The Virtual Crunchyroll Expo is well underway now and it’s already given us plenty to look forward to, including a deeper look at the new Blade Runner: Black Lotus!
Not only has new key art been unveiled (see above) for the new animated series but its opening credits have also been unveiled. It looks as stunning as you’d expect and comes complete with Alessia Cara’s hauntingly beautiful original song, Feel You Now.
Watch it here…
The series is set in Los Angeles 2032 where a young woman wakes up with no memories, and possessing deadly skills. The only clues to her mystery are a locked data device and a tattoo of a black lotus. Putting together the pieces, she must hunt down the people responsible for her brutal and bloody past to find the truth of her lost identity.
During the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo panel, Crunchyroll’s head of development Sarah Victor spoke with directors Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama about their process for creating the series and how it fits into the legendary Blade Runner universe. Aramaki and Kamiyama also spoke at length about themes within this new series and how they worked hard to create a human story focused primarily on the replicants
When unveiling the new key art, the directors discussed their process for character design and the stylistic balance they found between animation and photo realism. They also shared that the international production and creative staff for the series helped them capture an atmosphere closer to a Hollywood production and allowed them to create more diverse characters, much like you’d see in Los Angeles now.
Blade Runner: Black Lotus, will premiere later this year on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim.