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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
When Blade Runner: Black Lotus was announced earlier this summer to release toward the end of the year, I was excited. Even the Japanese and English cast announcement from July was enough to get me on board.
Alcon Entertainment’s upcoming action-adventure crime science-fiction anime series is set to premiere on both Adult Swim (via Toonami) and Crunchyroll in two weeks. Warner Bros. Television Distribution gave me the great opportunity to watch the first two episodes, and I will admit it holds some promise.
In this review, I’ll be talking about the show’s two-part series premiere. I won’t reveal any major spoilers, as the title of the article suggests. If you aren’t familiar with any previous installments in the Blade Runner franchise (or Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), you’ve got to get on it.
With that said, please read ahead at your own behest!
Plot Synopses
According to Adult Swim’s pressroom, here are the short synopses for Blade Runner: Black Lotus Season 1 Episodes 1 & 2.
“City of Angels” (teleplay written by Eugene Son, dir. Kenji Kamiyama & Shinji Aramaki)
An amnesiac named Elle enters Los Angeles, carrying only a locked data device.
Jessica Henwick voices the main protagonist, Elle. Barkhad Abdi voices Doc Badger, while Will Yun Lee voices Joseph.
Wes Bentley and Jason Spisak appear as the voices of Niander Wallace Jr. and Hooper, respectively.
Charles Halford voices a leader of “friendly local gangbangers”, while Elias Toufexis voices Drove. Zehra Fazal portrays an old woman, while Anna Vocino voices a Russian Babushka.
“All We Are Not” (teleplay written by Alex de Campi, dir. Kamiyama & Aramaki)
Haunted by traumatic memories, Elle recognizes a familiar face.
Henwick voices the main protagonist, Elle. Abdi voices Doc Badger, while Lee voices Joseph.
Gregg Henry, Samira Wiley, Bentley, and Brian Cox voice Senator Bannister, Police Officer Alani Davis, Niander Wallace Jr., and Niander Wallace Sr., respectively.
Ray Chase voices Marko, a criminal whom Davis apprehends. Sunil Malhotra and Jim Pirri voice a police officer and a police dispatcher, respectively. Spisak appears as the voice of Hooper, while Stephen Root appears as the voice of Police Chief Earl Grant.
Laura Post voices an announcer.
The Crew of Black Lotus
There are many important individuals attached to this series, so I want to note just a profound handful of them.
Nick Schneider serves as the editor for both episodes, with Therese DeCleene acting as the assistant editor.
Series co-creator Shinji Aramaki also acts as the storyboard artist. Akemi Nakajima and Chisaki Sato serve as additional storyboard artists. Toru Kawaguchi (Production I.G) serves as the storyboard manager for the episodes.
Tohru Patrick Awa is the show’s character designer. Shinji Usui, Daisuke Matsuda, Jessica Louis, Kenichi Morioka, and Hirotsugu Ishikawa act as the production designers.
Hideki Shibata, Hazuki Wakao, Junya Kubono, Naomichi Iizuka (Production I.G), Toru Someha, and Toru Okazawa are the motion capture artists for the episodes.
Luis Manuel Calvo Saez, Yulan Huang, Xiaochen Wang, Takumi Ogawa, Bharathi Kuhan Kumar, Jasbeer Kootbally, Yuya Yamaguchi, Raul Carvajal Soriano, Hisato Tokumaru, Rex Ahn (Honeybee), and Naoto Tokumaru serve as the animators.
Animation Modelers
Takahiro Miyauchi serves as the character modeling supervisor. Tomoko Ogawa, Yuasa Miyazaki, Tara Nematzadeh, Yita Sai, and Yuwa Matsui serve as the character modeling artists.
Kaori Inagaki serves as the props modeling supervisor, while Tetsuya Nagata serves as the background modeling supervisor. Vlastimil Pochop serves as the background & vehicles modeling artist. Nicola Russo, Kiitsu Okuda, Krissa Ng, Tatsuya Koshimizu, Yanin Srisarntiwong, and Kotaro Nakazato serve as the background & props modeling artists.
Gugen Studio, Kazuaki Kano, Tomonori Fukuda, Tomoyo Mizuochi, Ryoya Kubo, Hidenobu Yoshiyama, and Yukako Yaji act as the character models. Meanwhile, Modeling Bros and Shunsuke Imaizumi model the vehicles of the show.
