History Manga / Blame

The story follows Killy, a silent loner possessing an incredibly powerful gun known as a [[WaveMotionGun Graviton Beam Emitter]], as he wanders an immeasurably vast [[CyberPunk technological world]] known as "The City". The City is inhabited by scattered human and transhuman tribes, as well as hostile cyborgs known as [[ArtificialHuman Silicon Creatures]].

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Applies to the Safeguard.
** Justified in that there are apparently several different classes of Safeguard.
* CoolGuns: Again, lots of these. Examples include:
** Killy's [[WaveMotionGun GBE.]] It's deceptively tiny and absurdly powerful.
** A group of nameless RedShirts in the beggining are armed with assault rifles, one of which is well-detailed and another one fires bullets that leave ''[[{{BFG}} watermelon-sized craters.]]''
** The Electrofishers use Exterminator-killing spear guns that resemble lever-action rifles.
** Dhomochevsky's pistol fires [[SwissArmyWeapon different types of munitions.]]
** Killy at one point [[GunsAkimbo dual-wields]] a pistol and a [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotgun]] as ''tall as he is.''

** [[spoiler:Killy is trapped in one for a short period, and meets an alternate-reality (or future) Cibo, whose body is then [[TimeParadox brought to Killy's dimension]] and serves as a [[CloningBlues container]] for the present Cibo]].

* CloningBlues: In one chapter, Killy and Cibo stumble across a machine that [[spoiler:has been continually cloning the same woman for untold centuries.]] The worst part? [[spoiler:the original woman -- hooked up to the machine and completely incapacitated -- has apparently been ''[[AndIMustScream alive and conscious]]'' for all that time]].

* In the movie, Zuru.

* TimeAbyss: One caption reads off how many seconds later it's been since Killy entered and started riding an elevator...in the quadrillions. A quadrillion seconds is about 317,000 years.

* TimeAbyss: One caption reads off how many seconds later it's been...in the quadrillions. A quadrillion seconds is about 317,000 years.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: In chapter 4, Killy finds a factory were baby cyborgs are born. After eating all their food the nursebot becomes angry with him. His response? Blow things up. In the next chapter he taunts a pair of Silicon Creatures about killing their kids. Keep in mind that the Silicon Creatures as a whole are on a campaign to wipe out all of humanity, except for the one who is apparently nothing more than a dedicated amateur [[UnnecessarilyLargeInterior astronomer]]. Killy shoots him just to be safe.
** [[spoiler: He appears to have mellowed out somewhat in ''Blame![[superscript:2]]'' - he is now shown to protect Silicon Life from the Safeguard, presumably because they are no longer the destabilizing threat they used to be.]]

** The Bio-electric Corporation that rules Cibo's home district are a smaller but more conventional example. Although small fry compared to Toha, they'd be an NGOSuperpower in any other 'verse. They also seem to have done a surprisingly good job [[TheExtremistWasRight rebuilding civilization from scratch]] without the help of the Safeguard or Authority.

* NervesOfSteel: Killy, don't expect his composure to crumble under any sort of situation.

* NotSoStoic: Though his expression never changes, Killy ''rips into'' the trader and the dock workers of the Bio-Electric Company when [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he realizes that he had unwittingly helped their operation for harvesting organs from the Dry Men]] (but especially after noticing that the girl he had previous rescued was among the bodies). And though he may not mourn their passing, he does seemingly go out of his way to save his companions from harm.

''Blame!'' (ブラム ''Buremu!'') is a 10-volume {{cyberpunk}} {{Seinen}} {{Manga}}.

* GratuitousEnglish: Common fan speculation is that the series title is a mistranslation of the English onomatopoeia for gun-fire, "BLAM!". The Author has yet to comment on this.

* DeathOfAChild: AnyoneCanDie, children too.

* DeflectorShields: [[spoiler:The Silicon Life Knights carry shields that emit an energy field powerful enough to deflect low-level Graviton Beams]]. The GBE often act as such.
* DentedIron: Though Killy spends most of the series as a [[ImplacableMan unstoppable badass]], by the [[DistantFinale final volume]] he is visibly tired and injured - even forced to use a piece of bent metal as a crude prosthetic leg.

* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Probably the strangest example in recent history, but every time someone meets up with the Authority, this is pretty much how it feels. And in a dystopian cyber-punk post-apocalyptic wasteland who better to count as an EldritchAbomination than an ancient omniscient A.I-like ruler who is essentially a god?

* EldritchLocation: The super structure that serves as the series’ environment is arguably this. It either defies the amount of materials actually available to build something at this scale, or the Earth's core was used up as well. If the latter is the case, gravity, oxygen levels, molecular friction, etc. would all have to be addressed. Those challenges don't even account for reaching another planet's gravitational pull.

* LittleMissBadass: Again Cibo, when [[spoiler:she takes over Sana-Kan's sleep-mode body]].

''Blame!'' 『ブラム!』 is a 10-volume {{cyberpunk}} {{Seinen}} {{Manga}}.

