A review of Blame! from a tween perspective

Manga 101

Olivia Gelerman
Mon, 01/04/2016 - 12:15pm
    Blame​​ ​is​ ​a​ ​sci-fi​ ​and​ ​mech​ ​(​ ​mechanical​ ​)​ ​manga​ ​by​ ​Tsutomu​ ​Nihie,​ ​a​ ​famous sci-fi​ ​mangaka​ ​(​ ​a​ ​manga​ ​author​ ​and​ ​artist).​ ​​Blame​​ ​is​ ​one​ ​of​ ​his​ ​most​ ​famous works.​ ​It​ ​was​ ​originally​ ​published​ ​in​ ​Tokyo​ ​Pop, a​ ​publishing​ ​industry​ ​that​ ​went under​ ​many​ ​years​ ​ago,​ ​leaving​ ​its​ ​published​ ​manga​ ​works​ ​to​ ​go​ ​out​ ​of​ ​print, including​ ​Blame.​ ​Thankfully,​ ​many​ ​of​ ​these​ ​series​ ​were​ ​picked​ ​up​ ​by​ ​other publishing​ ​industries​ ​later​ ​on.​ ​Blame​ ​was​ ​re-released​ ​by​ ​Vertical,​ ​as​ ​high​ ​quality two-in-one​ ​omnibuses.
     
    Blame​ ​follows​ ​the​ ​story​ ​of​ ​Kyrii,​ ​a​ ​glum-looking​ ​loner,​ ​never​ ​smiling​ ​(​except sometimes​ ​madly​).​ ​He​ ​also​ ​shows​ ​superhuman​ ​strength​ ​and​ ​can​ ​be​ ​beaten​ ​half to​ ​death​ ​with​ ​no​ ​apparent​ ​injuries.​ ​There​ ​is​ ​a​ ​possibility​ ​that​ ​he​ ​is​ ​immortal,​ ​but it’s not certain.​ ​The​ ​reader​ ​is​ ​not​ ​given​ ​any​ ​history​ ​about​ ​him​ ​at​ ​all.​ ​The​ ​story follows​ ​Kyrii​ ​as​ ​he​ ​searches​ ​through​ ​a​ ​massive​ ​mech​ ​world​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​a​ ​human with​ ​net​ ​terminal​ ​gene.​ ​Based​ ​on​ ​the​ ​information​ ​we​ ​have,​ ​this​ ​is​ ​the​ ​ability​ ​to communicate​ ​with​ ​the​ ​enemy,​ ​the​ ​Administration.
    In​ ​most​ ​sci-fi​ ​and​ ​fantasy​ ​manga​ ​one​ ​would​ ​get​ ​backstory​ ​or​ ​description​ ​of​ ​the world​ ​and​ ​sometimes​ ​the​ ​characters,​ ​especially​ ​in​ ​sci-fi​ ​manga​ ​because​ ​the worlds​ ​tend​ ​to​ ​be​ ​more​ ​intricate.​ ​In​ ​​Blame​,​ ​Tsutomu​ ​Nihei​ ​uses​ ​artwork​ ​more than​ ​written​ ​description​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​the​ ​story,​ ​leaving​ ​more​ ​for​ ​the​ ​reader’s imagination.​ ​Tsutomu​ ​Nihei​ ​did​ ​a​ ​wonderful​ ​job​ ​on​ ​the​ ​artwork,​ ​which​ ​is important​ ​because​ ​it​ ​is​ ​the​ ​main​ ​part​ ​of​ ​his​ ​storytelling
    .
    Tsutomu​ ​Nihie​ ​has​ ​three​ ​other​ ​manga​ ​released​ ​in​ ​English.​ ​His​ ​first​ ​work,​ ​Blame was​ ​originally​ ​released​ ​in​ ​Tokyo​ ​Pop​ ​in​ ​2004;​ ​next​ ​was​ ​Biomega​ ​in​ ​2007,​ ​and his​ ​most​ ​recent​ ​work​ ​was​ ​Knights​ ​of​ ​Sidonia​ ​in​ ​2009. Overall,​ ​Blame​ ​was​ ​a​ ​sci-fi​ ​masterpiece,​ ​with​ ​an​ ​incredibly​ ​designed​ ​world​ ​and creatures,​ ​heart-pounding​ ​action,​ ​and​ ​all​ ​tied​ ​together​ ​with​ ​beautiful​ ​artwork. Blame​ ​is​ ​definitely​ ​a​ ​worth​while​ ​read.
     
    Olivia​ ​Gelerman,​ ​11,​ ​is​ ​the​ ​curator​ ​of​ ​several​ ​hundred​ ​works​ ​of​ ​manga,​ ​anime and​ ​graphic​ ​novels​ ​that​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found​ ​in​ ​a​ ​book​ ​collection​ ​for​ ​sale​ ​of​ ​47​ ​West. Her​ ​knowledge​ ​of​ ​these​ ​genres​ ​is​ ​extensive​ ​and​ ​she​ ​is​ ​happy​ ​to​ ​recommend certain​ ​books​ ​for​ ​tween​ ​and​ ​teen​ ​readers.​ ​Her​ ​monthly​ ​review​ ​(Manga​ ​101)​ ​will appear​ ​exclusively​ ​in​ ​Penobscot​ ​Bay​ ​Pilot.

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