Cyberpunk has been a part of anime since its inception, with best cyberpunk cartoon help make the vehicle a global force. Even live-action productions like the once influential Blade Runner are heavily Japanese influenced, and Akira quickly became a cinematic classic as the cyberpunk aesthetic was brought to life. image. Many cyberpunk anime series have followed in the years since, helping to shape the genre further and evolve it to keep up with the times.
While cyberpunk is a genre that has its own set of antics and recurring themes, the best cyberpunk anime offers something original. Whether it’s because of its unique tone, compelling characters, or complicated plot, anime has only helped cyberpunk grow in the mass conscience. There’s a reason the word cyberpunk alone conjures up so many images, and part of that reason is that anime captures the aesthetic so well. While not every great cyberpunk anime is instantly recognizable as cyberpunk, they all deserve recognition.
10 drives Akudama
Akudama Drive is a 2020 anime series by author Danganronpa. Set in Japan rocked by civil war, an ordinary woman is caught up in a grand scheme to destroy a death row inmate before they are executed, as one of the Akudama, a type of criminal. danger. However, this turns out to be just a small part of a much larger plan, and these Akudamas are currently locked in to follow if they wish to continue their freedom. Its dark, dated atmosphere fits perfectly into the cyberpunk genre.
9 Blade Runner: Black Lotus
The Black Lotus series spawns from projects related to the Blade Runner 2049 movie. It uses a CGI animation style that is quite fitting for the cyberpunk genre and happens to be set in one of the cyberpunk universes that have pictures. most influential of all time. With Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichiro Watanabe at the helm, fans are ready for something truly remarkable. Black Lotus follows a woman on the run who seems to have some special skills that suggest she can be more than human — but she soon discovers the dark truth about her existence, bringing raises many of the ethical questions considered in other Blade Runner works. While the series isn’t quite as revolutionary as its cinematic brethren, it’s still a good ride for cyberpunk fans.
8 Texhnolyze
Ichise was an award-winning boxer, at least until he offended a rich man and had his arms and legs cut off. Ichise’s plight puts him at the center of a struggle for control of the city of Lux by three main forces – the mob that runs the place, the roving gangs for themselves, and an organized resistance. want to see it all fall apart . The title comes from the term used for prostheses like the ones Ichise ends up with. Texhnolyze has all the characteristics of the classic cyberpunk genre, focusing on ordinary people on the fringes of society and what technology has done to them.
7 apple seeds XIII
Based on the manga by one of the godfathers of the genre, Ghost in the Shell’s Masamune Shirow, Appleseed XIII is another CGI animation project. The series focuses on Olympus, a city claiming a utopia after World War III. It’s a world ruled by AI and enforced by gene-enhanced humans, known as Bioroids. However, the fragile shell of the utopia hides many of the enormous problems that lay the foundation for civilization, and all of which can fall apart in an instant. The story follows the human woman Deunan and her robotic partner Briareos, who work as SWAT agents to keep the peace of Olympus. However, a plot from the Human Liberation Front threatens all of this, leaving the world open to a potential terrorist attack that could end everything.
6 Proxy Ergo
Set in a distant post-apocalyptic future where humans and robots live together, Ergo Proxy explores what happens when a computer virus triggers those robots to develop self-recognition abilities. consciousness—and with it the potential for crime. It has the classic setup of human detective with android counterpart, investigating murders committed by androids. This, of course, leads them to a bigger secret in the form of a Proxy, a third type of creature whose existence is kept secret and is said to hold the secret of humanity’s future. The series delves into the philosophical side of cyberpunk, alongside the classic aesthetic.
5 gum crisis
Bubblegum Crisis is a cyberpunk series that dates back to the actual 1980s, when the genre was still fresh. Set in devastated and conquered Japan in the 2030s, Bubblegum Crisis follows the Knight Sabers, a group of female guards/mercenaries who take on dangerous jobs. Protagonist Priss Asagiri is a young member of this group with a grudge against “Boomers” – a Terminator-type android produced by the evil super corporation Genom. Working alongside the other girls, Linna, Sylia, and Nene, Priss dons her “hard suit”, an exoskeleton that gives a substantial boost, and together they take on tasks ranging from killing Boomers out of control to rogue satellites. A later reboot, called Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, also exists and may be better suited to modern fan preferences.
