Cyberpunk Fiction/Media Recommendation Thread

Hello, Lains! In this thread we will list and discuss classics/essentials of the Cyberpunk genre, and recommend to others hidden gems/lesser known works to be consumed and enjoyed. I'll start: Code Lyoko. Deep underground, within the derilect bowels of an abandoned auto factory near Paris, France, lays a dormant supercomputer that has been powered off for over a decade. When a group of teenagers from a nearby boarding school stumble upon and subsequently re-activate the supercomputer, they find themselves plunged into a world of chaos and intrigue as they explore its contents attempt to delve into the mystery surrounding its creation. The supercomputer is host to a virtual world known as Lyoko, housing an amnesic pink-haired elf-girl artificial intelligence known as Aelita, as well as a malevolent rogue artificial intelligence known only as X.A.N.A.. Thanks to the series of "scanners" connected to the supercomputer, the protagonists are able to "travel to" and interface with this virtual world while retaining only two senses (sight and sound). The A.I. known as XANA is able to use the supercomputer's immense capabilities to interface with various electrical items in the real world, causing numerous disruptions and acts of violence which force the protagonists to "jack-in" to Lyoko to stop them. After foiling multiple attacks by XANA, the protagonists begin digging deeper into the history of Lyoko and the supercomputer, which involves The Cold War, military scientists, secret government programs, and the truth behind Aelita's existence…

I remember watching this show when I was really little on CN, I honestly thought I would never see this show again, after looking at it again i can't say it has aged well...

>>202 The matte paintings they used as backgrounds were/are awesome, by the way. Frederic Perrin did an awesome job adding a unique atmosphere to the series.

>>204 What the soykaf? I selected three files to upload. Oh, well. Commencing dump of schway-ass matte paintings.

This looks pretty cool, I've added it to my list. I recently came across this list: https://www.exolymph.news/2016/06/04/cyberpunk-anime-comprehensive-list/ I've not gone through it all yet, but it's got some stuff I've never heard of before, and some stuff I'd never really thought of a cyberpunk before, like Kaiba: >“In Kaiba, memories can be stored as information via a memory chip. When individuals die, their minds live on. This digitization of mental information allows both the transfer of one’s mind to someone else’s body, and the theft and manipulation of other people’s memories become a norm. Society has fallen apart, as authority enforces law arbitrarily and has become stagnant. In the skies are electrical storms, which cannot be passed through without losing one’s memories. Above them lies the realm of the wealthy and powerful, who barter others’ bodies and memories for their own enjoyment and longevity. Below the clouds is a troubled and dangerous world where good bodies are hard to come by and real money is scarce.” A great show, and now that I think about it (and read that description), it's so obviously got cyberpunk aspects. I guess it was the colourful and cartoonish art style which just made me not really think of it as "cyberpunk" when I first watched it.

>>215 kaiba is a masterpiece, i love it. Another interesting anime is Dennou Coil. It's a strange but pleasant mix between cyberpunk and Miyazaki's style, worth watching

I just downloaded Neocron Evolution, now I'm trying to get it running. I doubt my connection is fast enough for multiplayer, but I do want to try the training mode if it's as good as the old demo's solo campaign. It's kind of a love letter to the original Deus Ex and System Shock, and has nostalgically super ugly art design and interfaces. The whole environment is like a strip mall in a storm water drain in a landfill, and everybody looks like plastic surgery accidents in fetishwear, killing each other for money to buy furni to decorate their awful nouveau-riche apartments, because in a post-scarcity economy the only thing worth killing over is a e s t h e t i c s .

>>285 I absolutely loved Dennou Coil. The mixture of kids imaginations with technology was really cool to see.

hey, i remember this show! thanks for the blas from the past op, will definitely check this out again soon.

>>285 These two have been my long time faves

Season 1 was a slog, but Code: Earth is where things really pick up pace myth-arc-wise. Definitely worth the watch.

Texhnolyze. I can't really describe the effect it had on me and how beautiful it was to experience, even if it was the saddest thing I've ever watched. The scenery is gorgeous in a dark and gritty way, and the characters are amazingly complex and inspired. If you don't want to go through hell I advise you to skip it, because you will.

I have never been much into sci fi but much browsing lainchan has made me interested into cyberpunk What is a good cyberpunk anything for beginners and with beginner i mean people who isn't used to genre fiction.

>>616 I have read some stories from Gibson's Burning Chrome, and I am currently reading Stephenson's Snow Crash as my first full-length cyberpunk book. The stories from Burning Chrome I read were very descriptive, didn't have that much plot but got me dreaming about that world. They were nice to get a cyberpunk feeling. But if I could pick my books again I would read Snow Crash first. Snow Crash is pretty easy reading. Some things are (intentionally?) over the top, like a mafia that delivers pizza. I think the author has a very realistic view however of how the internet / computers works, more so than Gibson. Most technical things could be real if a company would spend a couple of years developing them. He explains how things work in the world and it makes sense. Here's my favourite line: (not really a spoiler, it's chapter 2) The goggles throw a light, smoky haze across his eyes and reflect a distorted wide-angle view of a brilliantly lit boulevard that stretches off into an infinite blackness. This boulevard does not really exist; it is a computer-rendered view of an imaginary place.

