# Blade Runner Black Out 2022 (ブラックアウト 2022)
**Blade Runner Black Out 2022** (ブレードランナー ブラックアウト2022) is a 2017 Japanese anime short film directed and written by [Shinichirō Watanabe](https://www.edgepedia.org/shinichiro-watanabe) that serves as a prequel to the feature film *Blade Runner 2049*. It depicts the "Black Out" of 2022, an EMP detonation that destroys electronic records across the American West Coast and reshapes the world in which *Blade Runner 2049* takes place.[1](https://www.crunchyroll.com/es/series/GR09Z7W7R/blade-runner-black-out-2022) • [2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/blade-runner-timeline/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 15-minute hand-drawn anime short, released free on the web on September 26, 2017[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/blade-runner-timeline/) • [3](https://s.animeanime.jp/article/2017/10/25/35763.html) |
| Director | Shinichirō Watanabe, known for *Cowboy Bebop* and *Samurai Champloo*; he also wrote the script[1](https://www.crunchyroll.com/es/series/GR09Z7W7R/blade-runner-black-out-2022) |
| Story | Replicants Iggy Cygnus and Trixie, with human sympathizer Ren Dus, detonate a nuclear warhead above Los Angeles to destroy the replicant database[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/blade-runner-timeline/) |
| Consequence in the fiction | Replicant production is prohibited, the Tyrell Corporation collapses, and its assets are later bought by the Wallace Corporation[4](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-three-blade-runner-2049-short-films-explained) |
| Key staff | Music by Flying Lotus; character design and animation direction by Shukou Murase; animation by CygamesPictures[5](https://s.animeanime.jp/article/2017/09/15/35320.html) |
| Japanese cast | Kenichirou Matsuda as Iggy, Ichigo Aoba as Trixie, Makoto Furukawa as Ren[5](https://s.animeanime.jp/article/2017/09/15/35320.html) |
| Franchise role | First of three prequel shorts commissioned for *Blade Runner 2049*, alongside the live-action *2036: Nexus Dawn* and *2048: Nowhere to Run*[6](https://www.avpcentral.com/blade-runner/blade-runner-black-out-2022) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and in-universe events
The story is set three years after the events of the original film, which takes place in 2019.[8](https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-11898/) By 2020 the Tyrell Corporation has introduced the Nexus-8 replicant, which, unlike earlier models with pre-programmed four-year lifespans, can live a natural lifespan. This change fuels an anti-replicant movement whose activists use Tyrell's database of registered replicants to hunt down and destroy Nexus-8 models.[9](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/08/disturbing-new-blade-runner-short-film-explains-what-happened-before-2049/) • [2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/blade-runner-timeline/)
**The attack.** Two replicants, Iggy Cygnus and Trixie, together with the human sympathizer Ren Dus, plan to destroy that database. They detonate a nuclear warhead above Los Angeles, producing an [electromagnetic pulse](https://www.edgepedia.org/electromagnetic-pulse) that wipes out electronic records across the West Coast. The plan succeeds, though Trixie dies.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/blade-runner-timeline/) A summary published alongside the film describes cities shutting down for weeks, electronic data damaged or destroyed across the United States, trade and financial markets collapsing worldwide, and food supplies dwindling; the most widely believed explanation for the blackout is that replicants were responsible.[10](https://theriver.jp/blackout-2022/)
**Aftermath.** The fallout triggers global economic and social unrest and leads to a complete shutdown of replicant production. Tyrell goes bankrupt, and the replicant program stays dormant until the Wallace Corporation acquires what remains of Tyrell and begins developing new models.[4](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-three-blade-runner-2049-short-films-explained) A timeline presented by the filmmakers at Comic-Con places the replicant prohibition in 2023 and its repeal in 2030, with Wallace's food-technology company becoming a superpower in 2025.[9](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/08/disturbing-new-blade-runner-short-film-explains-what-happened-before-2049/) The blackout also erased large parts of the electronic historical record, leaving the world of 2049 rebuilding from a global famine and an information black hole.[9](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/08/disturbing-new-blade-runner-short-film-explains-what-happened-before-2049/)
## Purpose within the franchise
*Blade Runner 2049* is set 30 years after the 1982 original, and the film itself mentions the 2022 blackout only in passing. Watanabe said the American producers asked for a story connecting the two films, and that director [Denis Villeneuve](https://www.edgepedia.org/denis-villeneuve) also felt the blackout was under-explained and pushed for it to be depicted.[7](https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1508554306) The short was one of three commissioned by Warner Bros. to fill the gap between the films; the other two, *[2036: Nexus Dawn](https://www.edgepedia.org/2036-nexus-dawn)* and *2048: Nowhere to Run*, are live-action shorts directed by Luke Scott, son of [Ridley Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/ridley-scott).[6](https://www.avpcentral.com/blade-runner/blade-runner-black-out-2022) • [4](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-three-blade-runner-2049-short-films-explained)
## Production
Watanabe received the offer from [Alcon Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/alcon-entertainment), the studio producing *Blade Runner 2049*, around the autumn of 2016. He said plans for a *Blade Runner* anime had circulated for roughly a decade without being realized, and that he accepted despite the pressure of working on a property he loved, aiming to make something that could stand against the original rather than imitate it.[7](https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1508554306)
