Blame!

I suppose after the gigantic Netflix logo spins around on the screen, announcing yet another copycat production, the expectations drop considerably. Fortunately but it seems (I didn't bother to check) like Netflix just signed the cheque to purchase the title, I doubt they could have much to do with this movie. Firstly, it's anime made by the Japanese in Japanese language and everything about it is Japanese, it feels way more genuine than Appleseed. The story was excellent and the visuals were absolutely stunning, I think that's why I'm giving it 7 stars. Otherwise it wasn't a masterpiece but still very solid and enjoyable. The characters were a little bit flat, for example they don't seem to be bothered much when dozens of men and children get ripped to shreds or lose limbs, they all mostly stare at the camera with their fakely large eyes. But well, it's mostly an action anime, so there isn't much time to develop any depth. So yes, there is a lot of shooting, running, action but the balance is right - there is also a lot of suspense, story, sci-fi, dreamy cityscapes, exoskeletons, cyborgs, monsters and heroes. However, it's far away from the American superhero movies with happy ending, the overall mood is gloomy, post apocalyptic and the ending is more of a "walk into the mist" rather than "drive into the sunset" which I personally like.

I haven't read the comic series and I have gone through some of your negative comments. I just watched this movie and I must say it was pretty awesome!

The environment in which it was set was mind-blowing and very creative, the plot seemed pretty good and it left me wanting to see more.

All in all I can say that, if your not a die hard fan of the comics, you'll probably enjoy this movie!

The animation style plus the "world" really hit the mark with me and the story is unique enough to immediately capture my interest, but the characters need additional development, hopefully the promised sequel will flush out and fill in what's missing.

Huh! From where to start about this one?

I am a huuuuge fan of Blame! manga. It's the best manga I ever read and I always present it as a reference point to something different, original, breathtaking and ultimately enjoyable. Though, not so much for mainstream audience.

What about the anime? There must be two points of view in reviewing it. Why? Because First one from a perspective of someone who read the manga and second one from a perspective of a first timer who hasn't got a clue about original material.

As someone who read the manga I was expecting the full story with deep development of main character(s) and much better representation of vast areas of Megastructure and everything else what can be found in it. What did I get? A spin off story of a small village in Megastructure with characters which are almost irrelevant in the original story. We didn't get to see a lot of characters, Silicon beings are missing, it's even hard to tell that Killy is main character, not the villagers. Many, many details missing not to mention that original story is spread through huge time period. I would lie if I would say that I didn't enjoy it. It's solid SciFi anime if you don't take into consideration the original work.

As for second point of view, for someone who never read the manga.... Watch it. Maybe there will be sequels/prequels. Maybe even pushes you toward reading manga. It's a great slice of Blame! universe where much more can be told in future movies (hopefully there will be more)

***sorry for a bit fragmented review, this is my first ;)

The visuals and the overall concept are great. The world is believable and explorable. I wanted this to be as wonderful a film as it looked.

Trope alert: They took the basic villagers against an overwhelming outside threat from Seven Samurai or Princess Mononoke, and the "system" seeing humans as the problem, from basically every science fiction film or book.

Cliché anime characters fill the world. The tough, spirited young teen; the wise old leader; the guy who is afraid; the wimpy young teen that everyone protects even if they die to do it.

Add the handsome, battle-scared loner who has traveled the unsurvivable depths of the city. He doesn't blink, he doesn't emote, he says about ten words in the whole film, yet let him in with his superweapon and let him walk behind you. You can trust him, he has intense blue-eyes and hero hair.

What made me go ballistic were the endless dramatic pauses. They could have tightened it by fifteen minutes. The standard time is running out, war is here, people are dying in horrific explosions. Oh, I know, let's walk slowly to do the only thing that might save everyone from a gruesome death. Cue the extended standard hero fight.

Other characters stop to stare at each other or talk. If our base/home/village is being overrun and you stop and want to talk about your loss or tell each other about how much you love them, I am going to slap you until you wake up.

Hint: If you come to a vast factory that can make hundreds of football stadium-sized batches of anything in a few seconds, how about creating some automated weapons systems, powerpacks, weapons, vehicles, or hover tanks? I understand that is too easy. If your plot is destroyed by something simple, then your plot is too weak.

Here's my suggestion. These films take years of incredibly hard work by thousands of extremely talented people. Several months into the planning, ask some of your staff if the plot or characters reminds them of another film. If so, change it or you risk this becoming another cookie-cutter trope anime film.