Reviews for Blade Runner: Black Lotus

Ah, Kenji Kamiyama. Your work since GitS:SAC season 1 has yet to fail to disappoint me. Blade Runner: Black Lotus is the latest Kamiyama-directed title I have reviewed here on MyAnimeList, following Eden of the East, GitS:SAC 2nd GIG, and GitS:SAC – SSS in exactly that order. At the end of my Solid State Society review, I said I would make the smarter decision and avoid GitS:SAC_2045 based purely on my past experience with the directors’ work. The Blade Runner films being personal favorites of mine apparently superseded my better judgment, however, when it came to Kamiyama’s second outing as the frontrunner for a CGI animeseries, so here we are.

The pleasure I gleaned from this show only became guilty in the last pair of episodes. For most of the first ten or so, I was pretty genuinely having a good time, but that enjoyment was so obviously in spite of the show’s few attempts at being a serious and thought-provoking cyberpunk story in the same vain as its predecessors, attempts that virtually entirely fall flat. I say this because there is a massive emphasis on action sequences and nailing the audio-visual aesthetic which completely overwhelms any and all but the most barely-dramatic moments that create only the most barebones emotional connection between the characters and audience. Credit where it’s due: Black Lotus pulls no punches in being a series that looks and sounds amazing with design elements and environmental details that are absolutely to my taste, but it’s not a stretch to say I felt basically nothing for these characters. It isn’t even necessarily because they are poorly defined; they just don’t do anything really dramatic. The final pair of episodes are just all action all the time until the narrative weight drained away and I just wanted it to end already. And, make no mistake, I was only referencing the core cast when I said the characters are not that poorly defined. Side characters show up and vanish as quickly as snow on a warm day usually without even half an episode of on-screen presence for the show to utilize their somewhat unique positions to provide new perspective on the setting.

So, if the side characters are mostly relegated to the background, there is nothing done to explore the setting further, the (few) main characters have very, VERY little in the way of meaningful dialogue, and the audience has basically no emotional attachment to anybody at all for the vast majority of the show’s run, then what are we left with? A completely by-the-numbers revenge story with a heroine that is basically invulnerable and targets that are both unabashedly reprehensible and as destructible and threatening as paper airplanes. This is all set to a backdrop involving only the most rudimentary science-fiction elements taken from the Blade Runner films with basically nothing new introduced. Once most of the very barebones drama is ironed out by the end of episode four, the story all but limps from one action scene to the next until the end of the show. Episode ten is the oddball here, being both a brief reprieve from the violence and one of the strongest outings in the series because it actually has some measure of emotion, a pulse of sorts. Unfortunately, it still culminates in a finale that does little to actually end the narrative with any satisfactory arcs for the characters and, having seen Blade Runner 2049, does even less to serve as a prequel (to a film that already had four if you count all the canon shorts).

In the end, the best that can be said here is that Blade Runner: Black Lotus looks and sounds great. Just like its predecessors, it leans more heavily into film noir than science fiction, something of a welcome contrast to the very technobabble-heavy atmosphere-lacking Ghost in the Shell franchise. But, for as much praise as I can and will continue to shower upon the production quality, Black Lotus leaves much to be desired when compared to other shows let alone its own forerunners which have cemented themselves as classics that captured the essences of their respective eras and translated them into the most beautifully-realized dystopian worlds. Perhaps no other work had done so since another Philip K. Dick masterpiece, The Man in the High Castle. It’s a tall order for a series, or any work, really, to match that level of cultural importance or even to be as well-made. I have no doubt that Kamiyama and co. were incredibly anxious and stressed when trying to come up with a story to tell on top of getting all the aesthetic details right. I think, at the end of the day, the overall effort is highly commendable; there was clearly an immense amount of love, passion, and hard work put into making Blade Runner: Black Lotus feel as close to the originals as it could feel, and many people, Kamiyama included, deserve a standing ovation for realizing such an ambitious goal so impressively. However, the fact is that this series is not well-written. Its characters and story are almost entirely uninteresting and the only engaging aspects of the setting are lifted from the works for which it is clearly banking on the audience having immense appreciation and nostalgia. It deeply and truly saddens me that, in spite of having that appreciation, I cannot recommend this show. If you want hardcore film noir and science fiction but also aren’t afraid to encounter the surreal and weird, then I would instead recommend checking out Serial Experiments Lain. Maybe I’ll review that next.

Happy watching!

- LC

I don’t like it. Simple. It’s not that it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it’s just not the type of thing I’d ever watch voluntarily. Don’t get me wrong tho, if you ignore all the bad qualities of this anime like, the sound, the art, the animation, the very rushed and confusing story line, it’s pretty good…. Ok I gotta admit, I made it sound way worse but honestly… it’s still bad but not BAD bad. Anyways, onto the rating~!Story: it’s actually pretty decent and entertaining to watch, dramatic with weird twists but the thing is… it’s rushed and you can rlly tell too. 6/10

Art: I’m not rlly into the 3D Fortnite vibe the arts givin off tbh… 3/10 for effort

Sound: it just sounds cheap, like… idk, does that make sense? 3/10 again for effort

Characters: confusing?… I don’t even know, that how confusing it is. Girl’s cute tho :) 5/10

Enjoyment: it was kinda hard to watch at first but I got eased into it I guess… 6/10

Overall: 4/10, I think that’s pretty fair, right?

