Cyberpunk 2077 anime trailer is a chaotic introduction to its main characters

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Netflix's upcoming anime spinoff of Cyberpunk 2077, has a new trailer introducing its six new characters, and it's a lot to take in, frankly.

The story of the Cyberpunk 2077 anime spinoff is entirely separate from CD Projekt Red's 2019 open-world RPG, although it's also set in Night City. In a brief synopsis, we learn that the 10-episode series follows a street kid who becomes an edgerunner, or a cyberpunk, if you will, in order to survive in the dangerously futuristic city. That said, knowing this does little to explain just what the heck is going on in this utterly unhinged trailer.

Some of it will be familiar to fans of Cyberpunk 2077, like protagonist David's use of the Matrix-like Kerenzikov move and the reference to the cyberpsychos, but I can't imagine I was the only one left wondering what in the name of anime I just watched. The title cards that flash on-screen intermittently yell at you in all-caps things like, "Can't make a name by how you live," "Where chrome exceeds the flesh," and "Only how you die."

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That's not to say it isn't entertaining though! The main characters - David, Maine, Dorio, Kiwi, Pilar, Rebecca, and Lucy - all seem like really fun, quirky people, and the art design is top notch. Plus it's coming from Studio Trigger, the folks behind the excellent (and also quite chaotic) Kill La Kill and Brand New Animal, so rest assured, the Cyberpunk 2077 anime is in good hands.

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.