Why Cyberpunk Edgerunners HURTS
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2022
- Cyberpunk Edgerunners breaks alot of tropes, and they in return break you....Heartbroken
Edgerunners made you sad? Well join the line bub
anyway music by
@justiceder
Gameplay by
@Prizzaa
Cyberpunk Edgerunners. Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a spin off of Cyberpunk 2077. It's A Netflix anime. Rebecca is great. Narrative Subverted. - Ігри
I think the most important thing to remember with this anime is that it's not an anime. It's a Cyberpunk story with an anime paint job. It wasn't written by Trigger it was written by CDPR. (That's why there's an ending.) No good lives in Night City, just good deaths.
True.
In NC you either die a legend, or just fade.
No in betweens.
Yeah 100%
Cyberpunk is a dystopia, there are no "happy endings". Just endings.
I don't disagree that it was written by people outside of the studio and this benefitted the show massively.
... I don't follow why that would make it not anime though. It's an animation that was made in Japan, so it's an anime. I also am very confused as to what Trigger productions you watched which didn't have an ending to them..?
I disagree on the first part due to anime being an art style and Trigger does regularly have jacked ends. And I totally agree on the second point, cyberpunk is all about the "No happily ever after" idea, it's bittersweet but 1000% better than Disney garbage. The fact the game gives you 3 options and all options lead to the same start are a perfect example of this, no matter who you are the world will grind you up and shit you out. In some ways its better than our current world
This also brings in the bleakness of a war in the shadows like in the Shadorun setting but the depth of feeling of the original Gundam complete with the "kill 'em all" Tomino mindset. Corporate wars where you are just a consumable commodity, much like now but more blatant.
After finishing Edgerunners you can say that I'm...... Sandevestated :(
W comment
Hah dad jokes 🤭
Bruh😂😂😂😂
Fucking beautiful choom! Lol
Thanks choomba
Rebecca's death really hit me different, probably the best worst death I've ever seen
Also my heart is crying
out of nowhere and unnecessary, but fits Adam Smasher's character since he loves to kill. Crew was fucked second he appeared. Very accurate to the ttrpg lol
The suddenness of it a think has a great effect, its that “oh fuck!?” factor
They were "fuckable meat" if you remember the dialogue between V and Adam.
@@Razgriz_01 I wouldn't say that this was unnecessary. Take a look at Rebecca's POV. She lost her brother and considered David as the second one. Surviving but also seeing David die would probably break her just like Lucy.
me too, the fact that it was one of the easiest bosses in cyberpunk 2077 made it so much worse
Well actually, the anime is a far more accurate depiction of Adam Smasher than the game had, because in the original tabletop, when Adam Smasher shows up, it’s all but guaranteed that you’re going to lose most of your party to him.
The anime depicted him so accurately, that people have been begging CD Projekt Red to just throw game balance to the wind, and update the game to make Adam into the low-level player destroyer he was always meant to be, to make it so that if you don’t grind to make your V “full ‘borg” before the fight, then you’ll will stand no chance.
I hope these efforts to make Adam Smasher into the player destroyer succeed. Either mods or an official patch to re-work the entire fight to be like this really difficult boss fight. That would be cool.
I don't think this would ruin game balance, rather fix it! Adam Smasher was definitely meant to be one hell of a boss fight that you have to be really prepared for
Not realy, the fight is pretty proportionate considering V at level 50 is supposed to be a monster. Considering that Adam Smasher has the highest stat in Body 18, while V at level 50 should have 3 stats at level 20. Having 1 stat at level 20 is equivalente to Rache Bartmoss who had Intelligence at 20 and crashed the whole Net so yeah.... Adam Smasher is a chump compared to a full level V.
@@dorianbear292 Given how much of a legacy Adam has, and how much longer he's been operating in lore (he first appears in his usual form, so still full borg, in Cyberpunk 2020, which is set in 2020) he should be leaps and bounds ahead of V given how many more decades of combat experience he has by 2077, js. I mean for fucks sake, he was basically designed as a one man TPK machine
there is no game balance in a world where you can get like a 4 second cooldown on your sandy
David didn't fail, he did achieve his objective, which was getting Lucy to the Moon. Lucy in fact asked him five times during the anime what his dream was and he reaffirmed that his dream was to fulfill hers. Which he did.
And probably gave her cyberpsychosis in the end.
