BD.13: Cyberskeleton and Anti-gravity - The Significance of Late-game Mechanical Design and Direction

Introduction: The “Final Coffin” Prepared by Night City and the Trajectory of a Consumed Youth

In the gruesome yet beautiful tragic finale of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the protagonist David Martinez reaches his ultimate form: the Cyberskeleton. It is neither a mere extension of a sci-fi gadget nor a superheroic powered armor designed to provide catharsis. This grotesque mechanical design is an extremely cruel “embodiment of fate” that visualizes the process by which a pure-hearted boy—who never doubted he was “special” in a Night City dominated by massive capital—is thoroughly exploited, dismantled, and entirely consumed by the system.

Created by the hands of director Hiroyuki Imaishi of the animation studio TRIGGER, character designer and chief animation director Yoh Yoshinari, and Shigeto Koyama, who was involved in the mechanical art direction, this machine intentionally references the design contexts of 90s Japanese mecha anime and American toys, while simultaneously infusing them with the ruthless philosophy unique to Cyberpunk. David, who once harbored a sense of omnipotence—believing he could transcend the perception of “time” and escape the city’s control through a military Implant known as the Sandevistan—acquires the “anti-gravity” of the Cyberskeleton in the story’s final act, attempting this time to dominate “space (gravity)” as well.

However, that overwhelming power was a “curse” itself, exchanged for his own body and mind. In this article, based on thorough deep research, we will unravel the body horror elements inherent in the visual and functional design of the Cyberskeleton, the literary metaphors implied by the technology of anti-gravity, the collapse of the “illusion of being special” highlighted by the gruesome contrast with Adam Smasher, and the emotional requiem woven by TRIGGER’s unique visual direction and music. As the 13th installment of this report, which records the tragicomedies of the Edgerunners who lived in the back alleys of Night City and looked up at the sky, we will examine the full picture of why this despair-inducing mechanic was absolutely essential to the narrative.

1. The Loss of Bodily Structure and Body Horror: The Cyberskeleton as a Marionette

1.1 The Ultimate Exploitation and Collapse of Identity Indicated by the Reduction to a “Torso”

What most gouges the hearts of viewers in the design of the Cyberskeleton, and what has become legendary in the fandom community as “traumatic” and “the pinnacle of body horror,” is its abnormal equipping process and David Martinez’s definitive physical mutilation. The Cyberskeleton is not an exoskeleton that a flesh-and-blood human “wears” from the outside, like an Iron Man suit or a typical powered suit. To operate it, David had to completely sever his own limbs and literally become nothing more than a “torso,” embedded as the core of a massive machine.

This visual representation of “only a head and torso connected to a giant mechanical frame” clearly indicates that David is no longer an independent human being, but has been reduced to a “mere biological component” to operate the weaponry of the massive Megacorporation known as Arasaka. According to depictions in the anime and community analysis, it is highly speculated that during the time skip before equipping the Cyberskeleton, David had already repeatedly undergone excessive Cyberware transplants, likely replacing not only his limbs but even internal organs like his lungs and heart with Chrome. In other words, his physical body as a human was already hanging by a thread.

However, compared to his previous form, which maintained the silhouette of an independent human, the conversion to the Cyberskeleton was an act that decisively crossed the remaining, fragile boundary of Humanity. In community discussions, the question is often raised: “If he had survived, would it have been physically possible for him to return to human-shaped prosthetics?” While the wealthy might be able to restore themselves through organic clone cultivation or advanced Cyberware, for him, a mere street Merc, that decision practically meant “abandoning the return to humanity.” This process, in which he voluntarily relinquishes his humanity, sublimates the classic Cyberpunk theme of detachment from the flesh brought about by high technology into a modern animation direction as agonizing body horror.

