TL;DR:
- Directed by Kai Ikarashi (responsible for episode 6 of season one)
- Standalone story
- 10 episodes
- “A raw chronicle of redemption and revenge”
- “I wasn’t satisfied with the sadness… so I want you to be even more sad now.” - Bartosz Sztybor (writer/producer of both seasons)
- Key art
I think that to some extent this comes down to a simple fact that for many people, like yourself, Edgerunners was their first into the world of anime - depending on one’s media literacy and experience this might sway their opinion one way or another. Besides, that’s not just a problem with Edgerunners, you could say the same about folks for whom Cyberpunk 2077 was their first experience with cyberpunk as a genre.
While not perfect, it’s a solid show overall and if it serves as a gateway deeper into the rabbit hole then I’d say it’s worth the praise.
Oh no, I don’t mean Edgerunners was my entry. I mean that Cyberpunk 2077 led me to further cyberpunk content, which led me to explore cyberpunk anime after a lifetime of being an ignorant anime hater. I can see why it looked like I meant Edgerunners was my entry though!
That said, I don’t hate Edgerunners by any means, I just didn’t feel the emotional connection people felt to the characters and story. I enjoyed seeing Night City in anime, and I think there was a lot of talent on display but yeah, I just didn’t feel much compared to what others seem to have felt.