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Jan 7, 2025
They managed to pull through with this second season; don't get me wrong, the first season is good! But this second half is filled with so many good moments (albeit coming with a few changes that I wasn't a fan of), things that aren't in the game, and just good moments adapted into anime form. Not to mention they add a WHOLE NEW ENDING?? That was very cool. Everything from just before the Tower onwards was great; I still think the game tells the story in a much more interesting manner, but they adapted it soooo well!! Definitely awesome to watch after playing the game.
Also,
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it felt like A2 was given much more time to shine here! There's a lot of nice moments with her and Pascal, and all the backstory of Pearl Harbor Descent and everything else being animated really highlighted her character for me. Not to mention that her final speech just before the fight with 9S is SO well done, it represents her fight on the side of hope in a way the game didn't, which I love. Also, speaking of which, 9S? He is so brutal in the anime, but they did such a good job with him. Kyle McCarley (I watched it in English, as I did with the game (I don't usually like playing games with subtitles)) does a phenomenal job as 9S, dare I say sometimes better than in the game. He put his all into him this time around and it was so worth it. 9S is so full of anger and hatred, and he does an incredible job of really making you *feel* that!
Other than that, it's not perfect all the way through, as I said it has quite a few moments that I wish were left unchanged, but it does Automata right in all the right ways. Mostly. It's good, okay? But PLEASE play the game before watching the anime. It is so so so worth playing the game first, not only because the anime is fun to watch afterwards as a "hey, I remember that!" kinda thing, but also because I just think the reveals in the game are so much more impactful, and then seeing them again in the anime (maybe presented differently) will come back and slap you in the face again (which is pretty fun).
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 12, 2024
SPOILER WARNING
This show is great. I appreciate each of the cases more than the last, and this rewatch really made me appreciate the show more! Although, the 2nd season is quite something. I really really like it, but have also felt a little conflicted about it:
Much of the 2nd season leads you to believe that Makoto's mental health is severely deteriorating, due to working for the Suzaku Association, a company full of horrific people committing heinous crimes (or, at least, a part of this company), as part of Laurent's next big con. He's a part of quite a few of these crimes (which notably include
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trafficking children), and rises through the ranks pretty quickly. His demeanour massively changes throughout this season, noticeably in his appearance, attitude, and his newfound habit of smoking. He almost seems like a different person, but it feels completely natural given his situation and the torment Laurent has put him through in the ENTIRE series. Never telling him what's real and what's not, coercing him into jobs, etc. It creates a really interesting idea that all of the trickery that he has been subjected to has had a long-lasting effect on him, and it's gotten to the point where he even looks to the head of the company as a sort of surrogate mother figure. Perhaps he has even become desensitized to the Association's crimes, and works as if it's second nature to him now. Well, it certainly seems that way.
Anyway, this tension regarding Makoto's complete shift in personality and appearance is consistent throughout the season, and only gets worse. It ends up cultivating into a massive showdown between Suzaku and a rival 'trading' company, where Makoto fully lashes out at his father and Laurent, pressing a sword to his father's chest. It's honestly rather satisfying to watch, considering what they've put him through over the past... months? Perhaps longer... but, then Makoto's dad slashes his son across the chest with the blade, and the two company's higher-ups find themselves in an honestly over-the-top size elevator, which reveals that they are stranded on a desert island.
The writers themselves have conned us, the viewers, before, but not like this. Makoto had worked for this company for the longest of times, but it turns out that he truly may have been acting for a very long time. Well, I feel it makes the most sense like this: Makoto begins to work for the Suzaku Association reluctantly, on Laurent's 'orders'. He seems happy at first, until he realises what is going on behind the scenes; this is when his mental health starts to decline, since he is forced to go along with his 'act' to progress the con, and fully realises just how horrible the company is, keeping children locked up, leaving them hopeless. He has an opportunity to escape when Laurent, Abbie, and Cynthia get the money, but he stays in favour of trying to rescue the children being kept there. I feel that he is not drawn into the work, but is determined to complete his rescue, and so goes along with the work as best as he can. Akemi (the head of Suzaku), however, is arguably his biggest reason to stay at certain points, since she fills that parental role that Makoto has been missing for a very long time. I feel it is then after that, when Akemi and the head of the rival company choose to meet in-person, that Makoto plans his con so that he can finally best Laurent, the man who he so despises for constantly tricking and coercing him, despite it's positive outcomes. So he does, and he pulls it off, although I imagine he feels conflicted about Akemi. So, the last stretch of his time there was most likely an act. But him lashing out at Laurent and his father was his one chance to let his true feelings out, and so he did.
In short, I believe he dipped in and out of his act in his time there, mostly due to his affection for Akemi, and the overall intense influence of the job itself. Nonetheless, Makoto ended up conning pretty much everyone, leading us to believe he was going to be left off much worse in the long run. I guess he can work his way through just about anything, especially if it means getting back at Laurent and/or his unreliable father. I also like to imagine his evil laugh is real purely because him finally besting Laurent is probably an amazing feeling for him.
It's a weird ending, but there's something about Makoto finally pulling off a con so magnificent that's utterly satisfying to watch unfold. Although I would've loved a 2nd season that fully focused on him being badly affected by the company and Laurent's 'orders', I think a mix of that and him pulling off his most puzzling con yet is a great way to end the show. The Great Pretender, so to speak... Unless there's another season coming! Which I would be pretty excited for!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 28, 2024
This show does such a good job of incorporating itself into the Cyberpunk universe, and I'm so happy to rewatch it after fully playing 2077 twice. It's so good, and it's even better when you're into 2077 or the cyberpunk genre as a whole.
The one thing I will say is that I like the beginning of the show a little bit more than it's mid-to-late areas, since seeing David almost stumble his way through Night City and the Edgerunners 'business' is really interesting; It's new to him, but he's found a place to belong, finally. Him working through his trauma is especially well-written.
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The mid-to-late areas are still good, just weird seeing him take more of a leader role; the first half presents him as more of a delinquent who just about manages to fit in to Maine's group, and so the time-skip into him being the frontman feels somewhat inorganic (ironic for Cyberpunk), in the way that he seems to step up rather quickly. I feel as if they could have included some more stuff from inbetween the time-skip, but 1. you can already see where David is heading in a manner of ways, since he's hellbent on protecting people and fulfilling his mum's/Maine's wishes, and 2. you can always come up with your own ideas for what happened in that time space, that could be fun.
Even so, I don't think that detracts from the show much. It's almost split into two parts; new kid on the block David, and full-on Edgerunner David.
Anyway, it's great. Especially great for someone familiar with the Pondsmith Cyberpunk universe, but also a very good entry point!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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