“Maybe on Earth. Maybe in the Future”
Content:
As expected of most cyberpunk titles, Blame! is a dark futuristic story laced with enough action to keep you at the edge of your seat. Unlike other works in the same genre, however, Blame! avoids most of the philosophical/existential questions usually associated with cyberpunk. Also not present are the verbose in-battle rants/soliloquies that some would find unnecessary. Instead, the author demonstrates that actions do speak louder than words sometimes.
Literary Style:
One of Blame!'s unique features is its lack of narration: only a few details are tossed in and it's up to the reader how to connect the dots (the
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 Alternative TitlesJapanese: BLAME! More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 10
Chapters: 66
Status: Finished
Published: Jan 25, 1997 to Jul 25, 2003
Theme:
Psychological
Demographic:
Seinen
Serialization:
Afternoon Authors:
Nihei, Tsutomu (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #3242 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #72
Members: 152,977
Favorites: 8,580 Resources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 68 / 70
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Nov 12, 2010
"Don't think; feel. It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all the heavenly glory." Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon (1974)
Nihei Tsutomu is quite simply the Bruce Lee of the cyberpunk genre. Unlike other cyberpunk titles that often centers around the philosophies of existentialism or nihilism, Nihei carves out his own path in BLAME!. There is no thought-provoking or multi-layered story plot. There is very little dialogue and narration. What you get here is just stunning visuals which act as the principal mechanism for story progression, and Nihei accomplishes it with aplomb. To ... 
Aug 15, 2008
Story & Art - 10 & 9
The art is the story. BLAME! has extremely little dialog and no narration except for an occasional "39216 hours later" or so. Therefore the development of the story is almost solely communicated through the visuals. It is entirely up to you to perceive, ponder about and interpret the present and the past. As you get more familiar with the universe you might be able to draw conclusions about something that has happened earlier, which back then wasn't quite completely understandable and so on... A critic might call BLAME! confusing, as a bad thing, but the thing is, if it is ... 
Oct 16, 2018
I wanted to like Blame!, but Blame! wouldn't let me.
The first 2 volumes are unreadable. The paneling is so poor that it takes a lot of time to decipher what is supposed to be shown. There's no flow; no sense of position or direction, so it's hard to tell where Killy is in relation to his environment, or where the safeguards are in relation to him. The style would look nice if you were able to tell what you were looking at. This improves in volume 3, where you can mostly decipher what's on the page, but it still has the issue of being ... 
Feb 28, 2014
To put it simply, there is a reason Blame is such a renowned cult hit. It's art style is both captivating and horrifying, it's story extremely minimal, it's atmosphere thick as syrup, and with it Blame has always been seen as a modern classic of cyberpunk and experimental manga. If you are in for something strange and off the beaten path then you will surely enjoy this bizarre and complex piece of cheese.
Blame is about a lone wanderer named Killy, who in keeping up with cyberpunk standards, is not 100% human. Killy begins a quest to find net terminal genes, a genetic code that may ... 
Feb 5, 2012
Story - There is little story to speak of. The setting is the pinnacle of vagueness - "maybe on Earth, maybe in the future". So from the beginning we are given little to no information concerning the plot. That would have been fine, as long as I got more information from the characters. Unfortunately this did not happen. The manga begins with 2 random people whom I could only assume were the protagonists. Another man walks up to one of the protagonists and says "hey! I haven't seen anyone for a long time". The protagonist then shoots him with some kind of weapon that blows
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Aug 2, 2008
Wow, what an amazing manga! The artwork is beautiful and very detailed. The setting and plot of the manga are very unique and futuristic. I find that even though this is a serious manga, I tend to laugh during it. I think it's because there is such little dialogue that you have to interpret the characters faces. Killy is hilarious in that respect. Anyhow, the characters are very well designed with their own distinct personalities, even the Silicon Creatures. Overall, BLAME! is a wonderful manga with a great story, amazing characters, and gorgeous artwork and detailing!
Apr 27, 2009
Sure, most people older than eight hate narrators in stories, as if you can't realize it yourself eh? Point is that most people can't, and most stories have a narrator as a consequence. The so called 'hidden narrator', a supernatural being that possesses all the characters at random moments and lets them say or discuss things that are completely out of character and just absurd for them to discuss, but it helps clear things up for you, the reader. You don't really say to your arch enemy 'It's you, the guy that...' when you see them now do you? Just picture yourself doing that to
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Jun 9, 2009
I seriously love this manga artist and I have no idea why! So obviously I liked the art? The story in this one took a while for me to pick up on, but once I did it was hard to stop reading. There are so many twists and turns and unexpected things going on in this strange world. I kinda wish this one went on a little further. I generally like more dialog but the amazing artwork makes it worth while... It almost communicates better than words
Mar 7, 2017
I was encouraged by a friend to read this manga, as it was a little more niche, and I like science fiction that doesn't rely on time travel to make it interesting. I thought that perhaps this manga would help me find my own personal tastes in sci-fi and cyberpunk. This wish went without fulfillment, however, as I was taken by surprise that the manga has absolutely no plot.
I'll start off with the good parts that I found enjoyable. The art and character design is stylized, and works perfectly for the "story" attempting to be ... 
Oct 5, 2021
tl;dr: A terrible plot with badly developed characters set in a pretty interesting world.
