Cyberpunk: Edgerunnersis undoubtedly one of the best video game-inspired anime shows to release in recent years. As well as its heartbreaking storyline, Edgerunners also gives us an insight into the sorts of characters who inhabit Night City outside V’s storyline.
With the recent news that Edgerunners would not onlybe receiving a prequel manga, but also a follow-up second season, there has never been a better time than now to watch, or rewatch, the series.
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Although pretty much every episode has its memorable moments, and almost none are used as mere ‘filler’, there are certainly some episodes that really stand out among the rest.
Whether it’s for their well-written scenes and character interactions, action-packed explosive scenes oremotional resonance and soundtrack combinations, the following episodes are the best and most impactful.
7Like A Boy
Dreaming Of The Moon
Like A Boy is the second episode in the series and arguably one of its most romantic. Having got his Sandevistan installed into his spine, David goes to get revenge on his school bully, but on the way home he is robbed by a mysterious hacker girl named Lucy.
After David confronts her, then collapses due to being unable to withstand his new implant, she saves him from having it harvested by criminals. Lucy then helps David back on his feet and the two befriend each other very swiftly.
The ending of the episode is one of themost touching momentsin the entirety of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, when Lucy and David share a BD of the moon together, and she tells him how it has always been her dream to see the real thing.
Break Out The Big Guns
Stronger is the seventh episode in the series, and one in which David begins to suffer the effects of cyberpsychosis with increasing severity.
After opening with Rebecca wiping out a room full of Maelstrom thugs with her legendary shotgun, Guts, we then get to see David put his newly-upgraded Sandevistan to the test.
From this moment onwards, it is clear that David is no longer the young academic from the start of the series, and instead has morphed into a formidable adversary for just about anyone in Night City.
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The episode concludes with David and Lucy looking out over the city, where she recounts her backstory in one of the best flashback segments of the series.
Her background as an Arasaka experimental test subject shines light on the evil practices of the world’s megacorps, but also helps to dispel some of the mysteries surrounding her withdrawn personality.
David Goes Off The Rails
In what is one of the most consequential episodes in the series, Stay shows howDavid’s implants and cyberpsychosishave taken over, and he is no longer recognizable even to his closest friends.
It begins with the brutal execution of two Militech scientists, who David hallucinates as being far more threatening than they actually are. Essentially, David starts acting the way many players would act when they’re first released into the world of Night City.
Later, we see that Kiwi is not all that trustworthy, and is secretly doing deals with Faraday behind the crew’s back. David decides to commit to his cyberpsychosis by getting further implants, much to the concern of Lucy and Rebecca.
The episode ends on a sad note as Lucy ditches David and ends up being betrayed by Kiwi immediately afterward.
4Smooth Criminal
Bonding Over Crime
The third episode in the series ‘Smooth Criminal’ is one in which David really comes of age andjoins the Edgerunners crew. Throughout this episode, we are introduced to characters like Maine, Pilar and Kiwi, then, later on, Rebecca.
We also get an intense car chase as the Tyger Claws follow David and Lucy, with a party involving the whole crew to round things off on a positive note.
Not only is it an action-packed episode, but it’s really the Edgerunners crew at their peak, before things begin to go downhill.
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Although he has only assisted in an operation as a driver, David immediately becomes committed to the Edgerunners due to his attraction to Lucy. He is kicked out of the Arasaka Academy and ready to begin his new life.
3Let You Down
The Start of David’s Journey
Edgerunners' opening episode is pretty insane to say the least. It’s a roller coaster of emotions which lets you know this series isn’t going to be for the faint-hearted.
After waking up from a violent BrainDance, David Martinez resumes his life as a resident of one ofNight City’s colossal megabuildings.
He attends the Arasaka Academy with the hopes of one day becoming a successful corpo, but things quickly take a turn for the worst when his mother is killed in a traffic accident and Trauma Team refuse to treat her.
The episode concludes with David getting bullied by his classmates, and though the fight itself is hilarious, the episode finishes with a tragic tone as David carries his mother’s ashes home in an urn.
2Lucky You
Action-Packed With Iconic Locations
‘Lucky You’ is only the fourth episode in the series, but it provides many memorable and iconic moments, as well as references to locations in the game that many players will immediately recognize.
From Rebecca’s bold introduction to Rogue’s cameo in Afterlife, the episode is really a high point for David, who finally seems to have found some purpose and meaning once again following his mother’s death.
Lucy fills him in on some critical details while they go jogging, and then comesthe encounter with a cyberpsycho.
After Pilar’s head is blown off and Lucy nearly joins him, David finally gets his first kill in Night City, ultimately changing him as a person and leading him on the trajectory to chaos.
The episode ends with one of the most romantic moments in the show as David and Lucy watch a rocket ascend to the moon together from her rooftop.
1My Moon My Man
A Finale That’s Well Worth The Wait
It makes sense to save the best until last, and the finale ofCyberpunk: Edgerunners truly delivers a memorable ending.
While it’s undoubtedly a heartbreaking and tragic end for almost the entire Edgerunners crew, it is a great way to round-out the story, with many of the key character deaths being inevitable.
In the case of David, his cyberpsychosis has already carried him beyond all reason. He still loves Lucy, but he is so far gone from who he originally was that ultimately he has become nothing more than a half-sentient cyborg like Adam Smasher.
There is a silver lining in the form of Lucy finally getting to fulfill her dream of visiting the moon. However, it is somewhat tainted when she realizes how much better it would have been to share the moment with David too.
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