Blade Runner is the famous 1982 film about a dystopian future where Replicants, advanced robots who exceedingly resemble human beings, are hunted down by 'blade runners', a type of hitman specialized in their identification and neutralization:
The ruthless atmosphere in Blade Runner speaks volumes of oppression. Harrison Ford starred in it, and notably said that filming it was hell. The protagonist blade runner struggles to defeat his invisible foe - the guilt of haunting memories.
The guilt associated with hunting replicants is at its centre, while a romance develops somberly between the Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), the hunter, and the replicant Rachael Rosen(Sean Young), the hunted.
Sound familiar yet?
It's a variation on Romeo and Juliet - warring families, or opposites attract but are doomed in the cruelty of the world's rule-sets.
The film grew in popularity with an enduring fan base for decades. These audiences grew up eventually, developing their own films, video games and novels on the basis of its hues and motifs. Indeed, many cyberpunk and AI themes were established by its debut: a wellspring of ideas and emotions, perhaps more powerfully than even Space Odyssey 2001 (1968).
35 years later, Blade Runner 2049, released in 2017, features Ryan Gosling as blade runner. The movie aspires to the same monolithic power of the original but probably succeeds only in some aspects, not all.
Nonetheless, it helps the IP come back to life. In 2021, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, an animated CGI series is released alongside a Blade Runner NFT collection based on the episodes of Season 1.
The Black Lotus's central focus is Elle (Jessica Henwick), a replicant who struggles with identifying the details of her past. As she unlocks the past, she's troubled, shaken with revelations that upend her reality repeatedly.
The blade runner she encounters, Joseph (Will Yun Lee), is a kindred spirit that aids Elle on her journey. He is buried in the dungeons of self hatred and guilt for much of the series, whilst aiding Elle, father-like. He has no interest in "retiring" her as the others, and is never really sure if his life has any real value.
-- It quickly becomes clear why they are so well matched to fulfill Elle's missions: she strives to complete her purpose, wholeheartedly believing in it, while he seeks to restore the mirror in his heart, so he too may believe in his personal purpose.
Primarily, Blade Runner is about memory and identity...
( "It's still here!" )
Finding it and trying to assemble oneself from the fragments left of your present, unclear reality. That's a deeply troubling feeling to explore: memory and what part it plays in our makeup as beings.
What motivates onself when not everything is apparent, and so much of it may be a lie?
Clearly, Elle's memories define her but through her struggle she realizes a potential that is greater than falsehoods she had been led to believe.
Her companions and the choices she makes are driven. She never stays in one place throughout the series, she grows. The detective plot line that encompasses her episode by episode is thrilling and evocative of the chase felt in the 1982 film.
Rather than sensing the oppression of the reality of a technological dystopia, we sense Elle's personal dystopian identity: fragmented, electronic, hanging off cliffs for something real she could use to define as her "own" self.
--You can't help but long for a resolve to her pain as you watch.
At this point (a few episodes in), as an audience member, I'm convinced she is as human as I am because she learns, grows and chooses...so it is exciting to follow her to the conclusive scenes of her growth. In this way, the storyteller's premise unfolds like a gorgeous, fragrant flower.
Speaking of beautiful....
Technically, the series is a marvel. One, it is authentically Blade Runner, spiritually and atmospherically.
Two, the music and visuals are stunning, exciting and refreshing. They are a visitation to learn and wonder again, inside a stunning framework. Three, the combat choreography is engaging and unexpected.
While the backdrop does not always mix well with the CGI styling of the characters, the storyline takes front stage. In all likelihood, it would not have been possible to make more realistic CGI characters due to the Uncanny Valley effect which irks us humans; the result of being human is knowing so precisely how a human looks, especially in motion, we cannot believe or bear a hyper realistic CGI imitation in motion.
Thankfully, Blade Runner: Black Lotus makes no ill fated attempts at the Valley. Instead, the production wisely features richly detailed realism for the setting and "emotional character model fidelity" for the storytelling. This allows the series to succeed in its ambition.
(As a side note, the production struggled with lip animations or voice syncing. You can definitely see it a few times just not working out. A quibble compared to the storytelling achieved here.)
Furthermore, the background scenery is stunningly, lovingly detailed and rendered. It almost makes Blade Runner's (1982) original sets seem less real. Emotional expressiveness is there right where you'd expect in an anime.
The CGI in Black Lotus is a masterpiece by itself, so I've taken the liberty of adding additional pictures of the episodes.
Music
Normally, the music in Black Lotus pulls you in at the end of an episode. It leaves you feeling inspired, somber, alert. Ready for Elle's next leap. The lyrics are intriguing, intimate, modern and minimal with honorable reference to the original Vangelis synthesizers that espouse the cold, cyber realities of a Blade Runner world.
There is just one track using the same sound of Vangelis, but it's just enough because an original direction requires original sounds.
Conclusion
What will be Elle's next steps? Will there be a Season 2?
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and highly recommend it to the right audience. If the series becomes more popular with a decade of aging, I would not be surprised in the least.
Something deeply profound and worthwhile sometimes takes a long time to bloom.
Watch the full Season 1 on Crunchyroll.com for free:
https://www.crunchyroll.com/blade-runner-black-lotus/episode-1-city-of-angels-821198
ScreenRant's review raves Black Lotus is better than Blade Runner: 2049: https://screenrant.com/blade-runner-movie-sequel-black-lotus-2049-better/