Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.
Welcome back to Night City. In 2077, it was voted the worst place to live in America. The violence is sky-high, and it has the highest poverty rate in the world. But everyone wants to live there because the city holds a promise. It's around every corner but always out of reach, and that promise is what drives the characters of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. CD Projekt RED and Studio Trigger return to the world of Cyberpunk 2077 in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, which just debuted on Netflix. The first season of Edgerunners explored the journey of David Martinez (Matthew Aguilar) and his ragtag crew of mercs as he becomes a Night City legend. Edgerunners 2 follows a whole new set of characters as they forge their own journeys in this harsh, unforgiving setting.
CDPR and Studio Trigger established an anthology format with the anime series, since Edgerunners 2 is another standalone storyline rather than a direct continuation of Season 1. The story of David Martinez, his would-be lover Lucy Kushinada (Emi Lo), and their crew is over. Instead, Edgerunners 2 shifts to a brand-new storyline and set of characters, mainly the worn-out and past-his-prime edgerunner Weak Kingsley (Clancy Brown), the netrunner on a mission of vengeance D (Nazeeh Tarsha), the dedicated cinephile and aspiring filmmaker Roman Carax (Valerie Rodriguez), and the young cyberware-obsessed teen Talia Yang (Kimoy Lee). Their arcs eventually converge for another poignant, bittersweet storyline.
The only connections between Edgerunners' first and second seasons are the setting of Night City, the presence of megacorporations such as Arasaka, and the ongoing issue of cyberpsychosis. Other than that, it's a completely new narrative from top to bottom. This was a wise decision because there was nowhere else to go with David Martinez and his crew, and the first season offered a complete storyline with a beginning, a middle, and an end. The cast reset refreshes the storyline, depicting compelling new characters in a familiar setting.
One thing that hasn't changed in Edgerunners 2 is Studio Trigger's masterfully crafted animation. Their superb work once again brings the world of Cyberpunk and Night City to vivid life. Throughout Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, there's an overarching theme of characters who yearn for freedom, whether it's freedom from the demons of their past or the freedom to live their lives how they see fit. Trigger spotlights those themes with the show's superb animation. The wildness of the character models and animation style in Edgerunners 2, as seen through characters like the sentient digital construct Capri (Brittany Lauda), befits the themes of characters wanting to break free of the shackles of Night City, the megacorporations, or even the limitations of their bodies.
Many of the main characters are uniquely designed, and the animation and action scenes look incredibly vibrant and fluid. Few studios could comprehend the world that Mike Pondsmith and CDPR created as well as Studio Trigger. They exceptionally visualize the dystopian cyberpunk themes and concepts of the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, whether it's through the danger of cyberpsychosis, the looming presence of megacorporations that run the city and the lives of many citizens, or the various gangs and factions such as Trauma Team and Maelstrom. The animated version of Night City in Edgerunners 2 looks and feels incredibly immersive. It's the type of narrative immersion that honors the video game. Additionally, few video game adaptations capture this level of narrative immersion when adapting the source material.
With the amazing animation, the new storyline and characters, and the excellent writing by Bartosz Sztybor and Masahiko Otsuka, Edgerunners 2 delivers another authentic video game adaptation and anime masterpiece. Considering Cyberpunk originated as a tabletop role-playing experience, the anthology format works best for Edgerunners. Each season should feature a unique storyline set within the realm of Night City. Night City is a big place, and everyone there has their own story to tell.
Edgerunners 2 also reinforces that the Night City setting is the franchise's true star. Much like with the players in Mike Pondsmith's original tabletop RPG, the writers are simply crafting and enabling new characters within the Cyberpunk universe. If Edgerunners continues, each season should have its own individual theme or moral, such as David Martinez and Lucy's tragic love story in the first season or D's cold quest for vengeance in Season 2. Despite the narrative's cynical style, both seasons of Edgerunners share an eerily earnest, romantic quality, which shines through in Edgerunners 2's characters, especially Roman's belief in the truth of storytelling through cinema. It's another anime masterpiece worthy of your time on Netflix.