* AfterTheEnd: Or if you look at the prequel works, it's technically [[ApocalypseHow after, after, after the end.]]
* AndTheAdventureContinues: In the last chapter, [[spoiler:Killy seems to have been killed by a BoomHeadshot, but the embryo with the Net Terminal Gene starts growing upon being exposed to uncontaminated water. On the very last page, after a TimeSkip, we see Killy protecting a young girl wearing a hazmat suit, who is presumably the embryo grown up.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:The number of surviving characters can be counted on the fingers of one hand. That has recently been through a leaf shredder. Not that it's really surprising.]]

* WeaponOfChoice: The GBE for Killy and Sana-Kan, the 'Electro Rod' for Cibo, The multi-purpose multi-firing-mode gun for Dhomochevsky, etc.

** He has been seen grinning several times while causing total mayhem. The guy seems to get off on violence that has been cranked UpToEleven.

* SecondaryFire: Kind of. The GBE has 4 modes of firing. Though this is more of an UpToEleven thing, really.

** Killy's name seems to be a tribute to Killeen, the protagonist of Creator/GregoryBenford's ''Great Sky River'' and its sequels.

* ForgotICouldFly: Killy's ability to scan things with his eyes, among other things, got restored after he was hit with darts from a safeguard. It is indicated that he always had the ability when in an earlier chapter he asks some humans if they also see symbols in their vision but his memory damaged prevented him from taking advantage of it as he didn't understand what he was seeing.

* EarthThatWas: As the ending of ''[[{{Prequel}} NOiSE]]'' shows, the Earth is completely engulfed by The City's automated construction system. By the time ''Blame!'' takes place, nobody even remembers that there ''was'' an Earth. One chapter towards the end implies that the machinery has swallowed most, if not all, of the Solar System.

* ForgotICouldFly: Killy's ability to scan things with his eyes, among other things, got restored after he was hit with darts from a safeguard.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: In "Fort of Silicon Creatures", "Mori" transfers her mind into a new body that looks almost exactly like Cibo's, except for a BeautyMark on her cheek. This may be justified if you assume that this type of female body is very commonly manufactured.

* DarkIsEvil[=/=]LightIsGood: The most dangerous Silicon Creatures, such as Schiff, the one with the "bubbler" cannon, and the Silicon Knights, have entirely black armor. Conversely, the characters who come closest to LawfulGood, like Mensab, Seu and representatives of the Authority, are completely white. Everyone else, who subscribe to GrayAndGreyMorality, tend to have pale skin and wear black clothes.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Since everyone is technically human they do what humans do best, fight so that their faction can prosper at the expense of others. Who do you side with? The freedom-loving but [[AnarchyIsChaos utterly insane]] Silicon Life who want to maintain the chaotic decay of the City, and are willing to exterminate humans who have the net terminal gene to prevent the Authority from regaining control? The KnightTemplar Safeguard who will kill anyone to keep the City from decaying further than it already has, even though it is evidently [[HopelessWar hopeless]]? The inept bureaucrats of Authority who want to reverse the decay of the Megastructure and employ the sometimes heroic, sometimes [[IDidWhatIHadToDo ruthless]] protagonist on a quest that has gone on for millennia without tangible results? Or the more human factions that struggle to get by in this crapsack Dyson sphere?

* {{Interquel}}: "Fort of Silicon Creatures" is a one-shot ''Blame!'' chapter packaged with the deluxe Blu-ray edition of TheMovie, drawn by Nihei in his modern ''Aposimz'' art style. It's set during the last volume of the original ''Blame!'' manga when Killy was traveling with "Mori", the personality construct recorded on a backup device that Killy wore around his neck.

* InfantImmortality: Haha, [[AnyoneCanDie no.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: Killy. He has principles, but he also has his mission, and may the gods help you if you oppose either one of those things.

* GoodIsNotNice: Killy. He has principles and his mission, and may the gods help you if you obstruct either of those things.

* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: Nihei's architecture is more improbable than bizarre most of the time. The amount of raw materials that would be needed to create most of the structures in ''Blame!'' is mind boggling.
** Seeing as how the City is at least the size of the solar system...
** Construction bots apparently beam stuff into existence. If availability of matter was of any relevance, the setting simply couldn't happen.
* BigDamnHeroes: It seems everyone gets at least one Big Damn Heroes moment in ''Blame!'' Even ''Cibo''...
* BigBad: While it initially appears that the Safeguard is the main antagonist of the series, [[spoiler:it turns out that they aren't even malevolent. The Safeguard command lost control of the city's mechanisms, and are responsible not only for Killy's appearance but provide him with whatever help they can. While there are certainly rotten people found within The City, there is no one single person responsible for any of it. In essence The City itself with it's unchecked growth and rampant Safeguard creatures, is the only thing that can be considered the real threat.]]

* BodyHorror: A common occurrence. Cibo fighting Sana-Kan for [[spoiler:control of her body]] springs to mind.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: ''Blame! Academy'' chapter 2 has fun with this when a pair of Silicon Life Forms appear, and ask Killy if he remembers them. Cibo nonchalantly identifies them from the second half of ''Blame!'' volume 1, and concludes that they must be out for revenge, but it turns out they're just mad because of all the characters shown in chapter 1, ''they'' didn't appear.