BTW I WATCHED IT ON ADULT SWIM DONT FREACKING JUDGE ME

Alright so I know a lot of people are going to start hating on this before it's even finished airing so I hope this review can help some of you. And FYI this is a spoiler free review. The score doesn't reflect the anime's actual quality, I know I dropped it but it's because of my own personal preference and that might not be the same case for everyone. Story: 7 If you haven't watched any of the Bladerunner movies then I would advise you to do so, but, it isn't completely neccesary. So far I think it's too early for me to judge the storycritically, but for now I can say that it isn't extremely terrible nor godlike, it's neutral but it does captivate you enought to keep watching in spite of the inconsistent animation, which is my next point.

Art: 8

I was left in astonishment, the opening scenes for this anime were amazing, absolutely breathtaking, but then as I continued, my excitement was squashed. The artstyle does not look like your typical anime and I question why this is even considered an anime, not hating by any means I just think this could have been released as a normal animated series. The background and evironment are so well animated, I can see some good wallpapers coming out of this anime but then we get to the character designs. Inconsistent art, it isn't extremely terrible just annonying the way the quality drops drastically. The use of 3D animation and CGI just ruined the entire aspect of the anime for me. If art style is a big factor when watching anime for you then this isn't it. For some reason everytime Crunchyroll releases an original anime, it always manages to have the most lackluster and terrible animation.

Sound: 7

The sound effects are alright, nothing terrible nothing godlike. Don't have much to say about this and I personally don't think it will affect you when watching this anime.

Character: 7

In terms of development, too early to judge but so far our characters seem to be developing a little by each episode, by this I mean we get to learn a little more about them, especially the female mc. Like I said before not too terrible nor godlike.

Enjoyment: 7

I would have given this an 8 if not for the quality drops like I mentioned earlier. The plot is interesting and capitvating and at some point makes you forget about the animation. But sadly that wasn't enough for me to continue watching. I'll just stick to the regular Bladerunner movies until Crunchyroll get's their shit together, and that goes for every future anime they decide to make.

Overall: 7

Now, before I close this review off I wanted to point out that this is MY personal opinion and if you disagree please don't come after me. I only wrote this review to share my thoughts. If anything, I would recommended this anime to anyone who loves Sc-Fi, Futuristic Cyberpunk themes and wouldn't mind inconsistent animation. If you can't stand the use of CGI and 3d animation then this isn't for you. Thanks for reading and I hope you found this helpful.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus has seemingly slipped under everyone's radar, hardly advertised and almost completely forgotten about after its announcement and subsequent airing, as for those who have seen it, I've hardly seen anything remotely positive about it. Los Angeles 2032. 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. It's definitely a story that could have been told in about10 episodes rather than 13 but what keeps you engrossed is the rather fabulous world-building, atmosphere and ultimately the music, staples of the Blade Runner series. The characters can be rather one-note at times but thankfully the performances of the principal cast keep these from being way too frequent. Especially that of its dub which includes the likes of Will Yun Lee, Wes Bentley and Brian Cox all of whom deliver some truly fabulous performances.

The whole show is very much in keeping with the tone and storytelling of the films and other elements of the franchise, it ends up as a weird mishmash of Blade Runner, The Bourne Identity & Kill Bill; I would still highly recommend you check this one out, especially with an open mind.

Be it a die-hard fan of the series or just a sci-fi/cyberpunk lover, this anime seems to get on the bad side of its watchers. But before you scroll to the next review, i will give you an impartial and fair review of this anime. With that said, I will split the review into two parts, 1st part will be for newbies that don't know what Blade Runner is. 2nd will be a more detailed review for us, die-hard fans. --------------------------------- PART 1 --------------------------------------------- So what is "Blade Runner"? For all Post-Millenials, Blade Runner is a cult classic among sci-fi movies (from 1982), introducing the first cinematic representation ofwhat we know today as "cyberpunk". Yes without Blade Runner we would probably never have had Ghost in the Shell or Matrix. In order to have an idea of what's going on in the Anime and to appreciate it, I highly recommend watching the original Blade Runner before. The term "Blade Runner" refers to a special branch of police that deals with the "retiring" of synthetic humans named "replicants". So a "Blade Runner" is like a bounty hunter (this is something that you are expected to know if you watch the anime).

Do you really need to watch the movies to understand what's going on in the anime?

No, you don't need to watch the movies in order to understand the plot. The plot is a generic action mixed with a bit of thriller, there is no subtility to it, it is simple and comprehensive. exactly what you need after a hard day at work or school. On the other hand, watching the movies at a little bit of flavor to

Is it good?

If you are looking for a simple "beat them up" type of anime with little to no complexity to its plot, ya, it is pretty good, there is a lot of action, with quite a few fight scenes are actually really well made, cinema-worthy I might dare to say. The show certainly has enjoyable moments even if it falls short in areas such as character development and plot.

What about the art style?

