Biomega

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Japanese: バイオメガ

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 6

Chapters: 43

Status: Finished

Published: Jun 14, 2004 to Jan 19, 2009

Genres: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Ultra Jump

Authors: Nihei, Tsutomu (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.46¹ (scored by 10,122 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3245²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #611

Members: 30,737

Favorites: 553

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7.46

Ranked #3245Popularity #611Members 30,737

MangaUltra JumpNihei, Tsutomu (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /6

Chapters: /43

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Synopsis

In Tsutomu Nihei’s nightmare vision of the future, the N5S virus has swept across the earth, turning most of the population into zombie-like drones. Zoichi Kanoe, an agent of Toa Heavy Industry, is humanity’s last hope, and he’s not even human! With the help of Fuyu, a digitized intelligence built into the computer system of his Heavy Dual Coil motorcycle, Zoichi’s search for the key to salvation will take him on a journey across surreal landscapes and hurl him into a battle against mind-bending evil.

(Source: VIZ Media)

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Background

Biomega was published in English by VIZ Media under the VIZ Signature imprint from February 2, 2010, to May 17, 2011. It was also released in Italian by Panini Comics under the Planet Manga imprint from December 6, 2007, to September 13, 2009.

More characters
Characters

Kanoe, Zouichi

Main

L Grebnev, Kozlov

Main

Green, Eon

Main

Kanoe, Fuyu

Main

Mizunoe, Nishu

Main

Higaide

Supporting

Funipero

Supporting

Niardi

Supporting

Hinoto, Taira

Supporting

Spindal, Kardal

Supporting

Reviews

Oct 15, 2024

Mara2463

Recommended

Biomega – Spoiler Free – Recommended

TLDR
Story – 6/10 – 6 x 0.275 = 1,65
Art – 10/10 – 10 x 0.2 = 2
Characters – 5/10 – 5 x 0.225 = 1,125
Enjoyment – 8/10 – 8 x 0.3 = 2,4
Total: 7,175 -> 7

... Story – 6/10
Biomega’s story starts quite linearly and is not confusing, although it will become more dense as the story progresses. This story is an authentic LSD trip, and not in a bad sense. However, there are also some leaps of faith here and there – and where gravity ceases to work for some reason at a certain point in the story. In terms of scale, it greatly accelerates at some point, and it is quite imaginative in doing so, although just too many characters appear out of nowhere, and a new plot is weaved before our very eyes. Probably the most significant criticism that Biomega can receive isn’t that the story is bad, not at all, but just that it doesn’t fit into six volumes and ought to be at least twice the size to be better developed, with better characters and a more logical fluency of the sequences. There are also some random time-skips, which don’t add to the story's believability, unfortunately. Again, if the story were bigger, all of this could have been accounted for.

Art – 10/10
Nihei never disappoints when it comes to the art. With a sublime and unique art style, Biomega is pure eye candy. The panels have a good consistency and fluency. Character design between Nihei’s works is really similar, but in an individual story, it works well, although some characters, mainly the AIs, do look alike.

Characters – 5/10
The characters are Biomega's weakest component. Although Nihei doesn’t use many dialogue balloons, preferring to let the panels talk in of themselves—a perfectly valid strategy, mind you—characters aren’t simply developed for the most part. Characters appear without development or a background in most cases and disappear just as easily. We know very little of the main character and his AI, for they aren’t simply explored. The secondary and minor characters receive almost no development whatsoever, being more of a placeholder than anything. This also applies to the main villain.

Enjoyment – 8/10
Enjoyment is a big part of Biomega. Nihei knows how to create a story that is fulfilling and very entertaining to read. Its watermark – letting the art speak through itself without many dialogues – allows for a delightful read. Moreover, the fantastic art style proves itself to be one of the main arguments for the enjoyment that his works have in general. It is just a feast for the eyes. Although, in this case, the story and the characters aren't all that well characterised, where only a more extensive story would have allowed for a more thorough development, this still is nevertheless very positive, more than deserving of a positive recommendation.

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Feb 28, 2023

Tolstoevsky

Mixed Feelings

Its charm stemmed from simplicity it lost somewhere along the way.

During Blame!'s runtime from 1997 to 2003, Nihei released the first and only chapter of a cancelled series named Dead Heads, which could be considered as the predecessor of Biomega. If you are looking for more of the same, consider reading this one, as the art and aesthetic are very reminiscent of Blame!, yet different enough you can't equate the two... Which adds to the sadness when I say I view it as a rather mediocre read. Shame, as it could have been pretty good.

