‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ Season 2 Review: A Thrilling Case of Déjà Vu
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a standout anime that launched on Netflix in 2022. It was a collaboration between CD Projekt Red, the developer of the video game Cyberpunk 2077, and Studio Trigger, one of the best anime studios. Slick animation, mature stories, gruesome deaths, and, by all accounts, a wonderful take on Night City.
Four years later, Studio Trigger and CD Project Red return with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2, completely removed from any of the characters or plot from the original. Is it just as good, better, or a bit of a letdown? As with many loves in my current life, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.
The story in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2
The second season begins with four characters, seemingly all disconnected from one another. Roman (Momoka Terasawa) is a young boy obsessed with filming everything with his old-school camcorders. King (Kentarô Tone) was a once-brutal Edgerunner, a combination of a mercenary and a thief for hire, who undergoes some setbacks in his cybernetics, making him not too threatening anymore. Talia (Akari Kitô) is a teen girl who keeps adding cybernetics to her body and rebelling against her parents. Finally, D (Koki Uchiyama) is on a quest for revenge, having seen his tribe burned to the ground years ago in the wastes around Night City.
Eventually, King gets hired to bring Talia back from a life of crime, and D agrees to be in Roman’s movie project if it means burning down the corporations and thugs that did him wrong. The way all four characters and the multiple stories come together is well-told. It makes sense, and I do like all four characters. The problem is, about halfway through the season, I could see the writing on the wall. The twists were predictable, in other words, along with a feeling of déjà vu.
The new season of this series feels too similar to the previous one
My biggest complaint about season 2 of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, series 2, or whatever Netflix wants to call it, is that it is too similar to the first season. There are themes I enjoy, such as Roman highlighting the differences between virtual reality and watching films. It creates a barrier between the movie and the viewer, which is transformative.
The obsession of some characters with modding their bodies to become stronger versus having flesh and organs and what it means to be human is also great. It’s all classic cyberpunk stuff, and I wish the second season would have picked a better lane to drive home.
A story about Roman wanting to become a filmmaker would have been a great avenue to go down, because I feel like the correlation between creators and AI could be made with a story like that. Instead, it’s another narrative about an almighty chip that can grant power at the cost of that user alienating their friends and ultimately going down in a tailspin in the climax. Now, the ending is not quite as unsettling or tragic as the first season, but again, I just wish there was a newer idea as the main premise.
These characters are fun to be around, and there aren’t many opportunities for them to just hang out and grow. When these smaller moments did happen, I cherished them way more than any action scene wherein a head blows up. Going to a drive-in movie theater with a crush, rewarding a friend with twenty too many bears, or getting lunch with a long-lost daughter. All fantastic moments that highlight the visceral drama of the main plot.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 rating and final thoughts
As negative as I may seem, season 2 of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is not bad by any stretch. For all intents and purposes, this is a great anime. Slightly below the original because it is rehashing some content, so it didn’t exceed or meet my expectations. It’s challenging to make a sequel to something so cherished by fans, but at least the greenlight was given to try to recapture that magic.
The series has excellent animation, style, and action, far outclassing so many other anime out there, alongside a diverse set of characters with great designs and personalities. Studio Trigger is indeed in a league of its own. So, if you prefer style over substance, then you may like this season more than I did. It all comes down to personal taste, choom.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. As of the writing of this review, season 3 of the series has not yet been confirmed.
Also check out a review by Alex Perez of season one of the series here.