1.2 The Metaphor of Crucifixion and the Tragedy of Shouldering the Dreams of Others

Immediately after falling into Faraday’s trap and being connected to the Cyberskeleton, David’s figure suspended in mid-air carries the metaphor of a religious icon, often likened in community analyses to the “Crucifixion of Christ.” His bizarre form, with arms spread wide as if bound to a giant steel frame, implies that he is a sacrifice offered on the altar of self-sacrifice, bearing all the sins, dreams, and curses of others upon himself.

The fundamental tragedy of the boy named David Martinez lies in the fact that he never had a “dream of his own” from beginning to end. In the early stages of the story, he shouldered his mother Gloria’s dream of him “becoming an elite standing at the top of Arasaka Tower.” In the middle, he inherited the dream of his fallen mentor, Maine, to “lead the crew and keep running without stopping.” And in the final act, he comes to prioritize the dream of his beloved Lucy (Lucyna Kushinada) to “go to the moon” above all else. He was always a “boy who wore the dreams of others.”

Faraday captured Lucy through a scheme and, using her life as a shield, forced David to “wear” the Cyberskeleton prototype. This ultimate armor, the Cyberskeleton, is also nothing but the embodiment of the “ambitions of others (Faraday’s self-preservation and Arasaka’s weapons development data collection)” that he was forced to wear at the very end. David himself believes he is fighting of his own free will to protect the one he loves, but from a macro perspective, he is merely a tragic marionette dancing in the palm of a Megacorporation. The extreme silhouette of him floating in mid-air by the magnetic field of the gravity generator, deprived of his limbs and fixed as if hanging from giant arms, brilliantly visualizes the cruel truth that he has become a complete slave to the system, dispensing with the need for verbal explanation.

2. The Metaphor of Anti-Gravity: The Bravado of Defying Night City’s Pull

2.1 “Anti-Gravity” as a Mechanism and Its Technological Singularity in the Cyberpunk World

The greatest feature of the Cyberskeleton, and the source of its overwhelming violence, is the “anti-gravity generator (gravity manipulator)” built into the machine. Integrating official lore and the technical analyses of the dedicated player community, this system is not a mere levitation device, but an over-technology that applies electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and extremely advanced electromagnetic inertia dampening technology to offset its own massive mass, creating a near-zero gravity state.

Normally, armor of such super-mass would collapse under its own weight, making even walking impossible. However, thanks to this anti-gravity system, the Cyberskeleton moves effortlessly as if dancing in the sky, and furthermore, by emitting directional gravity waves (or powerful kinetic energy weapons), it generates extraordinary destructive power, easily lifting hostile Militech military vehicle fleets into the air and crushing them like paper scraps.

Even in the historical background of Cyberpunk 2077 (as of 2077), such compact and ultra-high-output gravity manipulation technology has not been generalized into the mainstream, suggesting that the Cyberskeleton (as of 2076) was an extremely experimental and dangerous prototype built with no regard for cost. This machine is such an aberrant existence that some fans have even pointed out, “It’s like magical technology, feeling out of place in the world setting.” Therefore, in exchange for its overwhelming output, this machine forces an enormous burden on the pilot’s nervous system. Unless David continues to overdose on the Immunosuppressants given to him by his Ripperdoc to the absolute limit, his nerves will be burned out in an instant, plunging him into complete Cyberpsychosis. This means that, as the price for obtaining god-like power, he is literally burning the remaining embers of his life as “fuel.”

2.2 The Metaphor of “Gravity”: Rebellion Against Invisible Violence in a Disparate Society

When analyzed from a purely literary and philosophical perspective, “gravity” in this work is a metaphor for the “invisible violence” itself that Night City—an absolute society of disparity (High tech, low life)—inflicts upon the residents living at the very bottom of the streets.

Corpo elites reign at the top of skyscrapers represented by Arasaka Tower (a place close to the sky, liberated from gravity), enjoying clean air and safety. On the other hand, street Mercs and the lowest-class residents are constantly bound to the filth-ridden ground by the invisible gravity of the city, forced to live crawling on their hands and knees. Gravity is the inescapable “absolute rule of capitalism.”

