Studio Trigger is known for selling a particular feel with their anime, one commonly associated with the studio talent's past in GAINAX and the style of Gurren Lagann or Kill la Kill. But after Trigger's panel at this year's Anime Expo, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners might be a big departure and another step towards becoming bigger on an international scale.
Announced way back in 2020 when Cyberpunk 2077 was still being hyped, Edgerunners is an animated series that not much was known about. About all that was known was that it was coming in 2022, so at least Trigger was better at setting a release date than CD Projekt Red. The small synopsis given was as vague and inviting as the premise of the game to which it is a companion piece; a boy surviving in a tech-obsessed dystopia. It was announced to have 10 episodes and be helmed by Hiroyuki Imaishi who at the time was hot off the heels of Promare's critical acclaim.
"More Details To Come"
Almost two years later exactly, the first teaser was shown, and now there's far more to chew on leading up to the release in September. The trailer shows plenty of familiar aesthetics and imagery, from the sprawling metropolis to the fashion to familiar corporations advertised everywhere.
There have clearly been changes in the two years since the announcement, and not even the protagonist looks the same as they did in the first promo poster. Between the similar premises and the imagery in the teasers, this anime could be less of a new story and a remix of the game's message.
A Trigger Adaptation
It need not be said how wild, fast, and "out there" Trigger's original stories can be, but they haven't really ever adapted something that they didn't make themselves. Even so, while Trigger mostly does original stories, but on the occasions that they are working with a pre-existing IP, the winks and nods to that franchise are plentiful.
Take for instance Hiroyuki Imaishi's short for Star Wars: Visions, "The Twins." It's a small and packed story, and while it's incredibly different from anything else in Star Wars, Imaishi created it as a retelling of the original story. Apart from the style and pacing, things like its themes of family or the visual homages to the series are ways in which it is a condensed remix of the franchise as a whole.
Remixing Cyberpunk 2077
With all the delays and hurdles that plagued the production of Cyberpunk 2077, there must have been pressure on Trigger to get a grasp of the world they would be creating. To this point, Saya Elder of CD Projekt Red recalled giving them an early build to play. Looking at the state of the show, this had a big impact in giving Imaishi and co. a muse to work off of.
Setting aside the obvious dogmatic narratives that pervade the protagonists' lives and force them into poverty, the way the protagonists look at the world around them is similar. In Cyberpunk 2077, V is an aspirational character predominantly looking to win big and climb the hellish capitalist ladder. And like any ladder, it draws one's eyes to the sky.
In one of the endings to Cyberpunk 2077, V has achieved that dream and becomes a legend, with their final score being a heist that takes them to space of all places. Similarly, in the Edgerunners trailer, imagery of rockets or space are recurring, be they literal or potential dream sequences.
In fact, two of Cyberpunk's endings are set in space, where the most powerful corporations and wealthiest of the living escape from the earth and all its inconveniences. The sky and space beyond are typical visuals associated with running from confinement or oppressive structures. Cyberpunks are inherently dreamers and where better to dream of being than the stars?
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Cyberpunk 2077 was about V's dreams of escaping slavery under capitalism being cut short by a diagnosis that leaves them with very little time to try and save themselves. They're at their lowest point: angry, anxious, and afraid, something David Martinez, the protagonist of Edgerunners, seems to share with V.
The sound of a heart monitor is heard through the whole trailer, only beeping faster. There are repeated shots of Martinez's nervous tick; the tapping of his foot. Something has gone wrong, perhaps a personal tragedy, and it's driving them deeper into Night City to fix it. Helping them on that journey is the secondary protagonist, Lucy.
"Wake The F*** Up, Samurai"
Even in Netflix's Behind The Scenes look, she is kept mysterious, noted for her introverted personality. Just as the game focused on V and Johnny Silverhand, Edgerunners is about David and Lucy. However, Silverhand was merely an AI reconstruction of the man himself, trapped in V's head, whereas Lucy appears to be alive and well.
Writer Bartosz Sztybor and showrunner Rafal Jaki put so much emphasis on her as an active participant in the plot with their own goals that it would be weird to kill them off. Even if this weren't an adapted screenplay, the connection would be far too blatant even for Imaishi's tastes.
For the time being, Lucy's role in the story is a mystery, but she's far more than a scowling introvert. From a dreamlike sequence of them on the moon to Martinez unconscious on a gurney being ridden down a busy street by Lucy, she's as much a bad influence as Johnny was for V.
Maelstrom and Other Homages
While recreating such a pivotal framing device might seem a bit too far for this show, some big recognizable homages are there regardless. A clip from the anime released during Netflix Geeked Week shows a set piece almost exactly like the meeting with the Maelstrom gang early into the game.
It's confirmed to be from episode 4, almost halfway through the series. In the game, the meeting took place early on and was about buying a drone, but in the anime, it's about saving a girl. The event in the game was a big one, but players will likely think of that opening act as the calm before the storm. Perhaps the same can be said for this rather one-sided victory in the anime.
Apart from the big visual metaphors, the trailer is littered with great attention to detail, namely user interfaces, vehicles, and outfits. Lucy's hacking screen and the instant message UI are ripped straight from the game. A notable car chase appears to see David and Lucy in a Delamain cab, a big part of 2077's world.
Will The Game And The Anime Intersect?
Creators have said that Edgerunners is set in the same universe, which seems like a no-brainer, but it remains to be seen if it will specify a time in which the story is set. Could it take place before or after the game? Could notable characters make an appearance, like regulars of the Afterlife bar? Might V or Johnny Silverhand be referred to?
Edgerunners has shown with very little that Trigger knows the look and feel of this world, but can the story keep pace with the reputation of that aesthetic? For all the game's faults, 2077 had an intricate world with rich lore, and a story worth telling. Here's hoping that for all the similarities, this anime hasn't forgotten what makes Cyberpunk... cyberpunk.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will be available for streaming on Netflix in September 2022.