Blame! is a perfect example of how creative and imaginative a science-fiction world can be. Instead of focusing on its societies and individuals, it looks more at the building blocks of the world itself, comprising of massive monoliths and structures that stretch out far beyond the human eye can see. The angles, scaling, and shading are all done brilliantly in order to capture the dystopian beauty of the world. The amount of detail is just insane. But while Blame! works to highlight its environment, it also contains various amounts of interesting characters that all contribute to the story. The characters do take more of a backseat, but they are still given proper amounts of characterization.
Blame!’s protagonist is the perfect vessel for a story like this. We can immerse ourselves through his silent journey through endless amounts of steel and beams. It is through his eyes that we are able to get a feel of the bleakness and darkness of the world, and his lack of dialogue allows you to take everything in without needing to really think. Just taking in the sights as if you were there yourself, standing atop those massive platings and pathways. The gothic atmosphere the manga creates is an encaptivating one, and it only highlights how great it is at immersing you in the manga’s environment. The structures and buildings are filled with detail from both afar and near, showing bits and pieces of the world’s history as the protagonist navigates through the robust landscape.
The protagonist also stumbles upon an assortment of machine lifeforms that lead to many action-packed exchanges. The action in Blame! is short and sweet but also come by frequently. The action is consistently amazing, and it ends up being right up my alley. Action within a gothic backdrop is just pure bliss for me. The lack of dialogue within these scenes also makes them more engaging as you can take in the weight of the action without really working your brain all that much. The action is completely unfiltered and comes in short bursts, but its consistency is what makes it loveable.
Blame! is the type of manga that seeks to show rather than tell. It contains a perfect dystopian, science-fiction world with an equally enticing atmosphere. The story is absolute bonkers, but it was also perfect for something like this. The presentation of the story itself was well done, keeping the engagement levels to a high despite its disorientating nature. While Blame! is nowhere near being the pinnacle of storytelling or creating complex characters, it manages to instead be one of the coolest and most fascinating depictions of a science-fiction setting. Blame! oozes style with its cyberpunk dystopia, creating an experience that speaks louder than words.
