Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Back in 1982, a film by Ridley Scott, and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young, called “Blade Runner,” was released.

The way Kenn showcases David’s transformation from a person with just apathy in his veins to a leader who is reeling with the pressure of unfulfilled dreams is masterful. Also, if possible, try to watch it on a big screen, accompanied by the best sound system at your disposal, and in a darkened room. As mentioned before, even though every episode is 25 minutes long, it takes a toll on your senses (in the best way possible). His voice chemistry with every single actor in the show is palpable, especially Hiroki and Aoi, who are excellent in their own right. Because there’s a subplot about a character (keeping it vague here), who dreams of going to the Moon because they think that’s the only place, they’ll find solitude. But some of the not-so-obvious ones are (and this is a big guess on my part) “Cowboy Bebop” and “First Man.” The beautifully done opening title sequence, edited to the tune of “This Fffire” by Franz Ferdinand, really reminded me of “Tank!” by Yoko Kanno and Seatbelts; because of the use of silhouettes and its overall vibe. Not just because it’s one of the only positive things in the plot, but also because of the visually dynamic way it is portrayed. Whether or not that’s overly sexualized or a sign of the character’s sexually liberated traits, I’ll leave that to the experts. Just like the plot, the entirety of “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” is kinetic. And while David’s effort to find his family in Maine’s team to overcome the loss of his mother is certainly endearing, the beating heart of this series lies in his and Lucy’s romance. Hit jobs that a broker for the corporation called Arasaka (whose rival is the corporation called Militech) named Faraday (Kazuhiko Inoue/Giancarlo Esposito) gives to Maine. And it seems like the writers and creators of the show are aware of that.

'Promare' director Hiroyuki Imaishi's ultraviolent action is colorful and kinetic, but it's the quiet moments—lovely, sad, and otherwise, that make this ...

And without scolding the audience for enjoying its well-choreographed and bloody setpieces, Edgerunners makes a point of paying heed to the consequences both physical (what’s left behind is grody. And David and Lucy’s romance, fraught and thorny, is genuinely lovely. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is at its best when David and Lucy get to be still, in the comparatively brief moments of peace they dig out of their lives. He finds deliverance from his malaise in a crew of Edgerunners (cyberware-wielding mercenaries and outlaws) who, despite a guns-drawn introduction, take him on and teach him their world. And, though Edgerunners is David, Lucy, and their fellow Edgerunners’ story, it’s just one of many merciless tales in Night City—a place so stubbornly resistant to change that it bounced back from a nuclear bombing more or less intact, a place that devours people. Acknowledging that a well-done romance is catnip to me, David and Lucy’s tale is damn fine catnip. Maine is a teacher and brother figure. It’s a downright downbeat show and one that gets bleaker as it progresses. Night City—the California megalopolis where Edgerunners and 2077 take place—is merciless. [numerous](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/cyberpunk-three-months-later/) and [significant](https://www.polygon.com/2021/1/13/22229626/cd-projekt-apology-cyberpunk-2077-post-launch-roadmap-patch-107) failings of 2077‘s development and launch, the game as it currently stands features some [tremendously impressive character work](https://www.thegamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-judy-alvarez-story-romance-masterpiece/) and [a defiant melancholy](https://wapo.st/3BECwcZ) that, to get personal, has meant a great deal to me during a rough personal time) I’ve repeatedly come back to Pondsmith’s observation. “Cyberpunk is about that interface between people and technology, but not in that transhumanist way where it’s all about the technology changing or improving them. He’s a smart, anxious, lonely young man teetering on the edge of oblivion.

Netflix and Trigger's video game adaptation is a kinetic, colorful sci-fi hit—but not without a few glitches.

Here’s what we thought of the series—the good and the bad, with a few spoilers thrown in for good measure. [Cyberpunk: Edgerunners](https://gizmodo.com/cyberpunk-edgerunners-netflix-series-nsfw-new-trailer-1849474957) is a peculiar sidestep for one of the most lauded animation studios out of Japan. and a few things to love a little less.

Netflix's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 1 review - a psychedelic anime bucks the trend for video game adaptations. Spoiler-free.

In many ways, this is the Cyberpunk story the Cyberpunk game wanted to tell and couldn’t. The bouncing EDM soundtrack might not do as much heavy lifting, but there’s a case to be made that virtually all action scenes in every show should be set to similar rhythms. It’s a deeply cynical vision of a society in which the gulf between haves and have-nots is even more extreme than our own reality; in which even the fantasy of standing up to our bullies is destroyed by cybernetic augmentations that mean the richest are now also the strongest, fastest, and most dangerous. It’s no wonder that there’s an appeal in running jobs for the hackers and mercenaries who exist outside of the strict parameters governing everyday folks. This is Cyberpunk as self-indulgent psychedelia, as an answer to all the anarchic, energetic promises made but never kept. They had all the goodwill in the world.

The Netflix and Studio Trigger anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077. Here are the connections to the video game and ...

But while Cyberpunk: Edgerunners may lack a firm chronological connection to CD Projekt Red’s original game, it makes up for it by telling a story through the character of David Martinez, which parallels with V’s own story in Cyberpunk 2077. By far the strongest aspect Cyberpunk: Edgerunners shares with its video game counterpart is a focus on centering their respective stories on the precipitous rise and inevitable fall of a flawed, well-meaning, and doomed protagonist. While an exact year and date is never specified in the series, it’s possible to infer from both context clues and the appearance (and non-appearance) of certain characters that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners takes place before the events of Cyberpunk 2077. David can later be seen visiting Lizzie’s Bar, the “braindance” club located in Watson and owned and operated by the Mox, one of the eight major gang factions in Night City. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners takes place in Night City, the futuristic metropolis that serves as the primary setting of Cyberpunk 2077. Following a tragedy that leaves him orphaned, David submits himself to being implanted with an experimental cyberware augmentation and turns to the only life left for him: becoming an edgerunner, a cybernetic mercenary for hire who joins a gang of fellow “cyberpunks’’ in search of fame and fortune.

