Cyberpunk Edgerunners Trailer Reaction
Article by Kieran Burt.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners had its official trailer debut for the upcoming anime series, and it teases over the top neon action in Night City, the principal location of the video game Cyberpunk 2077. This aspect is the main takeaway from the trailer, as the audience don’t learn too much about the story of the anime.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners takes more than just the location from the game. The level of violence, the body modifications, and visuals from 2077, letting fans of the video game enjoy a faithful adaptation of a much anticipated game. But it will be going beyond the videogame, expanding on the lore of the Cyberpunk universe.
Other than the brightly coloured and flashy neon visuals, the trailer does provide a glimpse at some of the deeper themes that the show will explore. One of these is the mental repercussions of having body modifications, with one enhanced character enduring a huge amount of mental pain while on some sort of table. Cyberpunk 2077 already explores the idea of runaway surveillance capitalism, and the addition of how that and body modifications can impact someone’s mental state is an amazing addition. It also means that playing Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t necessary to watch the show, which can only be a good thing, as the game itself was a huge let down.
The trailer does little to highlight the story of the anime, apart from its opening few seconds. The protagonist is a street kid, and in order to survive in the harsh environment of NIght City, he has to become an Edgerunner. Edgerunners are mercenary outlaws, using extreme violence to achieve their goals, as demonstrated in the trailer. It’s unclear what their goals are, but the show is bound to reveal this early on.
The show isn’t hiding from all of the gore, guts, and violence extreme modifications allow for, confirming that this isn’t a show for younger viewers. This is unsurprising, as Cyberpunk 2077 is rated for adults, which means that the anime won’t compromise on the violence in the game.
Edgerunners is 10 episodes long, and will be released on September 13, 2022 on Netflix.
