I don’t play a lot of video games. Of the handful I have played, I only ever really got into one. But I’ll admit that I was interested when the game “Cyberpunk 2077” was being advertised. However, the game was full of glitches and bugs that instantly destroyed any hope of people getting into it. I’ve heard that they’ve released patches that help fix it, but the moment has past for the game. Having said that…an anime show based in that world was given the green light. Maybe the game sold enough copies to justify that decision or maybe it was an attempt to get more people interested. Regardless of what you might feel about the game, the show Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a glorious show that can be enjoyed entirely on it’s own merits.

While Cyberpunk is the name of the franchise, you might need a reminder that it’s also the name of an entire sub-genre of Science Fiction. Projects from this genre are set in a dystopia with highly advanced technology but often focuses on the people living at the bottom of society’s hierarchy. Usually criminals who live morally gray lives. While violence and sex play big parts of the genre, another important aspect is an exploration of how the advanced technology affects people and how it has changed how people view themselves and their lives.

Obviously, this show is filled with a lot of violence. Technology is used by Edgerunners (also called Cyberpunks) to complete mercenary contracts. This often involves people using technology to give themselves more advanced weapons or tech-based abilities to give them an edge in combat. But in order to do this, the Cyberpunks’ body has to be physically altered. A common upgrade is an arm being altered where it opens up and pulls out some sort of firearm. That’s just one example of a Cyberpunk getting upgrades, or chrome, to change their body. Since a lot of Edgerunners have significantly added tech to their bodies, this does seemingly imply that sex isn’t viewed in quite the same way.

There are a couple of scenes towards the end of the show where the two main characters live together and are in a relationship. They are nude and that’s clearly shown on screen. But there is a sense of disinterest. While I’m sure these characters have had sex, we don’t actually see any of the characters having sex on screen. And when we do see characters nude on screen, it also clearly shows how their bodies have been physically changed. How the “skin” on top of their chrome probably isn’t actually skin anymore. This adds an interesting layer of analysis of how the characters and society of this world have altered life goals. Everyone is looking for a way to either join one of the powerful corporations that secretly run the city and move up the corporate ladder, or leave the city entirely. It’s an all in or all out mentality. But there is an interesting topic that connects these two sides and provides insight into what separates the criminals from the corporations.

In this show, there is a phenomenon called Cyberpsychosis. Over time, if anyone applies a significant amount of chrome to their body, it begins to affect their mental state. Some people have higher tolerances than others, and they can take a drug to manage early symptoms and delay the inevitable. But sooner or later, that person looses their grip on reality and they are triggered to go on a killing spree, often resulting in that person being killed in combat. This medical condition does shine some light on interesting details. Cyberpunks know that their time is limited and that Cyberpsychosis will eventually claim their lives. The goal of most all Cyberpunks is to make enough money to leave this life with their mind intact. But they often push themselves despite experiencing early signs of the condition, which more often than not speeds up the condition and takes them before they achieve their goals.

As for the people who are employed by the corporations of this world, they don’t really care about how this affects the Cyberpunks. They are mercenaries hired to perform jobs for them and all they care about is if it gets done as requested. They will even put the blame on the Cyberpunks themselves for being so addicted to tech or chrome and letting themselves be overtaken by the condition. But when you live in a world like in this franchise where even the average citizen has small amounts of chrome in their body, it becomes a necessity to survive. The risk needs to be taken because chrome is the only way they can become good at what they do and find work to change their lives. Not realizing themselves that the more chrome they get and the longer they are a part of the Cyberpunk life, the less likely it is they will be able to leave it alive.

So much of this world and show provides interesting insight into themes and idea that define the Cyberpunk genre. And the characters focused on in the show demonstrate just how heartbreaking and dangerous this kind of life can truly get. The main male lead, David, starts off as just a regular student. And while his mother is a paramedic that secretly supplies Cyberpunks with new tech/chrome, she doesn’t want her son in that life and has high hopes of him being a high ranking member of a corporation. But following the mother’s death, David is left with no alternative but to become a Cyberpunk. The main female lead, Lucy, was used for years by a corporation to achieve some of their darker and more illegal goals. But she escaped years ago and is a Cyberpunk in the hope of getting enough money to leave the city entirely. The two end up meeting and they form a romantic relationship.

Over the course of the show, we see how Lucy slowly retreats from being a Cyberpunk while David gets more chrome and pushes himself closer to Cyberpsychosis. Lucy is still secretly working on trying to make sure she and David don’t get killed in the hope of leaving the city, while David is ironically risking his life in order to achieve that same dream. And while we are introduced to David first in the show, an argument can be made that Lucy is the real protagonist. In addition to seeing David’s deterioration as a viewer, we also see it from Lucy’s perspective. We feel the emotional turmoil their entire lifestyle inflicts on them, on everyone in this world to some extent. How conforming to the what this world requires from the average citizen forces them to slowly lose their humanity. But what’s interesting is that while this society does force them down this route, it is also partially due to their own choices. It brings up another discussion of just how much control one has over their life in a tech-based world like this.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is an excellent anime that shows us how cool but also dark the Cyberpunk genre is. The characters we follow in the show better demonstrate the effects the tech-based dystopia has on it’s citizens. It’s a world with no happy endings, but one filled with heartbreak. We want these characters to achieve their goals and their dreams, but the world around them keeps taking from them and altering their lives, to the point where nothing seems recognizable anymore. Yet it’s a show that people should watch and revisit for many years to come.