Rosy's scrawled manga recommendation: Blame! by Nihei Tsutomu

Blame!
Nihei Tsutomu

Blurb

Killy is a man of few words. He wanders, seemingly endlessly, through a lonely, gargantuan labyrinth of concrete and steel, fighting off cyborgs and other futuristic nightmares, searching only for something called Net Terminal Genes. And he has a very powerful gun, which he uses without hesitation whenever anything resembling danger rears its ugly head.
Who is this quiet, violent, determined man and what are these Genes he seeks? The small communities he finds tucked into the crevices of this towering, dystopic ruin hardly give him leads on his treasure, driving him to find larger enclaves of civilization where people can reveal more about the world he lives in and the quarry he seeks.

Alternative Names

ブレム！

网络迷宫

Status

Completed

Reading Instructions

Chapters 1-19: Read from left to right
Chapters 20-66: Read from right to left

Sites for reading online (free)

Manga Fox, Manga Anime

Rosy's scrawlings on Blame!

Brilliant. Love it, love it, love it.

Okay, that says about all you need to know but I'll write some more.

Within Blame! you'll find a dystopian nightmare that seems to stretch on endlessly and without reason. The world is its own and seems completely disconnected from ours except by a few similarities and IT based or science based ideas. You will likely need to dust off your physics knowledge as you go but if you don't have much of that to start with then just enjoy the play of hard science-fiction. There's little that will get in your way if you don't understand as most of the time you'll feel a little like you're scrabbling for answers just with the plot. This is actually one of the best aspects about Blame! and, in fact, most stories I've truly loved. That the reader is kept guessing and intrigued by the unexpected is a sign that the story is new and quite unique, as far as unique goes in this world.

What life there is isn't really life as we know it. The beings of the world are constantly being built or constructed, blown to pieces and patched up again, backed up and remade or just rebooted endlessly without explanation. There are even some who heal wounds generally fatal even to their own kind and go on to fight another battle. Characters change forms and even bodies with ease although they don't always like it. Rarely are there those who stay dead without being beheaded and or exploded by a gravitational gun.

The violence is extreme and long lasting although the gore and horror impact is limited so you get the same sort of viewing pleasure with this as you do with zombie stories. The violence has a different meaning due to the different set of rules you need to comprehend it by. All in all, I'd say that there's something hypnotic about the artistically stilled violence that only sometimes flows and blooms.

As to the characters, their base motivations aren't always explained but you do become familiar with them as you read on. Reading Blame! is almost like watching a silent movie in this respect. You have to watch the action and interpret the meaning just as much as pay attention to the odd explanation that comes your way.

The art is very dark and scratched in, mirroring the jagged and stark landscape, characters and events. Light is used sparingly throughout and because of this it is as harsh as the darkness. Add to that, Killy is more often than not dwarfed by the landscape and the creatures he encounters, making the entire text a tad disturbing spatially. The art is truly beautiful but not in the way you'd expect beautiful art to be. It is entrancing and pulls you along, making up for the lack of speech and hidden plot lines until all becomes clear. Why it pulls you along is a need to find out what the next space is, what is to be discovered by the characters and what sort of cyborg, human or silicon life Killy will encounter next.

I'd recommend this manga to: anyone who likes dystopian literature, cyborgs, IT or tech, The Matrix and all things dark and violent. It is very male in style but females will love the story too, as long as they match the above description.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.

Rosy's scrawled manga recommendation: Akumetsu by Tabata Yoshiaki

Akumetsu
Tabata Yoshiaki

Blurb

Nagasawa Shiina was just your average 3rd year high schooler when her parents' company went bankrupt. In order to help pay the bills, she sells herself into prostitution. At her first job, a mysterious masked man crashes the party... and it's someone she knows.
Akumetsu is the story of Shou, who defends his own view of justice in a vigilante manner while wearing a mask and calling himself Akumetsu.

Alternative names

アクメツ

恶灭

Sites for reading online (free)

Manga Fox, Manga Reader

Status

Completed

Rosy's scrawlings on Akumetsu

Some of you may have run across Tabata Yoshiaki's other piece Wolf Guy, which turned away half or more of its fans with the explicit gang rape - hmmm can't call it a scene -scenario was introduced. This scenario continued for enough editions and in such detail that it made many readers more than a tad sick. It seems that ultra-violence in many other forms is acceptable but rape isn't (and it doesn't have to be of a woman). So, for fans of Wolf Guy up to that point - the ones who loved the plot and violence and illustrations - here is another of Tabata Yoshiaki's that was illustrated by the talented Yuuki Yugo. This time without gang rape, which has been replaced by mass murder and mass suicide on scales that will have you gaping.

The premise of Akumetsu is rather simple but one that most people can understand to a certain extent. Some too much so, as can be witnessed in the murders of politicians and the political ranting justifying the act that follows, but mostly in theory only, if that. Ideally though, the political message at the core should be taken to heart but all the actions of Akumetsu as a result of it should probably be ignored except in the worst case scenario - Hitler rises again so throw him off a building.