Nah, just psychosis prolly
NO. DON'T YOU DARE
I somewhat disagree. I see where you’re coming from and in a sense David did succeed at that particular goal of getting Lucy to the moon. But I don’t believe that it was because it was his main objective but because by that point in the show, it was the only one he could viably achieve. And I say this because if getting Lucy to the moon was his main goal he would’ve done it long before the ending of show. We could see he was making bank when he became the leader, literal stacks of Eddie’s, and what did he do with it? Did he save up and leave night city or buy that ticket to the moon? No he upgraded himself out of his desire to fulfill maines dream. He selfishly chose to chase a deadman’s dream over the dream of his women and in doing so also failed to live up to his moms dream for him. And I honestly think had things kept going smoothly for David, he would’ve probably kept going as a edge runner, ultimately turning himself into mechanical monstrosity not unlike Adam smasher.
@@cannakage7114 spot on analysis. I agree, after a while you could tell getting Lucy to the moon wasn't his main priority. What he really had was an addiction. He convinced himself he was so special to the point he went over his tolerance which eventually lead to his downfall. For me, it just showed a sad, broken character who wanted to be the saviour of everyone's dreams. That what the cyberpunk genre as a whole aims for.
@@cannakage7114 100% fax
Lucy even tried to retire, David never got the hint
Although Rebecca's death still is one of the reasons I cry when hearing a certain song, I find it funny how Smasher landed crotch first on the tip of her gun
Literal balls of steel
@@BrawnyStream for real, that was one hell of a teabag
@@BrawnyStream steel ball run
@@beansnsteakmakepeoplequake8821 Holy shit is that a motherfucking JoJo reference??????????????????????
It's because she was just another piece of fuckable meat. If you don't understand that reference, you don't deserve to be cyberpunk fans.
David spent his entire life chasing other people's dreams. He chased his mother's dream because he didn't know he had another choice, he chased Maine's dream because he thought he had no other choice, he chased Lucy's dream because he knew he could make it real if he gave up everything. He didn't notice Lucy's dream changed before the end, though. She wanted to be with him more than anything.
so in the end, David spent his entire life chasing other people's dreams, and saw none of them come true.
The saddest truth about edge runners, she really did fall for that dude didn't she. She just wanted him to live in the end, a type of love we all long for 😢
David was special. It was his mother who was really special. She was in the city and grinding in its filth that was still unbroken by the city. She had hope and humanity left in her and David gained hope and power.
I honestly expected David to succumb to the chrome and end up in some sorry state from the get go. It was watching the rest of the crew suffer with him was what got to me. The tragedy of knowing that David and Lucy were each other's downfall and watching David throw himself away for Lucy's dream, despite her real desire is just for him to live. Seeing Becca notice where things were going, yet stick with David anyways because she's a real homie. Watching Kiwi question if her actions were worth it and reflecting on her decision. Man. That's the true sadness.
i think one of the saddest moments is when there's the timeskip and we see david all chromed up, at that moment you know that things are gonna end pretty bad.
A comment on Rebecca: I believe that it was more than just being a homie. There are several phrases that strongly suggest Rebecca was in love with David and jealous of Lucy. It was more the fact that Rebecca wanted nothing more than David's happiness and he knew that that was Lucy.
This is not why I was so sad. Cause gotta be serious, after one episode it was pretty obvious there was no happy ending here.
Things that really hit home for me...
1. People get addicted to cyberware augmentations to the point where they clearly know they need to downgrade, yet they refuse to... just like drug addiction... it gets them mad... makes them wanna die... like drug addiction.
2. The relentlessness of their life. I've seen a lot of people frustrated from the pace arguing the story telling was botched, lacked time and it was because of financial reason. While its pretty obvious this relentless pace was choosen on purpose to show that our protagonists never truly leave surviving mode ! Life is so brutal in Night City. We see them grind, only pausing to catch their breath, working really hard not for some grandiose ideal. They're not trying to change the world. They are merely trying to change their life for it not to suck as much. And we see that they get pretty fucking strong... wich lead to no. 3
3. The futility of it all... in the end. They all die like the little shit they are. This really gets me sad. I've been an addict, I've almost killed myself, and I've work hard to be able to change my prospect. But I've never worked relentlessly like them. Yet I succeded and they failed. And since they failed, it was all for nothing. Its not a cautionary tale, its just classic Night City story. There ain't no escaping the fact that, at some point, you'll get crushed by the system.
4. They didnt all died. I would have been less sad if they all died. The story emphasized the love story between David and Lucy. But it is also a friendship story. They are a community. They have each others back. Kiwi betrays them and it goes to shit from there. I was placing myself in Lucy's and Falco's shoes... They survived... but now they have nothing... but survivor's guilt. Their friends (and lover) all died. And even if we see Lucy being cold, she likes them. How do you recover from that ? They have money yes, but the series make it clear that, no matter how strong you are, you are never truly safe in this universe. Hence why you need a team (be it friends or employees).
David, who thought he was special, was completely destroyed by someone who is special.