The art style... It is a 3d anime. But, and here is a huge BUT, while people hate 3d animation, especially anime, I got to admit that surprisingly this one is not that bad. It has a more western approach, somewhat familiar to the old Star Wars The Clone Wars cartoon. With that said, the overall quality is mediocre to good at best and outdated at worse. The bad thing about this 3d is that it always feels inconsistent, that is due to the fact that the quality differs from model to model and object to object giving an "unfinished" product feeling. The material textures are actually impressive, and at times photorealistic, but this is ruined by bad quality character models or poor lighting and camera position. The exact opposite can happen too, having really good shots with awesome lighting but poor texture quality.

Ok, but what about the characters?

The show doesn't try a lot to explain or build characters. They are generic and forgettable. The good guys are "good" for the sake of being good, while the "bad" is "bad" for the sake of having a villain. That isn't exactly good to have in a story, but honestly, in this specific case, it doesn't bother me either.

The plot hints at something more but it never dears to evolve the story or its characters. which is a bit of a missed opportunity.

The main character is a girl, she knows how to fight and she's cute. That's it... She's cool, and her design is pretty cute (a bit too stereotypical but still cute), I wish there was more to her character, and, at the beginning, I felt like her evolution was a bit rushed, but considering the theme of the anime I take that back.

Sound?

The sound is generic action movie stuff. You won't be impressed by it, it feels like a low-budget video game FXS, but it gets the job done. The action is enjoyable enough to overlook the sound. The OP and ED songs are a bit of a letdown, considering the setting and tone of the anime I think the songs stand out too much and don't fit with the mood.

--------------------------------- PART 2 ---------------------------------------------

OK so now let's get into the real review.

Story:

So far the story is pretty vanilla for a Blade Runner entry. We already had a similar plot in the last movie (blade runner 2049), but a million times better executed. I felt disappointed by how limited this was. Blade Runner 2049 set some high bards that this show did not surpass or even got close to... With a team of OGs that worked on iconic entries such as "Ghost in the Shell", "Blood". "Jin-Rou" "Psychopass" and "Ergo Proxy" it is hard to imagine that the end product can be something bad, but even so this must be one of the biggest letdowns, and sadly enough the 3d animation is the least of the problems. We can clearly see that the production of 2021's Ghost in the Shell SAC and Star Wars Visions, had a huge off-screen impact on Blade Runner. Budget cuts had to be made and time had to be cut on an anime in production, and if it's gonna be like that you better cut the least anticipated one, this is clearly noticeable throughout the episodes, both plot-wise and art-wise.

Art:

As I said before, a 3d anime is not necessarily bad, and Black Lotus is among the better-looking 3d anime and cartoons. Taking a look at anime like RWBY or even Ghost in the Shell SAC, the quality of Blade Runner managed to be higher and better. My only big issues with the animation is the rushed production and mixed qualities, It is pretty clear that different 3d artists (with different skills) worked on the same assets and scenes mixing bad quality models or textures with good ones. The end product can look really nice sometimes but it always has an unfinished and unpolished look to it. Is like you are looking at a piece of unfinished jewelry, you can see the overall shape and concept but it lacks the shine of that final touch, making it look mediocre instead. On the other hand, as a Blade Runner lover, I appreciate that they kept an overall design similar to the OG Blade Runner, from clutter and machines to locations, it feels like I'm watching something Blade Runner, it's a pleasant surprise that I always appreciate. Clearly, the team wanted to pay homage to the classic instead of doing a totally generic cyberpunk world.

Sound:

I was expecting the sound to be the weakest part of the show, sadly you can't compare anime studio quality to a Hollywood titan. To compare the sound in Black Lotus to the sound in the movies would be highly unfair... But I can compare it with Blackout 2022. The sounds id say are a little bit lower in quality but not that bad either. it still needs some improvement.

Black Out 2022 vs Black Lotus

A lot of people like to compare the two and say that Black Out is better. Honestly is like you are comparing apples with peaches. These are two different styles. I did enjoy Blackout 2022 but I hated the constant "dragging" effect of the animation. The 2d animation was decent the best shots in that short were static images and above all should I mention that even Blade runner 2022 used 3d assets? So I'd say that Black Lotus is an improvement over Black Out, especially combat scenes, they are crisp, they hit good, and look nice, I love them, this is the only reason why I haven't dropped the show.

Enjoyment:

Yes, the character interaction is pretty bad, the plot is mediocre and generic, the quality is overall bad... But man the fighting scenes! Especially episode 6. These are the best part of the show. For some reason, this show has one of the most enjoyable fighting scenes of the year 2021. They are enjoyable and satisfactory.

Final verdict:

A fair grade would be 6, the show is not bad by any means but is not that good either. It is fun and for some, it might have replayable value.

I would highly encourage people to watch it since is not as bad as it sounds. The enjoyment can says the 6 to an 8 easily (personal preference).

I've always liked the idea of 3D animation and there seems to be a huge divide between 2D and 3D but it doesn't matter to me. What's important is the story and how the writer keeps you hooked and invested in the story. It started off very ambiguous and piqued my interest as to how and why she ended up in that predicament. That kept me watching it for awhile but eventually I grew bored of the plot because they almost never keep you invested and this MC is just so fixated on getting answers that it almost became a video game where the MCneeds to go from point A to B to find answers and became boring very quickly.