Otherwise Akumetsu is a mix of tech based science fiction - with a tad of Asimov's political interest included - and an extremely gory and outlandish modern day vigilante story. The science fiction aspects take a long to build up while you are almost immediately hit with the violence, which seems to be a trademark of Tabata Yoshiaki's. In other words, the science fiction is mainly there to justify one person being able to rampage through the political world, killing nearly everyone in sight. By half way through the series I was beginning to wonder if there was anyone left to run the country. The number of deaths becomes mind-boggling very quickly and you can tell that Tabata Yoshiaki has been sitting there wondering just how he's going to kill the next batch off. He gets rather imaginative and it is for this that you'll likely sit through the political speeches and ramblings, disregard half the scrawled justifications and read on.

That said, there is something in this manga that made me worry for those in power right now. The edge of anger is rather sharp. This is another reason to recommend it though as it provides a glimpse of just how impatient and intolerant the general public is becoming, however suppressed, to those who perceive the public as potential victims or as a giant cash cow to milk.

The illustrations in Akumetsu are not as darkly beautiful as those of Wolf Guy but the style used in Akumetsu is perfect for the story. (For those who haven't read Wolf Guy at all and never will now that I've mentioned gang rape the illustrations have that swirling style you see in Van Gogh's Starry Night but in black and white (mostly black) and with longer swirls.) There is something playful and yet stark about the illustrations that perfectly matches the amount of mad imagination that's gone into the kills and the amount of hate and anger that seeps from the pages. Yuuki Yugo also has a particular talent for drawing the ugliness into an ordinary looking person. It is all about the facial expressions but with a hint of heavy eyebrows, sweating foreheads, beady eyes and oily skin. I have to say, the art is repulsively brilliant.

I'd recommend this manga to: anyone with a sturdy stomach, interested in political or white collar crimes and/or a bit of ultra-violence with their milk plus. This is likely to appeal more to teen boys than anyone else but otherwise there is a fair amount of enjoyment that can be had in the shock value of this manga no matter who you are. That said, keep this away from the young or young-at-heart. The grisly factor is rather high.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.

Rosy's scrawled manhwa recommendation: Banya by KIM Young Oh

Banya

KIM Young Oh

Blurb

With a worldwide war raging between humans and monsters, the young delivery men of the Gaya Desert Post Office do not pledge allegiance to any country or king. They are banded together by a pledge to deliver. Fast. Precise. Secure. Banya, the craziest and craftiest of the bunch, will stop at nothing to get a job done. Known as the Explosive Delivery Man for his risk taking, bold resolve, and impeccable record, Banya agrees to complete a wounded soldier's mission to transport a parcel of great importance--not knowing what dangers lie in store for him and his friends! As their arduous journey begins, Banya promises, "There isn't a delivery I can't make. I always deliver."

Alternative names

暴走信差般若
폭주배달부 반야
Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man
Hell's Angel Delivery Man Banya

Status

Ongoing

Sites for reading online (free)

Manga Animea, Manga Here

Manhwa
In short, a Korean version of a Manga. There are many similarities in the writing style and art but different cultural references do apply. Read left to right.

Rosy's scawlings on Banya

This manhwa is definitely in honour of all delivery people. It focuses on the fantastical trials and tribulations of two boys (the older being Banya, the younger being Kong) and a girl named Mei who man a desert post office. Unlike regular post offices though, what is delivered isn't always a message. Sometimes it is people, dead or alive.

Reading this, I couldn't stop grinning or laughing at the situations the delivery man Banya and his cohorts got into and out of. And the fact that despite Banya being the best of the delivery men and most capable in a fight he was still easily beaten up and ordered about by 'crybaby' Mei. All because he's willing to be.

The story is divided into short story arcs that follow each delivery, focusing on each of the 3 characters whenever it is important to do so. With each delivery completed we move on to the next, although exactly when each new delivery is assigned is never really stated. It could be the next day or the next month. Either way, rarely are the deliveries ever connected except by reference to the three deliverer's relationships and character development but a greater plot does emerge after a few harrowing deliveries.

The pace of the deliveries and the constant introduction of new characters and new missions keeps the manhwa fast paced and interesting. Along with the giant killer worms, orgre-like people, dragon-esque creatures with incredible senses of smell and creatures that look like orcs, of course. Brutality is an indelible part of the world, whether as a result of man, creatures or the land and it too keeps you hooked and reading on to find out just what will happen.

The illustrations are mainly in black and while, with most of each panel shaded in, but there are a few coloured sections throughout. The illustrations are bold and although smooth they give the appearance of a jagged and harsh world in which most people and beings are fairly tattered. I found the illustrations rather appealing for their dark display of Banya's world and for the fact that most allowed you to focus in on the important details like expressions and eyes and the current state of a character. Glitzy smooth stylings are out in favour of depth, darkness and detail.

All in all this story is fun and fast read where from one minute to the next you aren't sure if the delivery man in question, usually Banya, is going to succeed or fail. It is very hard to put down once you get started, marking this as an addictive read.

I'd suggest this manhwa to: Anyone who is or was a delivery person: postal, pizza or otherwise. I would also suggest this manhwa to lovers of action and fantasy, although I'm aware it would likely appeal more to teenage boys. If you can't enjoy laughing at teenage male orientated action (you sit straight-faced and unmoved through any Jackie Chan movie) then this isn't for you. That said, there are many who love this type of story who aren't teenage boys so give it a whirl. Odds are you'll find this manhwa quite amusing.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.