When you create a smash-hit like Season 1 of Cyberpunk Edgerunners, returning for a second outing was never going to be easy. Setting the bar so high you’ll need top-shelf cybernetics to make that leap — but with Edgerunners Season 2, Studio Trigger yet again proves why it stands alone as master animators of high-octane action that is as visually stunning as it is visceral.
The story itself will be familiar in theme and setting to fans of Edgerunner's first outing, but the series is more of an anthology than direct follow-ons to what came before. The events of the first season are referenced — David is a known Night City legend by characters in the show — but don’t expect to see any follow-ups on Lucy or other stories.
Instead Edgerunners gives us a whole new cast — focused on budding videographer Roman, the chrome-obsessed renegade Talia, cyberpsychosis-survivor King, and revenge-fuelled netrunner D — whose individual stories cross and diverge as the events of Season 2 unfold.
Don’t worry, things are easy to follow, and the plots develop at an excellent pace — keeping you engaged while also making sure characters aren’t abandoned for longer than you want.
To some extent, you *could* start here considering the disconnect to Season 1, but (1) you’ll be missing out on a phenomenal season of animated TV, and (2) while the characters don’t make a return, the world of Cyberpunk and Night City and its factions do.
More generally, Season 2 is fuelled by the same themes as its predecessor, and there are familiarities between the new cast and Maine’s crew. There’s naivety and dreams of a different world to what exists, grizzled veterans and long-standing grudges between factions, and a looming sense of inevitable tragedy that seems to eventually catch up with everyone in Night City.
The context of Season 1 will help you better appreciate Season 2, even if it isn’t necessarily required reading (though required or not, you’re depriving yourself if you skip it).
I’m aiming to keep things spoiler-lite for this preview, so I’ll cut myself off here before I get into more specific plot details and shift gear to the animation.
Simply put: it’s sublime.
Studio Trigger is well known for its dazzling action — delivering artistically beautiful scenes of violence, but also graphically gory fight scenes that make it clear you never want to be on the wrong side of a gunfight.
Each combat encounter is unique too, with Studio Trigger finding ways to keep its action constantly feeling fresh rather than just repetitive brawls and shootouts, thanks to engaging set pieces and aesthetic flashes that make every gory execution different from the last.
This was showcased in Season 1, and that same mastery is present in Season 2. But I love the artistic approaches taken in the show’s calmer moments too. The grainy film footage effect of Roman’s recordings gives the technofuturistic events an appropriately vintage quality; D’s traumatic and hazy flashbacks are rendered with minimal, blocky colors and silhouettes.
There are also playful ‘anime moments.’ Roman’s over-the-top visual reaction to hearing of a rare 35mm camera almost doesn’t fit the gritty reality around him, but helps to cement his position of child-like wonder — one that has yet to be corrupted by the harsh reality of Night City.
In every case these artistic choices don’t add to a frenetic chaos — they emphasise moments both in and out of action, provide a deeper insight into the psyche of the characters, and bring the world of Cyberpunk Edgerunners to life in all its technofuturistic glory.
If you have a Netflix subscription and haven’t experienced Cyberpunk Edgerunners yet, you’re doing yourself a disservice — stop reading and get over there. Season 1 and now Season 2 are masterclasses in animated excellence that are sure to delight fans and non-fans of anime alike.
Heck, they’re worth subscribing to Netflix if you don’t already for a month to catch it all. It’ll be the best binge-watch of your life.