BLAME! Master Edition 5

BLAME! #5

by Tsutomu Nihei (Writer)

En un futuro dominado por la tecnología, los humanos representan una raza en peligro de extinción. La devastación asola los inmensos parajes cubiertos de metal. Nunca se sabe con certeza qué hay en niveles superiores y sólo se oyen rumores al respecto.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2015

About the author

See also 弐瓶 勉.

Tsutomu Nihei (弐瓶 勉 Nihei Tsutomu, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist. His cyberpunk-influenced artwork has gained a strong cult following. He has a relatively large community of fans in Germany where his manga Blame!, NOiSE and Biomega were published by Ehapa. Blame! was also published in France and Spain by Glénat, in the US by Tokyopop and in Italy by Panini Comics.

At first he studied architecture and later it is shown up in his manga works with drawing huge structures. This became one of his general theme that makes his manga unique. His works are usually in black and white. He is also an avid fan of the video game series Halo, as he mentions in his commentary section in the Halo Graphic Novel.

Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_...

Reviews

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this point, there is very little storytelling.

The book feels more like a collection of world illustrations interspersed with action scenes.

However, the artwork is amazing and easily the series' strongest feature.

I just wish there were more storytelling elements.

Still, this is some of the best art I have ever seen in a manga.

A must-read for any manga enthusiast.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand less and less what's going on and, at this point, Wikipedia isn't much help. I still contend that the action scenes are difficult to follow, the plot is vague to the point that I think it was made up as it went along, and the characters are little more than uninspired husks.

At this point I'm finishing just to say that I've read it all, but I just don't get why this series is so beloved. Five books in and I don't even understand what the stakes are. If the story means to tempt the reader into unraveling its secrets, then there should be some faint allure, and so far I've experienced none. And if I need to Google what the hell is going on every tenth page then your story is a poorly communicated, overly pretentious rag. What a frustrating journey this has been so far.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is my chapter-by-chapter-not-a-review...

::LOG.43:: Provisional Safeguards ::003::
We‘re having a flashback!



Dhomochevsky seems to be here to stay.

::LOG.44:: Inside the Megastructure ::037::
Finally a fight scene that I followed easily, that had a great dynamic and was very well drawn.



::LOG.45:: Compound Dynamic Particles ::061::
Connecting the dots...

::LOG.46:: Temporary Access Authentication ::091::
Sorting out stuff, going places...

::LOG.47:: Infiltration ::121::
Let‘s call this the Pac-Man-Chapter...



Plenty of monsters in this one. Good action.

::LOG.48:: Impulse ::151::
::LOG.49:: Log 9 ::185::
Skocking things happening...

::LOG.50:: Distant ::215::
Colour!



Good artwork, some very nice panels.... plot? Hm. Speculative. Optional. Erratic.

::LOG.51:: Parallel Battery Storage Cluster ::245::
::LOG.52:: The One Who Calls ::275::
And we are walking again. Lots of stairs. And a very nice cityscape. Not enough of those in this volume!



::LOG.53:: Omissions ::293::
::LOG.54:: Captors ::325::
That was a pretty unsatisfactory ending.

In total very little storytelling. An almost plotless affair with very little text. World building in this volume—also not so much. This volume lives through its artwork. Mostly good, sometimes great. One more volume to come. Really wondering how this will all tie up.

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Nihei's work SO MUCH - this is so gritty and dark.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book via Kindle Unlimited.

I've said it before when reviewing this series, and I'll probably say it again in the next one. This is a very hard story to summarise. It has a lot of fighting, violence, science, and it has layer after layer to remember. Davine Lu is attempting to access the Netsphere, where it is discovered that the Administration is weaker than it wants people to believe as in the unofficial stratum where our main characters now are, they can access the Netsphere without the Net Terminal Gene. I'm beginning to wonder whether they will actually ever find the NTG or just destroy the entire system and megastructure before they get there. They also have lost the genetic information they got in the last volume to Pcell and have to fight to get it back. Davine Lu is unsatisfied with the Administration slowing him down from accessing the Netsphere and uses Cibo to create a Level 9 safeguard, leading to mass destruction and chaos as they have to find a way to stop it. This story is really ramping up to what will either be a triumphant finish for Cibo and Kyrii or it will end with both of them dying, I really struggle to see any other alternatives to it. I love the dark atmospheric art in this story, and I'm sad I'm almost to the end.