That's why I rated it a 4, it didn't keep me invested.. the girl was cute, the visual aesthetics of the city was pretty but that's not enough to keep me watching to the end.

Although this is kinda early for a review, I figured I would put this out -share my opinion on this show- and help most of you understand what this anime portays,pursues and has achieved so far. As you can see I followed the 3 ep rule ,so I should not be so far of :) Story: 7 I would like to note that I have NOT watched any of the Blade Runner movies nor have I played the games, so my opinion is 100% formed off of this show and is as virgin,pure and fresh as it could be . Having that said, the storyreally made me consolidate my personal view,it heavely attached me to it and it trapped my inside it ,like it a trap in a trap. However we are never trapped unless we choose to be. And I can not say that I was forced to either....

Art: 9

Generally, art is always interwoven with animation and my score now,is based off of both . Just by having watched a single trailer I knew what I was getting myself into. The camera placements,its corectly timed rattling,slow and inert movements,the flawless character designs that unexpressingly depict a lot, the alive audivisual frontloading just by how real it looks, the proper layred color gradients that managed to illustrate the pursued (fear,pessimism,robotic feelings,the mordernized "mob",that force you to think philosophically and think about the "why",the "how" and the "what is ") etc. Honestly I do not even think that it could get better! Not because it couldn't, but because there would not be anything more to get better at!

Sound: 10

FINNALY, my favorite aspect of this show! Without any excessions,despite being hated for "not matching with Blade Runner's movies atmosphere" ,the japanese voice acting (I only watched it in sub),the environmental acoustic background and ESPECIALLY the soundtracks,including the intro and the outro,are unequiovocally not only the best part of this show, BUT ALSO of any other show that I have seen this whole entire year -personally always talking- ! And I will also prove that right now. Just open your youtube, type X Ambassadors - Water or Feel you now , and then ..well then ..then I'll say your are welcome :)

Character: 7

As I previously mentioned ,writing a review this early means that you won't be able to denote your view on certain things ,since you won't know much about them . One of those things is , of course the character segment. However, I can say withoout any doubt or excessions that the illustrated characters so far have not only surpassed my expectations for them but have also suprisingly enough ( with only 3 eps watched) made me sentimentaly attached to them...*most of them! XD

Enoyment: 7

Personally, this segment is heavily interwoven with my feelings and view about the Art and Sound segment,since my personal enjoyment has always been reliant on them. And since my opinion about them is positive,consequently so is my general enjoyment. I loved the musical aspects of the anime and its outstandingly superb animation . As a ramification not only did I fall in love with Blade Runner: Black Lotus as a show but hopefully I will be looking out for its movies while substantially being influenced by it.

Overall: 8

As you stroll through the inexhaustible sources of online pages you will surely encounter something that "catches your eye" .That fills it up with that ineffable color gradient that even you can not imagine you had. That gently tears apart any other entertaining thought of yours... beacuse it was simply too good not to care about. In my case "my eye" got trapped in the nets of this,quintessential and superb show ... BR:Black Lotus. Long story short, I strongly believe that everyone should go ahead and give this show at least a try and I am sure they will find at least one of its features interesting. Black lotus excels at one thing while being Dom1nant on another....Long story shorter :) ....this series has lots of icing ...and lots of cake!

My overall take of the show and what I would change... with no spoilers I love the blade runner movies and was excited to see that there was going to be a blade runner anime. the detail in some parts of the show is great and in others not so much, for example in the movies the buildings have texture and the streets are packed. there is a sense of destruction and neglect but still, people are living among it. in black lotus, it is all different that is why I give it a 6 in the art category. the sounds of the blade runnermovies bring the whole dystopian city to perspective, again this is lacking in black lotus.

I would strongly suggest watching the movies before the show. I think that it the show has potential but I might drop... Idk yet

This is the type of 3D anime i was expecting! The fight scenes are absolutely insane and the animation is beautiful. the character design fit so well their personal and the scenery of the city, even if its soo foggy and dense and dark it fits well in a dark scenery don't let the opinions fool you! watching it is amazing the plot and is on its peek so obviously is gonna be filled with intense fights and gun blazing action now let's talk about the opinions on this well to be honest...none the protagonist does her thing of her developing her skills, are on the right point theside characters are interesting on how they go well with the prot's progression

the antagonist though i can't tell which one there's a lot of them but they have their own ways i guess

so is it worth to watch this 3d Anime

well that depends if you are more superior into 2d than 3d but if you give it a chance you might end up liking it more than 2d

but let's be real not all of anime fans like 3d but this might change who knows

i rate this 10/10 perfect CG anime

TV series format into an anime with a video game-style of art & animation.I think you can see why 2D purists and hardcore anime fans either disliked it or never gave it a chance,and I feel sorry for both,as well as the creators who if this were made into a TV Series would have a much higher rating and audience,at the same time I am glad for myself and every bladerunner,cyberpunk & sci-fi fan out there that we got this. Black Lotus brings story-telling in a different way than the medium is used to,using motion capture,emotional expressions & long pauses to convey the suspense and otherfeelings.I am not gonna pretend that the story is grand but it's execution is what makes it pretty close to the movies.