Digital Environment Creations, Rena Takahashi, Masato, Sekiguchi, Mariko Murakami, Katsuya Hiraoka, Kevin Lai, Toru Murano, Masatoshi Fujita, Tetsuya Chiba, Hiroki Azuma, Ben Branlund, and Yasuhiko Samekawa model the background & characters.
Motion Capture Actors
Ryoko Kobayashi, Takahiro Araki, and Hiro Ueno play Elle, Joseph, and Doc Badger, respectively.
Tony Nakajima plays the gang leader, while Reo Kanshuji plays Drove.
Ueno, Nakajima, and Kanshuji also play Wallace Sr., Wallace Jr., and Marko, respectively. Rie Ueda plays Davis, while Kaiji Soze plays Bannister.
Mo-cap action actors include Nobuhiko Tanaka, Hiroto Tanaka, Yuko Kawana, Takashi Furuya, and Kouhei Matsuoka.
Discussion
Adult Swim and Crunchyroll have a good thing going with their collaboration on this series. Blade Runner: Black Lotus is a splendid project to come out as an extrapolation of the 1982 Blade Runner film and Philip K. Dick’s novel. Much of its essence has to be credited to the teleplay writers, the storyboard artists, the co-director/co-creator duo, as well as the artists who deal with motion capture and modeling.
A good former half of the first episode paces by in a brisk manner. The story slows slightly by the midway point, but still… The twenty-two minutes per episode progress rather quickly. These two episodes together make for a great series pilot, rather than the series premiere being the first episode alone. It introduces a sizeable portion of the roster that’s been announced this summer and already sets them in motion.
What we get so far does not reveal much, although this is to be expected with anime. I’m curious as to what the remaining eleven episodes of the season have in store for us. Fans are promised familiar characters from the Blade Runner lore, so anticipation and expectations can be a bit high.
I loved the theme music featuring Alessia Cara and the title sequence designed by Method Studios. It felt congruous to the series. Michael Hodges and Gerald Trottman are among a small group who have worked on the music for the show. Nancy Perkins and Wes Gleason serve as the casting directors, with Gleason also leading the voice direction.
Performances and Character Developments
Henwick is truly the star of this Adult Swim series. (Note: I’ve only seen the English version of the show, so I cannot say much for the Japanese version voice actors.) There are a couple of fight sequences involving Elle in the first episode that I found to be quite neat, especially towards the end. Afterward, I don’t think the character using the sword is necessary and is instead only purposeful for aesthetic reasons. Nonetheless, the action that she finds herself in can be a badass sight for sore eyes!
Abdi is great as Doc Badger – he’s loyal and convivial –, but I’d like to know more about Joseph’s role as the series progresses. I also want to learn about Wiley’s character, Officer Davis. These characters are seemingly aware of a thing or two about Black Lotus, and I’m curious to know what that is.
Henry’s role as Bannister is lovely, although I hope the series showcases more of what his deal is and what he’s got to bring to the table. Moreover, Cox and Bentley as Wallace Sr. and Jr. prove interesting, and I don’t doubt that these characters pull at least some of the strings in 2032’s L.A. They seem to be more cunning than the Senator character, and that definitely raises some eyebrows.
Characters Hooper and Earl Grant are credited in these two episodes. However, I can’t seem to spot their appearances. Hopefully, we’ll see them sooner than later as more episodes of the series are released.
Final Thoughts
The mystery that begins to unravel is a slow burn, but it does pick up by the second episode. Elle’s answer to what lies ahead rests either in her hands or in her head. Perhaps, it could be both? Whichever one that may be is up to the remaining episodes of the season.
The episode titles also pique my interest. For example, “City of Angels” doesn’t just point to L.A. but something that a protagonist encounters in the city. Blade Runner: Black Lotus is worthy of a watch, but only time will tell if we’ll get to where it needs to be. What is the significance of the Black Lotus, and what does this have to do with the series moving forward? Surely, we’ll know by the following episodes soon enough.
Blade Runner: Black Lotus premieres on Toonami (via Adult Swim) and Crunchyroll later this month!
Will you see this series? Which do you prefer more: Blade Runner or Blade Runner 2049? Have you seen the trio of Blade Runner short films from 2017? Let us know! For more adaption, adaptation, anime, and science-fiction-related news and reviews follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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