Film Review: "Blame!" ("ブラム!") (2017).

From the director and animation studio behind Knights of Sidonia, and Netflix comes Blame! (ブラム!). This Japanese CGI anime science fiction action film directed by Hiroyuki Seshita, written by Tsutomu Nihei and Sadayuki Murai, based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Nihei, and produced by Polygon Pictures. Inside a vast, self-replicating city bent on eliminating all life, mysterious loner Killy emerges to guide a remnant of humanity desperate to survive.

Nihei's ten-volume manga, Blame! (ブラム!), was published by Kodansha from 1996 to 2003, and has since gone on to spawn a spin-off, a sixteen-page one shot, a sequel, and a six-part anime series produced in 2003. In 2007, plans for a full-length CG animated movie were revealed. However, in 2011, Micott and Basara, the original studio hired to produce the film, filed for bankruptcy. In November 2015, an anime theatrical film adaptation was announced with Seshita as director, Nihei and Murai penning the script, Nihei as a creative consultant, animation by Polygon Pictures, and character designs by Yuki Moriyama. Polygon would distribute the film domestically, whilst Netflix would distribute it globally.

The film features the voice talents of Takahiro Sakurai, Kana Hanazawa, Sora Amamiya, Mamoru Miyano, Aya Suzaki, Nobunaga Shimazaki, and Yuki Kaji. Despite the best efforts of the talented voice cast, its character development and writing is rather weak, it kind of cracks on screen.

Adapting the manga and anime into a single feature film is not an easy task, but Seshita, Murai, Nihei and Polygon achieved an admirable effort. Blame! is satisfactory adaptation of the manga and anime series, though the characters and ideas take a bit of a back seat to the CG animation. Though its themes are a but of a departure from the manga and anime series, the film is a worthy adaptation packed with popcorn-friendly thrills. Though introducing some new ideas and visuals, the film is not as exciting as the anime series, suffering from problems that often inflict feature film adaptations. Nonetheless, the story is solid, even reminiscent of Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions at some points, and the ending definitely compensates. The film re-establishes the genre and even raises the bar a notch. The film leaves quite a gamut of questions open for the audience, nothing on the surface to give the reader a sense of direction or purpose. Therefore, in turn, there will be quite a strong line dividing those who love and hate Nihei’s unique and convoluted cyberpunk journey. Indeed, if you loved the manga and the anime series with its mix of comic-book angst, martial arts, post apocalyptic world, video-game punch-ups, pop philosophy, disturbing robots and awesome sci-fi tech and weapons, then you won't be disappointed. It's everything you would want in a Blame! movie. I liked this movie and can recommend it with a clear critical conscience, but it never moved me even half as much as Ghost in the Shell or Akira.

Simon says Blame! (ブラム!) receives: