An Anime Game Adaptation Done Right

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For many years, Hollywood has tried and failed to replicate the success of beloved video games in film and television. Various attempts have often been criticized for deviating too heavily from the source material. In many cases, they failed to understand what made the original material so compelling in the first place. However, Netflix has begun to turn things around. Following the success of Arcane: League of Legends, Netflix premiered the animated series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, which has received universal praise.


Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was designed to expand on the universe created by Mike Pondsmith. It introduced new characters and told a new story set in the world of the 2020 video game, Cyberpunk 2077. Although some were skeptical that Edgerunners was going to be a success, they were quickly proven wrong. Here’s why Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is an anime game adaptation done right.

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Portraying the Ugliness and Beauty of Night City

Night City has always represented the core of the Cyberpunk franchise, a futuristic city located on the west coast of California. While being called the “City of Dreams,” it was also voted in-universe as the worst place to live in America. On one hand, Night City featured stunning architecture and incredibly advanced technology. On the other, the city was overrun by greed, corruption, and violence. Citizens accepted that corporations ruled their city, and that the corporations were always competing for power.

Life revolved around survival, consumerism, and an endless climb up the corporate ladder. Both Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077 and Lucy in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners dreamed of leaving the city, knowing that it was not a good place for people to live. Despite all of Night City’s ugliness, it did provide an environment in which people could form deep friendships, fall in love, and tackle major obstacles with the people closest to them. The series perfectly portrayed both the horrible aspects and the redeeming qualities of life in Night City. There was still some light in the darkness.

Related: Best Cyberpunk Movies, Ranked

Faithfulness to the Source Material

Whether or not you have played Cyberpunk 2077, you will still be able to watch and properly enjoy Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The Netflix series has been many people’s first experience with the Cyberpunk franchise. It has also marked a great place to start because the events of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners were set before the events of the Cyberpunk 2077 video game. This move has opened the world of Cyberpunk to a whole new audience instead of giving them an alternate version of that world.

Studio Trigger closely worked with CD Projekt to achieve a high level of synergy between the game and the Netflix series. The style, atmosphere, tone, and, most important of all, spirit, has been brought over from Cyberpunk 2077 into Edgerunners. After watching Edgerunners, fans of the series can visit virtually all the locations depicted on the show in the video game. Almost never before has a game adaptation worked so well in tandem with its source material.

Related: The Best TV Shows Based on Video Games, Ranked

Real Consequences

During its 10-episode run, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners consistently threw its characters into danger. Night City was already dangerous enough for regular civilians, but edgerunners were placed in even more stressful environments. The series was able to find a way to get viewers to worry about the main characters. Whatever plot armor the characters of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners had, Studio Trigger ensured that it did not take away from any of the suspense. There were consequences for the characters’ actions, and the characters did not always come out of their missions victorious.

Strong Character Development

David Martinez, the protagonist of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, started off as a student at the prestigious Arasaka Academy. He did not fit in with the other students, being shunned and bullied only because he came from a poor family. Not having a dream of his own, David worked to achieve his mother’s dream of rising through the ranks to one day reach the top floor of Arasaka Tower. Things did not go exactly as planned, with David ultimately becoming an edgerunner, also known as a “cyberpunk.” Throughout the series, David Martinez experienced tremendous growth and eventually found his purpose in Night City.

The world presented in Cyberpunk was one in which people were obsessed with body modification through the use of cybernetic implants. “Cyberware” was commonplace and often necessary, but it also came with great risk. Too much cybernetic augmentation could cause “cyberpsychosis,” a condition that caused people to lose control over themselves. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners explored this in depth, taking a look at the over-reliance on technology and how that affected its characters. The series additionally excelled in balancing high stakes with a relatively small-scale story.

From Maine to Rebecca, Studio Trigger surrounded their protagonist with an amazing cast of characters. Each character had their own distinct personality and had a clear purpose in the series. It was quite remarkable what Studio Trigger were able to achieve with supporting characters, as Edgerunners was still a story focused on David. None of the characters were there just for the sake of being there, with all moving the series towards its emotional finale.

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