| Cyberpunk: Edgerunners | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Cyberpunk[1] |
| Created by | |
| Based on | |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
|
| Directed by | Hiroyuki Imaishi |
| Creative director | Hiromi Wakabayashi |
| Voices of | |
| Opening theme | |
| Ending theme |
|
| Composer | Akira Yamaoka |
| Country of origin |
|
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Editor | Masato Yoshitake |
| Running time | 23–28 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) |
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Japanese:サイバーパンク エッジランナーズ,Hepburn:Saibāpanku Edjirannāzu) is acyberpunkoriginal net animated (ONA)miniseries based on the video gameCyberpunk 2077 by Polish studioCD Projekt Red.[2] Produced by the Japaneseanimation studioTrigger under the supervision of CD Projekt, it premiered onNetflix in September 2022.[3] Set in theCyberpunk universe created byMike Pondsmith, the anime serves as a prequel to the game and takes place about a year before the events ofCyberpunk 2077.
Upon its release,Cyberpunk: Edgerunners received critical acclaim, with praise directed at itscharacters, animation, andworldbuilding.[4] In October 2022, CD Projekt initially announced that the anime would not be receiving a second season and stated that, while it was open to collaborating with Trigger for future projects,Cyberpunk: Edgerunners had been planned as a standalone work.[5] However, in September 2024, Netflix had released a teaser regarding a collaboration betweenNetflix Animation, CD Projekt, andCyberpunk 2077, stating a "return to Night City". A standalone sequel series, titledCyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, was announced in July 2025.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set in Night City, aself-reliant metropolis located in the former state of California that suffers from extensive corruption,cybernetic addiction, and gang violence. The city is split into six districts, each of which has its own precise living requirements, and is controlled by severalmegacorporations, including Arasaka and its rival Militech. The anime's story is primarily set in Santo Domingo, the oldest, poorest, and most industrial district of Night City, and takes place in 2076.
In adystopia overrun by corruption, crime, and cybernetic implants, an impulsive but talented street kid named David Martinez, after losing everything he has in a drive-by shooting, chooses to survive on the wrong side of the law as an "edgerunner": a high-tech,black-marketmercenary also known as a "cyberpunk".
The series was announced during a "Night City Wire" livestream for the game on June 25, 2020, as a collaboration betweenCD Projekt andTrigger.[11][12]Hiroyuki Imaishi directed the series, with Masahiko Otsuka and Yoshiki Usa writing scripts,Yoh Yoshinari designing the characters and serving as animation director, Yuto Kaneko and Yusuke Yoshigaki serving as assistant character designers, Hiroyuki Kaneko serving as assistant director, Hiromi Wakabayashi serving as creative director, andAkira Yamaoka serving as the show's composer.[13][14] The anime's opening theme is "This Fffire" byFranz Ferdinand,[15] while its ending theme is "Let You Down" byDawid Podsiadło.[16]Edgerunners also utilized songs from2077's in-game radio stations.[17]Rosa Walton's song "I Really Want to Stay at Your House" was featured prominently and critically praised.[18][19]Aniplex released the series on a Blu-ray Disc set on May 28, 2025.[20]
| No. | Title | Storyboarded by | Directed by | Screenplay by | Story by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Let You Down" | Yoshiyuki Kaneko | Yoshiyuki Kaneko | Yoshiki Usa | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
In 2076, David Martinez is a young man attending the prestigious Arasaka Academy at his mother Gloria's behest, despite their financial struggle. David illegally modifies his visor to avoid paying for a required update to keep attending class. The modifications crash the school's system, and Gloria agrees to pay for the damages. Returning home from meeting with the headmaster, David engages in an argument with his mother, which ends when they are caught in a drive-by shooting between gang members and a corporate executive's limo. Gloria is left badly wounded but receives care when David accesses Gloria's savings account to pay for her medical costs. While Gloria is in the hospital, David discovers she stole a military-grade Sandevistan spine implant. David is assaulted by his classmate Katsuo Tanaka, who insults Gloria by insinuating that she earned the money used to pay for David's tuition via prostitution. Gloria's condition eventually worsens, and she subsequently dies in the hospital. David, now completely broke, meets up with Doc, a local ripperdoc who routinely supplies him with illegal braindances (virtual recordings of others' memories) and requests that Doc install the Sandevistan in his body. | |||||||
| 2 | "Like a Boy" | Yoshiyuki Kaneko | Yūichi Shimodaira | Yoshiki Usa and Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
