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バイオメガ [BIOMEGA] #5
Biomega, Vol. 5
Searching for the key to save a world beyond hope. Tsutomu Nihei's sci-fi horror epic!
In Tsutomu Nihei's nightmare vision of the future, the N5S virus has swept across the earth, turning most of the population into zombie-like drones. Zoichi Kanoe, an agent of Toa Heavy Industry, is humanity's last hope, and he's not even human! With the help of Fuyu, a digitized intelligence built into the computer system of his Heavy Dual Coil motorcycle, Zoichi's search for the key to salvation will take him on a journey across surreal landscapes and hurl him into battle against mind-bending evil. Prepare yourself for the ultimate trip--prepare yourself for the world of BIOMEGA .
Seeking to remake the world, Niarudi--the matriarch of the DRF and the mastermind behind the N5SV drone epidemic--has unleashed the Reverse Morphic Polymer. But unplanned contact during the transformation reduces the planet to ruin. In its place a giant cordlike world appears, complete with its own population and ecosystem. Enveloped by the change, Zoichi, Nishu and the others set out into this bizarre new world to thwart Niarudi's plans. The strange inhabitants of the "cord" bring stranger revelations still, and the struggle to control the future of humanity turns toward its final conflict!
In Tsutomu Nihei's nightmare vision of the future, the N5S virus has swept across the earth, turning most of the population into zombie-like drones. Zoichi Kanoe, an agent of Toa Heavy Industry, is humanity's last hope, and he's not even human! With the help of Fuyu, a digitized intelligence built into the computer system of his Heavy Dual Coil motorcycle, Zoichi's search for the key to salvation will take him on a journey across surreal landscapes and hurl him into battle against mind-bending evil. Prepare yourself for the ultimate trip--prepare yourself for the world of BIOMEGA .
Seeking to remake the world, Niarudi--the matriarch of the DRF and the mastermind behind the N5SV drone epidemic--has unleashed the Reverse Morphic Polymer. But unplanned contact during the transformation reduces the planet to ruin. In its place a giant cordlike world appears, complete with its own population and ecosystem. Enveloped by the change, Zoichi, Nishu and the others set out into this bizarre new world to thwart Niarudi's plans. The strange inhabitants of the "cord" bring stranger revelations still, and the struggle to control the future of humanity turns toward its final conflict!
193 pages, Paperback
First published September 19, 2008
12 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Tsutomu Nihei
214 books736 followersSee 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_...
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_...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 7, 2013
The art has definitely changed in tone as the story continues out in space and I miss the action lines that made the first book in the series so appealing. The story suffers from a lack of explanation for characters and settings, which makes for a confused difficult read. Can't recommend this series, but I will finish the last volume I have, no. 6.
September 5, 2021
What did I just read? I’ve completely given up trying to understand the story at this point lol.
2 stars because the art was still nice, even if it was incoherent.
2 stars because the art was still nice, even if it was incoherent.
January 3, 2021
Niarudi's brain had adhered to all the recreator's nerves, but she failed to take complete control and was unable to detach herself from it. The recreator slowly absorbed her ego.
The story continues with the transformation of the Earth having been skewed due to an unseen interference during the restoration. Niarudi, the Matriarch of the Data Recovery Foundation, is still seeking to create a world of her design but Zoichi Kanoe, a synthetic human, is fighting on to stop the DRF and to try and save what is left of humanity.
A very faced paced Manga offering which is really easy to read. Beautifully drawn in black and white, with occasional bonus art in colour, the story has started to get a little too bizarre, even for me. With only one volume left I have no idea how this will end.
The story continues with the transformation of the Earth having been skewed due to an unseen interference during the restoration. Niarudi, the Matriarch of the Data Recovery Foundation, is still seeking to create a world of her design but Zoichi Kanoe, a synthetic human, is fighting on to stop the DRF and to try and save what is left of humanity.
A very faced paced Manga offering which is really easy to read. Beautifully drawn in black and white, with occasional bonus art in colour, the story has started to get a little too bizarre, even for me. With only one volume left I have no idea how this will end.
June 30, 2022
I think this chapter showcases some of the best things that I love about seinen and science fiction manga and this series, as well as the worst that this story has to offer.
The best is that it takes such a hard swerve from what you previously expect and uses that to draw you in (if you can get past the confusion, that you assume will be explained away later.)
The worst is that some characters get so little screen time that when they appear again, you're not quite sure who they are. And also that terminology is added that seems to be a change from what was previously used, leaving you confused as you try to get through it. And finally, that the action scenes need some editing done for them to be as fast paced as they want to be (as opposed to be re-reading them multiple times to get whats going on.)
The best is that it takes such a hard swerve from what you previously expect and uses that to draw you in (if you can get past the confusion, that you assume will be explained away later.)
