There’s just something about a great post-apocalyptic story. They get our hearts racing, remind us of the human spirit and our ability to rise up against all odds. One such tale is Tsutomu Nihei’s Blame! (pronounced “Blam”) and is one of the featured franchises in our Loot Anime crate this June.
Polygon Pictures/Netflix
One of the newest Netflix Originals, this 2017 adaptation of Nihei’s original manga focuses on a small human village, perhaps even the last, hidden deep within a megastructure known as The City. Food is scarce, and heading out into The City to search for supplies is a dangerous task as the machines that once worked for humanity now hunt down the remnants of society. Blame! opens with a small contingent from the village desperate to find rations of any form. But when the group is spotted by a Watchtower and the Safeguard robots are deployed, all seems lost.
Enter the mysterious man in black wielding a unique gun that can destroy The City’s machines.
He goes by Killy and has one mission: to find a human with the Net Terminal Gene. Stories go that humans once possessed this gene and controlled the machines that now hunt them down. Perhaps if Killy finds a carrier the fate of humanity could change.
Polygon Pictures/Netflix
With the aid of the Electro-Fisher village, Killy hopes to find answers, or even just a clue to send him in the right direction. The discovery of an abandoned research lab below the village brings hope in the form of Cibo, a human consciousness kept alive inside a robot body. If they can bring themselves to trust her, Cibo offers enough food to sustain the village. She may also be able to help shut down The City’s Safeguards and halt the growth of the megastructure.
Watching Blame! has inspired me to dive back into the original manga, the master editions currently being reprinted by Vertical Inc. But if you just want to watch a fast-paced action anime, add Blame! to your queue and check it out ASAP.
