Hi, I’m Daniel Thurman

Daniel reviews cyberpunk books, games, and more.

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  • Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Gets a Full Trailer

    We’ve known for a while that we were getting a Cyberpunk 2077 anime at some point. We’ve since learned that it’s going to be called Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and it’s going to be created by Studio Trigger. The series is due to be released on Netflix in September. Last month we got the first teaser trailer for the show. Now, Netflix has released the first full length official trailer.

    The trailer as seen above focuses on introducing some of the show’s main characters. Namely David, Maine, Dorio, Kiwi, Pilar, Rebecca, and Lucy. The show is going to be a 10-episode standalone story set in the game’s glorious Night City.

    ABOUT CYBERPUNK: EDGERUNNERS

    The series tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in Night City — a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he stays alive by becoming an edgerunner — a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.

    -Netflix

    Studio Trigger is best known for the series Kill La Kill and the film Promare. The studio was founded by Hiroyuki Imaishi, a former Gainax employee and director of the hit anime series Gurren Lagann. Many would argue that Studio Trigger’s unique style and attitude is perfect for a Cyberpunk 2077 show. Or any cyberpunk show, for that matter. We do not disagree one bit.

    Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is of course based on the hugely successful Cyberpunk 2077 game by CD Projekt Red. The game released in 2020 and to date has sold over 18 million copies, even as its development and release were fraught with controversy and technical problems.

    That won’t stop us from enjoying Cyberpunk: Edgerunners though. It looks incredible, which is to be expected from a Studio Trigger project. We can’t wait to watch this and talk about it in September when it gets released on Netflix.

    [Source: YouTube via CVG]

  • A Scarlet Nexus Anime is in Development

    Bandai Namco has announced that in addition to the upcoming game, a Scarlet Nexus anime series is also in development. Legendary Japanese studio Sunrise (Mobile Suit Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, etc.) is producing the anime adaptation. The series is currently scheduled to start streaming this Summer, around the game’s release.

    If you live outside Japan, don’t worry. Funimation is going to be simulcasting the series on their service for Western audiences.

    Solar calendar year 2020: grotesque organisms called Others have begun eating people. To take down this new enemy, the Other Suppression Force is formed. Saved by this elite team as a child, psychokinetic Yuito withstands the training to enlist. On the other hand, prodigy Kasane was scouted for her abilities. But Kasane’s dreams tell her strange things, dragging the two into an unavoidable fate.

    –Scarlet Nexus Anime Official Synopsis

    Like the game, the Scarlet Nexus anime doesn’t really brand itself as cyberpunk. But it has a strong cyberpunk aesthetic and borrows some ideas commonly used in the genre. Given it’s focus on the characters’ psionic abilities, you could call it psypunk or perhaps. . .brainpunk? Either way, it’s definitely cyberpunk-ish and probably worth looking into.

    The game is being developed by Bandai Namco’s development arm and is currently scheduled to launch on June 25th. The anime series will begin airing around the same time.

  • A Terminator Anime Series is Coming

    Cyberpunkery has learned that Netflix is working on a Terminator anime series. Yes, you heard that right. And it’s a sentence we never thought we’d be writing but here we are. Terminator, one of our favorite franchises, despite being only quasi-cyberpunk related, is being given the anime treatment.

    According to Variety, Netflix is developing the series together with famed Japanese animation studio Production I.G.. The studio is of course known for some of our favorite things such as Ghost in the Shell and Psycho-Pass.

    This will be Terminator’s first foray into the world of anime and it’s second television series after Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It will also be the first entry in the Terminator franchise since 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, a film considered a commercial failure despite being actually very good.

    “’Terminator’ is one of the most iconic sci-fi stories ever created–and has only grown more relevant to our world over time,” said John Derderian, Netflix’s vice president of Japan and anime. “The new animated series will explore this universe in a way that has never been done before. We can’t wait for fans to experience this amazing new chapter in the epic battle between machines and humans.”