Doc agrees to install the Sandevistan, which grants David increased reflexes and slowed perception of time for a short period. Using his new abilities, David returns to school and beats up Katsuo. He does so in full view of the security cameras, resulting in his expulsion from the Academy. Katsuo's father, Mr. Tanaka, an Arasaka executive, notices that David can utilize the Sandevistan with no apparent side effects, making him a valuable test subject for Arasaka's latest product. Meanwhile, as David aimlessly wanders the city, he encounters a young woman, Lucy, who agrees to take him on as a partner. After a night of pickpocketing marks on the subway, David collapses due to overuse of the Sandevistan. Lucy takes David back to Doc, who prescribes him immunosuppressants and warns him not to use his Sandevistan more than two or three times a day, regardless of David's unusually high tolerance. Lucy invites David to her apartment, where she confides that her dream is to migrate off-world to the Moon. She shows David a virtual reconstruction of the Moon's surface, but this turns out to be a distraction to sell David out to a gang of edgerunners. | |||||||
| 3 | "Smooth Criminal" | Akira Amemiya | Mai Ōwada | Yoshiki Usa and Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
David is confronted by the gang, led by a man named Maine, who reveals that Gloria had sold the Sandevistan to him a day before her death and that he is one of her acquaintances. David offers to work for Maine, demonstrating his compatibility with the Sandevistan. Intrigued, Maine honors his friendship with Gloria by giving David a chance to prove himself. The next day, David meets up with the gang, and Maine introduces him to the other members: Kiwi, Dorio, and Pilar. David then participates in a heist to steal navigation data from Maxim Kuznetsov, a driver for Arasaka. The plan goes awry due to unexpected complications, and David and Lucy are forced to steal Maxim's limo to gain the data instead. Maine rescues them from Tyger Clawbikers out to claim the fresh bounty placed on their heads by Maxim and, impressed by his performance on the job, officially inducts David into the gang. David also meets Maine'sfixer, Faraday, who brings them the job of stealing Maxim's navigation data to obtain information on Tanaka's movements. David then receives a message from the Academy offering to let him return, but he turns them down. | |||||||
| 4 | "Lucky You" | Yoshiyuki Kaneko | Akira Furukawa | Yoshiki Usa and Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
As a new recruit, David receives training and instruction from the other gang members, including running errands for Pilar and his sister Rebecca, learning how to drive from Maine, and jogging at night with Lucy. He also participates in several jobs with the crew. He learns that Lucy is a talented netrunner. One night, on the way home from a bar, Pilar begins harassing a homeless man urinating on the street. The homeless man is revealed to have cyberpsychosis and kills Pilar with a previously concealed arm-mounted launcher. When the cyberpsycho targets Lucy, David uses his Sandevistan to approach and shoot the cyberpsycho, with Maine finishing him off. David takes Lucy home while the rest of the gang stays behind to deal with the mess. David promises Lucy he will take her to the Moon, and they kiss. | |||||||
| 5 | "All Eyez on Me" | Kōdai Nakano | Kōdai Nakano | Yoshiki Usa and Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
The gang tries to find more leads on Tanaka, and Kiwi mentions she discovered that he secretly indulges in illicit braindances created by "JK." David recognizes the initials as the handle of Jimmy Kurosaki, a famoussnuff BD director who also custom-tunes BDs for special clients, including Tanaka, and David explains that Tanaka will have to be present in person for the tuning. Seeing an opportunity to ambush Tanaka, the gang attempts to kidnap JK, but he outwits them, captures David, and flees the scene with Lucy and Dorio in pursuit. JK subjects David to traumatic BDs to induce cyberpsychosis before he is stopped and captured by Lucy and Dorio. With no other choice, JK agrees to lure Tanaka in, but not before cautioning David that the Sandevistan will inevitably make him go cyberpsycho. Tanaka arrives to meet with JK and is subsequently captured, but not before JK is mortally wounded in the crossfire. With a Trauma Team unit incoming, the gang is forced to quickly evacuate with Tanaka, while David remains troubled by JK's words. | |||||||
| 6 | "Girl on Fire" | Kai Ikarashi | Yoshiyuki Kaneko | Yoshiki Usa and Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
Maine begins developing signs of cyberpsychosis as he starts having trouble controlling his implants, randomly blacks out, hallucinates, and hasmood swings, culminating in him losing his self-control and assaulting Kiwi as she tries to hack into Tanaka's cyberware, seriously injuring her. Lucy only agrees to take Kiwi's place provided Maine is kept away and David accompanies her. As Lucy dives into Tanaka's mind, Tanaka regains consciousness and begs David to let him go, saying that he was responsible for rescinding David's expulsion from the Academy, David still has a future there, and that the edgerunners will kill him after they extract his information to tie up loose ends. This causes David to hesitate long enough that Tanaka's neural implant shorts out and kills him, risking killing Lucy, too. Dorio disconnects Lucy safely, but the gang's jammer is disabled, resulting in Trauma Team receiving Tanaka's vitals and en route with the NCPD as support. Maine first sends David and Lucy to their escape vehicle while he and Dorio take Tanaka to distract the authorities. However, during the battle, Maine begins to succumb to his cyberpsychosis, resulting in Dorio's death when she attempts to protect him. David tries to rescue Maine from the police forces but can only watch as a regretful Maine blows himself up, leaving David to flee with Maine's cybernetic arms. | |||||||