YOOO i- never even thought about it like that. that relates back to the convo that he had with doc who called him smasher 2.0. He had that illusion in his brain and reality broke it
He thought he was built different.
That is deep.
@doncroc3765 and to expand on that a bit more, in the game V is special among legends. Smasher ends up in the same position versus V as David is in versus Smasher.
Trigger pretty much said "I'm going to make you hurt."
Those of us who know about the whole Cyberpunk Tabletop Universe know this well. Mike Pondsmith KNEW how to lampshade our expectations. He KNEW that we would think his characters could change the world... But what happens when the world refuses to change? At least... not at that time...
This anime hurt me less because of the tropes it broke more because of the reflection of our lives it portrays. Our desire to climb up that ladder of success and the things we neglect in that process. And the inevitable limit imposed on us by the powers that move our society. Made me think if that perception of success put forward by such powers is worth pursuing in this cage of a world.
Bravo to you good sir
then you are propably a rly narcitistic person
@@Lapsukainen All I'm saying to that is, I'm not the one with the anime-me profile pic.
Honestly I wasn’t half a shocked as I was supposed to be because the outcome was foreshadowed to hell and back. They said it from the moment main died that this was only going to end in tragedy. Every since David became super David every character knew he was a ticking time bomb and by episode 8 he was just waiting to snap. I don’t think the show intended the go after expectations. I think we’re just are so used to things miraculously working out that we didn’t see where this was going when it was staring us in the face. The show is borderline Shakespearean by how it shows you how it’s going to end, it’s just a matter of how.
@@personman8734 True, honestly a lot of people went in knowing the rules and tendency of the cyberpunk setting and genre. I was one of them too, but it still left a deep note regardless.
Rebecca's death is honestly the nail in the coffin. Like, we all knew David wasn't making it out of this, at least not *as* David. But the fact that Rebecca, the one who had stayed by David's side the entire time, dies to Smasher right before the end... that's heart breaking. Studio trigger did a wonderful job of animating this anime and, should there be any more, I'd be happy to suffer through it all again
"A character isn't supposed to die like that." Just yesterday I finally dead Don't Fear the Reaper ending in Cyberpunk. Adam did his signature jet jump ground pound move, The Smasher. My V was at full HP(with the HP penalty locking max HP around 75%), Smasher around 25%. I told myself I will tank it and unload on his face to finish him off. He one shot me. Full HP, Water and food buffs, 20% more HP Protein buff, increased HP perk, regenerating HP. Smasher smashed through it all. I died holding Guts aiming up at him the EXACT. SAME. WAY. REBECCA. DID!
10/10 would get smashed again. To those who complain Smasher is weak do Don't Fear the Reaper.
Yeah, Secret Ending is ABSOLUTELY the way to fight Smasher. The rest of the endings were scaled back for balance purposes, but Secret Ending pulls out ALL the goddamn stops.
Absolutley smashing
@@antaresyoung9614 I love playing that ending.
Don't fear the reaper smasher was kinda mid for me tense not in a OH FUCK IM GONNA DIE (that was the earlier sections) tense in a "this nigga Is hysterical lemme run around and wait for him to run his attack course so I can attack his opening" but then again I was using a OP net running build, felt like I was melting him too fast so I stopped the quickhacks and used a poison Yinglomg, that melted him EVEN FASTER. So I handicapped myself and just used Guts/Malorian arms and my mantis blades to savior the fight a little longer
I just did it with my katana sandy + kerenzikov.
He saved Lucy, gave her back the strength to believe her life and her dreams were worth fighting for. He gave her somewhere to go. And in spite of all the overwhelming odds against him. He never truly went psycho, he said he wouldn’t and even though he died, he died with his humanity knowing he saved Lucy. Take solace in that chume 😢
This anime absolutely emotionally destroyed me and I still rewatched it 2 times
You animal
I did the same thing and cried both times. It’s so damn good yet so damn painful every time.
Facts bro makes me wanna cry for day straight it’s so painful
On my 4th watchthrough goml
2 times I still try to forget it wut tipe of soul u have😨
Ima just say this; I got so invested in these 10 episodes that I cried hysterically in the last episode, got super drunk & played some edgerunners music then logged back in to 2077 to murder the living shit out of Smasher 🤷
U like me fr
Twin frs
From what I've learned... If you want a happy ending in the Cyberpunk genre... Then you are better of watching regular sci-fi
Correction: If you want a happy ending in the Cyberpunk genre...Don't go chasing waterfalls!
If u want a happy/progressive ending at all, the solarpunk genre is defo the way to go!
if you want a happy ending in cyberpunk .... LEAVE NIGHT CITY !!!
