There was an excessive amount of anticipation surrounding this show, much like there was with the initial version of the game before it was improved – it's a cyberpunk-themed anime drawing from Mike Pondsmith’s Cyberpunk universe and acting as a backstory for the video game, occurring roughly a year prior to the events in *Cyberpunk 2077*. CD Projekt, the Polish development studio, officially endorsed it. The story unfolds in a futuristic California city (Night City), where gangs and cybernetic enhancements are commonplace. The central character—or perhaps an “anti-hero,” given his involvement with a gang—is a self-assured young man of Latin American descent who has a diligent mother; he becomes entangled in gang conflicts, receives implants, and undergoes changes throughout the series. While the animation style is distinctly Japanese anime, the primary flaw lies within the narrative itself, which was written by a Polish team. The writing feels poorly conceived, simplistic, and predictable, and I didn’t connect with the protagonist at all. The animation quality is decent, but not exceptional. The action sequences are fast-paced but so unrealistic that they border on ridiculous, and the characters lack any sense of realism. It may be due to these issues that it took me a year and a half to finish watching. A similar criticism applies to the opening theme song, "This Fffire" by Franz Ferdinand—a questionable choice considering the band’s popularity peaked roughly twenty years ago and they are essentially defunct as of 2023. The series received numerous anime award nominations, ultimately winning best anime of the year (the win feels somewhat underwhelming given the sheer number of nominations). I would rate it a 6 out of 10 / B. Instead, I suggest playing the game itself—it’s significantly better—or exploring the *Syndicate* games and their Xbox remake for quality cyberpunk experiences. Alternatively, watching the *Appleseed* or *Ghost in the Shell* series offers a more refined example of cyberpunk animation.

Source on TMDB