Blame is a manga set in a really interesting world. It’s essentially post-apocalyptic cyberpunk, wherein there’s what seems to be a city that goes on endlessly in every direction, including up and down, that’s managed by some sort of AI in the background in what is called the netsphere. However, humanity lost control of that AI, so it’s essentially running things on its own based on the parameters that it was given. As a result, the city has functioning systems, but only barely. Within this city there are four main factions essentially. ...
Oct 31, 2017
Originality isn't necessarily a good thing, and Blame! is a complete example of that.
At its core, this manga follows a very classic "quest" storyline, similar to all the poems about the holy grail etc: we meet a hero on a quest, the hero has to fight a lot of enemies, he makes some friends along the journey, the enemies are getting stronger, some of his friends betray him, but the hero finally manages to overcome all those obstacles and completes his quest. That's the basic outline of this type of story, and Blame! follows it quite meticulously. The reason why this kind of story usually ... 
Oct 15, 2013
WARNING:
I am not a writer, in any form; so sentences may seem random and misplaced. I apologize ahead a time. ALSO - This review is fully biased, GET OVER IT. ALSO - I don't like writing either so this is most likely going to be extremely short. I FUCKING LOVE THIS SERIES! Ok, I got that out of my system, but the point isn't to rant on about how much I love it. I'm suppose to convince you to read it. Before I get to what makes me "FUCKING LOVE THIS SERIES", I'm going to ask this - "Why haven't you read this already? WTF ...
Nov 9, 2010
Wow. That was what I said when I read the first volume.
Wow. That was what I said when I finished the manga. Before reading the review, if you are new to BLAME!, read it right now. My review will not help anyone at all. Alright. I spent an hour trying to think of how to write this review. It ended up as twisted and confusing as the story in BLAME!. Just like the manga, I don't know where to start I decided there is really nothing to accurately describe the story. I believe it was the author's intention for the reader to come up with their ... 
Mar 17, 2019
The first thing that should obviously be noted is that this comic lives by its art. If the art style was anything different or not as outstanding it would fail — it tells a story through its art; a story of shifting emotions and also plot but there's very little dialogue involved.
The story also does not have a beginning or an end; it's præsented simply gaining a view-port, a small time-frame of a far larger and complex plot and world that adds to the expansive feel of the story. It's very emotional but it's about human emotions; it's more about being immersed into a vast world ... 
Jan 7, 2024
Blame! is an absolute nightmare.
Blame! feels more like a tone poem than a narrative. There isn't a terribly coherent story. No clear goal or destination. Characterization is vague at best. The whole thing feels somewhat surreal. What you do get is an exploration of a truly hellish city that's completely devoid of humanity. Every panel feels claustrophobic and threatening. Reading Blame! was a weird kind of torture and I'm honestly not sure if I enjoyed this series or not. It was off-putting and I frequently wanted to just stop reading. But it's engaging and fascinating in a way I don't ... 
Jan 29, 2024
Manga and anime are known for many things but almost all of them are known for being extremely over-the-top. Brightly coloured characters with flowing in every cardinal direction, shouting the bombastic names of their highly destructive attachs, furious punches, all juxtaposes with gratuitous reaction shots and intense inner monologues. This is part of what makes these mediums stand out and it's no less part of their charm. Japan in general very much has a "more is more" approach to everything. Their advertising, television, music, even bars and restaurants, the more there is to indulge the senses, the better. But what if...you didn't do that? What
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Oct 25, 2013
Blame is a cyberpunk series that explores the effects of transhumanism in a post-apocalyptic setting. In the world of blame! machines called builders were built by humans in eons past and they do exactly what you'd expect. The built and built unchecked forever building more and bigger builders until they're progress exceeded the bounds of earths atmosphere and enveloped the entire solar system. The resulting gargantuan labyrinth came to be known as "The City".
We're introduced to Killy, a man of few words, as he traverses the city looking for a human with net terminal genes. A very illusive set of genes that would allow humanity ... 
Oct 31, 2023
Blame! is an extraordinary and visually captivating manga series that immerses its readers in an expansive and enigmatic dystopian universe. Crafted by the skilled hand of Tsutomu Nihei, this science fiction masterpiece, initially serialized from 1997 to 2003, delivers a dark and atmospheric odyssey through a colossal, ever-evolving cityscape.
Artistry and Atmosphere: The most striking aspect of Blame! is Nihei's artwork. His intricate and meticulous illustrations bring to life a vast and labyrinthine cityscape that evokes both awe and desolation. The detailed depiction of the architecture, technology, and sprawling landscapes creates a hauntingly beautiful and profoundly atmospheric setting, firmly establishing Blame! as a quintessential work within the ... 
Apr 7, 2021
Transhumanism enveloped in horror and a bit of an irony. Desire for advancement backfires, and reduces humanity to -- survival driven -- monstrosities devoid of basic human values. Author is concerned little with insertion of philosophical undertones, or admonitions on the matter, instead we are presented with the final product of such dark ambition. This is primarily heavy-action oriented story that doesn't bother with how and why.
This journey is filled with vexation and potential disappointment, as the presentation is as idiosyncratic as it can be. Story is literally depicted for the most part, and characters have little interest to provide us with explanations. The ... |
