Cyberpunk: Edgerunners MADNESS (CEM) Volume 1 is the first tankobon in this new black and white manga style adaptation of the original net anime series in collaboration with award-winning Japanese manga artist, Inio Asano, to realistically develop the chaotic fan-favorite characters, Rebecca and her older brother Pilar, on their paths to becoming “edgerunners” in Night City. Set in the same world as the source material developed in Mike Pondsmith’s role playing game, and written by Bartosz Sztybor, who is the web anime’s screenwriter and also the author of the Dark Horse comic book adaptation of CD Project Red’s video game (also based on the tabletop game), Asano’s CEM presents readers with a slice of life story that follows a familiar set of mercenaries on the edges of society running as far away from the mega-corporations and political corruption as their stolen cars and biotech will take them. The most uncanny element I experienced in Asano’s new vision for this dystopian universe is how empathetic, fun-loving, pug-loving, carefree, and cozy I begin to see the violent world of Night City through Rebecca’s dark, maturing, and complex cybernetic eyes.