Artstyle is also very faithful to the universe & well-made with amazing backdrop shots,animation doesn't faulter either,whether it be on characters reactions,dialogue,fighting (especially) but even simpler things like a car touching down for example.

Sound itself is very good,guns have the punch you'd expect them to,there are no 13-year old sounding VA's (another reason for the low score lmao),the whole cyberpunk soundscape is top-notch.As for the soundtrack it's appropriate especially in the later stages,as for the OP & multiple ED's to each their own.

So overall does this anime excel in mature story-telling,faithful cyberpunk & bladerunner atmosphere,amazing animation & fights,sci-fi elements ? Yes.Why is it scored so low ? I will let you be the judge of that.

TL;DR:Give it a chance.

I almost didn’t watch this because I assumed I would dislike it, like I dislike all 3D CGI anime. When they announced Blade Runner was getting a full season anime, I was hyped...when they later announced it was going to be another Shinji Aramaki 3D joint, my hopes immediately deflated. I’ve seen enough of Aramaki’s work to know I don’t like anything he’s done since he got on the 3D train with Appleseed. But I decided to give it a chance out of curiosity, and you know what? As soon as I got over the disappointment that it doesn’t look like Blackout, I found myself wrappedup in this incredibly atmospheric production. The CG backgrounds and vehicles create a truly immersive world, and the narrative grabs your attention and keeps it there. The sound design is equally as immersive with a bangin soundtrack to boot! Even the unexpressive CGI faces work in the show’s favor, putting us into the same position as its characters trying to work out who’s human and who’s not, and compounding the unsettling nature of the questions this story forces us to reckon with about the nature of humanity amongst our creations.

It was really enjoyable. i loved the Live action movies, but this isnt quite similiar to them. Despite that it still retains a bit of the bladerunner style, while making it more vibrant. The art style in this show is amazing. The detail work of all the models is great, but more the enviroments are well done and incredibly detailed. It makes each frame hold so much more value. The music is enjoyable, and mixes the old style of the movies with some more modern popculture styles. I honestly think they fit very well together. The characters are a bit lacking as theyre a little basic. Theyarent bad, and some are definitely likeable (or unlikable where appropriate) but they dont have too much depth. What you see is what you get.

The story is a typical Revenge-amensia trope. However mixed in with the bladerunner Memory stuff about replicants and the theme of fake memories along with emotional attachement to them etc etc. It makes it feel interesting and makes you want more despite the relative blandness of the "main goal".

all in all i really enjoyed it so far. I think its more of a introction to the bladerunner universe more than anything. And i think id advise newbies to watch this before getting into the movies, as it does the cover the basics of the world and themes pretty well.

Its not like the movies. but it also wasnt meant to be. If youre a seasoned veteran of bladerunner, dont let that put you off. Theres plenty to enjoy. For new people to bladerunner even more so.

This series had the potential to bridge the gap between two of the greatest science fiction films of all time. However, it majorly disappoints in doing that. The animation is mediocre due to the motion capture used in it. I'm sure that motion capture technology can be used very well in anime, but it simply wasn't in this series. All of the characters visually felt very stiff and lifeless. The acting (in the English version) is suitable in some characters and very flat in others. Although, I will note that this series debuted with the English dub and Japanese dub on the same day, whichis impressive considering how difficult that must've been to coordinate. The story presents very interesting concepts (like in both Blade Runner films) which is great but it explains them far too much, which is disappointing since it gives me the impression that it doesn't trust the audience to figure out these things for themselves. The plot is interesting, but it drags on far too much and could've been told in a much more optimal way. I certainly do admire all of the effort that Sola, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, and everyone else involved put into this series, plus it was awesome to see an entry of the Blade Runner franchise get such a big promotional push, but the series itself isn't worth watching.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021) This was not what I expected for CGI in 2021. At times the CGI is superb and really is a groundbreaking force towards what shows could do in kind. At other times, however, it is awful and shows a terrible reflection of what not to do. The main characters tend to be great all the way through but many side characters sometimes look like the lowest quality threshold possible. The story is pretty generic but it is paced well and is pretty enjoyable. It was never going to truly end due to the extremely expansive world of Blade Runner. Many unexpectedthings happen throughout the show.

The sound is beyond. The music used is of amazing quality and perfectly suited, it really gives emphasis to the show. The SFX is awesome; slicing, exploding etc sounds amazing. The voices are pretty top-notch too.

Whilst the show was never going to be a 9 or 10 it could have easily been a solid 8 had they not messed around and put more effort into its CGI.

7/10.

I m not into 3D CGI animes. I never watched any blade runner-related video. But this anime is a good surprise ! This is a sci-fi action series. The animation is correct, with awesome fighting choregraphies. The characters are a bit stiff when they aren t fighting though. The lightning effects are really good and makes a great sci fi/cyberpunk atmosphere, even though it s a bit too dark to see anything in some scenes. The anime is only focused on the main plot, which makes everything easy to understand, even when we don t know the universe. The characters are loveable, even though their motivations aren't alwaysclear.

The music is really good. The voice acting too, but some voices don't fit the character designs or the way they move.

