Cyberpunk 2077 is a decent entry into the niche that is cyberpunk which the world isn't quite ready for just yet. Its release marks an important milestone in the said media genre as there aren't as many cyberpunk gamesin that class of popularity. Sadly, the release was marred by bugs and performance issues and the game was also rather short. It was short enough to leave playerscraving more cyberpunk adventures.

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But some fans might want to take a break from cyberpunk games with other media in the genre. It just so happens that nothing else explains cyberpunk better than anime because Japan essentially fueled the cyberpunk golden age.

So breathe in that high-tech poverty and crime dystopia with these iconic cyberpunk anime. They ought to fill in the void left by Cyberpunk 2077.

No one canmention cyberpunk without giving a nod to this one. Ghost in the Shell is quite possibly the most important cyberpunk anime in existence as it served as the creative fuel for the Wachowskisiblings when they conceived the Matrix films.

There are many iterations within the Ghost in the Shell family to enjoy such as Stand Alone Complex with characters pictured above.The original film isby far the most philosophical of the bunch and explores the idea of an AI becoming a thinking individual with its own morals. At the heart of that is Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg whose memories are the only human part of heror ghosts in a shell, if you will.

Ergo Proxy is another anime with a female protagonist and a deep plot about the nature of humanity. It explores a world that is still reeling from a recent apocalyptic event. One last bastion of human civilization is all that's left in the world. In order to make their lives and survival easier, special androids were created.

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In the anime's current timeline, however, the said androids started exhibiting human behavior and asking questions that not many humans would want to answer. It's up to the androids and humans to investigate the root of such matters before things spiral out of control.

Bubblegum Crisis assumes the typical premise of most cyberpunk worlds. It imagines a Japan that was devastated by a huge Earthquake; this ruined much of society with extreme povertyon top of the physical damage.Furthermore, an evil corporation is producing mechanical monsters that are too much for the police to handle.

So along came the Knight Sabers to set things straight and to fix the problems that the corrupt and evil corporations started. They also do it in style as most of their members are pretty, young, and stylish female powerhouses that commandeer special armor to combat the mechanical beasts.

Psycho-Pass is also more popularly known as the anime version of Minority Report. The whole anime revolves around the so-called Sibyl System that predicts criminal behavior in individuals before they commit crimes. The idea originates from asci-fi novella by Philip K. Dick of the same name as the movie.

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Such a setup is ripe for suspenseful detective opportunities and that's where most of Psycho-Pass's story lives. Much like most cop stories, this one involves an idealistic rookie and her veteran partner who's one case away from becoming a disillusioned outcast.

Iffans don't mind going a bit further in the future, then Battle Angel Alita offers a grim and unsettling dystopia where the poor live amongst the rich's trash heap. After watching this one,people can also treat themselves to a live-action Hollywood adaptation. The film, called Alita Battle Angel, released in 2019.

They pretty much have the same story and narrative nearly shot-for-shot. Both films begin with a cyborg doctor discovering Alita's mangled remains in a garbage dump. Pretty soon, he discovers that Alita is more than just an old cyborg and has a past that makes her a deadly individual.

Much like Ghost in the Shell, Akira is also a significant film for the cyberpunk genre. It was first released back in 1988 and even by today's standards, it puts many other anime to shame with its fluid hand-drawn visuals.

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The story itself is also riveting as it follows the struggle of a biker gang where one of their friendswas unfortunate enough to be an accidental vessel for an entity that can warp reality. Amidst all that, a riot is also ensuing against the government which presumably prioritizes experiments instead of the welfare of their people.

Texhnolyze toys around with one of the cyberpunk genre's most ubiquitous trademarks: cybernetics. The idea that people can discard their organic parts and become functionally immortal or something stronger, faster, and smarter is one of the points of conflict in the genreas Cyberpunk 2077 exhibited. Texhnolyze further showcases this idea.

This notion is seen in action through the eyes of an unfortunate prizefighter who lost some of his limbs due to "occupational hazards." He was, however, chosen as a candidate for an experimental limb tech called Texhnolyze.

A cyborg with a giant revolver for a head is not somethingpeoplewould expect in a cyberpunk setting but this is anime, so No Guns Life is about as valid as it is outrageous. That cyborg is also the main character of the show and has a trench coat that puts all noir detectives to shame.

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He was created as a special kind of weapon to fight in a war. Is anyone getting Master Chief vibes here? The catch is that he has no memories of his pre-war life but life goes on anyway. He decided to become a private investigator who solves crimes related to cyborgs similar to him.

This kind of animation might put some people off, but Blame! is a solid cyberpunk film and six-episode series. The story takes place in an entirely automated world in a time far more technologically advanced than now. An infection takes hold of the automated systems and the city begins to go haywire.

Without getting too spoiler-y, the basic plot is a team is deployed to fix The Problem. The team including Killy the Wanderer must evade the Safeguard -- a rampant defense system purging humans. Pop the popcorn, grab your favorite beverage, and settle in for some classic cyberpunk action.

Serial Experiments Lain mostly focuses on the intellectual side of cyberpunk and as such, it tackles an issue more convoluted than Cyberpunk 2077's proto-immortality corpo-war angle. The protagonist Lain suddenly stumbles upon a cyberspace not unlike our internet today.

Only, the cyberspace she opened is more dangerous and reality-altering. Serial Experiments Lain shows its viewers the dangers of false identities forged in a digital world in what appears to be a cyberpunk setting at its infancy.

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10 Anime To If You Love Cyberpunk 2077 - TheGamer