What does it take to make a great anime? Viewers can very often boil it down to three things. First, there is the visual style, as many studios have their own unique tells and the lengths they go to at times for these shows oftentimes determines how beloved they are. Second is the world. Why? Because the worldbuilding, even if it’s a basic non-violent anime series, can help set things up for the future. Finally, there are the characters, whom you are meant to fall in love with and who have a willingness to follow through the narrative. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is an anime that just came out on Netflix and people are loving it for all three of the reasons mentioned.
The visuals are snappy, the show’s version of Night City is great, and the characters have been enjoyed, all leading the series to a predictable amount of success. But there’s a bit of a twist in this tale, and one many viewers likely won’t believe. You see, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners wasn’t made by CD Projekt Red like Cyberpunk 2077 was–rather, it was made by the legendary team at Studio Trigger. As they revealed recently, there were some creative clashes in order to try and get the show to be the right way. CD Projekt Red had one vision and Studio Trigger had another. This came not just with the story, but with the characters themselves.
During a watch party for the show, one of the team members of CD Projekt Red noted that he and others were, sadly, the ones trying to get rid of the character of Rebecca, but Studio TRIGGER refused to do it.
“CD Projekt Red first got the character design for Rebecca and they were like ‘She’s a loli. Lolis don’t exist in Night City. It doesn’t fit the Cyberpunk 2077 aesthetic’. But Trigger was like ‘No, the loli must stay.'”
Guess who was right in the end? Yeah, it was Studio Trigger, as you might expect. They knew the character would resonate with fans and they were right. Rebecca is beloved by the viewership and it shows once again how when you make an anime, you should trust the people who have done this before!
It was revealed by one of Studio TRIGGER recently that there were many different adjustments that the anime team made in order to make the show better and feel more like a complete and cohesive series, including adjusting the main character and their story so that the viewers would empathize with him more.
CD Projekt Red are brilliant storytellers, but they do have their faults, and almost getting rid of one of the anime’s best characters is proof of that.
Source: ComicBook.com
