Night City, 2076. In
a cyberized hellscape, David Martinez scrapes by as best he can at a school he
cant afford and around people who despise him.
His life changes when he and his Mother are caught in the middle of a
driveby shooting. Left on his own, David
stumbles across a piece of tech that grants him the power to fight back against
the system and forge a path all his own.
A chance encounter with a beautiful pickpocket might give David the in
he needs to join the elite of the underground, no nonsense and dangerous rebels
called Cyberpunks…better known as Edgerunners.
While it might be in a better state than it was at first
launch, that very same launch is one of the reasons I was hesitant to even
think about watching an Anime based on Cyberpunk 2077.
Upon release it was hailed as a disaster on
any system that wasn’t a high end PC, Xbox Series X/S or Playstation 5, filled
with glitches and game breaking bugs galore.
Like I said, it’s reputation has improved but I’m still not tempted to
give it a try.
That said, part of the
games strong second wind stems from this Anime.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was hailed as one of the Best Anime of 2022 and
arguably an even better representation of the world than the video game it
shares a world with.
Plus for all the
trouble CD Projekt Red has had with the games history, they somehow managed to
snag Studio freaking Trigger to animate it?
Well, that’s more than enough to pique my interest.
So, do these first three episodes provide
proof that this Anime is worth the hype?
You could say that if you’ve seen one Cyberpunk themed
dystopia, you’ve seen them all.
However,
you haven’t seen one animated by Trigger and from the bloody opening action
sequence you can see why theyre the perfect fit for this dog eat dog
cyberworld.
This is probably the most
mature project for Trigger to date which really allows them to cut loose with
the visuals filled with blood, rapid fire action and nudity aplenty.
It’s pretty vibrant and lively too, even if
the underbelly of Night City looks rotten to the core.
It gave me flashbacks to Batman Beyond, heck,
Night City could even be a version of Future Gotham City that doesn’t have to
be censored for TV networks.
In short,
Studio Trigger is right at home doing what it does best but with less
limitations which allow it to run wild with the chaos.
Just because Trigger is bringing it’s A Game to the party
doesn’t mean that everything is sunshine and rainbows in Night City.
The first three episodes do a good job of
highlighting just how crappy of a world David has to live in.
While we do get glimpses of the tall
skyscrapers and background that show how the upper echelon exists, much of this
opening set takes place in the lower tiers of the city.
Dingy, filthy, pack to the brim with violence
and peril aplenty, it’s a miracle David has lasted so long before he and his
mother even get caught up in that shootout on the highway.
Even with that on display, David’s school
life isn’t much better as he’s constantly hassled by his elitist classmates who
would rather see him dead and gone and don’t offer much sympathy when David
loses his mother…actually not even the underground clinics have much sympathy
either, they just move David along so they can get to the next
patient/client.
Night City is an unfair
hellscape behind all the colorful neon veil.
And while we haven’t seen what life is like off world, it’s hard to
argue with Lucy’s claim that Night City is more of a prison than the rumors of
space life.
So trust me, when David is
able to land a One Punch Man/Flash style punch on his school rival, Katsuo, it
is satisfying as heck to see at least one thing go right for our hero.
David headlines a pretty fun cast of characters even if
he’s at is best bouncing off of them than he is on his own.
Don’t get me wrong, the death of his Mom is a
heavy moment for him and the music choice only enhances his feelings of loss,
both of his only family and of whatever dreams they might have had.
But David is still kind of basic for me atm,
your standard edgy protagonist who curses like a sailor and wants to prove
himself to a new gang and a gorgeous girl.
He’s got potential but a lot of his best moments came from is
interactions with the cast, especially Lucy and Maine.
Lucy is a fine addition to the roster of
Studio Trigger Poster Girls with a sexy design and fun loving attitude to
match.
It’s hard not to fall for her at
first sight but the scene where she is having a blast rescuing David from a
would be Doctor Assassin cemented her as awesome for me.
They’ve certainly got cute potential together
as exeomplifed by that gorgeous VR Moon sequence, which also has a great song
selection to give it some added boost (yeah the soundtrack is freaking amazing
in this show).
Maine another familiar
Trigger model, the big, buff and no nonsense behemoth but he exudes coolness
and he gets one of the bloodiest and best kills in the intro, freaking awesome.
There are others but for now the only other
character worth noting is the mysterious Faraday because he’s voice by Gus
Fring himself, Giancarlo Esposito and if you don’t know who that is, go watch
Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul because the dude is a master bad guy, top of
the class and I cant wait to see what he brings to an Anime.
Much of this intro set is just that, an intro.
We get to know the world of Night City
surprisingly well while still wanting to know more.
We get the beginnings of David’s journey to
becoming an Edgerunner and see many supporting players in position to help him
advance or maybe even impede that goal.
And there’s the bonkers action scenes that Trigger has perfected by
now.
Still, there are several plot
points still to be explored such as David’s Mom’s dealing with illegal tech
just to support her son, he’s gotta have questions about that.
And what about the Sandevistan?
It’s Military Grade hardware but why is the
Arasaka Company so invested in it?
They
seem quite willing to lure David back with the promise of full paid tuition for
school but he isn’t having any of that anymore.
I guess I shouldn’t expect everything to be laid out and there’s enough
left dangling to keep my interest piqued even if these first three episodes
were a very solid start for an Anime based on a Game I don’t have much interest
in.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has everything it needs to be a
win: Studio Trigger, bombastic and very adult action and a gorgeous leading
lady, basically everything that worked for Kill La Kill and Gurren Lagann.
I think I was right to choose this as the
title to lead off a Month of Video Game Anime Reviews and I’m eager to see just
how far down this dark and digitally messed up cyber world David is willing to
go for whatever his end goal is.
Looks
like the fun’s just getting started.
See
you Monday for the next chapter of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners right here at the
Gundam Anime Corner.
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