...good thing you got a chomba who's already dead
It’s a world where corporations control every single aspect of your life. There is no happy ending
I came from a bad area, so for me what hurts the most is seeing a character I care about getting swallowed up by it.
But cyber punk and take revenge not just for Johnny but for David and Rebecca and everyone
There are no stereotypical "happy endings" in cyberpunk stories, as they would defeat the purpose of the genre. The best you can ask for is that the protagonist winds up going out on their own terms.
Like Alt tells you at the end of 2077, your efforts have earned you the choice between giving up your body, or dying within the year, there was never another way it was going to go.
@@andrewamann2821 choom
He's not an anime MC, he's a Cyberpunk character. Might sound similar, but you only become a notable figure in Cyberpunk by doing dope shit and going out like a firework.
An incredible essay on the reason this anime broke me.
Thank you Choom.
Let's get to the first death, Pilar *skips Gloria*
Glorias death was more expected than Pilars death, i think is what he’s trying to get at
how are you not more popular, like this vid is dragged out a lil to long but like the editing is good and its good
Love the criticism, and we'll get there one day
I don't think it was dragged out. It was genuine and funny.
Right I don't think it dragged out but I get wordy long form isn't always for everyone I liked and shared tho I thought it was dope
I agree to all but one point. Adam Smasher is, for all accounts, a serious enemy.
I mean the guy is packing more chrome than half of NC and still kicking (relatively speaking).
In the Tabletop and lore, he is THE Baba Yaga, with only few people to stand against him and live to tell the tale. My dude was not a low level choom, but the Terminator in the chrome. Man was basically to arasakas weapons department, what F1 is to racing. No cost spared, no corners cut.
If you note Gurran Lugan, the world got a happy ending but the protagonist got a bittersweet ending.
The real villain even winned
Gurren Lagann is top 5 best animeeee
Gurren Lagann is top 3 along with Full Metal Alchemist.
Nah bro the world didn't got a happy ending, thats the main point of critique that Cyberpunk does about a dark version of our future. Arasaka and Militech just lost a couple millions and some employees, that's it. CEOs will get replaced and the corpos will keep going
adam smasher is one of the strongest things in the cyberpunk setting that is still able to think in a coherent (if totally psychotic) way. dude could chew tanks up for breakfast and he only works for arasaka because it lets him kill more people (and at the time of 2077 he might literally only be a robot they've programmed loyalty, or high explosive slaveware, into). projekt red was just too cowardly to have a great moment in the game by making you fight or evade the real adam smasher.
He's what's known as a high functioning cyberpsycho. Johnny Silverhand is also a high functioning cyberpsycho, though Johnny's psychosis takes the form of his silver hand. When his psychosis acts up it's in the form of his silver hand talking to him to commit acts of violence and murder. Mike Pondsmith confirmed it too
Edgerunners was truly a flawless example of a beautiful tragedy.
At 32, this is one of the only pieces of media that makes me cry everytime.
By subverting tropes it delivers a perfect ending for a story in the world of cyberpunk 2077 a beautiful chaotic tragedy and thanks to the great writers and incredible soundtrack you are sucked in and spat out by it and are left with a tear in your eye and a smile on your face
Actually, interestingly enough, this show subverts zero tropes. This story is a by the book doomed outlaw story. This type of story was pretty popular in the 90s and early 2000s. Its kind of sad that modern anime viewers think its something new...
@@xenn4985 not really an anime guy watched a few over the years but not loads. Coming from a mostly western style story’s the doomed hero isn’t very common but fair enough I’ve learned something lol 👍
@@nayftv are you having a laugh? The doomed outlaw story LITERALLY originated with the western.
this is actually true, i smiled and felt shitty at the same time
What smiles? Man I was left with tears and emptiness. I sat for about 2 hours just staring at the wall, unable to exist outside of shock and sadness and then when finally able to move, walked to my bed and blacked out. Fuck this show, it was fucking great. But fuck man...
The ending really hurt me, especially Rebecca's death, like damn I was really rooting for her😭
I cared. The game, the TTRPG, the writers and the fans, they told me not to care about these people. But I did, and that's why it hurts so much to think about them. They hit us hard and fast, they gave us no time to think about what just happened. The audience shouldn't have cared. But we did, and they hurt us for it. Props to CDPR for writing this and Triggers animators for throwing us into this hell.
