Three Details That Made Cyberpunk Edgerunners So Great  

Who watched Edgerunners more than five times? You deserve a medal 🥇

It gave us the ending that’s true not the ending we wanted. No one is ever happy in night city. The city of the future the city of death.

And in a couple scenes, whenever Lucy combat hacks, you can see her do the little puzzles

I like the final scene with David laying on top of the Arasaka building and the camera panning out, showing that no matter what, Night City just keeps going on like nothing happened. But even though David ultimately changed nothing, he got a death worthy of a legend and earned a little bit of respect from Adam Smasher of all people.

I also think there willingness to contrast bright lights with dark shadows makes it feel like every animation pops out that much more

The tragedy, they didn't pull their punches and they didn't hold back.

Becca made it special 😢

Edgerunners had an AMAZING art style. As an artist myself I enjoy watching cartoons and anime because of the art and talent put into it. To me that alone made it fun to watch.

The show, and the game really, are true to form dystopian stories. No one wins in Night City, no one gets what they want. It's truly oppressive and seeing characters fight tooth and nail against it is awesome.

Im glad i played the game first because seeing all the things that were in the game that was in the show even ones you mentioned made it feel so much better to watch

I need to watch this so bad the game has absolutely locked me in more than I expected

Loved the characters in the anime they were all written well and had iconic designs no one in that anime was generic at all.

I love the attention to all the details they added. From weapons,ads, breach protocol screens, camera views, NC map points, the one shot of the NC fixers…..felt like someone took the engram of this game and inserted it directly into the anime. Still makes me bawl when we lose David’s Mom and crew.

For me it's the details and designs they took from the game. Not just the holocalls but the weapons, gangs, cars, even the damn ice hacking sequence when Lucy was breaking into the car they stole. Oh and Rogue cameo as well ofc.

as lucys and david relation ship progress and in the scenes where they kiss u can see the moon surround them more and more

What made Edgerunner an masterpiece for me? The Characters, The story, the music, the fact it didn't hold back, the animation. Edgerunner is the reason I started playing Cyberpunk, it brought me into the life of V, jackie, Johnny, Rose, Panam, The Nomads.. it got me hooked.

I could barely make out the music half the time but everything else is spot on to why I love it, and ya can’t beat how well done the story was

It was one of the very few things that managed to emotionally touch me

s/o edgerunners man that amazing show is what got me to play 2077 and get to experience night city in all its beauty

Watched it two times. Cried two times. But I know this is the only endings we could had, because there's no happy ending in night city, after all. I like this show so much and may be one of those that I will keep in heart for life.

I haven't even watched it yet but I've seen some clips, and i gotta say that Adam Smasher's design, tone of voice, and just all around bad-assery makes me wanna watch it.

I’ve thought about it quite a lot. You know, I usually love anime and series for the plot and unique ideas, it’s what most important for me in general. And I don’t think Edgerunners’ plot is anything special, that was the main pushback to fans when the show came out - “it’s mid and nothing special” (back when people used “mid” correctly). However, Edgerunners has a different purpose to it. It doesn’t shine with its plot because that’s ultimately not the goal. You see, it’s cyberpunk, and cyberpunk as a genre is already very rich, a priori, so for a cyberpunk show to be good it’s enough to just make a good cyberpunk. The graphically disgusting ultracorpocapitalism is already a very beautiful and emotional idea. Just do it good - and you’re already a good show. Edgerunners succeeds in it, as well as adding even more - like music and good fanservice. It’s all very emotionally-oriented. And it’s great. The show knows what it wants to do and does it skillfully, artfully. That’s what makes a show great in my eyes. To add to your third point, it has a nice relation with the game. If you watch it after the game - you go like “ooh kabuki ooh watson ooh that’s V’s penthouse ooh that’s smasher wowowow”, it feels great. And if you play the game after watching the show you go like “ooh kabuki ooh watson ooh that’s V’s penthouse ooh that’s smasher wowowow”, it feels just as great. They are not just references or just happen in the same places - these are iconic sights that send you back and remind you of emotions you felt when experiencing these places and moments. It’s cool that one doesn’t feel just like an addition to another and they exist in an emotional tandem. I do think that it’s better if you play the game first to amplify your emotions when watching edgerunners, because Edgerunners is more focused on emotions.

Show murdered my soul man fuck

50 is a rookie number choom!

the spicy romance between Lucy and David is what truly drove the show for me. When the show first came out, I thought it was just gonna be another generic video game adaptation with a bunch of one-off characters who we all knew were gonna die, but no. I was shocked that I cared about every single moment, and the drama heating up between David and Lucy’s relationship all leading up to that heartbreaking send off that many of us were not prepared for.

