Adult Swim has finally released a new trailer for the anime series Blade Runner: Black Lotus through a virtual panel at New York Comic Con. This trailer takes us back into the world of Blade Runner, and gives us a glimpse into the series’ story ahead of its premiere on Adult Swim and Crunchyroll. In addition, they also revealed the release date which falls on November 13th. The series will total 13 episodes and be directed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama.
The trailer begins by giving us an overview of the state of the city of Los Angeles in 2032, and a man who claims to have given manna to people when Heaven didn’t. Then we are introduced to the protagonist Elle, who is worried about her dreams starting to get worse. Another voice then tells us about the creation of the Replicants, the artificial people that exist in the Blade Runner universe, and their purpose in the world. We then see a man killed on the bus, and it is implied that the real culprit is Elle herself. Then there is a scene where he fights several other people and tries to survive. The trailer ends with him saying he knows what he’s going to do, which is to “kill them all.”
Complete list of voice actors and characters Blade Runner: Black Lotus, which is bilingual: English and Japanese, includes: Elle, a female replicant made for secret purposes and whose motives are unknown voiced by Jessica Henwick / Arisa Shida; Joseph, the mysterious figure who owns a junk parts shop in Los Angeles, voiced by Will Yun Lee / Shinshu Fuji; Alani Davis, new LAPD recruit voiced by Samira Wiley / Takako Honda; Niander Wallace Sr., founder and CEO of Wallace Corporation (voiced by Brian Cox / Takaya Hashi); Niander Wallace Jr, a brilliant scientist working for his father voiced by Wes Bentley / Takehito Koyasu; Marlowe, the deadly Blade Runner voiced by Josh Duhamel / Taiten Kusunoki; Josephine Grant, wife of the police chief voiced by Peyton List / Yoshiko Sakakibara; Earl Grant, LAPD Chief of Police voiced by Stephen Root/Hochu Otsuka; Doc Badger, a black market trader voiced by Barkhad Abdi / Takayuki Kinba; Senator Bannister, a politician with strong feelings for replicants voiced by Gregg Henry / Masane Tsukayama; Doctor M, a doctor and professor of medicine voiced by Henry Czerny / Akio Nojima; Hooper, a journalist controlled by the Wallace Corporation voiced by Jason Spisak / Kazuki Yao.
Set in 2032 Los Angeles, the series follows the adventures of the mysterious Elle as she slowly discovers new details about herself, including when she becomes an expert in fighting and wielding a katana sword. He was also later involved in the action of uncovering a hidden conspiracy. It looks like this anime series will bring more action than any other Blade Runner property by leaning on the aura and tone of the neo-noir story.
Black Lotus will offer fans of the Blade Runner film an original story around a secretly made replicant. If both Blade Runner films focus on police agents, then Black Lotus seems poised to expand the franchise in new directions, as the character roster consists of black market traders, politicians, and scientists.
The anime series produced by Adult Swim and Crunchyroll will feature thirteen episodes directed by Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex). Adult Swim will stream an English version as part of the Toonami block, while Crunchyroll will stream the series in Japanese with subtitles.