Adam not being strong in the game is kind of irrelevant because the game mechanics can’t necessarily portray the lore accurately and Adam Smasher is the final boss so you would have the strongest gear in the game - if you fought any boss with the same gear they would die significantly faster - proof of this in the game is that Adam smasher kills rogue “the best edgerunner” in about 30 seconds
how about that guy who beat the game without leveling up his attributes? :I
he had the most rudimentary implants because of this, and leveling up skills without getting implants give better results, yet the fight is still feasible in one way or an other
sure he had to rely on getting low on HP so the Microgenerator would zap Smasher, it still worked, it shouldn't have
the guy also did a lot of other runs like that, all on the hardest difficulty, where he handicapped himself real hard
and even if you don't plan your attributes from the start, if you chose the right cyberware to compensate you can become way more powerful than Smasher, although not as much as a planned build could be
I did a "complete every side quest possible before the next main mission" run. Went through the heist at like level 20. Hit level 50 before finishing one of the 3 main story quest lines.
Hmm, I beat Smasher with bare hands and without any other implant that you get in main story.
CDPR just made Smasher 1% of his real power.
This anime truly shows how to cyberpunk lore, night city is a place where dreams die
The anime stayed true to the concept of night city. A city that breaks you. Just like the anime broke something in me.
V: Guess I meant, I dunno... a happier ending... for everyone involved.
Johnny: Here, for folks like us? Wrong city, wrong people.
Also great video. I enjoyed your thoughts on the anime and you made them easy to follow throughout the vid. But as a nitpick the pauses between words were too long for me especially in the beginning. Made the flow of words a bit weird.
THAT'S THE EXACT QUOTE I THOUGHT OF WHEN WATCHING EDGERUNNERS!! Cyberpunk's main theme is that there are no happy endings, Edgerunners executed that PERFECTLY
It's sad but it's way closer to reality than most of the other animations with happy endings/good endings. You will realize that the shit that goes down in night city is not even as worse as what happens in our reality/earth. It made me sad because I realized after watching it that stuff like that is happening right now all over the world (Wars and conflicts) but at an even greater scale. And I am doomed to watch tragedy unfold while sitting in a safe first world country.
I thought about this too while watching it. This is where we’re headed; and it’s already here for a lot of people.
Yeah, unfortunately our world is reflective of a lot of cyberpunk tropes; war/conflict, destruction, overconsumption, bondage disguised as freedom. Beyond the aesthetic of the flashy neon lights, the genre is pretty tragic in reality. I recommend checking out the less popular but more optimistic genre: solarpunk, if u haven't already. This genre is just as realistic and just as interesting but also more compatible with a real future where we can all thrive. Solarpunk resists cyberpunk in every way.
While adam isn't that impresive fight in the game itself, the lore implications are huge. Adam Smasher is the boogyman of night city. He's the one who brought down Johnny Silverhand, and (supposedly) Morgan Blackhand, biggest anti-heros of Cyberpunk's universe. V beating him is pretty much a miracle, lorewise.
People need to drop this "lorewise" argument when talking about V. The creators of the game had no regard for inserting V into the lore, V was intended to be a "somebody, somehow" shrouded in mystery lorewise character. Its a fucking game, V should be treated as a foot note.
The game actually hints at Blackhand still being alive, there's an article on WNS that describes a solo that matches Blackhand's description taking out a gang non lethally and rescuing some hostages.
@@seanswick303 Yes! hence why i wrote "supposedly" within brackets. : 3
@@xenn4985 Man, i was just excited about lore, why you gotta be such a downer
@@rakimion if "dont be a downer" was a valid response to anything in life you would be shitting in the forest and huddling under a pile of dirt to keep warm at night.
If you dont call out stupid shit, it will persist. Do better.
Me after watching CyberPunk Edgerunners episode ten for the 1,236,599 time and not crying:
I AM UNSTOPPABLE
The ending on the moon...
Yeah, me too
I've been watched it 4th times yet the pain is still there 😭💀
i can only feel for rebecca, she was honest and all the others were just humans.
"you can tell whoever designed David had never seen a Dominican before"
RTTV: "Damnnn he really do look Dominican"
I'm starting to think Dominicans are a figment of our imagination
I don't think he is supposed to be Dominican, It seems he is from Santo Domingo, the same name as the the capital of Dominican republic, but it is a district on a fictional city on north California. The district known for having lots of Dominican refugees is Pacifica, not Santo Domingo.
Yeah David is mexican. Santo Domingo is a neighborhood in night city. 6th street turf
The thing to keep in mind about Cyberpunk as a setting is that, in both fiction and mechanics, EVERY offensive encounter CAN be deadly. Pilar getting blown away suddenly is something that could ACTUALLY happen in a play session, if players aren't cautious enough.
It's truly a "no one is safe" story, contrasting to a lot of other anime that try to establish the same vibe but usually fumble when there's a core group of characters with impenetrable plot armor.
This anime is like a usual massage where you asked for more intensity and you get it but then they stab you in the back and chest then shoot you in the head right after. Surprisingly you survive and you just don't know what to do with all the emotions you've just experienced.
