I just have to point out the people giving this show anything less than a 6/10. Did any of you all watch Edgerunners all the way through? Or did you just turn it on while cleaning around the house? Or do you all even know what good storytelling is? Because you must have some pretty high, yet formulaic standards to dislike this show. The “Overrated/Overhyped” comments and “Akame Ga Kill! Rip Off” comparisons are laughable, too.
Anyway, this show displayed what felt like 3 seasons worth into just 10 episodes, which is unheard of in modern anime, at least for anime that appear under the radar.
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Edgerunners tells a story some may have seen before in anime, where we have the main protagonist rise from “rags to riches” after being adopted into a gang of people who can relate to them somehow. This show strays from your common character archetypes. You don’t have the tsundere who shouts “Baka” at everyone, the MC is likable and isn’t a Gary Stu, the couple who confess and kiss in the last couple of minutes of the series, and the annoying pervert that trips and falls into every cleavage in sight. It was nice to finally get an anime that didn’t force those troupes and actually did something that everyone’s favorite 100+ episode battle shounen series have trouble with.
I’m not saying this anime was perfect, I think it was almost perfect; phenomenal. From the neon underworld that is Night City, cameo appearances from the 2077 game, the overall character development, the character designs, the romance between Lucy and David, the over-the-top violence and gore, and lots of allegory and metaphors to symbolize dreams, selflessness, drug-addiction, capitalism, losing one’s humanity, love, loss, and corruption. This is all packed into just 4 hours of runtime, and it tells a story that is better than most long-running series and mediocre 12-episode “one-and-dones”. Everything about this is vibrant and beautiful, all while showcasing those elements in a dark and unrelenting nature.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners also doesn’t rely on plot armor which is always a plus, because “the power of friendship” is passé and should be left at the gateway. The hero doesn’t always prevail and the villain has to win some battles. If David managed to win against Adam Smasher, the ending wouldn’t have been so impactful. He died to make sure the person he loved could go to the moon - or get away from Night City as far as possible. The ultimate sacrifice. David went out in a way Akame ga Kill! portrayed only out of shock value, rather than making it work in context. While I am a huge fan of AgK!, the comparison someone made lacks credibility.
Can we also talk about the OST for this? If we’re going to rag on something, at least make some good comparisons. This is another way of reeling in audiences who have an appreciation for the importance of a well-done soundtrack. Instead of buzzing in the same generic background music, we were given something very special and diverse. From synthwave to grimey Hip Hip, and from dance pop to death metal, the music was amazing and had its purpose in certain scenes. I loved the Deathcore track that was playing during the brief fight between the Edgerunners and Maelstrom. That and the song “I Really Want To Stay At Your House”.
The symbolism used for this song works so well, having it play during Lucy and David’s virtual BDX date on the moon was wholesome and was a foreshadowing of their growing relationship. The song makes a reprisal in the final episode when David snaps, evading Adam Smasher to save Lucy. The scene where they are falling from Arasaka Tower; Lucy frantically wishing for David to “come back to her” followed by one last kiss to break him from his cyberpsychosis, was easily the most beautiful moment in the anime - hands down. And I’ll take that anyday over Naruto confessing to Hinata after hundreds of episodes later. Getting back, when Adam Smasher finally gives David his respects and kills him off, we are left with just Lucy who is seen on a space transport landing on the moon. The song still plays as she envisions a cheerful David there with her, only for his image to disappear in a flash. The sorrowful expression on her face turns to acceptance and certainty, as she smiles and takes the moment to finally live her dream.
Outside of that, the supporting characters played just as much of a roll as Lucy and David. David’s mom, Gloria, worked her fingers to the bone to keep her son in Arasaka Academy in order for him to have a better life. In a sense, this is metaphorical and a foreshadowing for David in his last moments with Lucy in episode 10 - sacrificing everything for those we love. I like how David still keeps her ashes and a picture of her throughout the series, showing that he is still in it to make his mom proud. Although, I know this isn’t the path she wanted her son to travel, and the fact that David thought of his mother before murdering that woman showed that he had nothing to lose. He had descended into the depths of Night City, and was in league with the thugs who caused his mother’s death. Her last few words always played in his mind, especially upon arriving at Arasaka Tower when he knew he was at the point of no return. He climbed to the top, just as his mother wanted him to, fulfilling her dream and ridding of any guilt before going in to save Lucy.
I talk about the subject of dreams a lot in this review, but under the insane amounts of violence and no-holds-barred contents of nudity lies one of many points being made in this anime. Yes, capitalism is bad and mega corporations taking over the world is just as bad, but this is coming from the minds of three characters who want to get away from a city built on greed and the hierarchy of classism that wants to keep them in the slums. There is no in-between and you’re either a “corpo” or you’re a street rat. Something that is very much relevant in our world.
Next up, we have the Edgerunner crew - Maine (the boss), Dorio (the muscle), Kiwi (the net ripper), Lucy (the net runner), Pilar (the comic relief), Rebecca (shortstack Harley Quinn meets Revy from Black Lagoon), and Falco (the driver). These guys make you feel like you’re along for the ride, and they are so easy to get attached to because of how well they are designed. Maine and Dorio make a cute, yet unexpected couple and Dorio being able to tune her man out is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in the show. We need more characters like them. Kiwi is the old net runner who took Lucy under her wing, and would later be the stick in the wheel in betraying the crew later on. Lucy is David’s lover and is a skilled hacker brought up by the Arasaka Corporation turned mercenary, almost like a child soldier. Pilar and Rebecca have an interesting sibling rivalry. Pilar is the goofball comedian. Rebecca has a short fuse and wants to be the one to kill her brother (thus admitting this after killing the cyberpsychotic hobo who killed Pilar, breaking even by shooting her brother’s corpse.) and she answers the door with a gun pointed at David’s forehead acting hilariously casual over it. Falco doesn’t do much, but he hangs with the crew and acts as their personal driver to and from gigs.
