Set on a frozen planet littered with alien artifacts, Ningyou no Kuni weaves a tale of a young man and small but fateful encounter.
Oneshot (Complete)





Blame is one of the greatest manga ever made. Reading an author interview afterward where he talks about being constantly hounded by his editors to put his female characters in skimpy outfits, add more fanservice and conversations, and make his work more "normal" was damn near heartbreaking.
When Blame didn't sell well, he lost his bargaining power and his modern works are the result. His unique sensibilities quashed while he's forced to replicate genre conventions he has no passion for to appeal to a broader audience.
Here we have the most direct example. It's essentially the same story as Blame, but minus everything that made it special. Obligatory fanservice scenes the author clearly does not give a damn about but was forced to add in anyway ruin the tone and legitimacy. A far greater amount of dialogue with side characters mandated by the editors ruins any chance of replicating Blame's quiet, lonely atmosphere.
It's far from horrible, but this is what you get when you take one of the most unique experiences ever put to paper and force it through the world of committee-driven, focus tested bs, and it hurts. I can only hope that one day he has the artistic freedom to create without limits. And if not, well he's already given us one masterpiece and that's more than most can say.
Average.
P.d.
I hate that he keeps using the same terminology in seemingly unrelated series. I hate it even more that he never says if they are actually related or not.