It's painful because for many, it's relatable. When you think you lost everything, you will do anything to get back to your old place. In this case his mom died, and he can't ever go back home. Home is where your family is. It's sad that he made a home with cyberpunks. Some people will disagree but realistically, in the future there is no crime because everything is monitored. It might already be too late. Anyway, there's no implants without serial numbers. If they're damaged it's an extra charge. Idk. It's wild. Apply modern day freedom with future freedom. There is none. In both cases
Idk man i feel like the pain is part of the beauty i love when a show makes me feel this much.
Man cuz it must be wild to suddenly have this many eyes on your stuff all at once.
Can't wait to see where this goes. You got a good way of putting things, good speaking voice, good sense of humor- and you even got some good insights.
Hope your road goes well, bruv.
What hurts for me is that there arent more episodes cause it's so good that I think a full series could be made, however I wasn't really broken by watching it I just thought it was cool
This is a good point- the subversion was so well done, i didn't even feel it and the pain caught me on the blindside.
The worst thing that happened to me about this show is the fact that I can't go back and watch it again for the 1st time
Counter point
There's one thing I've never seen anyone comment on. David is special, he achieves something nobody else in the show ever does, something we're told time and again is impossible, he comes back. David spends literal hours teetering on the edge of cyber psychosis and it's made very clear to us that, once he goes over that edge, he's going all the way over the edge immediately. David falls deeper into cyber psychosis than Maine ever did, probably even deeper than James Norris (the guy from the opening who previously owned David's sandy). And yet, despite all that, Lucy still manages to bring him back to himself. David achieves something that James Norris, Maine and even Adam Smasher all failed to achieve. Despite all his augments, David Martinez died a _human_ death.
David isn't as special as he thought, he got addicted to the chrome and the power and lost himself but, in the very end, he found himself again.
I finished this show in the span of 3 days, when i first watched the ending i did not feel sad or shed a tear (i realized in the moment it was a sad ending but kept thinking david wasn’t dead and would come back), but after i had more time to digest it, i realized that in the moment i didn’t fully accept that david was dead, it wasn’t until i rewatched it that i get a little emotional now, it’s a tragedy! I watched another video that explained perfectly it was actually a HAPPY ending! David got to:
- avenge his mother
- make a name for himself in night city
- bringdown the people responsible for tricking him into wearing the cyberskeleton and kidnapping lucy
- he was able to save lucy and allow her to live her dream of going to the moon
- he seems to die happy and looks to have overcome his cyberpsychosis
A few issues:
--I don't recall that David ever avenged her. It's the city that kills her, not any one person. Caught in an unrelated conflict due to the lawlessness, and left to die because only the rich are allowed good, life-saving treatment, his mother succumbed to her wounds.
--He doesn't completely bring down the people responsible for the cyberskeleton and kidnapping Lucy because that was the Arasaka Corporation as a whole. A corporation that is still functioning well and thriving.
--He saved Lucy, but I would argue that he did anything but save her dream. It's very clear that her dream changed during the course of the show. If going to the moon was her dream, she could've gone any time as evidenced by the amount of money they had and as long as she was okay with not coming back. But she didn't. Because that dream no longer had any meaning if David wasn't in it. All she wanted was for him to live. I think she goes to the moon in the end because it was the best way to honor his memory, to live the dream that he spent his life to protect. Even though it was empty.
I absolutely LOVED Edgerunners, I was sceptical at the beginning but after a few episodes I got so into it I just binged it. Also, I kinda knew that David is going to die at the end just because of the opening (I also didn't believe that he was special after he started showing first signs of cyberpsychosis), the thing that really hit me was Rebecca's death, and the ending scene where Lucy saw David. If I will ever play cyberpunk 2077 and I get to Adam Smasher I will just turn on the Doom ethernal music and go get the REVENGE for her.
They give you everything in the first half of the series, then one by one they take it all back.
It's really interesting to me that they literally SHOW you in the intro that David's gonna die, so even though I had an inkling of hope for him I sorta expected it. Rebecca on the other hand... man.
When watching through edgerunners All these hints at David not actually being special just made me think back to Akame Ga Kill in the sense that after gold hands died and I just felt that only Lucy would be the one left standing. Trigger did a marvelous job though at foreshadowing all the downfalls of the group. Making it why for the majority of people the ending really did hit hard.
ending was so fckn relatable HAHAHAHAHA
they caught the Cyberpunk spirit perfectly.
you burn hard and fast and become a legend in death
Out of all the Cyberpunk Edgerunner videos, this might very well be the best one. You literally hit the nail right on the head with every point.
I really like this video, I've been playing the table top for cyberpunk for years now. So when I saw the anime I was very privy to how expendable all the characters should be if they stayed true to the source material. This acted like a buffer for me.