The worst is that some characters get so little screen time that when they appear again, you're not quite sure who they are. And also that terminology is added that seems to be a change from what was previously used, leaving you confused as you try to get through it. And finally, that the action scenes need some editing done for them to be as fast paced as they want to be (as opposed to be re-reading them multiple times to get whats going on.)
January 5, 2021
Exploration of this Strange New World...
Long tube-like world floating in space, complete with life and eco-systems, Zoichi and the monitor later discovered the matriarch, Nairodi, is still alive after being unable to separate herself from the Recreator as it absorbed her ego. Thus this tube-like world light years away from Earth. One of the villagers was given chase by DRF. She was impregnated with Matriarch’s child. It was mystery why the villager ran along with her brother as having visions of what was to come. So, Matriarch’s child was born fully self-aware. Zoichi took her along. What will next? Read on and find out.
Long tube-like world floating in space, complete with life and eco-systems, Zoichi and the monitor later discovered the matriarch, Nairodi, is still alive after being unable to separate herself from the Recreator as it absorbed her ego. Thus this tube-like world light years away from Earth. One of the villagers was given chase by DRF. She was impregnated with Matriarch’s child. It was mystery why the villager ran along with her brother as having visions of what was to come. So, Matriarch’s child was born fully self-aware. Zoichi took her along. What will next? Read on and find out.
January 30, 2020
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Zouichi so far, it’s that there is no problem so large that it can’t be solved by blasting the ever-living fuck out of it with a comically small, hyper-powerful gun.
Room full of hostiles armed to the teeth? Headshots all around, baby.
Giant mecha worm appear out of nowhere trying to get the child you’re protecting? Blast the shit out of that motherfucker.
Random scary dude’s arm turned to tapioca pudding and wants to kill you? Shoot the damn thing off and kick your foot right through his skull, man.
I can appreciate the fact that being an emotionless killing machine is in Zouichi’s nature (what with being a synthetic human and all), and his reaction to nearly every obstacle is the same. Pretty much what you see is what you get with him.
Until we meet Funipero, the offspring of Nyaldee, that is.
An itty bitty humanoid that falls into Zouichi’s care, she elicits a very noticeable change in Z’s character. He becomes instantly protective of Funipero, and makes it his goal to ensure her protection to the best of his abilities. As someone who showed no sign of emotion (or even caring an ounce) when an entire village of humans are slaughtered by the DRF, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see Zouichi’s change of character with the introduction of Funipero.
Overall, I’m finally starting to get the characters straight, and the artwork is just as gorgeous as ever in this volume. Nihei has a superb knack for creating lonely, expansive, and terrifying worlds (if you haven’t read Blame! yet, pick it up next), and it creates an atmosphere I feel like you don’t get in many other mangas. I am, however, still disappointed at the obvious lack of Kozlov in this volume. From the moment we meet him he’s immediately one of the most interesting characters in the story, and yet we see so little of him! Kind of a bummer in my opinion.
Anyway - Here’s to one last wild ride in the world of Biomega, and to the hopes that Kozlov makes a badass entrance in the last volume. It’s been a blast so far!
Room full of hostiles armed to the teeth? Headshots all around, baby.
Giant mecha worm appear out of nowhere trying to get the child you’re protecting? Blast the shit out of that motherfucker.
Random scary dude’s arm turned to tapioca pudding and wants to kill you? Shoot the damn thing off and kick your foot right through his skull, man.
I can appreciate the fact that being an emotionless killing machine is in Zouichi’s nature (what with being a synthetic human and all), and his reaction to nearly every obstacle is the same. Pretty much what you see is what you get with him.
Until we meet Funipero, the offspring of Nyaldee, that is.
An itty bitty humanoid that falls into Zouichi’s care, she elicits a very noticeable change in Z’s character. He becomes instantly protective of Funipero, and makes it his goal to ensure her protection to the best of his abilities. As someone who showed no sign of emotion (or even caring an ounce) when an entire village of humans are slaughtered by the DRF, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see Zouichi’s change of character with the introduction of Funipero.
Overall, I’m finally starting to get the characters straight, and the artwork is just as gorgeous as ever in this volume. Nihei has a superb knack for creating lonely, expansive, and terrifying worlds (if you haven’t read Blame! yet, pick it up next), and it creates an atmosphere I feel like you don’t get in many other mangas. I am, however, still disappointed at the obvious lack of Kozlov in this volume. From the moment we meet him he’s immediately one of the most interesting characters in the story, and yet we see so little of him! Kind of a bummer in my opinion.
Anyway - Here’s to one last wild ride in the world of Biomega, and to the hopes that Kozlov makes a badass entrance in the last volume. It’s been a blast so far!
February 11, 2019
The weirdness intensifies in the post-Earth period of this story, though it started getting better tied back to the previous material in this volume. It's still interesting, and I still want to keep reading it. I'm also deeply curious about why they'd call those things "insanity lenses".
I don't have much of a review for this volume at this time, I'm afraid.
I don't have much of a review for this volume at this time, I'm afraid.
October 12, 2021
Yaa gets captured and her uterus is removed, killing her. It was to be used by Niarudi to enslave the Recreator after bonding her nerves to its own. Now Zoichi must protect the doll-like Recreator's child named Funipero that emerges from the uterus. Everything else is just grotesque imagery of things mutating or blowing up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2017
5 is probably my favorite out of all the ones I've read so far in Biomega.
August 5, 2020
Much better than the last volume, story was much clearer and I really like how the plot is evolving.
December 2, 2022
Pregnancy/child storyline. Gross. Did not enjoy.
Storyline can’t save the art.
Storyline can’t save the art.
February 7, 2023
Wanted to like this more, but it felt like the story stalled as Nihei tried to get more of his ideas down and finalize how the story "could" end.
February 25, 2024
This is starting to feel like Prophet
April 22, 2019
*This spoiler free review is going to encapsulate the entire six volume series*
The art is incredible in Volumes One through Four. The artwork really makes you feel like you're speeding along with the characters at 120mph. There's some pretty funky and gruesome stuff in these books. For some reason Volumes Five and Six seemed to be phoned in a bit in comparison. For the most part, the story is pretty basic. This was a good thing though. Its strength was the high octane artwork. It started getting a little wonky and convoluted by the last two volumes and pretty much completely lost me.
The art is incredible in Volumes One through Four. The artwork really makes you feel like you're speeding along with the characters at 120mph. There's some pretty funky and gruesome stuff in these books. For some reason Volumes Five and Six seemed to be phoned in a bit in comparison. For the most part, the story is pretty basic. This was a good thing though. Its strength was the high octane artwork. It started getting a little wonky and convoluted by the last two volumes and pretty much completely lost me.
December 14, 2010
This manga is the usual Nihei stuff, some Killy-like badass character is on a mission and kills monsters along the way. You can expect action, violence, blood, decapitations, etc. The drawings are beautiful as usual. The whole world seems to be set in the same as Blame but before Blame and Noise. Nihei introduces interesting characters, new monsters and a new storyline. But, and there is a big but, the manga would have been better if it would have been a book or two longer. The manga is good up until the fourth volume and then you have the feeling Nihei is on hyper speed and he goes so fast introducing a new world and new characters, and reintroduces the old ones, by the sixth book we're short of breath anf it ends so quickly we wonder if there is going to be more volumes or a sequel but there won't be any. Nihei should have slowed down and make the serie a bit longer so we can enjoy it better and that we are less confused. Still, it's a great read, not as good as Blame but definitively better than Noise or Abbara.
September 19, 2011
Nightmare-ish, as usual. I can't pin-point why, but for some reason I had an easier time following events in this volume than in previous volumes. Given that this is the second to the last book in the series, it seems a bit late for the story to suddenly start making sense. But because I'm fascinated with the grotesque characters and the horror-movie atmosphere, it's hard to be objective. Especially with this volume, where a couple of new characters popped up. Little Funipero was cute in a creepy-doll kind of way, but it was the brief manifestation of mature Funipero that had me all excited for the final volume. I'm probably the only one, but I thought the (super-)brief romance between Higuide and Irungorunuruka was sweet (I'm probably the only one who actually thought it was a "romance"). The end of their story may have been sad, but it was still a welcome one-chapter break from Sci-Fi Shoot-Em-Ups and horrifying space blobs. I'm sure she won't show up, but I'd like to see Irungorunuruka again.
January 29, 2015
Not for the young or faint of heart, but certainly for adults who crave alternative literature to consume. 100% A+ excellent manga if you like deep, dark, violent, and mysterious....and of course the plot/story is way cool. If you enjoy adult manga, this is about as good as it gets.
November 19, 2010
gruesome as always......just the way I like it
March 16, 2011
Oh good Lord, this series has one more volume to go and the author decided to introduce new characters and a new storyline. And no big gun or grizzly bear either. You let me down, Tsutomu....
November 18, 2011
Yeah, yeah, scary slimy weird biological things everywhere. I get it.
February 5, 2012
they switched things up ...but this part i figured out better than the first few books (time and space yeah i can dig it) i miss my bear Koslov though
science-fiction
March 20, 2014Bizarre. I'd like this guy more if I could FOLLOW it better. His other series seems cool, too, so I'll probably try that eventually.
March 31, 2016
I understand less and less.
May 19, 2013
Story still as obscure as ever
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews