Blade Runner Anime Series Revealed for Adult Swim, Crunchyroll

Joseph Luster November 29, 2018

The saga of Blade Runner is set to continue in the form of a new anime series. Crunchyroll teamed up with Adult Swim and Alcon Television Group to announce BLADE RUNNER – BLACK LOTUS, which will feature the involvement of a handful of notable anime creators.

Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) are directing the series, with Cowboy Bebop‘s Shinichiro Watanabe on board as a creative producer at animation studio Sola Digital Arts (Ultraman). The series will consist of thirteen 30-minute episodes, and while the plot is being kept under wraps at the moment, it will take place in the year 2032 and will feature some familiar Blade Runner characters.

Despite inspiration throughout the 80s and beyond, this isn’t the first time for Blade Runner to formally collide with anime. Shinichiro Watanabe previously directed the Blade Runner Black Out 2022 anime short as a promotional tie-in with 2017’s Blade Runner 2049.

The dubbed version of BLADE RUNNER – BLACK LOTUS is coming to Adult Swim’s Toonami block, and Crunchyroll will handle worldwide streaming. Stay tuned for more info, including a release date.