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IGN's Best Anime Series of 2022

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In the anime spinoff of Cyberpunk 2077 from CDPR, David Martinez is a brilliant student who, over the course of about five episodes, breaks bad. This stands in stark contrast to the game, where V’s time in the criminal underworld was explored in a five-minute cutscene. But Studio Trigger and creator Rafał Jaki are allowed the breathing room to explore Night City and the broken dreams of its inhabitants in the exhilarating Cyberpunk: Edgerunners – which is our pick for the best anime series of 2022.

Edgerunners makes a strong argument that CDPR might have something solid to build on for future Cyberpunk stories. The locations and designs are identical to the ones you see in the video game, but the story is focused on a new set of characters like David. In short, don’t expect to see V or Johnny Silverhand in the anime.

As David finds himself slowly drowning in debt, kicked out of the prestigious academy he can no longer afford, and hounded by debt collectors, Night City’s hyper-capitalism becomes the early villain in Edgerunners, showing that not even flying cars and cool outfits are a panacea for poverty. David’s luck changes when he meets a mysterious netrunner named Lucy and falls in with a loveable mercenary group led by the strong-willed — and armed — Maine. Thus begins his journey into becoming a mercenary in Night City.

Edgerunners is at its best when the various elements of Night City’s hostile life cycle are explored, seen in the way street gangs and mercenaries commit crimes on behalf of Fixers who themselves are beholden to Night City’s true rulers, the Megacorps. These relationships are front-and-center of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, with David’s rise within this food chain serving as a fascinating vantage point to take in this setting.

Visually, this story is only enhanced by Studio Trigger, the leaders of expressionistic anime excess. Whereas famous cyberpunk anime like Ghost in the Shell and Akira focus on highly detailed, futuristic cityscapes, Studio Trigger approaches the material with an exaggerated flair. Never mind the gore and nudity (of which there is plenty of); a cyberpunk anime never looked more alive than when Studio Trigger filters Night City through the same lens that created highly stylized works like Kill la Kill and Space Patrol Luluco.

The story, in turn, has a seesaw effect with Studio Trigger’s more fun and extravagant animation style. When the story becomes too grim, the art style helps lift it up to maintain the hyper-reality of the cyberpunk genre, while the mature storytelling also reigns in Studio Trigger from going too overboard tonally. It’s a complement, not a clash.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners doesn’t overtake Cyberpunk 2077 so much as it expands upon it. It offers the best version of Night City this side of the 21st century. It’s a wild ride, but worth every blistering second, choom. And that’s why it’s IGN’s pick for Best Anime Series of 2022.
Category
Gaming
Tags
Anime, CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk
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