Biomega

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BIOMEGA
Genre Cyberpunk, Action
Manga
Author Tsutomu Nihei
Publisher Kodansha
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Ultra Jump
Original run 2004
Volumes 4 (currently)

Template:Nihingo is a cyberpunk action manga by Tsutomu Nihei. Biomega is the second prequel to Blame! and is the story of how the world in Blame! became shrouded by the Megastructure.

Volume 1 was released 2004 and stopped, chapter 11 of Volume 2 was released May 2006, 2 years later in Ultra Jump.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Set in the future. It follows Zouichi Kanoe and his AI companion Fuyu Kanoe whose luminous form is integrated into the system of his motorcycle. They are agents sent by Toha Heavy Industries to retrieve humans with the ability to resist and transmute the N5S infection that is turning infectees into hideous zombie-like beings and spreading across the world.

The art in BioMega is similar to Blame!, with its complicated concrete sprawl and extremely vast, empty spaces. However, things seem to happen at a more reasonable pace. In this manga, there is emphasis on the swiftness of the attacks made by Zouichi, such as the gun being holstered just before the enemies fall to the ground. Speed is crucial in this manga, unlike in Blame!, and the plot develops quickly.

[edit] Characters

Synthetic humans/Toha Heavy Industries (東亜重工)
  • Zouichi Kanoe: Main character of the manga. He is a synthetic human created by the Toha Heavy Industries and is on a mission to find people that have adapted to the N5S virus. He meets Yion Green in the MSCF, Mass Security Containment Facility, in south district 17 of 9JO, where he has been dispatched. He fails to rescue Yion when she is taken by the Public Health Department. He then starts to track her down. His weapon is similar to the Gravitational Beam Emitter in Blame!. He rides a 4000XLA Toha Industries Motorcycle. It comes equipped with a large rifle, possibly a coilgun, and an axe for close combat. His A.I. is Fuyu Kanoe.
  • Fuyu Kanoe: The holographic A.I. personality of the large black motorcycle ridden by Zouichi (4000XLA Toha Industries Motorcycle). She assists Zouichi with situational analysis as well as advising him on strategies. Like the other AI's, she has had emotions programmed into her.
  • Nishu Mizunoe: A female synthetic human that makes contact with Kozlov Loewic Grebnev in former Izhits Co. and is on a mission to find Loew Grigorievic Grebnev, one of original founders of the DRF, Data Recovery Foundation. She has similar weapons and vehicle to Zouichi. Her A.I. is Shin Mizunoe.
  • Shin Mizunoe: The male AI belonging to Nishu.
  • Gou Hinoto: Killed before the beginning of the story by Higaide, as depicted in the "Interlink" chapter. He discovered the new, less virulent Pseudo-N5SVirus and sent his AI, Taira Hinoto, into orbit with this information just before his death.
  • Taira Hinoto: The female AI that belonged to the now-deceased Toha Heavy Industries Synthetic Human Gou Hinoto. She was sent into orbit by Gou, and later fell down to Earth and was saved from DRF forces by Kozlov Loewic Grebnev at the former Izhitsa Co.
Data Recovery Foundation (DRF)
  • Nyaldee: One of the highest ranking members of the DRF and also the second oldest person in the world. Her weapon/ability takes the form of many long, white worms or tendrils. It is a close range weapon and can affect people both mentally and physically. She can read the minds of everyone she touches.
  • Sadan Rikan: A skilled and renowned warrior of the DRF HQ and most likely serving directly under Nyaldee. He wears thick and intimidating jet black armor that may or may not be integrated into his body. He has demonstrated the ability of tremendous speed. He uses a weapon similar to a Safeguard Sword as seen in Blame! and NOiSE.
  • Patrol Officer: A mysterious patrol officer working for the DRF who serves as Volume one's main antagonist. He is looking to capture Yion/Ion Green and is characterized by his ominous stitched face, DRF apron, trench coat and heavy chains. His right arm has miniature chainsaws equipped onto its fingers while his left has a homing ballistic-projectile launcher equipped to it. It is later damaged and the front part of it is removed exposing the weapon in its true form. From that point, it fires a linear-path high power solid projectile that, when analyzed, reads Uranium. In the final confrontation, when his mechanical body takes a great deal of damage, he activates a switch on his body and a liquid runs through which is actually a fluid form of the N5S virus. This recreates his original body to an extent, though it is towering, spindly, regenerative and incredibly strong. This was most likely a modified form of the virus created by Dr. Wildenstein.
Public Health Department
  • Kardal: A young woman that works for the Public Health Department/Service. For unknown reason she can cover her body with something that looks like black synthetic-metallic vines/chords. She can also create new ones and use them as bolts as well as some form of telekinetic ability. She is first seen taking Yion Green with her from the MSCF. Zouichi later meets her in her human form and spends some time with her without knowing who she is. She appears to have some moral problems with what she is doing, but never questions her superiors.
  • Higaide: An extremely powerful patrol officer working under General Narain, he is highly proficient in the use of bladed weapons explaining his spur-ended tendril-like weapons, and various sword-like weapons. He is a skilled combat overall as demonstrated when he is chosen by General Narain to execute a spy in a duel and has even succeeded in killing the Toa Heavy Industries Agent, Hinoto Kou. He has also shown impressive battle skill in dodging a fully charged Gravitational Round Emission and by destroying multiple "War-Engines" (large battle mecha with huge destructive capability). The latter was entirely in a single battle.
  • General Narain (Last Name: Megnard): Head of the Public Health Department/Service, is a huge, possible mutated, creature with lots of tentacles. He appears to have some form of telekinesis ability. He is later transferring his mind into a synthetic human body when the DRF is attacking his headquarter. He was the one ordering the destruction of Toha Heavy Industries
  • Dr. Wildenstein: A brilliant scientist working for the Public Health Department/Service's DRF Contingent, he serves under General Narain. Although he steals the Gravitation Emission Weapon Data from Dr. Mamuro Kurokawa (a scientist from Toh-a Heavy Industries) he is proficient in other fields, as he manages to modify the N5S virus for Public Health Department/Service use. He also learns how to create synthetic humans and when combining the data, he learns how to use the N5S virus for battle purposes among skilled soldiers or even how to reverse its effects.
  • Udan Rikan: Another skilled warrior and most likely sibling of Sadan Rikan, he also wears the jet black armor and most likely shares the speed ability. He is far more protective of Nyaldee serving almost as her direct body guard. He also uses a weapon resembling a Safeguard Sword.
Immortals
  • Yion/Ion Green: Is an immortal. She is 17 years old and have adapted herself to the N5S virus. She is parentless and lives with Kozlow Loewic Grebnew in her grandfathers house in the MSCF in south district 17 of J9O. She has a super-regenerative healing factor. She is taken in to custody of the Public Health Department by a patrol officer, after which she rearly appears in the manga. She carries some sort of spore in her that can turn all drones back to normal humans.
  • Reload: Another female immortal. Was found on earth about 700 years before the beginning of the story, she was already then 300 years old, it was discovered that she had a 24th chromosome, from time to time her body would secrete small amount of an unknown substance, similar to plastic. She is the woman found on Mars in the beginning of the story, afterwards she is never seen aside from flash-backs.
Miscellaneous
  • Kozlov Loewic Grebnev: Is a bear that walks like a human and talks. He lived with Yion Green and tried to protect her when the patrol officer came to get her. He befriends both Zouichi and Nishu after a short unfriendly start with both. He saves the A.I. Taira Hinoto from falling in to the hands of DRF. He teams up with Nishu Mizunoe in volume 2, but is not seen in volume 3 and onward. He loses parts of his body true the manga, as of chapter 23 he have lost one hand and an ear.
  • Drones: Humans that have been affected by the N5S virus. They have been turned into something similar to zombies.

