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TheDag  Per Aspera ad Astra  1yr ago (text post)   1660 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 11, 2022

Be advised; this thread is not for serious in depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I recently watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and can concur with the other reports herein(I'm sure there were, if my memory's not playing tricks on me) that it's excellent and worth watching.

Strong recommend to everyone apart from

-people suffering from epilepsy due to flashing lights. I think there's even a warning.

-people who are likely to suffer unduly from a significant emotional event. (if you're depressed or always kinda fragile)

-people who are notably squeamish. The show really doesn't pull its punches when it comes to violence. It's not that frequent but it's there and it is very memorable.

The show's mostly a fairly straightforward tragedy/romance story set in a cyberpunk brazilified California which doesn't have as many homeless schizos as the real one but South African crime levels and also apparently in 2077 degens now use some cyber-fleshlights in public and cops don't care if it's not in a rich area.

The story is solid, the characters relatable, the environmental design & aesthetics excellent. The outcome is basically preordained from the start due to hubris

and setting. The ending is the subject of many memes which are really kinda true. I've a hard time imagining a person who could finish it and not shed at least a solitary tear.

It's also notable how on twitter people liked it and there is no seeming political category that doesn't have people liking it. If something is beloved both by trans they/them socialists and e.g. hard right Pinochet appreciators, it is kind of special.

EDIT:

Finally found someone who hates it. My dad refused to watch more than three episodes. Said something along the lines "it's too violent, the animation is bad and cyberpunk is cringe BS". I suspect it's partly bc he's notably squeamish about violence, and partly bc he's a pussy -he loses his nerve very easily in even mildly dramatic situations.

Mind you, he watches weird anime all the time and has watched entire series of such BS as e.g. Lucifer.

How would you rate it relative to Arcane?

Edit: 3 episodes in. Excellent so far except the very jarring soundtrack.

Personally, I found myself more drawn in to Arcane. That may well be because I vibe a lot with the younger-sibling and parenthood dynamics in that show (my family is great, but since I care for them it lets me really imagine what I would feel if they weren't ok I guess), and really like the way it hems to yet plays with classic dramatic structure. Also, the wonderful facial animation really binds you to the characters. Top-notch voice acting doesn't hurt.

That said, I was blown away by Edgerunners as well, and my sister's boyfriend is flipped relative to me - really liked Arcane, LOVED Edgerunners. In spite of both of them both being tragedies set in dystopias, they have very different vibes. Edgerunners is starker, grittier. It has less character warmth, more intrigue, a harsher world. It is more graphic, and plays less on...adolescent idealism? It feels less like warm-hearted characters learning the harsh realities of the world, more like jaded characters trying to find some hope in a God-forsaken world again.

Edgerunners animation is top-notch and unique aesthetically, but I think lacks the masterpiece-level visuals and composition of Arcane.

They are both quite lovely. I prefer Arcane personally, but def not mad at anyone who prefers Edgerunners.

Unlike most anime I'd watch in the English dub if you decide to see it; especially if you've played the Cyberpunk game. It's quite solid voice work, and uses a lot of slang and vernacular and accents that are missing in the subs, it really helps bring the city alive.

I feel like anime made in multiple languages isn't worth watching in Japanese.

The dubs and translations are usually flawless - e.g. talking about say,Jin Rô or Edgerunners.

It might well be the case that the dubbing is on par with regular American VA, it's just that the Japanese VA industry is more robust and better developed and consequently their VA is much better in general.

Dubs, much like CGI, used to be HORRIBLE in anime, haha. So we fans still need to reassure each other occasionally if a show has them.

But these weren't dubs made by the creators of the anime, but by importers.

That's the crucial difference. E.g. Edgerunners is excellently dubbed into English. Czech dub seems kinda shoddy, probably done by Netflix. Not sure how good Italian one is, I could ask. I started watching it with my dad who watches all anime in Italian.

Haven't seen it, so can't say. I like it more than Gits: SAC. Maybe on par with 2nd Gig except Cyberpunk has less fluff and is artistically better.

Gits was pretty well drawn but they had some odd aesthetic choices and the visual quality was lower.

Plus a bunch of meh fluff episodes. Nothing like that here. The visuals are just better.

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