Story : 7/10

Art : 7/10

Sound : 9/10

Characters : 7/10

Enjoyment : 8/10

Overall 7/10

The story is ok, it's predictable but still entertaining. The animation style isn't what id say great or amazing, but you can find way worse elsewhere, it won't make you turn away and you get used to it quickly so i don't have any problems with it. I've read some reviews and i just don't get what some say about the sound/music in this series. I would say its quite amazing and is what got me hooked in the first place. i litraly got goose bumps listening to the intro for the first time, Loved it. The character building is not great, it stays preatty flat forthe whole show. but dont let that get to you, even if the characters arnt developing that much you get to learn about who they are which saves it. and when there is development its great.

I enjoyed it overall, after getting over my bias of 3d animation. id recommend to atleast watch a few episodes before deciding if its bad or not.

8/10 its worth the watch.

Like all CrunchyRoll originals I've seen so far there's so so much potential and such a dilligent choice of staff who direct and create the music for this show. That said, with high hopes comes even higher disappointment. So if you're in that boat, don't bother. There are a lot of little things that once you start to nitpick, it just destroys the show. At least that seems like the general consensus of the forums. However, without having watched/read any other previous Blade Runner content or come in with any type of expectation I can say I'd complain too much. It's a bit too adapt toocompared to traditional eastern anime or what I'd consider edgy sci-fi...I'd almost compare it to a CW/ABC Teen show. Amazing but out of place music, and really weird long gazes between people to simulate tension. Also a badass female lead that makes some really...questionable decisions...like being on a hit list and shooting cans on a roof. Real slick ya know? Somewhere between a Disney Star Wars, Shannara Chronicles and Shadowhunters. All enjoyable, with a fun premise but definitely no grade A rollercoaster nor original. The benefit is so far there doesn't seem to be a major romance.

There are plenty of other similar plot animes that one could find more enjoyable, but again -- having any line of standard to compare will only blemish the enjoyability of the show.

Kind of also gives me Life is Strange gameplay vibes. If you like angst with that kind of animation, this is the show for you.

Blade Runner is a low-priority, easy watch with some crazy beautiful fight scenes though. It's enough to want to finish the show, but it isn't so complex that missing previous knowledge would complicate the experience. Like honestly, some of the unsaid is stupid obvious to anyone who's into this genre.

The pacing is a bit shoddy and some of the scenes feel like unnatural responses (because of that), but overall as the season progresses you can really feel that the story was thought out pretty thoroughly. Characters show really good flaws and also, a weird innocent cuteness to contrast the badassery everyone who's competent exudes. The voice actors are all incredibly talented, although some don't really fit the characters they portray. (Given that they really are doing the best with what is provided.)

It's a good watch if you're into this angstier angle, but it's also with a fair amount of flaw that makes it a C-tier watch. It's certainly a YA dystopia to say the least

“Hunt down…Eliminate… Black Lotus” This show, like any piece of media, can technically be judged on its own. However, when one makes an entry into a series/franchise, it would be illogical to not consider that entry in relation to its series/franchise; otherwise, why not make it an original work? By this line of thought, I will primarily be reviewing Blade Runner: Black Lotus as a Blade Runner work; only light mentions will be made as to how this show stands on its own as independent media (There will be a dedicated subheading for this section, so you can skip to that if that’s all you want).(Extremely Minor Spoilers).

Like many of the great science fiction worlds out there, the world of Blade Runner has a distinct and unique style and feel. While Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) have several stylistic distinctions, they ultimately still maintain the “DNA” of the world. So, what is the “DNA” of Blade Runner, and does Black Lotus contain it? The answer to this my vary per person, largely depending on how much they gleaned from/connected to the world, but my answer is this:

-Blade Runner is quiet; at times there is noise, but it remains the background to loneliness and isolation.

-Blade Runner is pensive; great stretches of time are dedicated to building ideas and emotion in the audience and characters.

-Blade Runner is beautiful; life and desolation, mood and atmosphere, color and light.

-Blade Runner has signature questions; What constitutes life? Do we make choices? What is the value of a memory? What makes love real? Who are you?

Black Lotus has some of these genetic sequences; it’d be hard to make anything resembling Blade Runner without them. Unfortunately, Black Lotus’ engagement with these ideas and stylistic signatures largely remains surface level and, at times, is completely absent.

-Music-

While some of the tracks present within Black Lotus connect with the distinctive score of Vangelis, the vast majority of tracks (especially the end of episode stings) are a complete tonal departure for the series. The music ends up not just out of place with the larger world, but also a jumbled mish mash that fails to help this entry form a concise identity of its own.

-Action-

Action in Blade Runner is typically fast, efficient, and highly lethal, with action only being drawn-out when it is punctuated by long segments of tension building (ultimately again met with a rapid conclusion). Action in Black Lotus is often sluggish and floaty, failing to convey the decisive brutality that usually punctuates combat with Replicant and Blade Runners. Even when an action scene is “quick” in duration, the fighting itself usually remains somewhat slow. The most “showy” action ends up seriously straining credulity; one such scene ends with an huge explosion that sees both characters caught in the blast completely unscathed, one of whom flies out of a skyscraper-high building.