* CloningBlues: In one chapter, Killy and Cibo stumble across a machine that [[spoiler:has been continually cloning the same woman for untold centuries.]] The worst part? [[spoiler:the original woman - hooked up to the machine and completely incapacitated - is apparently ''[[AndIMustScream alive and conscious]]'' for all that time]]

** Killy's [[WaveMotionGun GBE.]]
** A group of nameless RedShirts in the beggining are armed with assault rifles, one of which is well detailed and another one fires bullets that leave ''[[{{BFG}} watermelon-sized craters.]]''

** Killy at one point, [[GunsAkimbo dual-wields]] a pistol and a [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotgun]] as ''tall as he is.''
* CoolSword: The Safeguard Sword. Think GBE, but instead of shooting you get cutting. Strangely enough, only Silicon Life like Pcell are seen using this blade. Seu and Ivy have cool swords too.

* {{Cyberpunk}}: Has its roots here. Monolithic [[MegaCorp megacorporations]], TheGovernment inept or out to get you, [[AntiHero anti-heroes]], and transhumanism that creates as many problems as it solves, are all taken to such extremes that, like Film/TheMatrix, it becomes less like traditional cyberpunk. Post-post-cyberpunk, if you will. Perhaps Neo-Cyberpunk.
* DarkIsEvil / LightIsGood: The most dangerous Silicon Creatures, such as Schiff, the one with the "bubbler" cannon, and the Silicon Knights, have entirely black armor. Conversely, the characters who come closest to LawfulGood, like Mensab, Seu and representatives of the Authority, are completely white. Everyone else, who subscribe to GrayAndGreyMorality, tend to have pale skin and wear black clothes.

* DullSurprise: At first justified due to Killy's stoic nature, but with the benefit hindsight it's mostly due to Nihei's character designs not being particularly emotive. Cibo does show some surprise early on, though.

* EldritchLocation: The super structure that serves as the series’ environment is arguably this. It either defies the amount of materials actually available to build something at this scale, or the Earth’s core was used up as well. If the latter is the case, gravity, oxygen levels, molecular friction, etc. would all have to be addressed. Those challenges don’t even account for reaching another planet’s gravitational pull.
** Some of the artwork implies the structure reached Jupiter. If that’s true, the distance between Earth and the Sun is less than half the distance between Earth and Jupiter. Assuming it still rotates like the Earth, the Sun’s destructive energy would have to be neutralized or the structure would tear itself apart.

* GoodIsNotNice: Killy

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Since everyone is technically human they do what humans do best, fight so that their faction can prosper at the expense of others. Who do you side with? The freedom loving but [[AnarchyIsChaos utterly insane]] Silicon Life who want to maintain the chaotic decay of the City, and are willing to exterminate humans who have the net terminal gene to prevent the Authority from regaining control? The KnightTemplar Safeguard who will kill anyone to keep the City from decaying further than it already has, even though it is evidently [[HopelessWar hopeless]]? The inept bureaucrats of Authority who want to reverse the decay of the Megastructure and employ the sometimes heroic, sometimes [[IDidWhatIHadToDo ruthless]] protagonist on a quest that has gone on for millennia without tangible results? Or the more human factions that struggle to get by in this crapsack Dyson sphere?

* LawOfInverseRecoil: Averted spectacularly. At it's lowest setting, firing the Graviton Beam Emitter causes Killy's arm to violently snap backwards; at max output, it sends him flying; when he ''overcharges'' the gun, it rips his arm off.

* TheStoic: Killy defines stoic. Killy is also the latest and possibly leading contender for the title of [[VisibleSilence master of the ellipses]].

* CrapsackWorld: The City grew in a chaotic and insecure manner, leading to loss of control. The Safeguards now attempting to destroy anyone without the Net Terminal Gene due to their goals being corrupted is the icing on top of the cake.

* {{Interquel}}: "Fort of Silicon Creatures" is a one-shot ''Blame!'' chapter drawn by Nihei in his modern ''Aposimz'' art style. It's set during the last volume of the original ''Blame!'' manga when Killy was traveling with "Mori", the personality construct recorded on a backup device that Killy wore around his neck.

[[caption-width-right:240:One part human. One part machine. [[DullSurprise No parts expressive]].]]

** Pcell VIII in "Blame![[superscript:2]]" is the [[LastOfHerKind sole suvivor of her village]] after Silicon Creatures become victims of persecution from humans.

** [[spoiler: He appears to have mellowed out somewhat in Blame! 2 - he is now shown to protect Silicon Life from the Safeguard, presumably because they are no longer the destabilizing threat they used to be.]]

* LegacyCharacter: Another "version" of Pcell is the main character in Blame! 2. It's not entirely clear if she is a [[BrainUploading reincarnation of the same Pcell]], or a descendant.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: Having found herself on the outside of the City itself at the end of Blame! 2, Pcell decides to leave and find a new home where she can peacefully restart the Silicon Creature civilization using the recorded archive of her home she's carried with her.]]