I like the characters without being very connected. So I couldn't truly understand everyone else's reactions but this video really put it into perspective for me on how an anime fan would see it and respond. And it brought me back to my first campaign in cyberpunk. My first character who I spent a week making died by the second session. And it was unceremonious and completely unforgiving. My heart sank and stayed there like that for a while. And I kept trying to think of ways that my character shouldn't have been killed. Only to come to the realization that this is the nihilistic nature of cyberpunk.
This anime was my introduction to the cyberpunk series and honestly the anime goes straight to my top 3
Through the game, and I suppose the anime as well; the theme of “being remembered for how you go out” seems to be a big part of the message. Not how you lived, but how you die. It’s like it’s not about how well you can live, but the impression you can leave. Getting a drink named after you.
This anime actually had me feeling really weird after the first like 4 days after finishing it, it made me so sad, I relapsed on a drug because It felt like my friend literally died. It is the most extreme reaction i have ever had for a fictional character
Holy shit man you ok?
Damn. Hope you’re good bro.
I can relate to this. I think it probably wasn't the show itself, but rather my life was just going downhill and the ending just made the cup overflow so to say. Hope you're good choom.
So I actually have a question. That last scene of edge runners with Lucy on the moon did anyone else expect her to just pop her helmet off. I don't quite know why maybe it was all the previously violated tropes. Maybe it's because if putting that situation I probably would have. But I definitely expected her to kill herself.
I had that feeling too lol. Was a little disappointed that she didn't. Idk why.
The people she's closest to literally give up their lives for her to live and then she just kills herself anyways... would've made me hate the character pretty fast ngl.
@@Tracker947 I mean I can see why though. When everyone you love and care about is dead let's really the point in living?
@hithropyro9051 Pfft, what's the point of living even when they're alive? People get to choose for themselves. I'm not saying I wouldn't understand the choice, I'm saying that I would find her making that choice to be a despicable waste, and I would go a step further and say that if she did that, then Adam Smasher was right. They're all just the same meat, and they all should've died there.
If she was gonna make the choice, she should've jumped out of that car when she and the chance.
David was on the edge of cyber psychosis and was falling apart in no condition to fight adam perhaps he would have had a chance if he was in better condition
V was dying too but he/she crushed adam smasher
@@flyleaftears9738 V is a "wish fulfillment" character that wins because he's the Player and YOUR suppose to win, the complete opposite of David.
Adam Smasher is twice as fast as Usain Bolt.
Highly athletic.
Ungodly Strong an Tough.
A student of a martial art that was developed by Borgs for Borgs (that can rip armor plating off vehicles)
Is totally immune to anything that isn't an Anti-Borg weapon (of which the video-game has about 3 of)
Has a Sandevistan.
...and prefers weapons that are of either the "autocannon caliber" or are an unholy matrimony of a 10-guage shotgun and a mini-gun.
The Devs pretty much admitted that if you fought the real Smasher, V would just DIE (and your system would crash/catch fire).
@@RallasterAsuremen THIS! The Adam Smasher of the video game is a shell of the figure from the tabletop game - not an obstacle to overcome, but a meme to be made on the internet…
David truly was special, he just didn’t listen to the people around him and was too reckless
This. I wish he would've just listened to Doc and Lucy when they told him to lower his chrome, could've possibly ended better.
it hurts because it keeps letting you reach the door handle but then breaks your knee caps and throws you back down the basement stairs and reminds you that there is no happy end. there is only death and pain and suffering in the world of cyberpunk.
This was probably one of the only show that made me almost cry
You’re extremely underrated, this video summed up why I love Edgerunners when I couldn’t put it into words. The subversion of every single expectation is absolutely amazing
3:41
Just noticed Becca AND PIllar both had their hands behind the head in the "Familia" shot. Making more sense since they are siblings. This Anime is amazing. Shout out to Studio Trigger 💯
You purposely you perfectly perfectly encompass my entire thought about this anime.
No happy endings in Night city ):
I think the real tragedy of Rebecca is that even if she lived, she'd be alone. Becca was in love with David, but David gave his heart and life to Lucy. Who would Becca have left at the end had she lived? Falco? Lucy left for the moon, so Becca is just doomed to lose in this story.
Becca was screwed the moment Pilar died
@@jad563 So true - she clung to the only other close relationship she had (i.e. David) and died as a result of it…
I’m convinced they did that Rebecca shit on purpose cuz I was just sayin “at least her and falco make it out” right as she gets stomped
This was such a thorough explanation. Thank you
this story hit me so close to home i cried at the end.
it's just to real a good kid in a mad city just a victim of circumstance.
i feel like a lot of people in the hood can relate.
