Name: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Released: 2022-09-13T12:30:00

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a Netflix anime series based on the video game Cyberpunk 2077. It follows David Martinez, a young boy who gets involved in the violent lifestyle of an edgerunner. The series is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Night City is mostly run by megacorporations and the rich elite while the poor are left to fend for themselves by putting themselves at risk and taking on odd jobs for credits.

David Martinez is the son of a single mother named Gloria Martinez who has worked her back off to send David to a prestigious school for rich kids. David doesn’t fit in with the others but continues there for the sake of his mother.

Night City is filled with edgerunners or cyberpunk, people who get cybernetic enhancements and offer their services as mercenaries who complete dangerously violent jobs for a hefty payment.

When David and his mother get caught in the middle of a drive-by shooting, David survives but his mother doesn’t. She had a military-grade implant called a Sandevistan in her possession, which was created by the Arasaka corporation.

David was always a fan of edgerunners and he decides to get the Sandevistan fitted on him despite the major risks it carries. This gets him caught up in the dirty underworld of Night City.

David’s need for more cybernetics eventually proves detrimental as he finds himself in Arasaka’s crosshairs, leading to an explosive final showdown.

Positives

The animation is of the highest grade, typically expected of an anime series. The colours are vibrant and the character designs are vivid and are adapted well when compared to the original game.

The 10 episodes are paced out well making it easy to get through the series quite easily. They come in at around 25 minutes each which is a comfortable runtime for an animated show.

There are moments where the dialogue continues while the video focuses on different shots of the city and this is a particularly interesting form of storytelling.

Negatives

While the animation is rich, the excessive strobe can be a bit dizzying for several viewers and is a tad too much.

The story doesn’t have a very strong arc with the small time jump in the middle feeling quite abrupt. There is no clear indication of the main focus from the beginning apart from the fact that David is the main protagonist.

In fact, the narrative falls flat by the end with a less than satisfactory climax.

Verdict

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is visually a solid recreation of Cyberpunk 2077 but it doesn’t offer up a strong story to follow. The 10 episodes are perfect for a casual watch, although it isn’t very memorable.