-Characters-

Between the original, 2049, and Black Lotus, all three have largely remained focused on their protagonist, with room for a handful of interesting side characters. Thus, there is something of a significant burden on this main protagonist, as they have to guide us not only through the world, but make us interested in their journey. Not much is known about them prior to the events of each story, but their journey and conclusion is meant to leave a mark. Trying to understand and connect with Deckard and K is part of the appeal of Blade Runner; they are themselves, but we could be them, too. Elle is a character with no memory; considering the importance of memories to the Blade Runner world, this is a fairly interesting set up. Unfortunately, even by the end of the anime, Elle has very little to show for herself. According to Black Lotus, not having any memory means you have no character traits, personality, or capacity for reflection and thought, leaving us with a character who has nothing to connect to and little to offer the narrative beyond a killing machine who pushes the plot along at a snail's pace. Additionally screen time in Black Lotus is haphazardly allocated among the cast, with characters like Officer Davis taking up a significant amount of the story, only to ultimately be so inconsequential that removing her from the story would legitimately have no impact whatsoever.

-Themes and Questions-

Does Black Lotus address the themes and questions of Blade Runner, or at least pose ones of its own? Barely. While some questions return in some form (ex. Memory, love, choice), nothing new or memorable is espoused on these topics. Further, the show fails to consider much about itself; Black Lotus’ ideas only exist to service events in the narrative, not the other way around.

-Lore and connection-

How does Black Lotus fit in between the two main films and incorporate the world? Eh. It doesn’t need to exist, and the incredibly short (15min) animation “Blade Runner: Black Out 2022” actually does a better job of being a connecting piece if that's important. On another note, some aspects of the Blade Runner lore are either underplayed, absent, or straight up incorrect; To name a couple, the effects of the Blackout are largely unexplored, despite only being a decade prior, and the show straight up retcons/gets the source of Niander Wallace’s blindness wrong (in 2049 he was born blind, in Black Lotus he has normal vision until being slashed with a sword). You may consider these things largely inconsequential, but to me it suggests little diligence and care in creating a fitting entry into the Blade Runner world.

—On its own—

Black Lotus is a largely boring, barely thoughtful, tedious piece of science fiction. It’s fairly tasteless, and can really only be enjoyed if you appreciate it at surface level, which is coincidentally the only level it offers. If you want cheap action, skim the episodes for the fight scenes, determine if you like them, and dump most the rest. The only mood this show created in me was apathy, and the only atmosphere stale air. There are a couple of redeemable moments, 1 character, and maybe one whole episode, but this show is largely a monotonous mess where life is meaningless and you’ll be wishing for the death Black Lotus is dealing out.

I could have said more, about Blade Runner, about the performances, even about positives, but we both know this is long enough. TL;DR, avoid this show if you see something special in Blade Runner, and avoid it if you have taste in science fiction. If neither are applicable to you, perhaps you’ll find some morsel for your consumption.

I will preface this by saying I was predisposed to being very emotionally invested in the Blade Runner universe because I grew up with it. I watched the first movie and have watched and enjoyed everything Blade Runner related. With that said, I will do my best to set aside this bias and give a proper review. If you find that my review has been left wanting, or you feel I didnt properly seperate myself from these biases, then I apologize if it wasnt helpful to you. With that said, lets get this review under way.*************LIGHT SPOILER WARNING***********

Story: 7

Here is where a lot of you will disagree with me, but let me explain and see if you can understand my perspective. The story is fantastic to me. For those of you who havent read it, this is an adaptation of the short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. This is a legendary story that has been told and adapted since 1920. So if anyone tells you, "oh, the story sucks", it is simply not true. This is an amazing story that I feel has been adapted to the Blade Runner universe.

Art:5

I am not a fan of CGI anime. However, a couple of the most recent CGI anime, namely this one and Duke of Death and His Maid, have been changing my opinion of it...slightly. I do enjoy this anime, but sometimes, the CGI physics sometimes fail. For example, when she fights that guy in the cemetery and she gets knocked to the ground, her hair is perfectly still. As if it were so stiff it cant move. This happens A LOT throughout this series. This is a minor infraction, but it happens so frequently once you notice it that it begins to bother some. It definitely bothered me. Overall, I still have a long way to go in accepting CGI, but the art isnt the best by any stretch.

Sound:5

The ambient music doesnt really set the tempo or build any atmosphere. It feels a little out of place. Blade Runner has always had a lot of electro synthpop to symbolize the futuristic music. That music is sometimes present, but most of the time, the ambiance feels a little off. I feel it couldve been more representative if they stuck to the more jazzy, synthy music that Vangelis provided the first movie.

Character: 9

I love the charcters in this anime. They all have interesting backstories to build character. The only one I feel hasnt been truly fleshed out as of yet is the one they call Doc and the guy that gave Elle the black lotus tattoo. I hope they flesh those characters out more so they can all be pretty solid characters. Oh, and the cop lady too. I would like to know more about her. Hope they smooth out her story too.

