Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus Unveils Cyberpunk Japan's Future at IGN Fan Fest 2025

The Blade Runner franchise has truly found a second life on the printed page, with Titan Comics greatly expanding the scope of this cyberpunk universe through various spinoffs and prequels. Currently, Titan is in the midst of publishing Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus, a series which has the distinction of being the first Blade Runner story set in Japan.

As part of IGN Fan Fest 2025, we had the opportunity to chat with writers Kianna Shore and Mellow Brown to delve deeper into the new series and discover how they brought the Blade Runner aesthetic to a new corner of the globe. Explore the slideshow gallery below to see exclusive artwork showing how the series went from script to fully realized artwork, and then read on to learn more:

Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus Behind-the-Scenes Art Gallery

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Tokyo, a city synonymous with seminal cyberpunk narratives like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, serves as the backdrop for the first Blade Runner story set in Japan. We were eager to learn how the writers envisioned this alternate universe version of 2015 Tokyo, and how it compares to the iconic, neon-drenched Los Angeles most Blade Runner fans are familiar with.

“Brainstorming Tokyo in the Blade Runner universe was such an exciting process!” Shore shared with IGN. “Having lived in Japan in 2015 and recently visited some fascinating exhibits in Tokyo on 'envisioning the future,' I wanted to make Tokyo distinct from Los Angeles. Their histories, experiences, and socioeconomics are completely different. My aim was to create a hopepunk Tokyo.”

Brown elaborated, “Los Angeles in *Blade Runner* is depicted as a crumbling, fractured place barely holding on, with neon lights masking its true state. If you turned off the lights, you'd see the hellscape. Our Tokyo, in contrast, is a beautiful utopia, but with a sense of confinement. Disobey the laws of this 'paradise,' and it will consume you. It’s equally terrifying, just differently.”

Interestingly, both writers avoided directly homaging Akira and Ghost in the Shell, opting instead to draw inspiration from other media and contemporary Japanese life to craft their version of Tokyo.

Shore explained, “While I watched the classics for inspiration, I focused on how Japanese media portrays the future post the 3.11 Tohoku Disaster. I watched anime like Your Name, Japan Sinks 2020, and Bubble to understand this perspective.”

Brown added, “My goal was not to iterate on anime already influenced by Blade Runner, such as Bubblegum Crisis or Psycho-Pass. When writing cyberpunk, you often reflect your own environment's future. The original series had an '80s theme and fears of Japan becoming a superpower. I wanted to reflect Japan’s current societal fears and hopes, and what could go wrong or right if dangerous people had their way.”

The Blade Runner timeline spans the 21st Century, but this series is set in 2015, a few years before the events of the original film. We were curious about how much Tokyo Nexus connects to the larger franchise. Will fans find familiar elements, or is this a completely new experience given the Japanese setting?

“*Tokyo Nexus* is a standalone in setting, time, and story,” Shore stated. “However, it wouldn’t be Blade Runner without the influence of the Tyrell Corporation and a mystery to solve. There are fun nods and easter eggs to the films, but the comics can be enjoyed without prior Blade Runner knowledge.”

Mellow added, “We are building on the story that started with *Blade Runner: Origins* and leads into *Blade Runner: 2019*. We're answering complex questions like ‘What was the Kalanthia War?’ and ‘Why is Tyrell the only company making Replicants?’ These elements are building towards a secret civil war among different Blade Runner organizations, and *Tokyo Nexus* introduces the origins of one such organization that will rise to global power in that conflict.”

*Tokyo Nexus* uniquely focuses on the partnership between a human named Mead and a Replicant named Stix. Their close-knit dynamic is central to the series, portraying them as battle-scarred veterans who rely solely on each other in this harsh world.

“Mead and Stix are best friends and platonic life-partners,” Shore said. “They’ve endured unimaginable hardships together, and their primary goal is survival, which requires them to trust each other again.”

“Their relationship is beautifully unhealthy,” Brown chuckled. “We wanted to explore the 'We're More Human Than Human' theme. Stix, the Replicant, has a constant thirst for life, while Mead, the human, has been worn down by systems and operates mechanically. They need each other to survive, and their partnership has become a codependency that could break them both.”

As the series progresses, Stix and Mead become entangled in a conflict involving Tyrell Corp, the Yakuza, and a Japanese group called Cheshire. The writers hinted that Cheshire plays a significant role in the Blade Runner universe, attempting to break Tyrell’s monopoly on the Replicant market.

“Cheshire is trying to compete in Replicant manufacturing,” Shore teased. “Their latest model is a military-grade Replicant, supposedly stronger and faster, built on Tyrell’s foundational technology.”

Mellow added, “Cheshire is a crime organization with ambitions beyond petty crime. When they acquire refugee Tyrell Scientists who have fled to Tokyo, they realize their potential is limitless in this universe…”

Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus Vol. 1 - Die in Peace is now available in comic shops and bookstores. You can also order the book on Amazon.

Also as part of IGN Fan Fest 2025, we got an early look at IDW's new Godzilla shared universe and a sneak peek of an upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog storyline.