    Production I.G.’s involvement meanwhile comes as little surprise given their work with thematically related works like Ghost in the Shell. And they seem to be rather big Terminator fans, themselves.

    “I asked my long-time friend and colleague Mamoru Oshii what he thought about the idea of turning the ‘Terminator’ into an animated series,” said Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, president and CEO of Production I.G. “His response was ‘Ishikawa, are you out of your mind?’ At that instant, I was confident we should get onboard. As huge fans, our team at Production I.G is putting their heart and souls into creating this series. We hope fans will enjoy it!”

    This is the latest announcement related to some of our favorite media franchises being adapted into anime. Back in 2018, we learned that a Blade Runner anime would soon be in development. It’s all very exciting but we know less about this series than we do about that. No details about the plot or setting are yet known. We also don’t have a time frame for its release. We’ll continue to report as more details become available to us.

    [Via Variety]

  • Netflix Debuts The Trailer for the New Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Series

    Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is the upcoming installment in the long running cyberpunk anime franchise and is being released by Netflix around the world. Today Netflix unveiled the debut trailer for the series, showcasing some interesting CG animation and a familiar voice cast.

    Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is the latest chapter in the Ghost in the Shell franchise and an apparent sequel to the much beloved Stand Alone Complex series. SAC_2045 will see the return of director Kenji Kamiyama. Kamiyama will be joined by Shinji Aramaki, the director of Appleseed. The two are also working together to create the new Blade Runner anime series, scheduled to debut at a later time. We knew they had a Ghost in the Shell series in the works before that happens, and now we are seeing the first fruits of that labor.

    The trailer, full of the non-stop cyber action Ghost in the Shell has become known for, also gives us our first glimpse of the new CG animation style being used for the series, ditching the traditional “hand-drawn” techniques of the series’ past. This has caused a little bit of a stir among fans, some of whom are not pleased with the change.

    One thing longtime Ghost in the Shell fans should be excited for though is the return of the original voice cast of SAC. Atsushi Nakanaka returns as Motoko Kusanagi, Akio Takatsuka as Bato, and Hirota Takaji as Togusa. As ever, the animation is being handled by beloved studio Production I.G. in collaboration with CG animation studio Sola Digital Arts.

    Notably absent however is Yoko Kanno who created the music for the first two series and the Solid State Society film, based on the series. In her place, music will be composed by Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi, who are known for various video game soundtracks, including the Metal Gear Solid series.

    Speaking for myself, I find the CG animation incredibly beautiful and the character design equally striking. I’m always up for a return to the world of Ghost in the Shell and I’m certainly looking forward to this amazing-looking followup.

  • A New Blade Runner Anime Series Is on the Way

    Blade Runner is a big deal for me. I haven’t even explained in full why it is, nor how deeply it has impacted my life. But trust me, it’s a big deal for me. When Blade Runner 2049 came out last year, it changed my life the way the first film did. The book is my favorite book. The 90’s point and click adventure game on PC was my favorite 90’s point and click adventure game, etc..

    So I was pretty excited to learn today that there is an anime series on the way. Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, and Alcon Entertainment are collaborating to bring us the 13-episode series inspired by Blade Runner 2049. It will be directed by none other than Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’s Kenji Kamiyama and Appleseed’s Shinji Aramaki. And, as if that weren’t enough, Cowboy Bebop’s Shinichirō Watanabe will be the series’ creative producer.

    Blade Runner: Blackout 2022
    A still from Blade Runner: Blackout 2022, and an example of the quality you can probably expect from Black Lotus

    The series, entitled Blade Runner: Black Lotus, will take place in the year 2032, obviously placing it in between Blade Runner 2049 and Blade Runner: Blackout 2022, the 15-minute anime prequel film to 2049 which was directed by Watanabe. The series is said to contain familiar characters.

    And that’s pretty much all we know about it. No information has been revealed as to its storyline or release date. But we know it will happen sometime after Aramaki and Kamiyama finish up their reboot of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

    The English dub of the show will be played on Adult Swim’s Toonami block, while the subtitled version will be available on Crunchyroll.