Enjoyment:8

This is the one point I will ask that you take my opinion with a grain of salt. I really really love the Blade Runner world. It feels like something mankind would do to crate androids and treat them like property instead of living things. So to have a story from that BR universe really satisfies me. Therefore, my opinion on the enjoyment is something only I can appreciate. You will have to find out yourself if you can enjoy this. The CGI and music keep me from making this a solid 10.

Overall:7

In conclusion, this anime couldve and shouldve been far better received. I feel it is severely underrated. I also feel the CGI is a very big hindrance to this anime. If a studio with great artistic design produced this anime, say someone like madhouse, I believe that this anime wouldve been one of the best this season. Here is hoping that more people give it a chance and overlook the CGI. It is a great story being missed because of minor production issues.

When talking about CG Anime it is kind of a mixed bag. it varies from different people some do like it some do not, for someone like me to give Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045 a shot and defend it when people who thinks that saying “bRuH tHiS lOoKs lIkE a pS2 cUtScEnE” is a valid criticism to make says a lot about how the anime community will judge a series based on how it looks alone without even watching the series. So when CrunchyRoll and Adult Swim revealed the details about blade runner black lotus everyone jumped on it just for mentioning how it’s animationwill be in CG, for someone who never watched the blade runner movies nor it’s previous anime title i didn’t know what to expect. so from the score i give it why do i give it a 7, well for one blade runner black lotus is good, actually but it also does have a level of quality that’s better than what many other computer generated anime shows before it and that is what its like to have a CG anime that provides a beautiful, fun and immersive experience if studios just got the vision.

Lets get one thing out of the way you don’t have to watch the original blade runner (or maybe you have) whatever. the anime’s first few episode’s were a slow burn, it starts off with Elle who just arrived in los angeles she has amnesia and a piece of tech which she has to unlock. her memory is a bit hazy but we get to see some of her memories coming back to her while she fights against the gang in the first episode. piecing together her memory it turns out she is part of a doll hunt. a group of replicants like her hunted for sport and it’s up to her to find and kill the people responsible. simple yet it works and it does get interesting with each mystery or a piece of new information that do get explained and it keeps you invested into whats going to happen next.

This is fair to say that this is Better CG animation and ill explain why, the emotions expressed through the characters. the motion capture to have the sense of each characters movement feel realistic as possible and how immersive the backgrounds look makes me think that Sola Digital Arts the same studio along with production I.G made Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045 have stepped up their game on this title. the appeal of CG animation is making things more detailed and adding realism to a work I've read it somewhere that there's a lot of good things that can be done in that art style you can make change's are easy as 1 2 3. hand drawn while having produced many great works suffers from a problem changing a design is more time consuming just imagine being an artist where you finally finished the character but then studio wants you to re draw her new design and you can to square one, I'm no expert on animation but i think sgt frog abridged episode 8 said it best.

It really does feel like they took the animation from 2045 and polished it, since it makes sense this is a studio that has worked with CG anime thats what i want to see from a studio working with CG professionally this is what i want to see from CG anime in general if people just got the vision.

Studios like Orange and Polygon doesn't do that their anime's

i don’t know about you but when i see videos praising Beastars Animation and also how good it is. i couldn’t tell if they’re either overpraising it or just outright lying most of that anime’s animation is a mix of noticeable CG and 2D animations that don’t really work (look up CG anime crowds i dare you to see things differently). say "beastars is great" to me and ill just be like how is the animation different from every CG anime title we've seen on Netflix? (plus it was bad) same thing can be said about Hi Score Girl. I'm saying this because I grew up watching computer generated animation as a kid and now. theres some that hold up and some don’t, like i said before i don’t claim to be an expert on animation but i do know what good CG animation looks like. it often feels like were giving a pass to these shows that don't improve and not to the show that does improve, we deserve better CG anime shows

The Background music is mostly ambient it fits the atmosphere of the show, since the show is more of a cyberpunk story and i liked how adult swim and crunchyroll went all out and made a soundtrack by a lot artists in pop, rap and EDM. these songs fit with the tone and the theme of the anime that they put those songs into the endings of each episode most of them are very catchy, they do warrant a listen outside of the anime just like the soundtrack of AoT or something. well known artists too like Iann Dior, Alesso, Alessia Cara, G-Easy and X Ambassadors to name a few.

Elle, Joseph and Officer Davis pretty much are the best parts, which they like elle have interesting character stories to tell outside of their backstories when the progresses, i cant delve into that since this is a spoiler free review.

Hopefully i can make a video version of this review but this is all i got there are some parts of the anime later on which they can be little sped up. so maybe watch out for that review when i do get around to it.

i do think this is a good example of how CG anime can work if studios and the people working on a show who have experience within the industry just got the vision, were always focused on anime's bad titles but i think we've become too jaded to point to titles that actually done a good job. I've come to like blade runner because of how new it is to me and how it means to a lot of people.

you can dislike the show I'm not stopping you but if your just here to write up bad faith/Lazy reviews like I've seen many on IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes or Here? without understanding a work in a good faith kind of way then your words don't matter. I'm not saying it to insult people that's not my intention right now, I'm just a person who's very passionate about a work of art that deserve's respect in a community that judge's an anime based on how it looks rather than judging something on it's own merits.

i give it a 7/10 nothing more nothing less.