A sequel to the best anime that Netflix has ever put out, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 faces a high bar that would be tough for any anime to even reach, let alone surpass.
That said, despite the same creative team from Studio Trigger back at the helm, this second run of the anime comes as a major surprise in more ways than one.
Instead of a season 2, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is a standalone story, rather than a continuation of the tale of David Martinez and co.
That distinction may sound subtle, but the more you watch Edgerunners 2, you’ll eventually realise why it’s so important, what makes it such a gripping watch in its own right compared to the first, and why the long wait was made worth it after all.
The bright side to this being a standalone sequel is that you can technically dive right into Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 without any prior knowledge of said Cyberpunk universe.
Its general premise about being a Californian megacity set 50+ years in the future, of which an ever-evolving over-reliance on technology and body modification is only outweighed by the inescapable shadow of mega corporations ruling over everything — is not too hard a concept to get your head around compared to the modern world these days. But, while the setting of Night City is still the same, the story being told this time is completely different.
Rather than focus on a singular street punk surviving the late-21st century dystopia of Night City, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 features four equally vital protagonists — Roman, D, Talia, and Weak Kingsley — initially sharing multiple story threads between the four of them before events between the events start to intertwine.
Kingsley is the only one who’s officially carried an ‘Edgerunner’ title like David, Maine, and Lucy, meaning you get to see other fresh types of stories that stem from this same post-modern era – rife with obsession over swapping body parts with cybernetics, rampant gang violence, and tech giants like Arasaka and Militech essentially ruling everything.
There are very similar elements to the first outing, but the key selling point of this follow-up version is getting to witness a showcase of different perspectives on where such a world can go.
Roman, for instance, is a rare cinephile among the masses that are obsessed with the latest, Cyberpunk equivalent of social media brainrot reels: “braindance” videos — whereas the camera-wielding youngster still believes in the power of real human stories captured with film. Talia is increasingly reliant on physical cyberware, swapping out her organic parts for new robotic features to the point where she’s almost unrecognisable.
In contrast, Weak Kingsley’s an example of what happens when said reliance on cybernetics goes too far into cyberpsychosis and needs to be stripped away – also touching on a ‘what could have been’ comparison for David and Maine in Edgerunners 1, as their own brushes with the futuristic mental illness are what led to their respective deaths years ago.
Meanwhile, D is the lone survivor of his clan, exploring Night City to solve the mystery of who killed his family, but his path becomes entangled with an AI discovery that makes his hunt for the truth more complicated.
Across 10 episodes, Studio Trigger delicately explores grounded themes like the fragility of humanity, finding a new purpose when the one you had’s been abruptly taken away, what it means to be a parent, embracing love in an increasingly artificial world, and perhaps needing to make a sacrifice along the way to make any of those others work.
All the while, Edgerunners 2 still maintains the thrill-ride reputation that the first anime adaptation of Cyberpunk: 2077 was known for.
Mixed with D’s part of the story, especially, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2’s focus on revenge and seeking answers is as equally bombastic with action and intrigue as it is heartbreaking and mesmerising all at the same time. That’s even more the case with the latter if you love a vividly expressive art style with an almost 1990s anime aesthetic that many of its scenes sport this time around.
With D using Roman’s help to find and punish those who were responsible for the hideous slaughter of said clan, the season comes with plenty of plot twists and reveals that pivot into directions you’d never have expected, if you’re coming in fresh from rewatching the original Edgerunners. In contrast, there’s also much more levity – honing in on the joy of life and finding what version of hope is left in a human world that’s more often willing to throw away their, well, humanity.
It’s not that Studio Trigger wanted to shy away from the dirt, grunge, hurt and pain that came with Edgerunners 1. If anything, there’s just as much of it, but shone in different lights. Though in the same way that the earlier anime also illustrated some of the beauty that can exist in such a universe, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 reveals even more of that in additional emotional and thought-provoking varieties.
Ultimately, instead of repeating the exact same kind of story that came before, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 wisely takes the opportunity to not only delve into unexplored avenues of its world, but also revisit previous beats of those that came before in different ways.
The only real complaint is, ironically, that it kept the same episode count as the first anime did.
By spreading out its story focus across 10 episodes, some character arcs feel a bit rushed or simply felt they could have been explored a bit more – simply because the limelight had to be shared between four main protagonists, instead of one at the centre of many smaller ones. With just an extra couple of episodes at minimum, some of the big character developments for those four during the middle and ending of the story would’ve felt even more fleshed out.
Be that as it may, nitpicking aside, Studio Trigger has knocked it out of the park once again with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, and yes, it’s well more than worth the wait.
While it doesn't surpass the original Edgerunners anime, it didn't need to. This special telling and cast of colourful characters earns more than a place at the same level as those that came before in the Cyberpunk mythos; it's a masterpiece in its own right.
If you wanted the exact same show as we got before, you’re going to be disappointed. However, for anyone who’s open to a brand-new take on its level of A-tier storytelling backed by solid performances, crazily well-drawn action, and amazing twists in this future sci-fi video game realm, you’re going to come away from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 smiling or crying (or both) even more than you did with the first.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 will be available to stream on Netflix, in full, on October 20.
Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.