2032 AD. A young
woman named Elle awakens on a transport in the desert, bound for Los
Angeles. She has no memory of her past
and only a series of vague and violent images running through her head. The only clue Elle has to unlocking her mind
is a camera, itself locked by an unknown user.
But Elle’s got bigger problems than a case of amnesia. Ella is a Replicant and her existence on
Earth is illegal. Not only must she
evade the criminal underworld that might be trying to kill her, Elle must evade
something worse: Cops specially trained to hunt down and “retire” Replicants
like herself, Cops still known to as Blade Runners.
It goes without saying that a Blade Runner Anime is long
overdue. Anime owes much to Ridley
Scott’s 1982 landmark scifi epic, with its influences felt in classics like
Akira and Ghost in the Shell to modern masterpeices like Psycho Pass. While we
did get the amazing Blade Runner: Blackout 2022, which served as a prequel to
Blade Runner 2049, that was just a short film.
A TV Series has been a must forever.
Well it only took almost 40 years but the forces behind Ghost in the
Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Appleseed have united to bring the dystopia of
Cyberpunk LA to the Anime world.
Considering Blade Runner is still my favorite movie of all time, my
expectations are pretty high. So how do
things get going?
As mentioned, Black Lotus is being helmed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama,
the directors of Appleseed and the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex saga
(theyre also working together on the new SAC series, SAC_2045). Ergo, Black Lotus sports the same digital 3D
Anime style theyre using for SAC_2045 and much like that current GITS entry,
the results are hit and miss. LA 2032
looks just as visually stunning as LA 2019, everything just as grimy, foggy,
rainy and yet strangely beautiful. There
are visual cues aplenty for long time Blade Runner fans from the advertisement
blimps talking about life in the Offworld Colonies to an apartment complex
bearing a similar interior to the Bradbury Building where the original Blade
Runner had its finale. Familiar faces
from the universe also make an appearance: most notably Doctor Badger, played
in the English Dub by his Blade Runner 2049 actor Barkhad Abdi. With all the Spinners flying around and the
uber crowded streets and sunless skies, Black Lotus has seamlessly transitioned
Blade Runner’s iconic setting perfectly into 3D Anime form. The character designs though, can be a
bit…flappy and cartoony at times and sometimes the shows quality looks more
Direct to DVD than high quality Anime.
Where the show is really going to have to prove itself is
with its main premise and lead heroine.
I love Elle’s design, it fits the Blade Runner aesthetic and she looks
really beautiful. The beginning of her
tale feels very familiar though and generic.
Amnesiac cyborg searching for answers in the big city and she also
happens to have high combat proficiency while slicing guys up with a sword? It makes Black Lotus feel more like Battle
Angel Alita than Blade Runner, though I’m more than certain Alita owes a lot of
its own inspirations to Blade Runner itself.
On top of that, it’s a very slow start too. Blade Runner isn’t the most fast paced scifi
epic out there but the mystery and setting do more than enough to
compensate. Here, the setting is right
but Elle’s beginning lacks originality and I hope they can do more to amend
that. I want to root for her. I will say that a Blade Runner story from the
perspective of a Replicant (who isn’t a Blade Runner) is a fun idea. Elle kicks ass and looks good doing it, let’s
just hope the lack of creativity around her main mission is more showing us a
negative before we’re provided with a positive.
My disappointment aside, I’m gonna stick with Blade
Runner: Black Lotus based solely on my love for the property alone. Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049 and its
supplemental prequels have all been amazing and are high quality scifi of the
best calibur. I think that if Elle’s
story can pick up steam and get a bit more original, it’ll fit right in with
the pantheon. Plus we’ve yet to see the
Blade Runners who will be going after her and see just how LA has been getting
along in the wake of a major timeline event seen in Blackout 2022. My curiosity is there, will it be enough to
help me enjoy the rest of the show? Man
I really hope so.
See you next Friday for the Season Finale and the 150th First Impression Friday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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