The song makes me weep HARD whenever and wherever I hear it. I think it traumatized us.
What name of song
@@TrustDevon I really want to stay at your house
Glad I'm not the only one that fealt like you do. They crushed my soul with this anime. I'm hopeful for those fan theories that say that maybe David survived and Adam smasher turned him over to Arasaka to become an engram or more about Lucy being alive after visiting the moon though. It'd be nice to see them incorporate that into the DLC or something
"The first death, Pilar"
Gloria:
I dont think david is dominican, santo domingo is a district in night city. You have definitely earned another sub though facts, hope you continue grinding. Great vid
Im halfway into the video and i disagree.Sure I was shocked but I wasnt deceived. I was pretty sure that david was gonna go pycho (after i understood what it was like at the 6th episode lmao) cause i think there were parallels between maine and david. Correct me if im wrong but david was having flashbacks like Maine. Its not that hard to understand if a character has extreme plot armor. Like if marvel did deaths like this i would be mind blown since its not really in their formula.
I haven't even watched the show I'm just a metadiscussion addict, and a huge Cyberpunk 20XX fan. And dude - this is one of the best videos in this fandom ever. You're hilarious and you really break it down perfectly. Absolutely golden.
I mean it was an amazing anime, and im not trying to discredit it in any way, but you could see the tragedy coming from a mile away.
David's death is even foreshadowed in episode 5 using Maines death as a cautionary tale, David inheriting Maines hands was symbolic of him following in his footsteps.
Good video.
David had an American accent, he might’ve had Dominican Republic ancestors but that doesn’t mean he’s like them 😂
David is mexican the name of his neighborhood, Santo Domingo, has the same name as the capitol of the Dominican republic, but thats not intended. David is mexican, from the neighborhood, not the country DR
when rebecca got crushed i was like "ok, she definitely ded 😢 but they are not going to show her demolished body" and then they did
I haven’t cried to an anime in so long and at first I didn’t but i was left empty and Heard the ending song again an hour later and started crying
There's something about One-Winged Angel playing in the background as Adam Smasher tears David apart that's just sooo... Perfect!
Welp, i now understan why it hurt me so much, nice video dude, wish more people see it!!
The thing about edgerunners is how it replicates life on night city. It never stops to let you rest, it continues to kick you into the ground, never stoping. There are no breaks, no happy endings
The show truly gives you even if a fraction, what it feels like to live in Night City. I still can't listen to "I Really Want to Stay at Your House" without getting emotional. It makes me more appreciate the song and also the game which I hadn't played yet at the time.
The anime got across the point the game was trying to get across.
In NC it's not about how you live its about how you die that's what makes a Cyberpunk a legend.
It's heartbreaking but inevitable and beautiful.
*Dude be wanting some anime hero tropes for the team. Wants some to survive*
Silverhand: Wrong place, wrong people
I it’s been a few months now and yet I still think about the show and honestly just feel completely and utterly broken down
Thank you for reminding me of the pain 🥲
Cyberpunk is serving a slice of humble pie the anime community both deserves and needed.
Had me checking the settings thinking this video was at .5 playback speed the way you describe stuff. Switched to 1.5 and we're back to a normal video 😂
Amazing video!!! hope the algorithm blesses you. Good audio, editing, voice and humor ^^
One thing to note is that they introduce Cyberpsychosis in the very first scene with James Norris. That rampage he goes on was not a game that David was playing. David was experiencing James' Cyberpsychosis first person through a braindance and the news shows the aftermath of that rampage, which is how David's mom was able to get the sandevistan in the first place. It's also a bit of a weird way to introduce our protagonist, watching a first person snuff film, but it also fits into the world of Night City and what an absolute shit hole it is.
It's a tragedy man, that's how a tragedy goes. Probably why there aren't many of them made anymore.
A kind of sign of the times really.
The anime's beautiful, everything is dandy but NOTHING I ever watched left me in such a broken state as Cyberpunk did. No show, film, or any media for that matter made me bawl my eyes out, even long after I watched it.
Everyone dies, and the amount of happiness any character ever experiences is always overshadowed by their tragedy and eventual demise. It's just.. I wish I could give every one of them a hug. The sadness and dread emanating from the story feels incredibly real, digs DEEP.
So yesterday I watched this show, I knew how the story would end but I still felt star struck like Gohan was when he saw 16 get his head crushed
The way it broke me actually lead to changes in my life. I did cry and asked the friend who recommended it to pay for therapy as a joke. After some analysis of the show and some introspection, I did make some decisions that have put me in a better place in life.
It’s crazy even tho you don’t explicitly speak it you can hear and feel your emotions shatter and your mind being blown by this anime through your tone in this video
A good ending for us? Wrong people, wrong city.