The scene where David activates the Cyberskeleton, reverses the gravity of the main street to levitate the Militech forces, and then makes it rain blood, expresses the peak of his overwhelming sense of omnipotence—that he has temporarily “dominated the city’s system (gravity).” TRIGGER’s signature vivid color sense and exaggerated, dynamic action direction depict him, for this moment alone, as a “god”-like being, or an existence that transcends the laws of Night City.

However, this domination through anti-gravity is, in the end, nothing more than temporary “bravado.” To completely deny gravity is a rebellion against the providence of nature and the ruthless rules of Night City, and the price for this is paid immediately and mercilessly in the form of his own mental collapse. The scenes repeatedly depicted in the animation—injecting Immunosuppressants with trembling hands, a violently flickering and noise-filled field of vision, and David bleeding from his nose and vomiting blood while wearing a madness-tinged smile—poignantly illustrate the “recklessness of defying the system’s gravity” and the “limits of youthful omnipotence.” He did not conquer gravity; he merely postponed the time until he would be crushed by it by just a little bit.

3. Adam Smasher’s Cold Gaze: The Complete Dismantling of the Illusion of Being “Special”

3.1 The Evaluation of the Cyberskeleton by the Ultimate “Strongman” and the Truth as a Guinea Pig

In the climax of Episode 10, standing before David—who is rampaging while wandering the borderline of Cyberpsychosis—is the living legend of Night City and Arasaka’s ultimate weapon, Adam Smasher. This desperate battle’s actions and dialogue from Smasher play the most cruel and crucial role in the narrative, fundamentally shattering the illusion that David had harbored deep in his heart: “I am special.”

Even in the face of the Cyberskeleton, which annihilated Militech with overwhelming power, Smasher shows no agitation whatsoever. He points to the Cyberskeleton and coldly spits out that it is “a child’s toy reliant on anti-grav training wheels.” In fact, Smasher utilizes his own equipment and overwhelming combat experience to easily neutralize the anti-gravity device, thereby unilaterally trampling the Cyberskeleton, which falls to the ground, unable to even stand on its own.

According to sharp insights and lore analysis within the community, there is a strong view that Arasaka’s upper management never intended to develop the Cyberskeleton for Smasher to equip from the start; rather, they merely used the highly resilient David as a “disposable guinea pig” to collect data before equipping it on him. Smasher himself already possessed overwhelming durability and firepower without relying on an unstable weapon like the Cyberskeleton, and to him, anti-gravity technology was nothing more than a clumsy set of “training wheels” meant to mask one’s true combat capabilities.

3.2 The Contrast of Ideology and Raison d’Être: Humanity Beyond Chrome

The contrast between David Martinez and Adam Smasher is the most important factor in deciphering the work’s theme: “the definition of Humanity in a high-tech society.” The table below clearly compares how both individuals perceived Cyberware and themselves, and what kind of fate they ultimately met.

During the battle, Smasher throws words at the increasingly incapacitated David, calling him a “frightened worm” and stating, “this is merely a shell.” David had been constantly told by his mother, “You are special,” and by mastering the Sandevistan, he himself had come to believe he was a “chosen one.” However, from the perspective of Smasher, who stands at the pinnacle of the Corpos and has truly discarded his humanity, David was nothing more than an “ordinary street lab animal with slightly higher Implant tolerance.”

The youthful sense of omnipotence and the illusion of being “special” are completely dismantled here. David’s true tragedy lies in the fact that he did not actually possess a “special” power to change the world, but merely had an “abnormal durability stat” capable of withstanding Arasaka’s inhumane tests—a cruel structure of exploitation that he failed to realize (or pretended not to notice). The Cyberskeleton he proudly bore was not a glorious armor meant to make him a hero, but merely a disposable measuring instrument prepared by a Corpo solely to gather data for next-generation weaponry.

