NYCC 2021: Blade Runner Black Lotus Premiere Set, Shenmue The Animation Previewed

Although no great success on its original release (critically or with audiences) Ridley Scott's sci-fi neo-noir Blade Runner went on to become one of the most influential films of all time. Its neon-soaked vision of the future was particularly embraced by creators in Japan, so an official Blade Runner anime seemed like an inevitability.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus is one of the most eagerly anticipated anime of the year. At their virtual panel at New York ComicCon, co-producers Adult Swim and Crunchyroll finally confirmed the series premiere date. The Future Of Blade Runner Black Lotus featured directors Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki, producer Joseph Chou and futurist Maurice Conti, who was on hand to talk about Blade Runner's vision of the future compares to our own. A brand new trailer was also revealed.

The series is produced by ALCON and Sola Digital Arts, with  Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) on board as creative producer. The English dubbed edition of the series will air in the US on Adult Swim on the Toonami block, with the original Japanese language version streaming internationally on Crunchyroll.  Blade Runner Black Lotus will premiere with two back-to-back episodes on November 13 from 9PM PT.

A soundtrack album will also be released on November 5, and will feature Grammy-Award winning singer-songwriter Alessia Cara’s new original song Feel You Now and more.

Elsewhere at NYCC, the virtual panel Shenmue: Continuing The Legacy took place. The panel revealed first-look footage of the Adult Swim and Crunchyroll co-production Shenmue: The Animation, based on the cult Sega video game franchise. The panel featured original creator Yu Suzuki, director Chikara Sakurai, Telcom Animation producer Yu Kiyuzono and Sola Digital Art's Joseph Chou. Shenmue: The Animation is due to arrive in 2022