Bahshi opens with a nightmare Singapore didn’t know was sleeping beneath it. In 2012, a secret reactor in the west breached, and out of the wreckage rose Bahshi 霸狮, a primordial force that turned an entire region into ground zero for mutation. Decades later in 2050, the Deviant affliction Bahshi unleashed has gone global, and humanity’s last hope lies buried in the quarantined ruins he left behind. This is the world creator Royce Teo has built: a Singapore-grown kaiju IP that asks audiences to look past the monster’s teeth and see themselves reflected in it.

Q1: For those discovering Bahshi for the first time, how would you describe the world and who is Bahshi from a lore perspective?

In 2012, Singaporeans woke up to a living nightmare: Bahshi’s first cataclysmic public appearance. Lured out of hiding by a secret, experimental reactor on the island, Bahshi breached the surface and obliterated the facility. The resulting meltdown unleashed a massive burst of exotic energy, mutating the Western population into hyper-evolved entities known as Deviants.

To contain the outbreak, the entire western region of Singapore was completely quarantined behind massive fenced and towering radiation dampeners.

Fast forward to the distant future of 2050: the Deviant affliction has broken containment and infected the entire globe. Humanity’s last hope for a cure lies trapped deep within the dangerous, overgrown borders of the Western Quarantine Zone. The localized radiation has mutated the regional wildlife as well.

Agressor_001 Bahshi 霸狮 is a Primordial creature which resembles a Nian or, in Western culture, a Drake. In his Field Notes, he is a Xenophonian, a 6th-dimensional creature born from Earth. The Xenophons are born one-of-a-kind, with features and powers that develop later in their life. There are 5 others like him: a snake, a bird, a dragon, a tiger, and a tortoise. They are the causes of the Earth’s many great cataclysms. They terraformed the Earth, creating and evolving Humans into Hunters who then turned against them after the Monsters saved them from an invasion. Xenophons went into a great slumber away from the humans so that one day their great awakening will restore balance on earth.

Q2: Most indie creators take the live-action hero route. What made you choose the giant monster (Kaiju) path for Bahshi instead?

The indie landscape is already saturated with traditional, human-hero archetypes. I’ve always pushed back against the cliche of perfect-looking human heroes destroying creatures simply because they look scary or ugly. The creative spark for Bahshi came from a desire to break that mold. I want to challenge the audience’s perceptions: to show that we shouldn’t automatically fear the monster, but rather strive to understand it. True power and the path to coexistence comes from looking past the frightening features.

Q3: What drives Bahshi and the other key characters in this universe?

The fundamental conflict stems from a tragic cycle: human greed knows no bounds, and humanity constantly seeks to conquer what it doesn’t understand in the name of discovery. These Primordials are not mindless animals with extraordinary powers; they possess deep emotions and a cognitive perception that rivals, or even surpasses, our own.

Originally, the Monsters gifted humanity a fraction of their power, hoping humans would maintain the worldly balance themselves. Instead, humanity weaponized, commodified, and abused this gift for profit. Our main narrative follows a specialized human unit known as the Silver Banshees. Through their eyes, we explore a journey of self-discovery, exploring their purpose and attempting to bridge the deep, historical gap between monsters and mankind.

Q4: What do you hope a new audience takes away from their first encounter with Bahshi?

When people encounter Bahshi for the first time, I want them to feel the raw ferocity of the Singapore soul. I want them to look at this creature and see a reflection of pain, suffering, and struggle, but above all, a fierce, untamable will to stay alive and wild against all odds.

Q5: What’s next for Bahshi, and where can fans go to support the project?

The grand vision is to build Bahshi into a multi-media franchise, stretching from a mini one-shot comic all the way to a mobile game. The immediate next step is anchoring the lore through a main comic book series focusing on the Silver Banshees’ story arc, accompanied by dedicated spin-offs that dive into the origins and mythologies of the other five monsters.

Follow the project and stay updated on Bahshi’s official Instagram.