4 Lain . serial experiments
If one prefers something a bit heavier on “Cyber,” it’s Serial Experiments Lain, a show that doesn’t quite like it at first glance. Lain, a young girl unfamiliar with technology, came to school one day and found out that one of her classmates committed suicide, and now everyone is receiving emails from her after. when she dies, invite them to join her in “The Wired,” their internet version. Things only get weirder from there, when Lain dives into Wired and learns that some pretty weird things have been going on, including the appearance of a Wired “God”.
It’s more of a psychological thriller series, dealing with bizarre and esoteric subjects like UFO conspiracies. The Lain serial experiments are intended to be confusing, its creator hoping it will be interpreted differently in Japan and abroad. The end result is a series full of intriguing ideas and an intriguing mystery that can sometimes be quite obscure, but it’s totally worth the effort.
3 overcoming psychology
A more modern take on cyberpunk, Psycho-Pass sees a world where people are constantly graded by an AI called Sybil based on their mental stability and whatever that might be. extreme emotions are considered bad, meaning that victims of crime are often exterminated along with criminals in the name of maintaining the peace. In this dystopian future, Akane Tsunemori, a bright-faced police inspector, is put in charge of a group of criminals known as the Enforcers, who are forced to commit acts of violence because they have been bullied. considered contaminated. As Akane and her team investigate new crimes and cold cases, one name keeps popping up—that of a man Sybil cannot judge, and therefore has the freedom to cause. chaotic.
The first part of Psycho-Pass is generally considered to be much better than the second, to the point that some fans will encourage newcomers to the series to avoid the second part altogether. That first season, however, was such a remarkable cyberpunk hit that it’s hard to deny its place as a true classic of the genre no matter what comes after.
2 Cyberpunk: The Edge Runner
The latest anime on this list, based on the Cyberpunk 2077 video game, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners explores the world of Night City through the eyes of David, a high school student whose life immediately goes downhill in the first episode. first. Left with a powerful cybernetic implant, David implanted it in his body for revenge and found himself taking on the job of Edgerunner, a type of criminal mercenary. The series is dark and extremely violent, opening with a bloody battle with things that are hard to compare. It tackles themes of addiction and unrequited love, as well as the nihilistic worldview needed to live life as an Edgerunner—a job everyone knows never ends well. . It’s hard to say too much about the series without diving into the spoilers, but Edgerunners is such a quintessential cyberpunk game that it lives up to its title.
1 Ghost in the Shell: Stand alone combo
Considered by some to have one of the best English dubs of all time, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (often abbreviated to GitS SAC) is set in a bleak world where a group of called Public Security Division 9 which is tasked with keeping the peace. In Japan. Season 9 is led by Major Motoko Kusanagi, a hardened cybernetic woman with hacking and combat skills at the same time.
The first season of the series saw the team unravel the mystery of “The Laughing Man,” an accomplished hacker who once appeared in public while hacking the eyes of all witnesses in real time. The second season (called GitS SAC 2nd Gig) follows a complicated plot about a terrorist group known as the Eleventh Individuals. While not as iconic as the movie that made it, Stand Alone Complex is an incredible take on the cyberpunk genre that shows how a world with ingrained cybernetics can be. .
Despite its roots in the 1980s, cyberpunk is a genre more relevant than ever. With so many novels and movies spreading their cyberpunk world with Japanese influences, it’s no surprise that Japan’s take on the genre will really stand out from other countries. All best cyberpunk cartoon the series not only stand out as great animated movies, they stand out as pillars of the cyberpunk genre that deserve as much recognition as similar giants like Blade Runner or Neuromancer.