| 7 | "Stronger" | Yoshihiro Miyajima | Tomoyuki Munehiro | Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
Months[21] after Tanaka's botched kidnapping, David has become the new leader of Maine's edgerunner group, having taken on more implants—including Maine's arm implants—and becoming a renowned edgerunner himself. However, he has been unable to convince Lucy to rejoin the crew. After completing a job for the fixer Wakako Okada to rescue a VIP from the Maelstrom gang, David is approached by Faraday, who offers him a job from Militech against Arasaka as a test to see if he is worthy of inheriting Maine's last job to recover the data Tanaka was hiding. Faraday also requests that David try to recruit Lucy again. Returning home, David talks with Lucy. Lucy reveals she was part of a special team of child netrunners raised and trained by Arasaka to delve into the Old Net to recover lost data. However, with a high risk of exposure to rogue AIs and malware, the work was hazardous, resulting in much of the team being killed. Eventually, Lucy escaped Arasaka with her teammates, who were all killed the night they left the facility, the group having also murdered their handlers in revenge and ended up in Night City. Later, Lucy kills an Arasaka agent investigating data about a test subject that was "mysteriously erased" from Tanaka's records. | |||||||
| 8 | "Stay" | Yoshihiro Miyajima | Yūichi Shimodaira | Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
Taking on Faraday's job, David kills an Arasaka lab director. Still, he shows signs of cyberpsychosis—during which he murders an innocent staff member who walked in on him killing the director. Believing Militech to be involved in the mysterious deaths of Arasaka personnel, Arasaka Counterintelligence arranges an assassination attempt on Faraday, who escapes. Due to Faraday's lack of results in recovering data on Arasaka's cyberskeleton project, Militech refuses to protect Faraday any further and he decides to betray them by making contact with Arasaka instead. Arasaka is willing to forgive Faraday for Tanaka's death in return for him tracking down the netrunner responsible for hiding Tanaka's data and killing their agents. Meanwhile, as David's cyberpsychosis conditions worsen, he suffers from trauma over the staff member he killed who reminded him of his mother, as the woman also had a son. Doc recommends that David scale back on his implants and is attacked by David. Lucy detects another Arasaka agent looking for Tanaka's data and heads over to kill him, only to get captured by Faraday and Kiwi. | |||||||
| 9 | "Humanity" | Yoshiyuki Kaneko | Akira Furukawa | Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
After interrogating Lucy, Faraday and Kiwi discover that Lucy has been actively hiding Tanaka's data on David as a potential test subject for the cyberskeleton and was responsible for Tanaka's death to ensure his silence. Realizing this, Faraday plans to offer Lucy and David up to Arasaka to secure his position in the company. Faraday assigns David a mission to assault an Arasaka convoy to carry this out. Aided by Kiwi, Rebecca, and Falco, David seizes the convoy's main cargo, which is revealed to be the cyberskeleton itself—a mech-like cyberware that replaces a person's arms and legs. A Militech force then arrives, thanks to a tip from Faraday, who intends to force David to install the cyberskeleton and use it to destroy the Militech force as a demonstration of its power. Kiwi flees as Faraday impersonates Lucy to trick him into installing the cyberskeleton. Lucy manages to escape and warns David about Faraday's duplicity before being recaptured. Angered by the betrayal and Lucy's capture, David uses the cyberskeleton and his Sandevistan to annihilate the Militech force despite its massive toll on his body. He then tells Rebecca and Falco they will rescue Lucy and get revenge on Faraday. | |||||||
| 10 | "My Moon My Man" | Yō Yoshinari, and Sushio | Kōdai Nakano | Masahiko Ōtsuka | Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
After receiving military-grade immunosuppressants from Doc, a deteriorating David fights through Militech, Arasaka, andMaxTac forces as he, Rebecca, and Falco head for Arasaka Tower. Meanwhile, Kiwi decides to cut ties with Faraday, who has her killed as a loose end regarding the cyberskeleton. Before dying, Kiwi tips off David and the others on Faraday and Lucy's location. After running out of immunosuppressants, David attacks the tower and kills the Arasaka security to rescue Lucy. Realizing the situation has spiraled out of control, Arasaka deploys their head of security, the legendary cyborg Adam Smasher, to put David down. As David begins succumbing to cyberpsychosis, Lucy kisses him, restoring his sanity. During the fighting, Faraday is thrown to his death from the top of the Arasaka tower by Smasher, who then crushes Rebecca to death. David tasks Falco with getting Lucy to safety while he stays behind to hold off Smasher, who eventually beats and kills David. Lucy later fulfills her dream of traveling to the Moon but remains heartbroken as David is not there with her. | |||||||
