Cyberpunk: Edgerunners – an original anime series from the universe of Cyberpunk 2077, produced by CD PROJEKT RED and Animation Studio TRIGGER, is coming to Netflix in 2022!
In a dystopia riddled with corruption and cybernetic implants, a talented but reckless street kid strives to become a mercenary outlaw — an edgerunner.
I just (re)bought the game while it was 50% off on GOG. I'm going to sit down and watch this anime as well. That is my bank holiday sorted.
So I bought it back at launch and hit a game breaking bug in the first quest that prevented it from completing. Seeing the backlash I knew it wasn't a one off so I refunded it and haven't touched it since. I was very excited for this game not just because it was from CDPR, a company I have supperted ever since the original Witcher game (yeah I was one of the rare people that played the first game while it was new) and a once reputable developer. But also because I was a fan of the classic Cyberpunk 2020 RPG which this was an official sequal to. Felt like this should have been my dream game in many ways tbh.
So needless to say I was pretty bummed with the end game but told myself I would get it again if it ever got fixed. I heard that it was a lot better now so here we are. Never seen a company fall so spectacularly with it's reputation before or since either.
I'm 4 eps in and really enjoying it. The problem with Cyberpunk was never the writing or the world it was the execution
Also love "critics" on twitter saying damn this series looks amazing Netflix done good and everyone just saying dude this is just another Trigger series! They're all bangers!
This was really good, you don't need to have played the game to appreciate the anime, I think the anime actually does a better job of portraying the game world than the game does.
The main benefit of playing the game beforehand is that you can appreciate some nice easter eggs, and there are some familiar locations/scenes from the game which they've used.
He did a great job on the character designs I thought, anime often falls into the trap of giving everyone large eyes, I do appreciate it when they draw the characters to be a little more realistic even whilst they are sporting ridiculously modified body implants.
Loved the importance and weight put on cyberpsychosis. It lead to some amazing and heartbreaking moments. The editing in the final episode is so good.
There is a lot that can be said about the game but one thing that I think is impeccable about it is the story and characters. It's absolutely worth it to experience the story and major side-quests.
You don't need to have played the game to appreciate this but I think having been in this world and seeing how off the deep-end it is gives even more weight to the humanity of it all.
Music from the game was used to great effect, I spotted The Armed and HEALTH in a couple of key scenes. Akira Yamaoka shined everywhere else.
Game is a lot of fun. It's nice that the game breaking bug didn't happen this time lol, but I will check out the anime tonight now that I have some of that under my belt.
Having now finished the series, I think, for all it wasn't telling an especially complicated story, I did appreciate how it avoided a lot of the typical anime storytelling tropes.
Based on the first couple of episodes, I thought Tanaka and his son would be much more significant characters (had a small amount of money on Tanaka being David's biological father) and we'd get some kind of confrontation between them towards the end, perhaps culminating in David choosing to go back to school. I wouldn't have been against them doing that, but I'm also glad they didn't.
Given that Tanaka and Tanaka Jr. are pretty much out of picture by the half-way point, when it seems like David has suddenly (yet subtly!) become an adult, it seems as though the show is basically telling us that those childhood problems really don't matter anymore, and I found that lack of sentimentality quite refreshing.
While I kind of guessed it wasn't going to end happily the moment we saw David with his cyberised body, and even more so when he started shooting up the suppressants to maintain his sanity, I think it would have been easy for them to back down and find some way for him to escape Adam Smasher, perhaps at the expense of the Sandevistan. I did appreciate, however, that they stuck to their guns and allowed David to die at the end - it just felt right for the story.
But yeah. Given how well received the series seems to have been, I do hope Trigger will do something else in this universe. Doesn't need to be a sequel, but even a one shot film with a different cast would be a nice way to round off their involvement with the IP.
Having now finished the series, I think, for all it wasn't telling an especially complicated story, I did appreciate how it avoided a lot of the typical anime storytelling tropes.
Based on the first couple of episodes, I thought Tanaka and his son would be much more significant characters (had a small amount of money on Tanaka being David's biological father) and we'd get some kind of confrontation between them towards the end, perhaps culminating in David choosing to go back to school. I wouldn't have been against them doing that, but I'm also glad they didn't.
Given that Tanaka and Tanaka Jr. are pretty much out of picture by the half-way point, when it seems like David has suddenly (yet subtly!) become an adult, it seems as though the show is basically telling us that those childhood problems really don't matter anymore, and I found that lack of sentimentality quite refreshing.
While I kind of guessed it wasn't going to end happily the moment we saw David with his cyberised body, and even more so when he started shooting up the suppressants to maintain his sanity, I think it would have been easy for them to back down and find some way for him to escape Adam Smasher, perhaps at the expense of the Sandevistan. I did appreciate, however, that they stuck to their guns and allowed David to die at the end - it just felt right for the story.
But yeah. Given how well received the series seems to have been, I do hope Trigger will do something else in this universe. Doesn't need to be a sequel, but even a one shot film with a different cast would be a nice way to round off their involvement with the IP.
Like you, I also loved that they committed to stick with the consequences of the characters' actions - no way out.
The depiction of Adam Smasher is perfect - in the game, story-wise, you really get the feeling that the guy-thing has no morality whatsoever and paired with his cyber build, it makes for a very ominous presence. The anime did it justice.
I also loved that they showed David's perception of the trip to the tower - it felt weirdly dignifying amidst his loss of sanity. Becca looking at him while he's hallucinating about his mom was so, so sad.
Someone linked a Mike Pondsmith post on reddit where he explains cyberpsychosis and how people are able to hold on to their humanity. It's basically (very basically) about being surrounded by humanity and warmth. If you start to lose those, you start to lose it.
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