Blog / Review of BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei
Maybe on Earth
Maybe in the future
—BLAME! Volume 1
This is my favorite of all manga. Most cyberpunk stories are set in busy cities not too unlike ours, and have a definite undercurrent of hope for the future despite their darkness. BLAME! is, instead, cyberpunk gazing at the heat death of the universe. The world as we know it has been irrevocably erased from existence and from all knowledge. It's a strange, slow-paced story that makes minimal use of text and deliberately cultivates a mysterious atmosphere.
In BLAME!, the solar system has been swallowed up by an impossibly vast, constantly expanding labyrinth of industrial architecture called the Megastructure. What is left of humanity has been locked out of the Internet (or "Netsphere") because genetic mutations prevent their DNA from being recognized as human. A young man named Killy has been tasked with finding a remaining person with the "Net Terminal Genes" in order to access the Netsphere and halt the out-of-control expansion of the Megastructure. He is armed with a handgun-sized weapon that is capable of punching kilometers-long holes in structures, but can easily break the user's arm or send him flying. Killy pursues his task single-mindedly, almost never speaking and never succumbing to any form of temptation or distraction. He is not a particularly nice person, but his determination to succeed at all costs is how he manages to survive. Along the way, he is eventually joined by a beautiful cyborg named Cibo who shares the goal of finding the Net Terminal Genes. She has the ability to transfer her consciousness to new bodies when her current one is destroyed. Thanks to this power, she appears in a wide variety of physical forms throughout the story, giving her an ethereal, mysterious quality.
One of the best things about BLAME! is the minimal amount of text. There is no narration or overt exposition because the visuals speak for themselves. Characters have stoic, quiet personalities and the little dialogue that exists often provides more atmosphere than explanation— One of my favorite moments is when, after a brutal fight, Cibo takes over the defeated enemy's body, comments, "It's so strange to have a body with no organs. It will take some time to get used to it," and then goes on her way. The slow pacing and foreboding architecture are what make the sheer enormity of space and time apparent and make it more and more doubtful that Killy will succeed on his journey as the story continues.
Adding to the mysterious atmosphere is how the cyberpunk genre's theme of transhumanism is taken to its logical conclusion. With biology and technology fused to the point of being indistinguishable, and minds and bodies being transferable, concepts like "species" lose real meaning. Furthermore, everyone and everything, regardless of faction or origin, is humanoid with a strange, sad face. The story at first seems like a mankind versus cyborg war, but as time goes on, it comes to light that some of the good guys aren't that clean cut, and the antagonists have good reasons for their actions.
BLAME! is best experienced without prior knowledge, so my review concludes here. I firmly believe this strange manga should rank up there with the original Blade Runner in terms of science fiction that creates a dark world and makes you believe in it. But unlike Blade Runner, that world is distinctly alien.