The new Netflix anime series “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” was a blast into the dark and edgy future of the world. It is violent, but does not overdo it to an annoying extent. It has great world-building and a compelling story. All of its greatness is packed into 10 episodes.
“Cyberpunk Edgerunners” was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi. He is known for his very punk rock and mature take on the anime genre with anime such as “Kill la Kill,l” “Promare,” “Dead Leaves,” and “The Gurren Lagann” series. I loved his work on “Kill la Kill” because of how the story was put together.
His stories are well tied together, and “Cyberpunk Edgerunners” is no exception. It has a great setup for the end of the story through its characters, animation, and even its opening and ending song.
The story follows a teenager named David Martinez, a kid only trying to survive in the tough Night City, where people swap their body parts with mechanical ones. He later finds a crew and they attempt to live in this gruesome town.
I love the world-building in this anime. In the first two episodes, I quickly understood the message of this messed-up city. It makes me worry for all its characters because anything can happen to them. In other stories, I wish I was there in these cool cities with lights and booming people. Not this story though. I would be petrified to ever walk foot in Night City, as I would fear for my life.
This anime is also an emotional rollercoaster. I tried so hard not to cry in some parts of this series. However, the music hit me hard and I could not hold it in. I thought since it was such an edgy story there was no room for emotion, but I was wrong.
This anime was such a good one and I highly recommend it. It has great animation, music and all-around good production. Even though it is a prologue to the game, I understand it very well. I give it a10 out of 10, and would definitely watch it again.