Big Cyborg Man and Small Plant Scientist Fall in Love
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Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Black Blood. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to military, war, death, gun violence, near-death experiences, experience gap, blood, and fire, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Ethan is no longer human. Well, not fully, anyway. All that remains of his organic form is his spine and mental landscape. Otherwise, he is a mechanical cyborg built to dominate on the battlefield. After witnessing much bloodshed on the battlefield, Ethan has decided to take a break and get a job on a remote planet working security for a research facility. There, he works alongside many other cyborgs, but he also ends up protecting a botanist named Mihail.
Ethan has long accepted that he is far from human, but Mihail, a man who works with plants, says otherwise. A man who works with something nonhuman, calling Ethan human, doesn’t change Ethan’s belief that he is anything but human. However, how Mihail makes Ethan feel makes him feel more human than he has in a long, long time.
Review:
I was so fucking pumped about this title. I saw this cover, and I could not wait to read about this large, sexy, robot–android–cyborg dude with a little human man. The art looks so clean and just elicits a feeling in me that I can’t explain. So, when this baby finally dropped, I dropped it on my e-reader and dug in. I can’t express to you how disappointed I was. This art style is as inconsistent as it gets. The cyborgs (well, most of them) look pretty good, but I suspect that is because most of them don’t have human-like faces. Mihail and, really, all the other humans look rough. It’s painful how different the art is from the cover to the story itself.
I’d also say the story is pretty disappointing, too. I’d say this is narrative-lite. There is a suggestion of a deeper, more action-packed story with all of the deeper lore we get from Ethan’s flashbacks and Mihail’s research, but we don’t really get any more information on either of them. This is surprisingly a quiet and laid-back manga, with little moments of danger and thrill to keep the main characters’ relationship moving forward. The main focus is very much on the introspective and physical chemistry between our two leads, rather than the overall world and its history, so be aware.
However, one small thing that really resonated with me is the overall theme of this story. The concept of what it means to be human is nothing new, especially when androids, cyborgs, or robots are involved, but there’s something about the quiet subtlety in this that makes the theme so much more powerful. One of the smallest elements of this is our human character’s name: Mihail. Mihail, upon a cursory Google search, means, “Who is like God?” or “Who resembles God?” in some translations – literally a question. There is a belief that all people are made in God’s image, but this name questions that, not to imply that no one resembles God, but rather to determine who does or does not resemble God. Mihail frequently refers to Ethan as a person, confirming his personhood and calling Ethan’s self-perception into question. It’s a powerful choice and one that sent my heart soaring.
I also love that Mihail is a botanist. Plants, of course, are not human, but there’s this interesting parallel between the plants Mihail is studying on this remote planet and Ethan himself. Though they look like plants, as Mihail studies them, he finds that they may not be plants at all, but then wonders if perhaps they are plants, but simply due to the environment they are in, have changed what could be perceived as plants. Much of the humanity Ethan had left, even after becoming a cyborg, was lost on the battlefield, seeing so much death and blood, even from other cyborgs like him. His humanity hasn’t disappeared because of what he has become but has simply changed because of what he has been through. It’s a simple but powerful metaphor that brings home the overall theme. I love it.
Results:
This was disappointing in so many ways, but the things that aren’t disappointing actually make this even more disappointing. The art is so rough, and while I know I’m picky, I just can’t imagine people who see this cover being satisfied with the art inside. The story, although not particularly exciting or intense, is powerful in its exploration of humanity and the metaphors it employs through Mihail’s work to evolve Ethan’s perception of his own humanity. Even the sexy time, while on the softer side of explicitness, is super interesting, exploring unique body compositions because of Ethan. However, due to the subpar art and narratively light story, it’s just not as satisfying or enjoyable as it could be. This was a miss for me.
Have you read Black Blood? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