[MarinaLawliett · Rating 4 out of 5]

omg el final........... w o w

[Sean DeLauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I find fascinating and infuriating about some graphic novels, and this one in particular, is the utter absence of explanatory text. You're left to view scenes without any explanation whatsoever, occasionally supplemented by dialogue. So it's sometimes difficult to determine the motivation of characters' behavior. On one hand this is refreshing. On the other hand it is impossible. Particularly in combat scenes, where the explosions can cross entire pages, but the action is sometimes by necessity faster than the eye can see. Sometimes one can figure out what happened by examining the aftermath, the positioning of the characters, and the post-action glare of a character who, we assume, just performed the activity. This can be expanded to other aspects of the graphic novel in which actions occur but it's difficult to determine what's going on, particularly when we don't know why a character is connecting to a service, what they're looking at, why they're doing what they're doing, why they're going to one place or another, or where they're going at all. Frequently, the only text is a sound of equipment operating, so all we have is a "gashoonk" or "klik" or "bang" or, obviously, "blam" (this is the literal title of the manga, which is in a way disappointing, because "Blame" implies so much more than the onomatopoeia of a gun firing).

Honestly, this series needs a companion work.

And, again, no closer to locating the Net Terminal gene, though we have a clue that the net can be accessed on a provisional basis.

Blame prequel story NOiSE review
Blame! Master Edition 1 review
Blame! Master Edition 2 review
Blame! Master Edition 3 review
Blame! Master Edition 4 review
Blame! Master Edition 6 review

For a summary opinion, jump right to the review of Master Edition 6.

[Tarot · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars ~

0.5/1 for plot
0.5/1 for characters and character development
0.5/1 for art
1/1 for pace
1/1 for world-building

Back in Blame! Master Edition volume 2, I wasn't sure "if the Builders are from the Administration or from the Safeguards." Master Edition volume 5 opens with a very short Dhomochevsky origin story in which Iko says the Stratum activated them as provisional Safeguards against silicon life.

The City and the Builders are linked with the Netsphere and thus the Safeguards because they control it. So if the Administration and humans gain control of the Netsphere, I think they'd control the City and the Builders.

Davine Lu is the lead silicon life form in Dhomochevsky's Stratum, protected by the formidable Pcell and other silicons. He attempts to access the Netsphere using the ancient human genome. Whether or not it contains the net terminal gene is unspecified, but apparently gaining access to the Netsphere via the Warehouse in this Stratum is easier than anywhere else, which is why I'm assuming the silicon life forms invaded that Stratum in the first place, thus activating Dhomochevsky and Iko.

There's no explanation why Davine Lu's collection of human samples (without net terminal genes!) helps him gain access to the Netsphere, how and why a being from the Administration stalls him from doing so (does he have to pass through the Backup Worlds to get to the Netsphere?), or why Cibo transforms into an extremely powerful Safeguard when she tries to virtually (not physically) take the human genome from Davine Lu.

Dhomochevsky and Kyrii show their badassness in the fight against Davine Lu and Safeguard Cibo, but it doesn't make sense that Dhomochevsky dies and Kyrii is apparently impossible to kill. I also have no clue why an agent from the Administration tries to save Safeguard Cibo from an attacker since the two groups are enemies.

The art was also a bit harder to follow here, just crazy explosions and melting and random body parts.

I can only hope the final Master Edition volume reveals all!

[Mangrii · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25 / 5

El peor volumen hasta el momento.

Este tomo en concreto es tan solo un leve avance, confuso y bastante vago, que se me antoja un bocado frustrante cuando solo queda un tomo para terminar la serie. Hay una tremebunda falta de explicaciones y conexión entre algunos paneles y la historia, que resulta aún más problemática que en los ocasiones anteriores.

Sin ningún género de duda, el nivel visual sigue siendo de alto. Diseño, arquitectura y personajes se mueven por unos escenarios y escenas frenéticas de acción. Sin embargo, en este quinto tomo, se me ha hecho más difícil de seguir la acción. Algunas decenas de paginas repletas de explosiones donde no podía situar nada ni a nadie. Solo las consecuencias. Algunos paneles parecía faltar cierto tipo de conexión.

Tengo curiosidad por ver como va a rematar todo esto Nihei. De verdad, no sé a dónde narices me quiere llevar. El viaje ha sido alucinante, repleto de estructuras y bichejos de diversos aspectos. Pero necesito un clavo al que aferrarme para ver por que es una de las series de más aclamadas en cuanto a manga de ciencia ficción.

[Dani Wladdimiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este volumen lo sentí muy pretencioso, lo mismo que me pasa con Fujimoto con obras como Chainsaw Man, las cuales tratan de expresar en un panel todo el transfondo, dejándonos a nosotrxs con la misión de entender el mensaje y las imágenes. Y personalmente, en el primer volumen me funciono, traté de hacerlo y lo encontré interesante, pero aquí lo sentí confuso y sin un hilo conductor para ir tirando de ahí (más que ese objetivo macro que era subir y subir en estas plataformas), todo terminó siendo imágenes extraordinarias y muchas peleas.

No espero nada del final, pero probablemente veré una forma de lograr la conexión y dar un nuevo comienzo a la humanidad, o quizá me sorprenda con otra cosa, o quizá el mangaka dejará a la interpretación del final. Creo que me inclinaré más por la última opción, porque por el camino que iba aquí, termina siendo más interpretativo y contemplativo. Espero equivocarme, porque en un inicio me gustó la idea, pero después terminó agotándose la fórmula.

[Ami 乁⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠o⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠ㄏ (written by Jane Austen) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5 stars rounded up to 4)

Reading this is honestly like watching Ergo Proxy. I have like half an idea of what's happening, most of the time I'm taken in by the art, but I'm excited to find out more all the way through.

[Rickard Dahlgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow 🤩

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome visuals as usual but damn the reader is really left to figure things out for themselves.

[Analía · Rating 3 out of 5]

soy lit el meme del gato que dice: huh?

[Garrett M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've lost the plot at this point. I think
I understand where we're at by the end of this book but there was about 30 pages where I was very unclear what was happening

[Paul Spence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blame!, volume 4 of the masters edition, picks up the story at the end of volume 3. Blame! is an early science fiction work from Nihei, who is responsible for the enormously popular series, Knights of Sidonia.

I find that Blame! is a case where the primary draw is the design and artwork. The story is slight and there is only a little forward progress in this volume. Nihei has a background in architecture and it shows in his incredible designs for the huge sprawling city where this story unfolds. There are plenty of visual wonders in this volume, as there were in previous installments. My problem is that the characters are little better than thumbnail sketches and the story develops very slowly over the first 4 volumes.

I have to give this three stars for the design and artwork because NIhei works on such a high level when compared to other manga creators, but I wish there was more story development in this volume.

[Andrei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview: Davine Lu is attempting to access the Netsphere within an unofficial stratum of the megastructure, where temporary access can be granted even without a Net Terminal Gene. As a final act, Davine Lu steals high-level data and uses Cibo's body to create an unstoppable Level 9 Safeguard. After reuniting with Kyrii, Cibo and the provisional Safeguards try to retrieve the capsule before it's too late.

Pros: Sequence of fantastic explosions and big monster mobs spawning everywhere, in almost pages. Craziness.

Cons: One star less because comiXology has only made the first five volumes of the series accessible on its platform. So, for now, I finish here.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the series...

The art is amazing. Sometimes I find the story too opaque but I continue to follow it. Then an aha moment. It really stretches my mind on what an action comic can do. The missing pieces between frames stretches into sequences of imagination and trying to connect the panels. Each panel can be taken alone and show loneliness or potential.

[El panaadero · Rating 5 out of 5]

De momento domochevsky y Shibo entraron a una compuerta con un ascensor escapando de 2 entes de silicona uno siendo Pcell la de la portada. 


De momento Pcell parece muy poderosa crea entes de silicona de alto nivel con sus manos y su diseño es de lo mejor en el tomo,   La pelea contra Pcell del capitulo moleculas dinamicas esta siendo lo mejor del tomo, por que ves, que es un 1vs1 contra killy que la iguala digamos, y ves los "poderes de Pcell" te muestran la fuerza que tiene con la espada que tiene, su altisima velocidad y que puede generar entes de silicona con las manos, y es bastante chad el diseño por que es un diseño que se hace ver y siempre la ponen en buenos planos y no habla mucho pero con su cara expresa confianza incluso estando en desventaja se le ve confiada, tambien puede regenerarse, El primer encuentro "pierde" Pcell, la obligan a abandonar la pelea, pero seguramente vuelva.


