So we’ve been assigned to essentially pitch a show, creating our own pitch bible for 4 episodes. This is really sick. I have been really waiting for the chance to work on a more personal project that i can really flesh out.
I have an idea for a story i have wanted to write for a long time. The character is called “The Wraith”. The idea is that it’s set in a dystopian cyberpunk future. The world is run by corporate and the streets run by gangs… or so you would think. Yes those are true, but there are also elder god worshipping cults, demons and necrotic monsters from hell, ancient magical powers, and much more awaiting this dystopian nightmare. I looked at cyberpunk worlds like ghost in the shell, cyberpunk 2077, and akira for stylistic reference.
Amidst it all is the wraith. An urban legend. Some call him the red death, a killer and mercenary by trade. If you want something done you call him. After a battle with a lovecraftian monster, he nearly dies. he decides to renounce his evil ways and become good.
This is the general outline of the story. Basic at the moment but it gets the point across quite well. A world that is basically bat shit crazy, focusing on a character that becomes good after a near death experience, and a whole lifetime of bad deeds to make up for. The original idea was to lean super heavy into all your typical cyberpunky sort of themes and story beats, like ai, conciousness in a bio digital world etc. But i found for me personally i wanted to shake things up. I love lovecraftian and magical things also. So why not just incorporate all of it into one? It lets me have a whole playground of things to work with.
I want the show to be mostly episodic with an overarching goal and theme that the characters are trying to get to. So that every episode is memorable and unqiue, while still attaining that overarching goal at the end. I looked at shows like love death and robots, samurai jack and black mirror for this.
I decided to start with the wraith himself. I want this character to look frightening and evil. Making the viewer question if we should be rooting for him from the jump. I thought that striking reds and black would be perfect, as that colour scheme is very violent and dangerous. I was looking at characters like the prowler, batman, spiderman 2099, batman beyond for reference. I want this character to be the best of he best. He is so renowned that he is an urban legend. People arent sure if he even exists or not. He is very real. The suit is is main source of power. A highly advanced suit that can grant him super strength speed and even anti gravity boots. Merely a handful of tricks up his sleeve.
I had a chat with mike there about the wraith, and he got me thinking about the story. I thought that the story was quite boring so wanted tomchange it, that being that the wraith is someone who csnnot say no to any request. Infelt that this could open up lots of interesting and dynamic plot points rather than bim just being rigidly good. Theres alot more potetnial for morally ambiguous wriitng. Mike had bascially aid though. “Why does he want to help people?” Like in the sense that is he a broken person? Is there some kind of programming in his suit? I was annoyed at myself that i had not thought of this myself admittedly. But mikes advice was very useful.
So i got to thinking, this is a world where anything could happen. Including crazy occult stuff. My new story is this.
After an encounter with a powerful lovecraftian entity summoned from a portal to another dimension, the wraith barely escapes with his life. The fabric of reality aroudn that are had become twisted and warped from this elfritch abomination stepping into our plain of existence. Causing all sorts of spirits and other weird and unspeakable things to enter this dimension. Just as his suit revives him from near death, a ghost posesses his body. As the wraith awakes, he finds he has another rattling voice in his head. That of detective daisuke murakami. Now posessing his body. The wraith, now with an unwanted guest, tries to continue his mercenary work, only to be stopped by daisuke’s persistent yammering and his jacking of his body. Daisuke, with an unfinsihed cold case to solve, a rigid moral code of selfless devotion and a healthy taste for drinking, And the wraith, looking for a way to seperate them both and continue working.
I think this is a really sick set up. It immediately gives a reason as to why the wraith would want to help random people even though hes a cold blooded ruthless mercenary. And the angle of a detective with a strict moral code now gaining agency over his body adds so many layers and dimensions to the story. It allows things to unfold in what feels like a very natural way. Daisuke posesses the wtaith because he wants to solve the case that quite literally killed him. The wraith, now unable to work properly with daisuke in his head, now must turn to the occult to try and separate their souls.
This allows yet again for the story to unfold in an already unpredictable world in very unpredictable ways.
I wanted daisuke to look quite goofy, but at the same time be clearly a hardened cop. I like his cartoony hands and wisp as it gery clearly conveys the factbthat he is a ghost, while also showing that there is a level of nonsensical goofiness to this story, to reel in the edginess of a dystopian future cyberpunk setting.
Lastly i wanted to draw a lovecraftian entity. I loved the idea that it might not have any eyes or a mouth. Something that behaves so inhumanly with no relateable features. This makes it seem far more threatening and disconcerting. I also wanted to add an occult symbol scored into its chest. I like the idea that this entitny perhaps could not enter our plane of exitsence by istself, or maybe it was summoned here, the summoner used this sigil to bind the creature to do their bidding. I like visual details like this as it lets the viewers mind wander and wonder why this creature is doing what its doing.
For the front cover of the show, I wanted the Wraith and Daisuke together. I wanted the dystopian city sprawling infront of them to be very blue, as it contrasts nicely with the wraith who has red throughout his suit. I wanted the cover to mimic a comic book, a really dramatic pose with a cool backdrop, but with a twist. I wanted Daisuke to be in there somehow. I decided that I would have the wraith choking Daisuke, it adds a bit of comedy, fills you in on their relationship, and tells you what the show will be like. Serious but with funny moments thata dd levity.
For me this is an important part, as originally the show was going to be very dark, as I was sayingbefore. But with levity and funny moments added to a chartacter who is quite serious and scary I think is good for keeping people engaged.
With the envionments, I wanted to have that classic dystopian cyberpunk feel with sharp neon colours, while also leaning into the abstract and lovecraftian. I think this is a simple and effective way to show both sides, and maintain a consistent theme and color palette. I admittedly am not very good at environments at all so did what I could. I find it very hard to draw bulidings and things, which was partly why I wanted to make a cyberpunk world as it would force me out of my comfort zone, it ended up hindering me and also teraching e alot so thatw as good.
I really like my character designs as I feel theyre really unique and striking. The wraith looks ominous and foreboding, daisuke looks sly and cuning, and the branded one looks so spooky.
I decided to change how the episodes happen as I felt that a more rounded story would fit the new character dynamic better. One where through trials and tribulations they both become good friends from enemeies. I think this is a more satisfying arc.