Without exaggeration, cyberpunk can be called one of the most popular settings in anime. You've probably seen (or at least heard of) Akira, Ghost in the Shell (Koukaku Kidoutai), Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, or Ergo Proxy.
However, the cyberpunk anime segment is so wide that not all titles receive the attention they deserve. Here are a few cyberpunk projects you might have missed.
Pale Cocoon
Cyberpunk often deals with very dark themes, as creators ponder the boundaries between the human and non-human. Pale Cocoon poses the question even more acutely. In this OVA, humanity is on the brink of extinction. One day, old archives of the Earth are discovered, offering hope for salvation.
We know practically nothing about the characters and their motivations, but Pale Cocoon is imbued with a special feeling of light melancholy that is difficult to detect in other anime. The OVA consists of only one episode, but there is enough philosophizing for an entire season.
Time of Eve
Another important cyberpunk plot is living together with androids. In Time of Eve (Eve no Jikan), humanity has reached such a level of development that it has learned to create perfect robots that are outwardly indistinguishable from humans. Sometimes androids even inspire genuine affection among users, so that the machines begin to be perceived as individuals.
Time of Eve has a deeply humanistic message, that we must treat those who are not human with respect, because this is the only chance we have to preserve our humanity. Stylistically, the project is a mixture of slice-of-life and cyberpunk, which is extremely rare.
Cyberpunk also depicts corporations that control the world in the future. Genocyber offers an unexpected look. In it, the megacorporation creates the biological superweapon Genocyber, which has regeneration and superhuman strength.
One day Genocyber goes crazy and starts killing everyone. This OVA is an example of a truly cruel and bloody cyberpunk anime with sometimes disgusting imagery. Not for everyone, but those who seek great action will have a great time.
Wicked City
Wicked City (Youjuu Toshi) is a forgotten classic by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who is famous for Ninja Scroll (Juubee Ninpuuchou). A service that maintains the balance between the human and demon worlds is at the center of the story.
Formally, Wicked City is a tech noir, but it quickly turns into body horror with extremely explicit scenes. The anime was released back in the 1980s, so it has a lot of retro aesthetics. Wicked City does not intrigue with a great plot. It is first and foremost an example of excellent style.
Blame! (2003)
Blame! is a set of several shorts based on the manga by Tsutomu Nihei. There is no plot in the usual sense. This is an extremely abstract piece about the journey of the silent guy Killy through a mysterious megastructure of high-tech buildings.
There is no point in trying to understand what happens in the anime. Even those who have read the manga will hardly be able to retell the plot. Blame! is valuable for its gloomy atmosphere of a technological future. There is practically no place for humans. Blame! is a great choice for those looking for experimental anime.
Do androids dream of electric sheep?
Without exaggeration, cyberpunk can be called one of the most popular settings in anime. You've probably seen (or at least heard of) Akira, Ghost in the Shell (Koukaku Kidoutai), Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, or Ergo Proxy.
However, the cyberpunk anime segment is so wide that not all titles receive the attention they deserve. Here are a few cyberpunk projects you might have missed.
Pale Cocoon
Cyberpunk often deals with very dark themes, as creators ponder the boundaries between the human and non-human. Pale Cocoon poses the question even more acutely. In this OVA, humanity is on the brink of extinction. One day, old archives of the Earth are discovered, offering hope for salvation.
We know practically nothing about the characters and their motivations, but Pale Cocoon is imbued with a special feeling of light melancholy that is difficult to detect in other anime. The OVA consists of only one episode, but there is enough philosophizing for an entire season.
Time of Eve
Another important cyberpunk plot is living together with androids. In Time of Eve (Eve no Jikan), humanity has reached such a level of development that it has learned to create perfect robots that are outwardly indistinguishable from humans. Sometimes androids even inspire genuine affection among users, so that the machines begin to be perceived as individuals.
Time of Eve has a deeply humanistic message, that we must treat those who are not human with respect, because this is the only chance we have to preserve our humanity. Stylistically, the project is a mixture of slice-of-life and cyberpunk, which is extremely rare.
Cyberpunk also depicts corporations that control the world in the future. Genocyber offers an unexpected look. In it, the megacorporation creates the biological superweapon Genocyber, which has regeneration and superhuman strength.
One day Genocyber goes crazy and starts killing everyone. This OVA is an example of a truly cruel and bloody cyberpunk anime with sometimes disgusting imagery. Not for everyone, but those who seek great action will have a great time.
Wicked City
Wicked City (Youjuu Toshi) is a forgotten classic by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who is famous for Ninja Scroll (Juubee Ninpuuchou). A service that maintains the balance between the human and demon worlds is at the center of the story.
Formally, Wicked City is a tech noir, but it quickly turns into body horror with extremely explicit scenes. The anime was released back in the 1980s, so it has a lot of retro aesthetics. Wicked City does not intrigue with a great plot. It is first and foremost an example of excellent style.
Blame! (2003)
Blame! is a set of several shorts based on the manga by Tsutomu Nihei. There is no plot in the usual sense. This is an extremely abstract piece about the journey of the silent guy Killy through a mysterious megastructure of high-tech buildings.
There is no point in trying to understand what happens in the anime. Even those who have read the manga will hardly be able to retell the plot. Blame! is valuable for its gloomy atmosphere of a technological future. There is practically no place for humans. Blame! is a great choice for those looking for experimental anime.
