I wrote the words, and I hope they’re worthy, but this is an Art Book for a reason. The beauty and singularity of the art, and of the physical book itself. What do you hope readers take away from The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus? He pushed hard for certain characters to have what he called “a more Japanese-like personality,” maybe more loyal and dutiful and compassionate but less openly expressive. That artistic level of communication across cultures can be difficult work. He’s the one who pointed out that American and Japanese creatives often have a lot of explaining to do to reach common ground. I’ve only recently gotten to know Kamiyama-san, who is brilliant and shrewdly opinionated. I’ve known Joseph and Aramaki-san for years and they trust me as a writer and friend. How were Joseph Chou, Aramaki-san and Kamiyama-san involved in the creation of this book?Īll three were very generous with their time, access and insights, and they’re quoted liberally throughout the book. I would sometimes think: maybe this character will sound like this? I was usually wrong. I would often write loose drafts that I could return to and tighten up, or replace entirely, just so I could have words on a page. In animation, especially, a lot is conveyed through audio. I had the scripts very early on, of course, but trying to imagine how things would look or what the characters and music would sound like was impossible. They were making the episodes as I was writing the book, so I had to wait for the artists to finish their work before I could properly finish mine.
#Blade runner black lotus free
You said you were mostly free to write what you wanted for The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus.
#Blade runner black lotus series
To have a new BR story made as an anime series in Tokyo fits perfectly with the cultural cross-pollination I describe in Japanamerica. And directors like Katsuhiro Otomo ( Akira) and Mamoru Oshii ( GiTS) take a lot of the grit and violence of their urban settings directly from Blade Runner. Shinichiro Watanabe ( Cowboy Bebop/BRBL creative director) told me he’d seen the film at least 20 times.
I had either forgotten or just hadn’t noticed how deeply Japanese culture is embedded in the film, from the giant pill-popping geisha to the dialogue and signage.īut I also didn’t know how influential the film has been on a generation anime directors.
When I was commissioned to write the book I had to go back to the original 1982 Blade Runner movie. How has the Blade Runner franchise let the two cultures influence each other back and forth? You’ve often written about how Japanese and American cultures influence each other. Ahead of this, Kelts, Aramaki, Kamiyama and Chou all spoke to Otaku USA about Blade Runner: Black Lotus.
On February 21 at 6 PM in Japan (or 4 AM EST in America), Kelts and Chou will be presenting Book Break: Roland Kelts, author of “The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus” – Anime Meets Hollywood, which can be watched in-person or on Zoom. Blade Runner: Black Lotus itself is part of the Blade Runner franchise, and was directed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama, with Joseph Chou as an executive producer. Author and journalist Roland Kelts’ new book The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotusis a beautiful coffee table book of artwork from the titular anime.
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