The character design that nearly failed to exist
In short: When Studio Trigger and CD Projekt Red collaborated on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a creative battle erupted over a single character. One studio fought to keep a chaotic, neon-haired mercenary, while the other's developers voted to remove her entirely. The result was a character who became the heart of the series.
In the early drafts of the 202/2 anime series, the character Rebecca did not exist. She was originally conceived as a male character named Kyle. During development, the production teams agreed to change the character's gender, eventually settling on the name Rebecca by the fourth draft. Her visual design, characterized by pale blue skin, neon teal hair, and massive 'Gorilla Arms' modifications, was the work of Studio Trigger's vice president Yoshihiro Usa and animator Hiroyuki Imaishi.
The character's inclusion was not without significant friction. The creative staff at CD Projekt Red initially objected to Rebecca, with some developers voting to remove her because they felt her 'loli' aesthetic did not align with the established Cyberpunk 2077 universe. Studio Trigger famously refused to compromise, stating, 'the loli must stay.' This tension between the two studios' ideals ultimately contributed to the show's unique tone, blending grim political tragedy with a signature brand of chaos.
Despite the controversy, Rebecca became a fan favorite, known for her transition from a chaotic mercenary to a more mature figure following the death of her brother, Pilar. While critics like Jade King argued her design leaned into problematic archetypes, others praised her as the 'glue' of the story. Her sudden death at the hands of the villain Adam Smasher served as a pivotal, tragic moment in the series, a death that writer Bartosz Sztybor noted was a deliberate choice to emphasize the show's melancholy.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Rebecca (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners)
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