4. Launch to the Moon: Lucy’s Dream and the Metaphor of “I Really Want to Stay at Your House”

4.1 The Moon as Ultimate “Zero Gravity” and the Love of a Boy Who Turned Himself into a Rocket

The “true motivation” for David to continue activating the cursed device known as the Cyberskeleton, even at the cost of his own life and sanity. It was neither revenge against the Corpos nor leaving his name as a street legend. It was for one thing only: to rescue his lover, Lucy, from the evil clutches of Faraday and Arasaka, and to fulfill her lifelong dream of “taking her to the moon.”

What was the “moon” to Lucy? According to official lore and deep viewer analysis, the moon in the Cyberpunk world of the 2070s holds a meaning that transcends the boundaries of a mere tourist destination or mining colony. For Lucy—who was once exploited in an inhumane facility as an Arasaka Netrunner in her childhood, and who had lived in constant fear of the Corpo’s shadow ever since escaping—the moon was the symbol of an “absolute safe zone (sanctuary),” physically and mentally completely severed from Night City’s cruel system of exploitation. For her, the only place where Night City’s “gravity” could not reach was, quite literally, the extraterrestrial moon.

David’s figure, clad in the Cyberskeleton equipped with anti-gravity functions, can be interpreted as functioning as a “rocket” or “catapult” to launch Lucy to the moon himself. The reason he single-handedly took on the massive Militech forces and Arasaka’s encirclement—that is, the “city’s gravitational pull”—and held back the enemy with overwhelming gravity waves, was purely a self-sacrifice solely to let a single girl named Lucy escape from this corrupted gravitational sphere. He never intended to make it back alive from the start; he had resolved to burn himself out completely as propellant.

4.2 Visual and Auditory Dissonance: The Emotional Requiem Woven by Music

In this utterly gruesome final battle, where TRIGGER’s visual direction and the sound director’s choices shine most divinely is in the use of the insert song “I Really Want to Stay at Your House,” playing behind the intense combat scenes.

This track by Rosa Walton is a love song with a highly romantic and pop tone, which played in the first half of the story during the Braindance (BD) scene of the lunar experience where David and Lucy first connected their hearts. However, in the climax of Episode 10, during the most gruesome scene where David’s body is physically dismantled by Adam Smasher’s overwhelming violence and his consciousness clouds within the madness of Cyberpsychosis, this song quietly begins to play as a reprise.

“I don’t want to go ‘cause I really want to stay at your house”

These poignant lyrics gently speak for David’s deep psyche—his true wish, which even he had sealed away and pretended not to see: “I didn’t want to become a street legend; I just wanted to live peacefully with Lucy in a place threatened by no one.” On screen, bullets from military weapons fly about, and the red of fresh blood, the silver of Chrome, and the sterile neon lights of Night City violently intersect. Yet, the music reaching the viewers’ ears is an overly sweet and heartbreaking love song. This extreme audiovisual dissonance shatters the viewers’ emotional breakwaters, creating an immense sense of loss that violently tightens the chest.

In terms of visual direction as well, Yoh Yoshinari’s character design and TRIGGER’s team of animators meticulously and beautifully depict the gradual loss of “sanity” from David’s expressions. The visual noise caused by Cyberpsychosis and the repetitive expression of flashing back to fragments of past memories force the viewer to poignantly relive the process of his consciousness detaching from the gravity of reality and collapsing. The final kiss exchanged between David, who has regained his sanity while falling from the sky, and Lucy. It was proof that he had not lost his human heart until the very end.

However, in the decisive moment when he is ultimately shot through the head by Smasher, the screen displays the “end of a life” with cold detachment and a momentary fade to black, devoid of any sentimentality or dramatic lingering resonance. The city of Night City pays no mind to the momentary brilliance a single boy emitted for love; the next day, it washes away the bloodstains and continues to consume new youths. This very difference in temperature is the essential ruthlessness inherent in the Cyberpunk genre.