The setting and premise are mad simple: zombie apocalypse, the antagonists ... see potential for advanced human civilization, the main character is a sci-fi biker with guns whose job is to find an immune girl. It has a few interesting spins on said basic formula, but that's basically it. You get a little side story as introduction, then you are hit with a little spreadsheet containing the characters and locations of importance with basic summary for each. Some may find that dumb, but I'm here to say that I love it, and here's why:

When I watch a movie, I don't always want to watch something as profound as, let's say, Godfather. Sometimes I'm in for some action, or a comedy, or romance... Something fun just for the sake of being fun. Biomega starts off like that: simple story that you get thrown into from the get-go. A mercenary riding a futuristic motorcycle in the middle of a zombie dystopia, who is friends with an actual bear, all the while I have Carpenter Brut's "Turbo Killer" stuck in my head? I don't know how I could say no to such an offer. You are given all the necessary intel, all that is left is to hop on the ride.

The beginning is great in that regard. Very easy to follow, straight into the heat of it, and mad spectacular while still achieving suspense when necessary. To me, that is where Biomega is at its peak, in those moments of clarity and action. The characters are entertaining and with clear goals, the gags are alright, the villains are generically evil and yet do their job completely fine. Everything is easy to understand, all you need to do is follow that what's in front of you...

And then Nihei had to make it overly complex.

Adding complexity to a story is a very normal thing to do, but it didn't feel right for Biomega. It wasn't gradually introduced, but bluntly implemented, choking the momentum it had. The amount of text alone drowns any pacing it could foster, let alone how confusing it gets. It felt plane by the midpoint when the great climax happens only for it to be topped off with something one could call a "reset". Even thou there are some sparks of interest here, by that point I couldn't bother caring. Everything felt like it came out of nowhere, it didn't suit the work if you ask me.

The cast is simple, diverse, and knows to be interesting, but as is the case with Blame!, they aren't the focal point of the work. The story is nothing to write home about. The entire manga had value due to its charm. When it is stripped of that, there isn't anything to substitute for the loss.

As previously noted, in terms of art you can see how it came right after Blame! ended. They are far from same; it is a lot messier than Blame!'s, but it actually gives it character. The action feels good, it packs impact, the villains can look especially cruel in ssome situation... I wouldn't say it's nearly as good as Blame!, but it's memorable. Thou, even the art loses its charm when the entire story gets fumbled. Unfortunate, really.

All in all, I am sad. I really liked it in the beginning exactly for how simple it felt. Nihei has already proven capable of enticing the reader through just action displayed, so a title focusing more on show with a more basic concept honestly hyped me up. But, alas, what happened has happened. It had good parts, and the ending is fine. It did get me more familiar with Nihei, thus I don't regret reading it. It's just a shame I couldn't like it more...

Thank you for reading up to this point. I wish you all the very best. Kind regards.

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Nov 2, 2024

keepithush

Not Recommended

Around the halfway point, any pretense of coherent storytelling is abandoned in favor of mindless shootouts and random plot developments until it just sort of ends. Things happen, sci-fi jargon is dumped on you, explosions, then a motorcycle ride through a cool vista. Once or twice a woman takes her clothes of to see if you're really still listening. Characters seemingly die, pop in and out of the story, gain motivations on a whim. And it's all so paper thin and meaningless that you never really care about any of it.

What I liked about it:
- It had pretty art
- The fights looked cool even ...

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Poll: Biomega Chapter 42 Discussion Rasco - Dec 6, 2011	20 replies	by keepithush »» Nov 3, 2024 11:53 PM
Only about biomega tymoteusz - May 17, 2009	1 replies	by Ochimusha »» Aug 25, 2023 6:29 PM
Poll: Biomega Chapter 35 Discussion Beatnik - Apr 6, 2009	11 replies	by Ochimusha »» Aug 25, 2023 6:18 PM
Poll: Biomega Chapter 28 Discussion Beatnik - Jan 15, 2009	8 replies	by FuMomo-kun »» Feb 7, 2023 9:19 PM
Poll: Biomega Chapter 11 Discussion The_Deity_Of_Sin - Apr 9, 2009	7 replies	by FuMomo-kun »» Feb 6, 2023 6:22 PM

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