Los protagonistas van con los guardias de seguridad al centro de la mega estructura a recuperar la capsula de los genes, llegan y pelean contra Pcell y tambien se encuentra davinel que esta en su forma humana conectado a las maquinas de red y por conectarse a ella, la llegada de Davinel a la red, se representa con el (su forma humana) cruzando por un rio al otro extremo, Dhomochevsky "detiene"? A Davinel de cruzar el rio y de ingresar a la esfera de la red, Pero davinel en su forma real roba los datos de "un guardia de seguridad de alto nivel" (Dhomochevsky), y ambos mueren.


Parece que Iko revive a Dhomochevsky y que Shibo esta creando copias ilegales de guardias de seguridad de nivel 9, asi que Dhomochevsky (junto a Iko) con la arma.de rayos gravitacionales destruyen las creaciones y finalmente Dhomochevsky muere: (Adios a un personaje malo al princio y bueno conforme se desarollaba y tenia cara de chad y siempre se quedaba solo contra todos, ademas de que fue el que mato a Davinel). Y Shibo hizo 2 copias de si misma, y de lo que destruyo Dhomochevsky consiguio salir una Shibo en forma de ente de silicona, con el diseño parecido a Pcell. El diseño de esta Shibo es muy nazi por que tiene como alas, palos clavados al lado del cuello un diseño finito que parece debil y con la cara que esta super puesta de todo el cuerpo. Parece que el disparo que le dio Pcell (antes de morir) a Shibo la hirio gravemente y termino siendo aplastada por la compuerta de la mega estructura.


No entendi muy bien pero, creo que Shibo se regenero y le tiro un rayo explosivo a Killy, igual Shibo malherida escapa. Y aparece una nueva personaje, me hace acordar a la guardia de seguridad del prologo Noise, el personaje nuevo se ve que tiene un arna de rayos gravitacionales, que puede que sea la de Killy, Se ve que en efecto Killy dejo malherida a Shibo y Shibo mato a Killy, pero con Killy comienza un proceso de restauracion la cual se muestra a 3 personajes parecidos a Killy parados ("esperando"), puede que Killy al ser una guardia de seguridad antiguo tenga la capacidad de ser restaurado una cantidad limitada de veces, por eso la aparicion de estos 3, la pregunta es si con los guardias de seguridad modernos es asi, que no lo creo por que Dhomochevsky hubier muerto mas veces si no, y aparte le curaban las heridas asi que, puede que Killy este conectado a algun lado de la Red con autorizacion del gobierno para su restauracion. Al parecer el arma del nuevo personaje es como la de Killy pero no es la misma, ya que el, se restaura y busca su arma y la encuentra ahi nomas. 


Aparece Shibo, otra vez atravez de los genes de un arquitecto, y aparece el "nuevo personaje" que parece ser un agente del gobierno segun yo, tiene toda la pinta. La agente del gobierno salva a Shibo.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyrii was firing away with his graviton emitter, and his shotgun type of similar firepower of the emitter’s caliber, devastating nearly entire stratum. Meanwhile, Cibo and other companions, provisional safeguards, try to evade another powerful silicon life. Yet, Cibo lost the capsule with the human data to the silicon life she trying to evade, Pcell. It was transferred to the silicon entity desperate to access administration by means of the netsphere. Yet Cibo managed to nab the capsule, thereby cancelling out the entity trying to access the netsphere. And the provisional safeguard elsewhere destroyed that very same entity. Kyrii managed reunite with Cibo only to get separated again in their entanglement with the silicon Pcell. She got destroyed, along with the safeguard trying to kill her. No further comment other than good writing and damned good artwork. Recommended.

[Álvaro Noldor · Rating 5 out of 5]

La historia avanza, los niveles se superponen, y son tanto niveles físicos, estructurales, mientras se asciende por la superestructura, como niveles cognitivos y dramáticos.
Personajes aparecen, son sacrificados, vienen, van, pero el hilo conductor permanece, la ascensión, la sublimación de Killy y Cibo.
Como siempre, el nivel gráfico es altísimo, con escenas de una vastedad que no tiene límite, perspectivas que dejan sin aliento, y a la vez escenas en primer plano que sirven como contrapunto a la acción, que en este volumen abunda. Bien es cierto que en este número esa acción a veces es confusa, no sabes muy bien qué está pasando hasta que llegan las consecuencias de la acción, pero para mí está bien así, ya que, por definición, esas escenas son confusas per se.
El nivel de la serie no decae ni por un momento.

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yup, you are seeing it right within half an hour of finishing the volume 4, I started and finished the volume 5 as well. Lots of action and awesome art as usual, and a few colour pages as well. Let's try to finish the series by tackling the volume 6 as well. So let's go on and Keep on Reading.

I have always loved comics, and I can and I have. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more. You should also read what you love, and I hope you will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot thickens as they say. Silicon Life's goal is now clear - they are trying to connect to the Netsphere and they can try to do it in this specific part of the City where specific Net Terminal Gene is not required. Here Kyrii and Cibo find refuge with provisional Safeguards, Dhomochevsky and Iko who are trying to keep this location safe from intrusion and especially Silicon Life.

Art as always, Lovecraftian to the L. I have to admit that I am not sure how this will end, considering this is penultimate master edition I dont know how this story-line can be finished. Truly wandering how this one will end.

Recommended to fans of Event Horizon like stuff (and SF of course :))

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entiendo que a la mayoría le moleste no saber qué pasa... y que probablemente necesitemos algo que nos explique bien lo que realmente sucede, pero siento que esa es la gracia...
Que todo sea frenético, sangriento y brígido (pq es como la palabra que más le viene a este manga) es como la esencia de este mundo robótico -extraño. Los mismos protas van descubriendo cosas (muy importantes de conocimiento general jajaj). No sé, es vdd q es confuso, pero igual estoy re metida con saber qué pasará en el volúmen final ¿cuál es la necesidad de entender milimétricamente siempre todo lo que vemos? yo me estoy dejando llevar no más y se siente bien :b

[Gabriel Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iko prepara la base para la evacuación y revela una forma no convencional de conexión a la Redésfera de la que quiere hacer uso Davinelulinvega. Dhomochevsky y Cibo son atacados por Pcell, mientras Killy sigue buscando a Cibo y enfrentándose a los ataques enemigos. Cuando Killy se reúne con el grupo, accede a ayudar en la recuperación de la cápsula con información genética de Sew que está en manos de Davinelulinvega. Finalmente se produce una gran confrontación entre ambos bandos, de consecuencias devastadoras para Killy y Cibo.
¿Confuso? Mucho, pero muy bueno

[Kyle S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A return to form! Blame! is at its most powerful when less is more and that the story doesn't hold anything weird and alien back, and volume 5 of the master edition series has really brought that back after a volume or two of (what I feel like) focusing too much on plot and not enough on the world. Volume 5 changes that by returning to the series weird roots where hardly anything is explained, and the dialogue is significantly turned down in this edition (which is a good thing). Also I have know idea WTF is happening with Cibo and I'm here for it. Can't wait to read the finale!

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Things are getting more confusing as the characters get transported to yet another section with all new Allie’s and villains.

This particular volume suffers from a big variety in the quality of the artwork, jumping between various character POVs and timelines, and a lot less dialogue or explanation of what is going on. Whole sections of artwork go by that are hard to understand or really see what’s happening, who is who, and overall the book is very confusing. I found myself skipping through pretty fast and not sure what happened or where this is going.

[Rubén Jerez Brenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este tomo se sintió como una vuelta a la atmosfera y tono del primero. Se reduce mucho el diálogo. La narrativa es muy visual y una mayor cantidad de páginas se dedican a paisajes panorámicos poblados de estructuras gigantescas y ominosas. Pero no por eso es lento o confuso, todo lo contrario. Se nota que para este punto Nihei ya tenía claro la dirección que quería seguir con su manga. Lo disfruté mucho. Se que el final de la historia se encuentra cerca, pero la narrativa no deja ver de qué se va a tratar.

[Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
At this point in the story, being a single volume away from completion, I’m a little bit frustrated with the overall storytelling. The mostly text free saga has so far done an amazing job of wowing me with it’s scenery and overall design, but I’m finding the storytelling that is there predictable. Additionally, I’m not finding any of the world building interesting because none of it really seems to matter or do that good of a job expanding on what I already know of the world.

[Oliver Eike · Rating 5 out of 5]

The drawing style of the series just keeps on getting better and better and the pace of the story moves at a pace that is meant to tease your curiosity. And it has.

More is shown about the administration as well as of the safeguards. Though i will admit that the story itself can get confusing and a bit odd, the drawing style and atmosphere more than makes up for it. For this is indeed like walking into the dystopian mindset of an artist.