Cyberpunk: Edgrunners is INSANE... in a good way.

Cyberpunk’s outing into the video games space was rocky at best. Glitches and crashes galore. But one thing most people could agree on was the story was never really an issue. So when CD Projekt announced that they were teaming up with Studio Trigger (the studio behind Kill La Kill and Little Witch Academia) audiences were excited for the project. A great studio with a great art style given a great world to bring to life in their own unique way. Did it work? Or was this another yellow and teal shaped mess.

First things first let’s talk about THAT art style. This is one of those shows you just HAVE to watch on a high quality screen. I watched on my living room TV which supports 4k and I was not disappointed at all. Studio Trigger have not really done a futuristic work on this level before seeing as they tend to stick to more known backdrops; but this was no issue for Trigger. Scenes bathed in neon but never being afraid to get dark and gloomy when the story needs it.

This goes forward into the character design too. The world of Cyberpunk allows for body modifications which means a great deal of creativity can be given to both artists and writers. I want to point out the characters of Rebecca and Lucy as an example. Rebecca is a short girl who has a personality that exceeds, so that’s displayed in her body modifications. Deep pink and green eyes, bright tattoos and an affinity for guns that match her colour profile.

Lucy on the other hand is much more mild mannered. An incredibly talented net runner, her slender frame and sports-like outfit mimics that of a parkourist as she would need to be agile to do her dives into other people's minds. Her weapon is a glowing golden string that cuts through people like ahit knife through butter. Her more discrete character requires a more discrete weapon.

This level of attention doesn’t only apply to the characters but to the world that Studio Trigger has brought to life as well. It feels as if they almost ripped assets from the game and just put them into the show in the best way possible. When people are receiving calls they use the UI (User interface) and dial tone that is used in the game and David (the protagonist) actually lives in the same apartment block as V (the main protagonist of the video game) so you see the same locations. The biggest standout to me, when it came to attention to detail, is that the hacking animation is a reworking of the hacking mini game from the game. This all works to have a consistent feeling world. Way too often do we see game adaptations stray too far from the original concept of what the game is (I’m looking at you Uwe Boll). It’s this level of love and care that makes Edgrunners great for fans of the show but will also not stick out like a sore thumb for people who are new to the world of Cyberpunk. I will say that episode 6 has a weirdly different art style that I found slightly ugly, but it made sense for the episode and if you’re a fan of Aeon Flux you’ll probably enjoy it.

But what about the story? It is EXCELLENT. Essentially a story of fate, destiny and greed, I would argue it actually exceeds the, already great, story of the game and is better than the story of the original board game. As someone who has read and owns the World of Cyberpunk (the Cyberpunk Encyclopaedia), not only will I never be cool, it was really nice to see this story not take away from the world that was so lovingly created by Mike Pondsmith (The creator of the original board game). Rather than trying to change the lore, Masahiko Otsuka and Yoshiki Usa used the rules and world of Cyberpunk as writing barriers in order to keep the story feeling coherent with the world of Cyberpunk. The story is GRIPPING, especially the last 4 episodes which saw me stand up in disbelief at points.

My main criticism is the use of licensed music. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE I Really Want to Stay at Your House by Rosa Walton but in a moment where I’m expected to cry or feel emotional, I don’t think the EDM style drop really sets the tone. There was more than one occasion where I believed a scene would be better off with no background music at all over the licensed music that they used. Some moments really worked with the licensed music but it was 50/50 at best.

DO NOT LET THIS DETER YOU! Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is one of the better anime stories out there. Watch it on the best quality TV you have with all the lights off. Let your house get bathed in neon as Studio Trigger takes you on a crime filled adventure surrounded by a cast of colourful characters in a colourful world (literally).

Absolutely amazing, 9/10.