Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a 2022 Polish-Japanese animated series set in a world that is based on the video game Cyberpunk 2077, which was made by Polish game developer CD Projekt. The 10-episode Netflix series was animated by Studio Trigger, and its development was overseen by CD Projekt Red, a subdivision of the game studio. Both the anime and the video game are set in the world of Cyberpunk, a tabletop role-playing game, created by Mike Pondsmith. The anime serves as a prequel to the game and takes place about a year before the events of Cyberpunk 2077. 

Story:

The story of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners follows a teenage boy named David through his life in Night City, a self-reliant metropolis located in the Free State of California. Night City suffers from extensive corruption, cybernetic addiction, and gang violence. The city is split into six districts, each of which has its own precise living requirements, and is controlled by a number of different megacorporations, including Arasaka and its rival Militech. David is one of the top students at the prestigious Arasaka Academy, however, because his family is not wealthy like the other students, he is constantly bullied. Apart from David’s plotline, the show focuses on a gang of “Edgerunners” or “Cyberpunks,” who work for a fixer called Faraday. The gang gets jobs, often involving corporate espionage, from him.

Characters:

The characters of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners are very well thought out and have a lot of personality. They range from serious all of the time to fun individuals, but when it comes to their jobs, they are all serious. The gang of cyberpunks is led by Maine. Maine is a veteran in the business and he leads the team very well. Some of the other faces in the group are Lucy and Kiwi, who are the team’s two netrunners, which are basically hackers. Rebecca is an especially enthusiastic member of the team. She is quite fond of weapons and is a bit trigger-happy, yet she can always be counted on to get the job done. One of my favorite characters is Falco. He is the team’s getaway driver. He is quiet and stoic, yet is a character who made a strong impression on me with his firm commitment to the team. The show has many other characters who are all interesting in their own ways, but I don’t want to spoil everything. It’s best to find out your favorite characters on your own.

Animation and Art Direction:

When Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was first released, it was praised heavily for its characters, story, and worldbuilding, but it was also praised for its animation. This comes as no surprise to me. The animation in Cyberpunk is great. With Studio Trigger in charge of animation, amazing things were to be expected. With work on previous projects such as Kill la Kill, Darling in the Franxx, and Promare, Cyberpunk was clearly in good hands. The animation of Cyberpunk is vivid and fast-paced with a huge palette of colors thrown at you. All of the color was never a bad thing though. Additionally, the constant visual clutter of ads and signage for the massive corporations helped to contribute to the show’s dystopian theme. The characters’ movements were always fluid. The designs of every character are stylish and differ from person to person. I enjoyed how there was a sense of personality in every character in a world that is meant to feel dead and run by mega-corporations. It helped to make each character feel more alive, which adds to the immersion and overall impression when watching the show.

Soundtrack:

Cyberpunk’s soundtrack is very diverse and very good. The show’s opening is “This fffire” by the alternative rock band Franz Ferdinand. This song is fast and has a lot of energy, especially with regard to its drums. The lyrics also relate to the theme of the show; one of rebellion and defiance of the status quo. The ending theme was “Let You Down” by Dawid Podsiadło. This song was the exact opposite of the opening. It is very mellow and much slower than the opening. While this might seem strange, I actually think that this is a great decision. These two songs perfectly relate the show’s themes. While Cyberpunk is about a gang of criminals and all the action they go through, they also go through their own set of troubles and conflicts like everyone else. The ending theme reminds the viewers of this. Another song that was heavily featured throughout the show was Rosa Walton’s song “I Really Want to Stay at Your House.” I actually think that this song is better than both the opening and closing themes, which is unusual. This song is so good though. I highly recommend listening to it on its own, but nothing can beat it being used in parts of the show. Of course, that’s why I’m trying to convince you to watch the show.

To conclude this review, I’ll leave my score and final thoughts. I give Cyberpunk: Edgerunners a 9/10. Taking into consideration the characters, animation, and music, it easily deserves this score. There have been many additional things that I wanted to say about the show but couldn’t since they would be spoilers. But trust me, this show is definitely worth it. It’s only ten episodes. Each episode is 25 minutes long, so you could theoretically finish it in 5 hours. The creators of the show have said that there are no plans for any other seasons, but I respect this decision. I think that the show’s ending was very good and another season isn’t necessary in my opinion. 

If you have any opinions on the show, feel free to comment below!