Content Warning: Black Blood contains explicit sexual content, including one brief moment of dubious consent.
Synopsis
In the year 3020 C.E., cyborg soldier Ethan arrives on Peridot, a planet with a hyper-oxygenic atmosphere that supports its own plant life but is toxic to humans. Ethan and other cyborgs work security for the scientists on the planet’s terraforming base, a more relaxed and peaceful job than the combat their bodies were built for. Ethan’s advanced technology makes him perfectly suited for protecting the botanist Mihail on dangerous scientific missions outside the base. As Ethan and Mihail spend time together, their feelings for each other grow in intensity – though Ethan, dehumanized in his time at war, is surprised and confused that he can even feel such deeply human emotions. Can a tin man without a physical heart still feel it go doki-doki?
The Good
For a one-shot BL manga, Black Blood is surprisingly well-conceived as a work of science fiction. Its exploration of what it means to be human in an age of cybernetics might not be mind-blowing to anyone who’s read or watched some version of Ghost in the Shell, but it adds dimension to Ethan and gives his romance some serious thematic weight. Peridot is a fully believable alien ecosystem, and Mihail’s scientific studies lead to philosophical musings on evolution that connect with Ethan’s existential questions of humanity.
If I had to describe the general feeling of the love story in one word, I’d say “cute.” The romance is a heart-fluttering slow burn between two adorably flustered characters – the first kiss doesn’t come until almost two thirds of the way through. There are two sex scenes in the book’s final third and they’re seriously hot, but even those have some lightness and humor to them, both in the cartoon simplicity of some of Mihail’s expressions and in the awkwardness of the couple figuring things out for the first time. One interesting complication: though Ethan feels erotic sensation through his heightened sense of touch, his current body was not built with genitals. How he and Mihail negotiate around this issue gives the book a perhaps-unintentional transgender resonance (has cyberpunk ever not been the most trans genre?)
Kuku’s artwork drew me to this manga in the first place, and is impressive throughout. All the cyborgs have great distinctive designs. Ethan’s physicality and body language pull off the heavy lifting of making it easy to fall in love with a character who doesn’t have a face. Mihail’s design reminded me a bit of the twinkified redesign of Vash from Trigun Stampede – I wonder if it was intentional making the guy who studies plants look like the guy who is a Plant. The backgrounds are mostly minimalist but there are moments of impressive detail, especially when Ethan’s ship first arrives on Peridot. Ethan’s war flashbacks and the one big climactic action sequence are appropriately intense.
The Bad
While Black Blood is better than the average BL manga in terms of affirmative consent (Ethan sums up the conclusions of his preliminary “research” on human/cyborg relationships as “Respect each other’s boundaries”), there is one interaction that’s slightly more dubious. In the midst of their love-making, there’s a moment where Mihail repeatedly and insistently tells Ethan not to look at his hard-on, only for Ethan to pin Mihail down and look anyway. Given the emphasis on consent elsewhere and the way Mihail goes on to talk about what a great time he had afterwards, it feels like this moment is intended to be read more as playful teasing rather than a serious violation. However, without seeing any negotiations about such teasing, it reads as questionable.
Beyond that, my only real complaint about Black Blood is there’s not more of it. While Ethan and Mihail’s story reaches a satisfying conclusion within this one volume, the strength of the manga’s worldbuilding makes me wish I could have spent more time in this world. I’d especially be happy to spend more time with the supporting characters; the other cyborgs on the Peridot base make a positive impression, but we don’t get enough of them.
The Verdict
Cyborg lovers are eating good this Pride Month. Beautifully drawn and equally enjoyable as a thoughtful interplanetary sci-fi adventure, a charming queer romance, and as horny robo-erotica, Black Blood lives up to its promise. After enjoying Black Blood so much, I’m definitely interested in checking out Hayate Kuku’s other manga.
If you liked Black Blood, you might also like…
- Brave Bang Bravern
- Ghost in the Shell
- No. 6
You can order Black Blood via Bookshop, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.
Credits
Author and Artist: Hayate Kuku
Translation: Kat Skarbinec
Adaptation: Krista Grandy
Lettering: Ray Steeves
Cover Design: H. Qi
Proofreader: Ti Head
Production Designer: Ria Linn Johnson
Senior Editor: Jenn Grunigen
A special thanks to Seven Seas Entertainment for providing us with an advance review copy. Receiving early access to this manga has in no way altered the opinions expressed in this article.
Article Editor: Kelly Stewart
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