As someone who's seen their fair share of anime, I can say that Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a mixed bag. The one huge setback for this not to be a great series is the writing and the pacing of the story. It overshoots it's story scope, for the amount of time they have set for the series,and ultimately it falls flat and rushed.The project ended up being one of those "What could've been" instances in anime history.Because the potential for an amazing series is in there, but sadly, it's compressed to the point, where after finishing watching it, I was left with a feeling of
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shame, of the wasted potential of this series.I feel that this lands more on CD Project Red and Netflix, rather than Trigger.Although, there are some writing issues with what was worked with regardless.
1.Pacing. Everything is going at a 100 miles an hour.There's no time for such an interesting cast to be expanded on, and let the audience breathe,relate to and grow attached to these characters, before they're killed off.
Most egregious of the bunch being Rebecca that was arguably the most interesting character, yet had the least screen time apart from the ones that are killed off early, and the most disappointing death.There was the slightest hint, that she might've harbored romantic feelings for the MC, yet that is tossed to the wind, because the story has to wrap up, and she needs to bite the dust for the tragic ending.
The romance ,between David and Lucy feels forced. There are some moments of chemistry, but due to the time constrain of having to cram everything in a 10 episode frame, there's no room for the romance between the two to grow gradually, investing the people into their relationship, and why you should care about them. That can be said for the rest of the crew as well.
Dorio and Maine's relationship is shown literally in one makeout scene. That's all you get. And then you should feel sad when Maine has her killed ,even if she had a total of 10 lines up to that point.
Kiwi flip flopping sides without any sort of reason aside from "It's night city, so everyone fucks over everyone" while until that point she showed nothing about her character that would imply she was such a character. Only for her to flip back before she died as well.
David being a very uninspired character, that despite the multiple instances of warning signs does the exact same thing, with no logical reason for him to do so.The anime goes out of it's way to mention that he's a Straight A student in an elite academy, yet he makes decisions, as if he's borderline mentally challenged. He saw Maine went psycho and witnessed it first hand, yet, despite that, after his death, he still becomes the exact same, and Undergoes 90% mechanical enhancements.There was no time for the anime to explain the character's thought process, or reasoning for his actions , aside the "I''m special" main protagonist syndrome.
As a warning as well, if you haven't played the game, or aren't well versed in the lingo, you'll be left scratching your head at some points, as the anime doesn't have the time to explain things.Eddies/Eds, chooms, chrome junkie,Militech, Arasaka, Some things you might be able to pick up through context, but others , you are expected to just know.I had the luck to watch it with someone who's played through the game prolifically, but it's safe to say, that if one isn't familiar with the game, they'll be asking themselves, " Why should I care , when I don't know what they're talking about"
2.Music. It's a nice mix of different genres , each one fitting with the situation at hand. They do a good job at enhancing the scene, and not overstay their welcome. I'm told that most if not all of that music is taken directly from the game itself. Which I feel is a nice touch. Although, judging from the lackluster intro song It might've been a cost saving move, rather than an intentional nod at the game.
3.Animation
It's Studio Trigger. What is there left to be said, that hasn't been already. They're great. It's an iconic style, with a very distinguishable motion flair. On a couple of occasions, the CGI was a tad too jarring, but I've forfeited my suspension of disbelieve enough, for it not to be a huge bother. Although, others might find it irritating.
Ultimately, this anime could've been a 9/10 , if it was 24 episodes, rather than 10. It's not like CD Project Red and Netflix didn't have the money to make it happen. So this choice of length makes no sense to me.
As the piece being just supplementary to the game, and give long time players some much needed content, I'd say it would do so.
As it being judged on it's own merits as a singular, self-contained work, It's lacking in writing too much, for me to recommend it for anything more than a "Joy ride" anime, that wouldn't stay with you longer than a couple o days, before you forget the names of the characters or the overall plot.
If you're were looking for a deep dive in the lore and exploration of the Cyberpunk 2077 world.Something akin to what Arcane did for League Of Legends, this definitely isn't that.
Sep 17, 2022
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
(Anime)
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As someone who's seen their fair share of anime, I can say that Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a mixed bag. The one huge setback for this not to be a great series is the writing and the pacing of the story. It overshoots it's story scope, for the amount of time they have set for the series,and ultimately it falls flat and rushed.The project ended up being one of those "What could've been" instances in anime history.Because the potential for an amazing series is in there, but sadly, it's compressed to the point, where after finishing watching it, I was left with a feeling of
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