The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series has just released on Netflix, but what do we know so far about the possibility of season 2?

Ultimately, whatever the future holds for the series, the most important factor in determining the renewal chances of a show comes down to Netflix and their viewership. “While detractors of Studio Trigger’s output regard the anime powerhouse as prioritizing style over substance. [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/review/rw8540891/?ref_=tt_urv), “The storyline is amazing. Couple this with the fact that Arasaka and the Mili-Tech group are still at large, season 2 could see our Edgerunner create a new team of misfits in her mission to destroy these mega-corporations. Thankfully, this means that the anime adaptation has limitless possibilities surrounding the characters, story and timeline for potential future seasons. Interestingly, CD Projekt RED recently announced the first DLC expansion for their Cyberpunk 2077 video game.

Cyberpunk Edgerunners introduces us to David Martinez, another Night City legend who dreamt of reaching the top of Arasaka.

In that case, the creators might decide to bring back David to one of their upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 projects. In the final moments, Adam Smasher breaks every part of David's body and eventually kills the boy. After that, Falco grabs Lucy and escapes the scene, while David decides to fight Adam Smasher. So, even after witnessing several people losing their minds because of cybernetic implants, David continued exploiting the power of Sandevistan for several years. The story kicks off with the introduction of David Martinez, a gifted student at the Arasaka Academy. The animated series from Studio Trigger introduces us to David Martinez and Lucy, who are forced to survive the horrors of the city's underworld.

Yesterday, Netflix released yet another video game anime adaptation, though this one with a lot of baggage attached. That would be Cyberpunk Edgerunners, ...

The animation and character design here from Trigger is stunning, and the writing from the CDPR team who scripted the series is excellent as well. Everyone involved here, Netflix, CDPR and Trigger knocked it out of the park with Edgerunners. She introduces him to her crew, and his ability to withstand the installation of a stolen augment makes him invaluable to the team. I really felt like my time with the show was enhanced by the game, though I think you could probably also make the argument that the game could be enhanced if you watched the show first. The show is set in Night City and while it does not directly cross over with the game, that’s somewhat misleading to say. But through it all, you could tell that at the very least, the world they’d built was an interesting, engaging one, and that’s what Edgerunners is exploring.

Created by Rafal Jaki, the show follows David (Kenn/Zach Aguilar), a high school student who lives with his mother, Gloria (Yurika Hino/Gloria Garayua), in ...

Another time jump occurs, and we see Lucy on the Moon (is that a “Lucy in the Sky” reference?), which is a tourist spot, if it wasn’t clear before. So, Faraday apparently double-crosses Militech again and tells David to show Arasaka that he is the only one who can wield the Cyberskeleton by killing the oncoming soldiers. Since Lucy and David departed on a sour note, he doesn’t check up on her for a while and instead heads into the mission to get the Cyberskeleton. He thinks that he is built differently, as if he’s a “chosen one” character, and he is not going to meet the same fate as Maine (or any of the cyberware users). According to his agreement with Arasaka, Faraday kills Kiwi because she knows about the Cyberskeleton and starts to proceed towards the Arasaka HQ. Faraday uses Lucy to get David into the Cyberskeleton. Lucy is apparently in retirement because she hasn’t shaken off Maine and Dorio’s death, and the things about David’s past that she saw in ICE. Meanwhile, Arasaka wants Faraday to eliminate everyone who knows about the Cyberskeleton and bring in the netrunner (Lucy), who has been killing Arasaka’s netrunners whenever they get close to finding David’s identity. He keeps thinking that he could’ve done something to stop Maine from going over the edge, despite knowing the inevitability of it all. Maine is so formative to his growth that he doesn’t get to shake off the fact that his cyberpsychosis was inevitable. Something that is set up from the very first frame of “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” is the concept of cyberpsychosis. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that his romantic relationship is one of the reasons for David’s cyberpsychosis.

When is the Netflix anime series Edgerunners set in relation to Cyberpunk 2077? Here's all the clues you might've missed.

[subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article) and get the next 12 issues for only £1. [video game release schedule](https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/2020-10-07/video-game-release-dates/) for all upcoming games on consoles. [Radio Times Gaming on Twitter](https://twitter.com/RadioTimesGames) for all the latest insights. Cyberpunk 2077 is connected to Edgerunners in plenty of different ways, but it also stands alone as its own story. In episode 4, the main characters visit Afterlife, a club that is still going strong when Cyberpunk 2077 the game kicks off. Wakako Okada is another character from the game that shows up in Edgerunners, albeit for only a very brief cameo appearance. But for now, the Edgerunners anime is very much the centre of attention. So the show is taking place before the game, making it a prequel of sorts. However, despite that disconnect, you will spot familiar locations and background characters in the show. Swing by our hubs for more [Gaming](https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/gaming/) and [Technology](https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/) news. And there you have it! With this anime being billed as a standalone based around a new character, you shouldn't expect the game's protagonist V (or key companion characters like Johnny Silverhand and Jackie Welles) to show up in the series.