BLAME! MASTER EDITION 6 by Tsutomu Nihei

In this final installment, Kyrii, still searching for the Net Terminal Gene, traces the steps of Cibo, reincarnated as a Level 9 Safeguard, and Sanakan, now a representative of the Administration. As Sanakan guides Cibo to a safe place where her sphere can develop in peace, Cibo is captured by the Silicon Life. Sanakan contacts Kyrii requesting his help in rescuing Cibo, because in her current form she may hold the key to saving the city. Sanakan risks everything in the battle against the Silicon Life. Kyrii arrives at a critical moment, and continues his endless journey while carrying the embodiment of hope for a different future beyond the outer limits of the city.

What a weird nothing of an ending. Expected more from this series from how highly it's talked about, but while I can clearly see its influence (especially in The Matrix) there's so little of substance here. Each volume got progressively less interesting as it became clear all the scifi bullshit had no destination and themes were off the table.

This last volume is still one of the more enjoyable ones just due to having a higher sick art to dialogue ratio, but having it all wrap around to a birth allegory is...disappointing, to say the least. If you've been sitting on BLAME!, read the first master edition and pretend that's all there is. Can't wait to watch the Netflix adaptation, I can't begin to imagine how you adapt this.

Very visually stunning final installment to the manga - with a lot of expansive vistas (and a penultimate chapter that feels like a reference to Angel's Egg - which I appreciated).

I recently heard the argument that movies aren't really “narrative delivery devices”, but rather “vibe delivery devices.” Blame! is an excellent example of an artistic work being the latter.

I could explain the broad plot of Blame! if asked to, but I'd have difficulty describing its more intricate details. This is a weird, inhuman world, and the lack of specifics only enhances that strangeness. Still, Nihei is very clearly a student of architecture, and he's able to convey a lot to the reader via a silent landscape.

The world of Blame! takes place in an endless, ever-growing city that has long grown past the needs of humans. The architecture here has its own reasons for existing, and anyone or anything that exists within this city is on its own. This series is definitely one of the more interesting fictional worlds I've visited recently. I really appreciate it's eeriness and emptiness. The Master Editions are great because they really showcase Neihi's artwork. I feel modern media has a tendency to over explain things, getting too caught up in lore over storytelling, and I think Blame! works so well precisely because of it's obtuse world building.