[edit] Factions

  • Toa Heavy Industries: The main rival to the DRF. They are the creators of the synthetic humans that they send out to gather up all the immortals before the DRF gets them. On February 26, 3000 A.D. Toa Heavy Industries' headquarters self-destructs, leaving the synthetic humans on their own.
  • Data Recovery Foundation: Also known as the DRF. Founded in 2272 under the name Microvolt. The main antagonists of the manga. They are trying to find all existing immortal humans to use them to create their own immortals. They believe that all humans should be infected with the N5S virus, believing that it will cleanse the human race. They call this process "the christening". After the destruction of the Toa Heavy Industries headquarters they proclaim themselves the new world government.
  • Public Health Department/Service: An ally of the DRF, possibly even a subsidiary of the DRF. Their headquarters is a monadnock. The head of the Public Health Department/Service is General Narain. The Public Health Department/Service later turns against the DRF, but is quickly overrun by DRF forces.

[edit] Publication

The original Japanese manga is being collected into volumes (tankōbon) by Shueisha.

Tsutomu Nihei
Works
BLAME! | NOiSE | Biomega | Net Sphere Engineer | BLAME! Academy | BLAME! And So On | Dead Heads
Abara • Bitch's Life • Digimortal • Wolverine: Snikt! • Zeb-Noid
BLAME! characters and structures
Killy | Cibo | Sanakan | Graviton Beam Emitter | Net Terminal Genes
Languages