“It’s a tale about the meaning and legitimacy of sacrifice”: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Almost Had a Happy Ending Because the Writer Felt Pity Towards the Characters
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners took the anime and gaming community by storm after its release back in September of 2022. The anime has also received numerous awards such as Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year, Anime Corner’s Best New Anime of 2022, and IGN’s Best Anime Series, to name a few.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was indeed a series that stood out from the rest, given how the themes of the show were something that anime fans weren’t really accustomed to. Given that the fans who watched the popular show were left with a hint of PTSD, the writer of the show, Bartosz Sztybor, explained the message he was trying to relay.
Bartosz Sztybor explains his reason for not letting Pity clash with purpose in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is notoriously known for the horrendous fate of the characters in the series. From fans having to watch their favorite characters in the show get shot in the head, to getting crushed by villains, the show certainly left fans wondering what the point of traumatizing themselves was. But the writer of the show, Bartosz Sztybor, revealed during an interview what the point of sacrificing fan-favorite characters in the show was, even though at times, he even contemplated changing the fate of some of them.
During an interview with Anime Corner, fans got the chance to get a peak into the creative mind of Sztybor while creating the story for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. When asked if he had ever crossed a moment where he wanted to change the fate of some characters in the series, he said;
“Many times, because I felt so bad for them. You know, I spent more than three years with them or some versions of them, I started to really like them. So yes, I was thinking a lot about changing their fates.”
“But after many moments of doubt, I always knew some things just need to happen for their arcs and the story to be complete. It’s a tale about the meaning and legitimacy of sacrifice, so one way or another it would end with the death of one of the lovers and a glimpse of hope for the other.”
It was Bartosz Sztybor’s willingness to sacrifice the main characters of the series that put it way above others and struck a chord with the viewers, unlike most other anime from the year. However, it would seem that how the way the audience reacted to the show was a surprise for even Bartosz Sztybor himself.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ writer claims to be overwhelmed by all the love and support from fans
During the same interview, Bartosz Sztybor also explained the emotions he went through seeing the project he worked on being well received by the anime community. When asked if he expected Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to be so warmly welcomed by the anime community, he said;
“Not at all, it was a huge surprise! To be honest, I thought there will be a couple of people writing nice things, my mom will call with congrats and some of my friends will send me a “good job” text, and that’s all. When Edgerunners dropped I was in a different country, jetlagged, so I overslept the exact moment of release. I woke up a few hours later, had many missed calls, and my DMs were jam-packed.”
“I was shocked and still am. People are still sending messages, still creating amazing fan arts, and also all these awards — it’s like a beautiful dream that doesn’t end. I’m really moved and so grateful for such a warm response. And all the fans are so amazing!”
The success of the anime also boosted the popularity of Cyberpunk 2077 greatly, adding 70 thousand concurrent players on Steam just a month after the anime’s release. This was the highest ever since the release of the game.
You can stream Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on Netflix.