>>617 >>616 For someone not used to the larger genre of SF, Snow Crash is surely the answer. It's bloody hilarious and feels like you're watching a cartoon but one backed by actual science to some extent, and to a larger extent some serious meditations on society and our possible future. By comparison, something like Neuromancer was meant to break the genre entirely in it's day. I gave it to my dad for his birthday, he followed classic SF for 40 or 50 years. He said it was pretty good but difficult to follow! He had to read whole chapters twice in a row. He was an early computer user and an engineer to top it off; I think it was the "punk" side not the "cyber" part that was hard for him ha ha.

>>615 I'm scarred of watching something so sad, and I'm usually rather cynical about dark shows that turn out to have a positive message.

>>617 Another vote for Snow Crash; well told story and very easy to get into. Easily the best line of the whole book: "Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world. If I moved to a martial-arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live, and devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad. Hiro used to feel this way, too, but then he ran into Raven. In a way, this was liberating. He no longer has to worry about being the baddest motherfucker in the world. The position is taken." In Snow Crash, it's common for people to tattoo a person's crime on their forehead so people know they're bad news if a criminal moves to a burbclave where he's unknown. Raven's tattoo just says, "POOR IMPULSE CONTROL"... which Hiro correctly assumes to mean he's far more dangerous than someone who just has "MURDER" or "RAPIST" tattooed on his forehead. He could do literally anything that came to him.

>>621 > POOR IMPULSE CONTROL I'm totally getting this tattooed on my forehead. No one will cross me then. Oh yeah.

>>626 http://www.memetictees.com/cyberpunk/poor_impulse_control_t-shirt.html

>>619 There is no positive message. All I can say is that you should at least try.

>>629 Subjective perception. You could interpret it positive for a previously negative viewed aspect oh humanity with "it's okay that agressive behaviour exists as it keeps us going"

>>202 What is the general mood of the show? Is the cyb just a nice back drop, or are there transhumanist concepts at play with the plot? What's the general vibe?

>>286 It's quite cyb, I got a little bored after not having anyone to play with + mechanically dated the mechanics I can get over, I just feel lonely falling down this rabbit hole. The game seems massive and I don't think I'll come out the same if I try to chew through it. I hope you like it, maybe I'll make a thread and we can do some Neocron generals.

>>616 Do you play video games? Get in the universe and you'll be hungry for more. Deus Ex, System Shock, Project EDEN, etc. Movies are a fun way to start digging too. 12 Monkeys, Dark City, Matrix, and then moving back, Robocop, Total Recall, Akira, Ghost in the Shell. Genre flicks, but the scifi isn't critical, it's often the concepts that drive them that makes them so engrossing.

>>638 I highly recommend Deus Ex: Human Revolution as your first foray into the Deus Ex franchise, by the way (becuase the graphics are more up-to-date than the original). Also as your first foray into Cyberpunk games in general, because it has great atmosphere and soundtrack and thought-provoking themes.

>>639 Except ignore the aliens. They put them at the end of every game, and they're not really relevant to anything at all.

>>639 whilst this is a great game. I would recommend some early Nineties games If youve never played any. As that's when the genre really came into its own. Check out Dreamweb. I wish they would do a remake of that.

>>658 The only game to ever have them was the original no?

>>659 Looking at reviews, I get a I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream vibe. Will check it out !

>>658 Except there aren't any aliens in Deus Ex: Human Revolution...? There aren't any in either of the Deus Ex prequels, for that matter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If-1tQKw1z4

not really sure if cyperpunk, but quite artistic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB8Ci7X5HUU >GESAFFELSTEIN - PURSUIT (Official video - BLURRED version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TglgwKoh_Ww similar visual vibe https://www.vevo.com/watch/son-lux/cage-of-bones/USYAH1600036 >Son Lux - Cage of Bones

>>615 I'm with you man. There is a good review of the series at https://youtu.be/0lc8e5ZBRPE I value this review for its analysis of Texhnolyze's characterization (or intentional lack thereof). I really appreciate creators that don't try to sell me their characters. The fact of Ichise's story and his unbelievable struggle and loneliness is enough... "You will die alone in a world of your own ruin..." I had no idea how true that would turn out to be.

>>1185 Everyone in that show made me feel, but Doc hit me the hardest. You know why..

Stuff I never see discussed here: Comics: Shatter Frame 137 Silent Möbius Ronin Movies: Black Magic M-66 Games: Syndicate Snatcher Oni SiN Ripper Books: Little Heroes Fairyland Market Forces TV: Max Headroom Spicy City

>>1191 I'm interested in checking out Snatcher, what do you think is the best way to experience it? I remember reading about how there was some censorship in the official Western release, but is any of it really a big deal?

>>1191 Oni was godawful, both from a gameplay standpoint and story. The cliche tough lady cop was overused and the acting was lazy.