For me it was the writing and heart crushing story that made it so great and that it was in production before the game came out so they had time to pay attention to detail Im really bad at rewatching shows and only ever done so with FMAB and Black Lagoon but im thinking i might rewatch it soon

Edgerunners was the definition of "Sometimes the hero doesnt have a good ending"

Oh man i want a second cyberpunk series of somebody there or mby jonnys backstory more Detailed or alts

The theme is also different from any other show that I can think of, it’s like it’s futuristic but not what your used to, it tells the story from all angles the good the bad and the ugly, from poverty to crime to success and it resonates so well with the real world even though it’s based in a different time period, most of the other futuristic shows don’t tell the stories of the guys who grew up in these harsh conditions but cyberpunk does and we get to see why David’s willing to do anything to get the people he loves out of it and that’s why the chain of events hit so hard because we can understand what they are all fighting for

The thing that made me love edgerunners was Rebecca. That’s it.

Everything you mentioned and more. The characters were all awesome, but Becca was impressively brilliant and the one that really made it for me. It was her ending that was beyond hearbreaking.

Not only is Edgerunners a great anime it’s a good tie in really goes to show how good a character Night City itself really is

I thought it was the gratuitous amount of videogame world building like when David was walking to school and jumped over the railing and landed on some dude and just walked away like nothing or some shit like that. Then learning it was done by the same guy that did Dead Leaves it made so much sense why it was done so well.

I think that episode Maine died in fucked me up the most, I already figured David's story didn't end well cuz of how he tried to fill Maine's shoes...he was basically goin down the same path

I only started playing Cyberpunk in mid March. I am now over 360hrs in. Bought Phantom Liberty after the Hanako parade event and couldn't put it down since then. Finally watched Edgrunners in between my game and got even more hooked. Can't tell you how gut wrenching it feels when I happen to drive by Rebecca's apartment, or the Buck-A-Slice restaurant, where Kiwi met her fate in back of the garbage bin. The dried blood is actually still there in game. Ooof... Cyberpunk 2077 is a damned masterpiece. It's hard to believe its the same game that was lambasted years ago for a really rough launch. The game plays quite well today. It's absolutely incredible.

I definitely agree with the idea that the music helps immerse you into the story. Especially in the third episode when “Friday Night Fire Fight”, and the last episode when “I Really Want To Stay At Your House” starts playing. I’m kind of a music guy, so that kept me hooked to the show.

How realistic the gangs are and the corps that they are to irl

It has people that we came to love and relate with and slowly killed them off in their own meaningful ways that helped build the story and our bond with it and it portrayed David is not one of the best heroes but the most relatable one and gave us a realistic ending not a fairy tale one

It makes me love the game even more

What made the show so special was Gloria. She was teaching David not to take shortcuts if he wanted to be successful for a long period of time. She busted her butt so David could get an education. Only later we find out that Gloria was also taking shortcuts herself, and while it wasn't what killed her directly, it is what set David down a bad path. For someone who was obsessed with living someone else's dream he kept finding himself taking shortcuts to get there and it became a monkey's paw. They set that theme early and execute that theme all throughout the show. Those who rise quickly also tend to fall just as fast. Which also happens to be mostly true in real life. We see the one or two successes and think that could also be us, but no one ever shows the large line of failures and what happens to those who can't rise. We chase after our dream jobs only to find out they aren't hiring because several other people have applied for those same jobs.

The last moment you showed why Edgerunners was so great. Rebecca... Till that moment I was not a hater of Smasher.

Definitely the music was phenomenal!🔥🥹

When i watched it i screeched whenever i recognized a spot or a specific character or characters

I think what made it special was it was an honest story told within this world. It wasn’t about V. It was just about a group of people who are trying to make it work in a world that doesn’t give a shit about them, and we can all relate to that!!

Honestly the Character Building. It was simple. But it was perfect

The story in both anime and in game hit home 🤧 especially cuz i live in Los Scandalous California

Love the show and game and you made many good point on why both go hand and hand beautiful

Lucy got me on my knees dawg 😭

Agreed 100%. Also the art style is just amazing. The lights, atmosphere, popping colors and the way everything is directed and timed with the music and sounds it is such an incredibly immersive anime. Also I love the way they talk and have their own dialect related to the world they live in. I think when it comes to speech in world building there isn't any anime or manga out there that does this better. It is just one of the most polished animes of all time, there are so many details I could go on about.

I didn't play the game and watched the anime,not a single spoiler ~ maybe the endboss, as my friend said. she played the game and she was also surprised that you don't see a plot spoiler :3

I like that not even the main characters where safe 👌🏿

Never played the game but the show was phenomenal. The story was captivating and I love how it scratches the delinquent genre itch in a well built and thought out world.

