that it is also available in digital format on platforms such as Comixology.

This manga was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review and more originally found on Looking Glass Reads. ( )