Fans of the Cyberpunk genre have plenty of reasons to get excited, with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners releasing a brand new NSFW trailer ahead of its release on Netflix. The upcoming anime comes from Studio Trigger and CD Projekt Red, the developers behind the 2020 video game Cyberpunk 2077. The series is based on the world created by Mike Pondsmith in his Cyberpunk tabletop RPG.
In the action-packed, gore-filled, neon-soaked trailer, fans get a glimpse of the two lead characters, David (Kenichiro Ohashi) and Lucy (Aoi Yûki). The pair live in Night City, one of the most dangerous places on the planet, filled with drugs, guns, and cybernetic body modifications that can change who you are entirely. "You either lose your mind or die, no in between." In the world of Cyberpunk, body modifications can lead to cyberpsychosis, a state of anxiety-filled paranoia causing violent attacks by citizens who have hardware implementations. We'll undoubtedly see this in the series, which was heavily teased in the trailer. The NSFW 2-minute long look at Cyberpunk: Edgerunners can be found below.
The official synopsis for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners from Netflix reads: "The series tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in Night City — a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he stays alive by becoming an edgerunner — a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk." Cyberpunk: Edgerunners makes its way to Netflix next month, arriving at the streaming giant on Sept. 13.
The Social Hierarchy Within Night City is a Central Theme of Edgerunners
Reflecting our real world, the social hierarchy of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will be an ongoing theme. The income divide between Night City's wealthiest and the poorest of the poor is an astronomical disparity. The tensions between the groups are part of what drives the conflict within the series, according to the Studio Trigger team. During a sit-down with Netflix Anime, Studio Trigger discussed the world and background of Night City and its inhabitants.
"In the world of Cyberpunk, corpos (corporate) are the people with power. It's similar to real life but the social inequality is growing. There is a clear disparity between the corpos and the gangs who are at the bottom of the social spectrum. Even in a society like this, violence reigns dominance. Against violence, status or wealth becomes irrelevant. Violence overthrows the social disparity. The gangs use this method of violence in the belief that they can overthrow social inequality. But choosing a life of violence comes with its own consequences they must face."
Although the specific plot details of the show are still unknown, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will undoubtedly be one of the most beautiful animation projects of recent memory. The mesmerizing city lights and neon colors encapsulate everything the Cyberpunk genre is about. Fans can't wait to see more when Studio Trigger's latest anime makes its way to Netflix on Sept. 13.