I'm surprised no one has made a topic yet.
10 episodes, on Netflix, set in the same world as the Cyberpunk 2077 videogame.

It's truly great, and despite feeling so Imaishi it's at the same time very different from everything he's done before.

I had some trepidation going into this since I had pretty mixed feelings on 2077, but Trigger pulled through and made something really quite good IMO.

Gonna reserve some time this weekend to watch it. The game is shrouded in controversy and Keanu Reeves memes, but this will give it more life.

EDIT: I have now watched it and think it is pretty great. I was a bit worried halfway through when the direction of the story made a big turn, but I think it wrapped up pretty well and had some distinct points. The only thing that would be better would be if there was a sequel, although it could exist perfectly as a stand-alone.

This was a fantastic show and really helped to rehabilitate the Cyberpunk IP. I'll never look at the moon the same way again.

I am convinced that the cyberpunk universe is great to tell a a lot of stories. I hope we get more anime about it in the future

Just watched it here. Very good. Great characterization, Lucy best girl. However, the constant cartoonish violance kinda bores me. I wonder if I've aged out of the shounen demographic properly. I appreciate how the MC very realistically evolves from 17 to 19ish year old that had to mature prematurely and the relationship he has feels very grounded, as people often forget that Lucy is 20-25. Most people don't seem to realize that Lucy is an introvert, and a very realistic one at that, yet she doesn't at all fall into a basic kuudere archetype or anything like that.

Also in February I started playing the game, I am about 60 hours in, and while I like the setting, I have to say it bothers me a little how it feels like it has no ultimate purpose, no theme. It feels a bit too cynical, nihilistic almost. The game itself also has, even 5 years of updates in and with tons of mods, an overwhelming feeling of shallowness and cut content. Having barely played TW3 I can't compare it all that well but even now it simply feels like an FPS with RPG elements. The role playing is limited, the world isn't very reactive, the story barely branches etc. I haven't played the tabletop, but I remember reading something about the game very much capturing the essence of the RPG. So a lot of fun, stylized violence, but ultimately lacking meaning. I get a very different feeling from Deus Ex for instance, which is also a proper immersive sim. Same applies to the anime here, as well as compared to something like GiTS. As a tabletop-based universe, Night City is fun and pretty and all, but it's engineered to be stagnant. I guess in that sense cyberpunk as a genre could almost be like medieval fantasy, medieval stasis, but with hackers and guns and cars instead of mages and elves and horses. Of course given our real world is basically walking into tech neo-feudalism, it's appropriate.

I personally wish the coming next Cyberpunk anime will focus more on everyday citizens. I felt very interested in Episode 1 and 2 with David's hardworking mom being crushed by the system. If, for some reason or another, Lucy was not part of a larger crew of merchs, and she and David had to scrounge up a living as petty thieves for a longer run of 26 episodes and only slowly moved up the food chain, that could be much more interesting. Go into the underbelly if this fucked up city and meet more normal people.

Looking back on the later eps, it's interesting how they relationship is getting strained. Lucy is very much an introvert and doesn't simply become another character once she enters a relationship like in many other shows. Even though David would probably understand why she needs to prioritize fighting Arasaka (which also extends to protecting him). David suggests them breaking up, but even though Lucy won't open up completely, she still can't bear to be alone again and on the run again, also why she wants to protect him. Right at that moment she comes under attack by an enemy netrunner and she is absolutely enraged she can't even get to talk properly to David, and pleads with him to wait for her. Perhaps she was going to but that constant pressure means she can't. Very interesting nuance. She even acts carelessly pursuing the bait, and Faraday manages to capture her easily, because she wants to get home and sort things out.

Still, this could have been done even with a slightly longer series. It's impressive that they managed to make it not feel rushed, but I feel like... 5 extra episodes would do wonders.