On February 6th, the serial spin-off of 'Blade Runner' with the subtitle 'Black Lotus' concluded. The project, executed in the style of a 3D anime by [adult swim] and Crunchyroll, filled a small temporal gap between the films of Ridley Scott and Deni...

'Blade Runner: Black Lotus' was announced in November 2018, with Shinichiro Watanabe, known for the iconic 'Cowboy Bebop' and 'Samurai Champloo', appointed as producer. More notably, he also directed the prequel short film for Villeneuve's movie about the 2022 Blackout. It would seem the team knows what to do with the material, touching such a beautiful and iconic universe, but the result is completely out of style with 'Blade Runner', leaving viewers with a number of questions for the creators regarding the necessity of this spin-off.

What's the Plot?

Los Angeles, 2032. Ten years have passed since the Blackout, four years remain until Wallace revives the Nexus, and a full seventeen years until Officer K searches for the miracle child and Rick Deckard. But surely something happened between these major events, right?

A girl named Elle wakes up in the cabin of a drone heading from the desert into the city. In her hands is a password-protected device, a black lotus adorns her shoulder, and her head is in complete disarray with memories shrouded in fog. The girl makes her way to a certain house with an angel graffiti in search of even the slightest answers, but finds no clues there. So she needs to somehow unlock the mysterious device. In a dark alley, bandits block her path, eager to profit from the stolen tech. To her own surprise, Elle effortlessly beats the criminals and escapes. It turns out the young woman is a replicant (though the heroine finds this out later).

The 'investigation' of her own memories leads the girl to meet the mysterious Joseph, who helps unlock the device. A terrible recording with footage of a ruthless massacre of helpless replicants by a group of privileged people forces Elle to pick up a katana and embark on a path of revenge against the perpetrators.

A Cutscene 13 Episodes Long

If you started watching 'Black Lotus', you'll instantly understand the main universal complaint about the series. The character animation in the project is simply terrible, especially by the standards of the third decade of the 21st century. The character models, without exaggeration, look like NPCs from games circa 2005. Their lips don't move when they speak, and after a dialogue ends, they stand for a few more seconds, staring into each other's eyes and swaying slightly. It's a genuine cutscene from playing through the story of an old game.

Frankly, I don't understand how premieres could happen in the same month for something with stunning graphics that initially didn't promise much, and for a spin-off like this of 'Blade Runner', with such poor-quality animation. Considering which universe is famous for its aesthetic beauty and world-building with characters, it turned out incredibly amusing.

Evgeny Belousov

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Open material

It should be noted, of course, that the background in 'Black Lotus' looks decent. The cyberpunk atmosphere of the franchise is felt in the rare wide shots of futuristic Los Angeles, which quickly give way to scenes with characters. And for most of the time, the viewer admires the plasticine-like 3D models, evoking a desire to stop watching.

Overall, the animation was slightly improved over the season (or perhaps the eyes just got used to the inevitability of the unavoidable), but it didn't significantly fix the situation. I wouldn't want to claim that character design is the most important aspect of any animated project, without which there's nothing to enjoy, but just think about how crucial a factor it is. On screen, 85-90% of the time is devoted to the characters, their development, and their interactions with each other. Naturally, it's impossible not to notice the graphical misstep of the studios, which is constantly in the foreground.

One might assume the series had a small budget, hence the weak character animation, but that raises several questions: 'Why make a 3D anime? Why not draw it like 'Blackout 2022'? And how many incredibly cool anime in a three-dimensional style do you even know?'

Not Everything is So Bad, and If It Is...

Despite the terrible character design, 'Black Lotus' has things to praise. The series has a genuinely cool soundtrack. The opening and endings could easily be additions to any playlist. Moreover, the anime's plot is quite decent (if you abstract from the 'great predecessors'). Initially, it's interesting to follow Elle's fate, and closer to the finale, the spin-off becomes intertwined with direct connections to Denis Villeneuve's film. Although, of course, there are a couple of nitpicks regarding the script. For example, it's unclear how an old senator could put up a significant fight against a replicant who, just minutes earlier, had taken down two strong guards?

Or the nitpick about filler episodes. It's understandable that today projects sometimes have not just episodes, but entire filler seasons, but making an episode that is 90% composed of previous material is an extremely questionable decision. Why should a viewer, waiting for a weekly premiere, watch 20 minutes of already shown content, when usually such a recap lasts at most a minute before the narrative begins or is contained within a brief character monologue?

It's surprising that 'Black Lotus' is filled with fights and action. The 'Blade Runner' universe has always been somewhat removed from this. The films of Ridley Scott and Denis Villeneuve are more art-busters than special effects attractions akin to superhero movies. The films contained an authorial statement, but the anime abandoned this idea. However, these very fights do decorate the spin-off nicely. The action and dynamics sometimes help to distract from the doll-like quality of the characters, though again, only briefly (the flaw haunts the viewer constantly).

Of course, one must ask why the anime was made so different from the films. Perhaps the project is an attempt to attract a new audience to the franchise based on the universe now being an iconic brand (and judging by the genre and original voice acting, the bet was primarily on Japan). Or maybe 'Black Lotus' is a deliberate experiment and a trial run on new paper, but since it's just the beginning, the penmanship turned out with a significant number of blots and smudges — it's unknown. But in any case, if you expect the series to match the level of the films, it's better not to press the 'Play' button.

What's the Verdict?

Unfortunately, 'Blade Runner: Black Lotus' turned out to be a rather mediocre and unremarkable series, with both strengths and weaknesses. However, it's unclear who and what this spin-off of an iconic universe is intended for. It's unlikely that [adult swim] and Crunchyroll managed to please franchise fans, as insufficient effort and resources were allocated to the anime. Over 13 episodes, the viewer will be shown a couple of truly cool moments and details, but for most of the time, the feeling persists that an on-screen prompt saying 'Press 'X' to parry' is about to appear.