Blame! is absolutely one of the all time greats, a masterpiece within a unique niche that remains untouched to this day. During its entire creation Nihei was hounded by his editors to include fanservice, put his female characters in skimpy outfits, change the art to be less dark, and drop the quiet tone and include more characters and talking for a more "normal" dialogue focused manga that would appeal to a broader reader base. Despite this he managed to resist them long enough to complete Blame on his own terms, but after its lackluster (in the eyes of the publishers) commercial performance, he lost his sway and had to give into their demands to continue publishing. The result is what you see in his modern manga.

Some authors have a genuine passion for fanservice. Nihei writes it like an alien with no concept of human sexuality. It would actually be quite funny if it weren't so sad he's being forced to do it at gunpoint. The dialogue can be equally forced as he's mandated to make characters more personable, rather than the focused, driven protagonists that suit his tastes much more clearly.

And yet the spark of a creative remains, buried deep inside. This series itself was quite refreshing just for the way it takes place in actual 3d space in stark contrast to the disconnected void most manga occupy. Forced as they can be, I do enjoy the characters and the action has actual sequential storytelling. Even with the hands of his editors all over it, something like this still has a thousand times the value of any cookie-cutter isekai to me.

I only hope one day Nihei can once again create without any limitations, but for now, this will tide me over.

This manga is genuinely great looking, the deep blacks are striking. I understand if people are annoyed by the fanservice and cliche character dialog, but the creatures, backgrounds, and buildings are all so cool and effective. A 94-page opening chapter too!

Nihei hasn't returned to drawing trippy, experimental, seinen, but still I think his foray into fantasy is a creative risk worth celebrating. Let's all hope that he keeps sprinkling those good doses of unsettling imagery as this thing ramps up!

... Last updated on December 7th, 2023, 8:40pm