In its first week, the show debuted on Netflix's top ten list, with 14.88 million hours of viewing.[22] Its success helped increase the sales ofCyberpunk 2077 to 20 million units.[23]
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was acclaimed by critics and fans. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 100% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Booting up Night City with frenetic action and awe-inspiring visual flair,Edgerunners is an exceptionally stylish anime adaptation of the worldCyberpunk established."[24]
Jonathon Wilson wrote forReady Steady Cut that in "many ways, this is theCyberpunk story theCyberpunk game wanted to tell and couldn't."[25] Matt Kim ofIGN praised the exploration of the hostile life in Night City, specifically the visual effects, noting more of the focus was on the city rather than on some of the characters, and calling it "a wild ride, but worth every blistering second".[26] In a review forPolygon, Kambole Campbell praised the "visual language for various in-game concepts," as well as the "sonic diversity in its score" and found that the show's best aspect was "[its] ability to depict the psychological unmooring of its characters without feeling inauthentic."[27]
Video game directorHideo Kojima lauded the series, calling it "a miracle of squeezing the trigger to the world", and compared the art and world design favorably to the 1990OVA seriesCyber City Oedo 808.[28]Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the originalCyberpunk role-playing game also praised the show, writing "It's like seeing my brain in a big screen anime."[29] The publisher of the tabletopCyberpunk game, R. Talsorian, announced plans for anEdgerunners-based expansion in November 2022.[30]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | IGN Awards | Best Anime Series | Won | [31] |
| The Game Awards 2022 | Best Adaptation | Nominated | [32] | |
| 28thManga Barcelona Awards | Best Anime Series Premiere | Nominated | [33] | |
| 2023 | 50th Annie Awards | Best Storyboarding – TV/Media(Yoshiyuki Kaneko for "Let You Down") | Nominated | [34] |
| 9th Anime Trending Awards | Sci-Fi or Mecha Anime of the Year | Won | [35] | |
| Best in Original Screenplay(Masahiko Otsuka and Yoshiki Usa) | Won | |||
| 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards | Anime of the Year | Won | [36] | |
| Best Main Character(David Martinez) | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Character(Rebecca) | Nominated | |||
| Best Animation | Nominated | |||
| Best Director(Hiroyuki Imaishi) | Nominated | |||
| Best Character Design(Yoh Yoshinari) | Nominated | |||
| Best Action | Nominated | |||
| Best Drama | Nominated | |||
| Best New Series | Nominated | |||
| Best Score(Akira Yamaoka) | Nominated | |||
| Best Opening Sequence("This Fffire") | Nominated | |||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (English)(Zach Aguilar as David) | Won | |||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (French)(Dorothée Pousséo as Lucy) | Nominated | |||
| Japan Expo Awards | Daruma for Best Anime | Won | [37] | |
| Daruma for Best Director | Won | |||
| Daruma for Best Action Anime | Won | |||
| Daruma for Best Original Soundtrack | Nominated | [38] | ||
| Daruma for Best Opening("This Fffire") | Nominated | [39] | ||
| 13thNewtype Anime Awards | Best Soundtrack(Akira Yamaoka) | 4th place | [40] |
In an interview withFamitsu, CDPR community manager Satoru Honma said that no plans exist for a second season ofCyberpunk: Edgerunners but that if ever there would be, it would not be a continuation of the first season but "something completely different."[41]
On September 19, 2024, Netflix released a short teaser for a new tie-in withCyberpunk 2077. This followed rumors about aCyberpunk: Edgerunners sequel and CD Projekt Red joint CEO Michał Nowakowski signaling plans for more animated tie-ins.[42][43]
CD Projekt Red announced in July 2025 that a stand-alone sequel series,Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, was in development, with most of the original creative team returning, and to be streamed on Netflix. It will feature a new story separate from the first series and a new cast of characters. Kai Ikarashi will direct the season, with Bartosz Sztybor serving as writer, producer, and showrunner, Ichigo Kanno as a character designer, and Masahiko Otsuka returning as scriptwriter.[44]
A prequel manga series by Asano, titledCyberpunk: Edgerunners Madness (サイバーパンク: エッジランナーズ MADNESS,Saibāpanku Edjirannāzu Maddonesu), debuted onKadokawa'sComic Alive+ website on December 13, 2024.Dark Horse Comics will publish the manga in English in paperback format in North America.[45]
Lucy was added as a playable character viadownloadable content toGuilty Gear Strive on August 21, 2025.[46] Additional avatars and music fromCyberpunk were also added.[47]
A collaboration betweenCyberpunk: Edgerunners andWuthering Waves is planned for 2026.[48]