**Hand-drawn animation.** Watanabe chose to prioritize assembling skilled hand-drawn animators over heavy investment in 3DCG staff. The short is frequently cited for its hand-drawn craft: Hiroyuki Okiura, an animator whose credits span *AKIRA* (1988) to *Your Name* (2016), drew the key animation for the scene in which Trixie tears a mirror from a truck and hurls it like a discus, and the Austrian animator BAHI. JD drew key animation for Trixie's fight with a security guard.[8](https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-11898/) Watanabe also noted that Trixie's movements deliberately echo the gymnastic style of Pris, the female replicant of the 1982 film.[3](https://s.animeanime.jp/article/2017/10/25/35763.html)
**Technical spec.** Although made for web distribution, the short was produced to theatrical standards: 5.1-channel surround sound and full high-definition video, in a 15-minute format Watanabe said was built to hold up in a cinema screening.[3](https://s.animeanime.jp/article/2017/10/25/35763.html)
**Music and voice.** The score is by the American producer [Flying Lotus](https://www.edgepedia.org/flying-lotus), whom Watanabe said he considered the most fitting composer for a future Los Angeles after Vangelis's work on the original film.[7](https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1508554306) [Edward James Olmos](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-james-olmos), who played Gaff in the 1982 film, reprised the role in voice for the short.[10](https://theriver.jp/blackout-2022/)
## Release
The short premiered worldwide with a screening in Tokyo on September 26, 2017 at 8:49 p.m. JST, and became available on [Crunchyroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/crunchyroll) and VRV the same day at 6:49 a.m. PST in all regions except Asia.[11](https://www.crunchyroll.com/pl/news/latest/2017/9/22/crunchyroll-to-attend-the-worldwide-premiere-of-blade-runner-black-out-2022-anime-in-japan) It was the third of the prequel shorts to be released in the United States but the first in Japan, where it opened ahead of *Blade Runner 2049*'s October 27, 2017 Japanese theatrical release.[10](https://theriver.jp/blackout-2022/) Reviewers who saw it before general release responded favorably; SlashFilm praised the fusion of Watanabe's style with the original film's detailed world-building as "visual storytelling only anime could achieve," and Collider called the whole short essential viewing.[10](https://theriver.jp/blackout-2022/) The short remains streamable on Crunchyroll, including an English dub.[1](https://www.crunchyroll.com/es/series/GR09Z7W7R/blade-runner-black-out-2022)
## Legacy
The blackout established by the short became a foundational event for later *[Blade Runner](https://www.edgepedia.org/blade-runner-franchise)* media. The animated series *[Blade Runner: Black Lotus](https://www.edgepedia.org/blade-runner-black-lotus)* (2021–22) is set in 2032, a decade after the Black Out, and was made by filmmakers associated with the short; its co-director Kenji Kamiyama described the series as falling between the first film and the blackout's consequences in *2049*.[12](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/blade-runner-black-lotus-anime-trailer-release-plot-details-revealed-and-more/1100-6494357/) The canceled video game *Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth* was likewise set to deal with the blackout's fallout.[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/blade-runner-timeline/) Within the franchise timeline, the short explains both the post-apocalyptic state of 2049's world and the gap in replicant production that Wallace's Nexus-9 program eventually fills.[4](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-three-blade-runner-2049-short-films-explained)
## References
1. [Blade Runner Black Out 2022, Crunchyroll series page](https://www.crunchyroll.com/es/series/GR09Z7W7R/blade-runner-black-out-2022)
2. [Blade Runner timeline: The movies, comics, and TV shows in order, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/blade-runner-timeline/)
3. [「ブレードランナー」渡辺信一郎インタビュー 自作への影響、短編新作にかけた想いは, アニメ！アニメ！ (2017)](https://s.animeanime.jp/article/2017/10/25/35763.html)
4. [The Three Blade Runner 2049 Short Films, Explained, SYFY WIRE](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-three-blade-runner-2049-short-films-explained)
5. [「ブレードランナー」アニメ監督・渡辺信一郎が短編制作、"空白の30年間"を埋める, アニメ！アニメ！ (2017)](https://s.animeanime.jp/article/2017/09/15/35320.html)
6. [Blade Runner Short Films: Black Out, Nexus Dawn & More, AvP Central](https://www.avpcentral.com/blade-runner/blade-runner-black-out-2022)
7. [『ブレードランナー ブラックアウト 2022』へのこだわりを、渡辺信一郎監督が語る！, アニメイトタイムズ (2017)](https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1508554306)
8. [手描きアニメーションの想像力『ブレードランナー ブラックアウト2022』, メディア芸術カレントコンテンツ (2017)](https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-11898/)
9. [Horrifying Blade Runner short film serves as prequel to 2049, Ars Technica (2017)](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/08/disturbing-new-blade-runner-short-film-explains-what-happened-before-2049/)
10. [『ブレードランナー 2049』前日譚アニメ『ブラックアウト 2022』日本にて世界最速公開！, THE RIVER (2017)](https://theriver.jp/blackout-2022/)
11. [Crunchyroll to Attend the Worldwide Premiere of "Blade Runner Black Out 2022" Anime in Japan, Crunchyroll News (2017)](https://www.crunchyroll.com/pl/news/latest/2017/9/22/crunchyroll-to-attend-the-worldwide-premiere-of-blade-runner-black-out-2022-anime-in-japan)
12. [Blade Runner: Black Lotus Anime Trailer, Release, Plot Details Revealed, And More, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/blade-runner-black-lotus-anime-trailer-release-plot-details-revealed-and-more/1100-6494357/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime series, episodes, and franchises › Anime films and theatrical shorts as franchise records*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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