It's Rebecca. Unresistable mix of cutness and aggressiveness.

The music is perfect

Bro just skimmed over "I Really Want to Stay Your House"

I watched the show before the game, and i love how it felt like steping into there world

Being able to look at many of the scenes from the game be in the show made me go, "I was there!!". It was so fun to see so many easter eggs in this show. Like you said Ian, it really is a faithful adaptation!!!

I think it's the immersion. The cyberpunk universe is so fascinating in so many ways. I watched the anime before I played the game, and the anime did an amazing job of setting the stage while also telling my favorite type of story: tragedy. The game also did a great job of immersing players into the world of cyberpunk. There's so much detail, realism, and many things to do. And they spared no expense in the references to the anime. They did so many things well, there's no wonder why they were so successful.

The perfect RU-vid short doesn’t exist The perfect RU-vid short:

I loved the game even before the patches (i got lucky w/ the scorpio version being stable and the series x to run it). anime definitely exemplified the spirit of the game and studio trigger knew what they were doing

This was like the first cyberpunk content I watched and fell in love with it and thinking about how it’s a year old makes me sad to think about

Reason 4: Adam Smasher cameo that actually shows how terrifying he is

no one ever said it would have a happy ending... this thing moved me

I'm grateful to the anime for introducing me to the game Cyberpunk it's a very unique and immersive experience the world is so alive with so many choices and characters you want to know every inch of the map i also I find it incredible how each character has so much personality and details behind them.

you have no idea how tempted i was to immediately type "im going to edge you" when i heard that word ;c

Characters and voice acting the music as well, watching the big guy fall to cyberpsycosis

In Edgerunners I found myself, like literally. The character that mostly looks like me like ever ever. It's the weirdest feeling because it's nice when you feel like you'd act in the same exact way but somehow sad because you feel the character's pain too. Crying rivers every time I watch this anime but somehow can't stop watching it just because. Dunno if any of you ever felt like that before. The character I'm talking about is Lucy btw. Probably my favourite anime 💯🔝

I just know I love Cyberpunk

To me, the whole cyberpunk aesthetic, weapons, cyberware, monumental corporate buildings like Arasaka Tower, also corporate aesthetics, and how this world works with corporations in power.

Watched it 7x's and Rebecca's silly antics while shooting was what kept me coming back. The details were superb, but the main reason I kept returning was watching the mentor/mentee relationship between Maine & David.

I re-watch with each playthrough. Both just make each other better.

You got that right Choom! 🚬😎

For me it's the characters because they're so loveable

The world of night city really is alive and tells so many stories so even when one choom dies another has just started there journey

I really want to stay at your house LOL Tough guy or not that song sticks with you.

This show was the closest I've ever come to crying myself to sleep

Definitely brought it home with the cyberpsycho topic. Still a serious matter even though we don’t really get to experience it much in the game.

Its actually much easier to make attention to detail because they have so much drawing references from the game when they are drawing the background

i saw myself in david, then broke apart after the ending :)

prolly my best short anime ive ever watch shi was fire

As a og ttrpg cyberpunk, edgerunners got the whole damn thing right. It was as pondsmith once said "a mix of hi tech ultaviolence with the soul of cassablanca. A place where you can try to do right but don't always expect to survive to see the dawn. You sport the coolest chrome, dance in the hottest clubs, push the fastest rides, ride the razors edge. But you can take it because your cyberpunk." Edgerunners and the associated music video both do that right.

The Music and actually being able to walk around Night City

The characters were really great and the voice acting was so good. Bit what really kept me on this show was the care for the lore with all the details hinting how vast it was. I'm glad that studio trigger make such a good job, cause without that anime I would probably never have played the game

I never played the game. However, I was still hooked to the show, in my opinion, everything coms down to great worlbuilding and how they make every scene and dialog meaningful.

Is nobody going to talk about the shows revolutionary animation?

i liked the fact that no one had plot armor.

Idk it's all great but for me it was the whole Lucy David dynamic . An I respect how David went out . He was a real one !!

Bro 😭 everytime THAT song is on, i choose to take the long way to my destination. I got there and the song is still on? Ill sit in the car 🥲

Damn the ending hits HARD

Can't explain it but each time I play cyberpunk and nighttime rolls around I see the moon and say "hey lucy"

Holy shit it’s already been a year? I’m still in emotional turmoil after my first watch!

The escape on the stretcher scene.

All was great

Ur right. And something thay i loved were that they used the same cars too.

My favourite part has got to be when David said "It's edgerunning time" and he edgeran all over Night City with the crew

how much david represents me in life

This show made me whole and then broke me more than i was before watching 😂😢

One of the best end i ever watched

That shi left me drepressed

Rebecca, that’s it, just Rebecca