All of these characters make David into who he becomes, for better or worse. The deaths of Maine and Dorio sparked something inside him that only increased his addiction to “chrome”. And as the new leader of the Edgerunners, he is pressured into working for Faraday - the fixer voiced by Giancarlo Esposito AKA Gus Fring from Breaking Bad. Faraday wants David to prove himself as a potential client and as we begin to realize, is using David for Arasaka’s benefit as - for lack of a better term - a “lab rat” for Arasaka’s prototype cyberwear. Because he has an abnormally-high tolerance for “chrome”, Arasaka have taken notice and this springs Lucy into protecting David without spilling the details to him.
This may be my only complaint in the story. Why Lucy just couldn’t tell David that Arasaka has a dossier on him was beyond me, but I guess it fits her as a recluse. Maybe she wanted to ease his worries, as he was under enough pressure already with trying to fill Maine’s shoes all while still holding on to a promise he made for his late mother.
Faraday, on the other hand, had the look of a villain, but I thought he was just the middleman and his character made it believable that his position as a fixer was set in stone and that he would remain as such. And I was caught off guard in episode 8 when Faraday double-crosses the Edgerunners and kidnaps a short-circuited Lucy with the help of Kiwi. It’s often to see a character betray their team for benefiting their own goal, but I was thrown for a loop by this and I thought it was executed very nicely. And not to mention she tricked David into modding into the prototype “cyberskeleton” mech suit that would end up being his Achilles heel, all while having a face-off with Arasaka and Militech. With that being said, I wasn’t expecting Faraday to turn the tables on Kiwi and had her killed off. While there was no way of redeeming herself, her final words are that of self-deprecating regret.
This show was killing everyone off and it did give me Akame ga Kill! vibes, and in the best way possible. The way everything was happening, it was only a matter of time to see who would survive and who wouldn’t. We were down to Falco, Rebecca, David, and Lucy, and with only 2 episodes remaining. So this had me questioning how everything would wrap up. Would David prevail and stop Arasaka? Would he prevail only for Lucy to die? Would everyone die? Or Falco be the only remaining member left to tell the tale? So many questions and yet, they were answered when Adam Smasher was introduced.
David finally gets to Arasaka and has one immunoblocker left to delay the symptoms of cyberpsychosis. With Adam Smasher being present and David using the last immunoblocker at his disposal, it was clear how this would end and I wasn’t prepared enough for it. All I could do was hope that I was wrong and boy, I was glad to see how it unfolded. I wish Rebecca didn’t go the way she did. As she was one of my favorites and while I can’t lie, she did go out in the most awesome way possible at the hands of Adam Smasher. David managed to save Lucy and Falco by distracting Adam Smasher, turning the attention on himself. David’s death was honorable and has me speculating if he even died, and that the shot from Adam was only used as a transition to the next scene. He told David that he could’ve been an “interesting construct”, which makes me think that maybe his conscious was put into a chip like Johnny Silverhand, and thus leaving room for a possible second season.
Either way, this ending was incredible and most the time, Trigger fails at providing a good and solid ending. Endings can make or break anything. A sour ending spoils everything that had led up to it. David went out for the sake of the only friends he loved and cared about, and the further he delve into darkness, the more determined he was to see his friend’s survival to the end.
Personally, I think this was a masterpiece in it’s own right. While there are novice comparisons and cries of “overhype”, the show manages to stand its ground for a run of just 10 episodes. Like I said, it told a story that most long running anime fail to accomplish with needless filler and scenes that go on for 3 or more episodes. This series could have gone with that kind of pacing and could have dragged on a bit more to help flesh out the small time skip between episodes 6 and 7. But, they managed to fit an entire story into a small timeframe for an anime, and the results speak for itself. An anime that revived a stagnant fanbase and spiked a 200% increase in sales for a video game with a once-bad reputation, bringing new fans into the game, and creating new fans of anime is a winner in my book. Any anime, cartoon, movie, game, song, that can make me feel something is an instant classic, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners did just that. Instant top 10 anime of all time and a top candidate for Anime of the Year 2022.
This is an anime that will continue to be talked about in the best way possible and the naysayers will be there to call it “overrated” and “overhyped”, anything to make it feel inferior to their run-of-the-mill expectations. Another show that was instantly popular the week it released was a little show called “Kimetsu no Yaiba: Demon Slayer” and it is one of the most successful shows to grace the anime community and pop culture industry. I hope the Edgerunners series continues to thrive from high demand to stick it to these dweebs who are formulaic and hate anything that is successful and well-received.
If Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 gets the green light, I would hope to see more of Lucy, as I feel her story isn’t over, yet. Part of me feels that David’s story isn’t over whether he is dead or alive, his legend could live on in Lucy who could form a new group of Edgerunners. Whether it still takes place in 2076 or is parallel to V’s story in the current lore, I just want to see more Cyberpunk done by Studio Trigger. The animation and color schemes are vibrant and pop so well, giving life and substance to Night City.
Long Live David Martinez!
Sep 28, 2022
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
(Anime)
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I just have to point out the people giving this show anything less than a 6/10. Did any of you all watch Edgerunners all the way through? Or did you just turn it on while cleaning around the house? Or do you all even know what good storytelling is? Because you must have some pretty high, yet formulaic standards to dislike this show. The “Overrated/Overhyped” comments and “Akame Ga Kill! Rip Off” comparisons are laughable, too.
Anyway, this show displayed what felt like 3 seasons worth into just 10 episodes, which is unheard of in modern anime, at least for anime that appear under the radar. ... |
