Television series

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Name: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Genre: Action, Anime, Science Fiction
Released: 2022
Cast: Kenn, Aoi Yūki, Takako Honda, Yasuyuki Kase, Tomoyo Kurosawa

Ten violent, gorgeous episodes built by Studio Trigger inside CD Projekt Red's Night City. It moves like a fever dream—street kid David turns mercenary to survive class contempt and body-mod hunger, and every fight is animated with a snap you won't get from live-action cyberpunk. It's brutal, horny, and unexpectedly heartbreaking, built for fans of adrenaline and dread rather than tourists just wanting some flashy sci-fi wallpaper.

TVMaze rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like cyberpunk shaped by neon-soaked street grime, where gleaming chrome and bodily cost matter as much as the gunfights, and a short, blunt story that hits hard.

Skip it if the glossy violence and body-horror surgery scenes can feel relentless, and if you need the characters to wander off into long, lighter detours, its tight focus will frustrate.

What it asks of you: Episodes run about twenty-five minutes, so it's a short commitment, but it moves fast and stays dark, asking you to keep pace with abrupt shifts in mood.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Cowboy Bebop1998

The genre's other perfect outlaw-mercenary story—jazz-scored, melancholic, funny, and just as willing to break your heart in its final stretch. If Edgerunners' mix of style and tragedy worked on you, this is the show that taught everyone how to do it.

But Slower, moodier pace and 1998 animation will feel like a big gear change after Edgerunners' hyperactive violence.

Akira1988

The film that invented the visual language Edgerunners borrows constantly—biker gangs, corporate decay, bodies turning monstrous under technology's pressure. Still the most visceral cyberpunk animation ever made, even decades later.

But Dense mythology and a rushed third act can leave newcomers a little lost on first watch.

Ghost in the Shell1995

Where Edgerunners' questions about identity and the body get asked with cold philosophical seriousness instead of adrenaline. Gorgeous, meditative, endlessly quotable—the granddaddy of every 'what makes you human' cyberpunk story since.

But Talky and contemplative where Edgerunners is kinetic; patience for philosophy is required, action is sparse throughout.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Alphaville1965

Same premise stripped bare: a lone operative navigating a city run by an inhuman logic system, decades before Night City existed—proof the outlaw-versus-machine story is older than the genre name.

Godard's black-and-white noir imagines a computer-run city crushing free will decades before 'cyberpunk' existed as a word—the tech-oppressed dystopia and doomed outsider hero Edgerunners inherits, done on a shoestring and pure attitude.

But Cheap effects, arthouse pacing, and dialogue-heavy philosophizing—nothing like Edgerunners' visual spectacle or violence.

Blade Runner 20492017

Same neon-drenched, corporation-choked future rendered in aching slow-motion instead of Trigger's sugar-rush editing. Gorgeous world-building and a genuine ache about what's left of humanity once tech eats everything.

But Nearly three hours of deliberate, mournful pacing—the total opposite temperament of Edgerunners' relentless forward momentum.

Altered Carbon2018

Live-action Netflix cyberpunk with the same body-hopping, corporate-owned-flesh nightmare logic, plus a genuinely nasty noir plot and gratuitous, gorgeous excess to match Edgerunners' appetite for spectacle.

But Uneven writing and a jarring tonal shift between seasons; style frequently outruns substance and plot logic.

Psycho-Pass2012

A slicker, more procedural cousin—same near-future Japan-inflected dystopia, same fascination with how technology decides who deserves to live free, wrapped in stylish, brutal thriller plotting.

But More cerebral and dialogue-heavy than Edgerunners; the philosophical debates can slow momentum for action-first viewers.

Kill la Kill2013

Studio Trigger's earlier calling card—same director's eye for kinetic, over-the-top action and emotional whiplash, just dialed into gonzo high-school comedy instead of dystopian tragedy.

But Broader, sillier tone and fan-service excess that has little to do with Edgerunners' bleakness.

Promare2019

Trigger's most recent theatrical feature, directed by the same team, proves their visual pyrotechnics work just as well in a brighter, more hopeful register—still a great showcase of the studio's signature chaos.

But Much lighter stakes and a happier arc; won't satisfy anyone wanting Edgerunners' gut-punch ending.

Trigun1998

A gunslinger-outlaw wandering a ruined future desert, torn between violence and conscience—same doomed-mercenary shape as David's story, filtered through spaghetti-western melancholy and a surprisingly gentle heart.

But Older animation and a slower, episodic first half before the emotional stakes fully click in.

Modify2006

Edgerunners fantasises about people who alter their bodies past recognition chasing power or belonging; this documentary shows the real subculture doing exactly that, minus the guns and glow.

A real documentary following people who cut, brand, implant and modify their bodies for meaning, identity, or obsession—the literal, unglamorous version of the chrome-and-cyberware culture Edgerunners fictionalizes with neon and violence.

But Graphic, unromantic footage of actual body modification procedures; no plot, no action, just testimony and skin.

Perfect Blue1998

Same anime medium, same fear of the self being overwritten by outside forces—just swapped from cyberware and violence to media and fame, and from adrenaline to genuine horror.

Satoshi Kon's psychological anime about a pop star losing her grip on reality trades gunfights for dread, but shares Edgerunners' obsession with identity dissolving under technology and public image.

But No action at all—slow-building paranoia and horror instead, a completely different viewing experience despite the shared medium.