Netflix’s Best Sci-Fi Anime Is Officially Abandoning Its Original Story for Season 2

Published Sep 27, 2026, 6:49 PM EDT

Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd | Metacritic

Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King.

Sign in to your Collider account

Corpo, nomad, or street kid, there is a faction for everyone in the dystopian sci-fi video game Cyberpunk 2077. The immersive world takes place in the hellscape of Night City, a nightmare of corporations and capitalism. As the real world gets closer and closer to sci-fi, Cyberpunk gets more popular. Initially a tabletop RPG, Cyberpunk has become a brand unto itself, and Netflix has answered the call for more content with the follow-up to the masterpiece, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The anime is a perfect companion piece to the game and drives home the heartbreaking realities of living in a dystopian landscape.

The first season of Edgerunners follows David Martinez, who is just another cog in the capitalist machine. Born at the lowest rung of the corporate ladder, David and his mother are punished for being poor. When everything is controlled by corporations, that also means that everything is privatized. Those who can’t afford to subscribe to Trauma Team get left to die in the streets. The Netflix anime series is the perfect way to tell the story of Edgerunners, cyberpunks whose only way to make a living is through crime. David’s story is heartbreaking as he succumbs to the tragedy of Night City. With Cyberpunk: Edgerunners II screaming forward at a breakneck pace, it's time to analyze what the new story has in store. Judging from how the first season ended, it would be difficult for any sophomore season to be a direct follow-up.

‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ Was Always Meant to Be An Anthology Series

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners II is set to hit Netflix on October 20 and will feature an entirely new crew. This is to be expected considering how the first season concluded. David’s story was a downward spiral into tragedy as Night City takes him for all he’s worth. The story explores just how corporations destroy everything and how his attempts to survive are ultimately futile. Essentially, all the main characters of the first season die by the sword, with Lucy being the only one to actually achieve her dream. She does this by abandoning the city altogether and finding solace away from a brutal and unrelenting world.

From the beginning, Edgerunners I was established as a one-and-done story. As an anthology series, the anime could tell a concise tale with a beginning, middle, and end. David’s story is complete, but that leaves room for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners II, which will be an entirely new narrative. Still set in the harrowing world of Night City, this new crew of cyberpunks will experience a different side of Edgerunning.

While fans can expect more cyberpsychosis and klepping, the new story will be a high-octane and blood-filled tale of revenge. This is a stark difference from David’s journey of trying to make his way in a world that was not made for him and others like him. The reimagined visual style is also a change of pace from the first season.

Though it is an entirely new story, Cyberpunk is a universe that can support this creative decision. Just like in the game, this dystopian landscape is a rich world with a million different facets. David’s story was near-immaculate, but it is time to feature a new cast of characters and experiences. Don’t cry because David’s gone. Be happy that he was here at all.