Cyberpunk: TRIGGER Creator Discusses How The Anime Differs From The Game

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has received glowing reviews since hitting Netflix earlier this month, with Studio TRIGGER helping to bring the video game adaptation to life for the streaming service. With this new anime series based on the video game, Cyberpunk 2077, TRIGGER’s co-creator took the opportunity to discuss the early stages when it came to creating the anime and how the television series differs from the video game from CD Projekt Red.      

In an interview with Netflix, the director of the series, and co-creator of TRIGGER, revealed that production on Edgerunners began prior to the release of Cyberpunk 2077, meaning that the animation house had to make this series their own as none of the animators had played the game before:

“Well, the game wasn’t fully developed yet at the time we started production, so obviously, no one had ever played the game. Still, we received the documents on the worldbuilding and were told that CD Projekt Red would handle the basic storyline so we assumed that we could start the production with a script in hand. However, as we were making it, we started to encounter differences between games and anime and felt that some parts should be changed for the anime. 

We were following the basic storyline provided by CD Projekt Red but we gradually started to give our opinions on how to interpret it into an anime.”

Further discussing the differences between the mediums of anime and video games, Otsuka further explained the divide that TRIGGER experienced in forming their own take on the Cyberpunk universe:

“While working on the anime, I felt that it’s important to create a flow to let the audience empathize more with the protagonist. The original plot was rather focused on the overall mood. I understood their intention which would work out for a game, but felt the audience may not be able to empathize when adapted into anime.

If you want to check out the rest of this interview, Netflix Anime shared the discussion in its entirety via its Official Youtube Channel, which you can watch below:

Which do you prefer between the Cyberpunk anime and video game? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Cyberpunk 2077.