The first trailer for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an anime series made by Trigger, the Japanese animation company behind Kill la Kill, has been released on Netflix. Edgerunners is based on CD Projekt Red’s sci-fi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 and includes some of the game’s characters and places.
With all of the turmoil surrounding Cyberpunk 2077’s original release, it’s easy to overlook another interesting project in the works: an anime spinoff from famous studio Trigger. (This is the same crew that worked on Promare, Little Witch Academia, and Kill la Kill.) The Netflix series was first announced in 2020, and the first trailer for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is now available. It’s difficult to determine what’s going on in the one-minute video, but it looks great.
This show is stunning in classic Trigger fashion. Fans of the game will recognise many of the show’s depictions of Night City, such as its monolithic skyscrapers, koi fish holograms, and, of course, its fast-paced car chases. Netflix also released a clip from Episode 4 depicting the Maelstrom Gang, emphasising how vicious the series will be:
Hiroyuki Imaishi (Gurren Lagann, Promare) directs Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, with Yoh Yoshinari designing the characters (Little Witch Academia). The series’ writers are Masahiko Otsuka and Yoshiki Usa, with Akira Yamaoka serving as composer. The series will premiere on Netflix in September, and you can see a poster for it below.
The anime, which was first announced in 2020, will be directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi (Gurren Lagann, Promare) and will feature character designs by Yoh Yoshinari (Little Witch Academia, BNA: Brand New Animal). “I’ve always enjoyed cyberpunk as a genre, but I’ve always found it difficult to develop as a unique piece,” Imaishi stated during the announcement of the anime. “This is why I’m so happy to be working on this project with CD Projekt Red.” It will be difficult to please both game and anime lovers, but I enjoy a challenge.”
