Thanks to my general dissatisfaction with the state of Netflix’s new original movies and TV shows of late, I’ve found myself increasingly turning to other kinds of content — and have, to my surprise, been blown away by some of the non-live action gems that the streaming giant has on offer. I’m so late to the party on this, but I’ve found that animated shows like Arcane and Terminator Zero offer breathtaking visuals and deeply engrossing stories, and the streamer is also about to go back to the well for not just one of its best animes but one of its best-reviewed shows ever.
That would be Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, with news of a follow-up to the widely-praised first season certainly being one of the most exciting announcements to come out of Netflix’s Geeked Week over the past week. And although the streamer only shared the barest of details (the teaser, here, is basically a trailer for an eventual trailer), I’m already super-hyped that we’re getting a new story set in Night City for a few reasons. Not the least of which is that the data suggests the Cyberpunk series is one of the best original shows Netflix has ever made.
The streamer teamed up with CD Projekt Red and Japanese animation studio Trigger to produce Season 1 of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, which, two years after its debut, still has a 100% critics’ score and near-perfect 95% audience score. Regarding the latter, it’s based on more than 2,500 ratings from users — basically among the best of the best, as far as scores for Netflix titles go.
A couple of other things worth pointing out: Netflix’s announcement tweet doesn’t mention partnering with Trigger this time around (darn!). Also, I think the statute of limitations on spoilers has expired for this one, so it’s important to add that based on how Cyberpunk: Edgerunners ended — with basically everyone dead — this new Netflix series will most likely be a spinoff or new standalone title of some kind.
The show’s creators have said (in a Reddit AMA) that they think one of the reasons their adaptation of the Cyberpunk 2077 video game was so successful was that it was an open-world game, containing so many possibilities for where a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners story could go. That’s certainly true, but it’s also the case that the show happens to be one of the coolest-looking and edgiest animes I think I’ve enjoyed to date. The animation captures the vibrant dynamic of life in Night City, like something from Shibuya set 1000 years in the future, and it will be so exciting to see what feats of animation the creators come up with next for the follow-up.
A dystopian future populated by misfits and advanced technology never looked so good.