5. The Left-Behind Jacket and the True Nature of the “Sense of Void”

After David’s death, the bright yellow EMT jacket he left behind functions as a crucial relic proving his existence. Originally a keepsake from his mother Gloria, who died of overwork, this jacket—which symbolizes the very identity of the individual named David Martinez—was “left behind,” whether intentionally or accidentally, in the backseat of the car driven by Falco and the others when he equipped the Cyberskeleton.

This act holds profound significance. Inside the grotesque machine that is the Cyberskeleton, he no longer possessed the physical body (arms) to wear that jacket. The moment he took off (or left behind) the jacket, he was completely liberated from the curse of his mother’s dream to “become an elite,” and accepted becoming purely a “weapon to save Lucy.”

Afterward, this jacket was kept by the surviving Falco, and ultimately passed down to V, the protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077. According to in-game lore, the jacket’s sensor array retained valuable operational data regarding David’s abnormal tolerance to Cyberpsychosis and the Cyberskeleton, and it is told that Arasaka was frantically desperate to recover it. For the Megacorporation, David’s life-risking love and sacrifice were, in the end, nothing more than “useful data to be recovered.”

This is the greatest reason why Cyberpunk: Edgerunners implanted a deeply gouging “sense of void (a mixed emotion of loss and nihilism)” in the hearts of viewers worldwide. David’s behavioral principles stemmed from “goodwill and love for others” from beginning to end. However, no matter how pure and noble it was, in the face of the absolute system that is a Megacorporation, it was converted into mere “consumer behavior” and the “provision of experimental data”—an utter and complete sense of nihilism.

Conclusion: The Price of “Brilliance” in Night City and the End of a Myth

The Cyberskeleton and anti-gravity—an extraordinary mechanical design and technological setting that suddenly appear in the final act. They are by no means intended merely as an anime-esque “unveiling of the ultimate weapon” or a scaling up of combat. They are the very “metaphor of fate,” brutally embodying the tragic trajectory walked by a naive boy named David Martinez through the power of mechanical engineering and cutting-edge visual direction.

As a summary of this research, the philosophical meaning fulfilled by the Cyberskeleton in the story is consolidated below.

1. Complete Loss of Body and Self (The Pinnacle of Body Horror): The visual of severing his flesh-and-blood limbs and being integrated into a giant machine as a torso perfectly links with his psychological state of having lost the outline of “himself” as a result of continuously shouldering the dreams of others. He ceased to be human and transformed into a concept to protect the one he loved.

2. The Deception of Omnipotence Through Anti-Gravity: The anti-gravity system that manipulates gravity symbolizes his “temporary ascent” and “youthful sense of omnipotence,” having rushed from the very bottom of the streets straight to the top. However, from the perspective of Adam Smasher, who stands at the apex of the system, it was nothing more than comical “training wheels,” serving only to reaffirm his role as a guinea pig within the Corpo’s massive system.

3. The Fulfillment of Love and the Sublimation of Self-Sacrifice: The reason he ultimately accepted the desperate situation and the madness of Cyberpsychosis was to become the driving force to send Lucy to the moon, the “ultimate zero-gravity space (the end of the escape).” By burning out like a rocket, he freed her from the chains of gravity.

The excessive, vivid colors by TRIGGER, the intense camerawork exaggerated to the limit, and the sweet melody of “I Really Want to Stay at Your House” overlaid on the cruel combat scenes. Through the perfect intersection of these elements, the “momentary flash (brilliance as an Edgerunner)” that David emitted in the darkness of Night City was burned into the retinas and memories of viewers as an eternal myth.

The reason we shed tears at this solitary death match in the Cyberskeleton, and feel our chests tighten beyond words, is because it is by no means a “battle for victory,” but rather a record of an overly pure and overly desperate resistance of “how to die (for whom to burn the rest of one’s life).” Night City’s ruthless gravity ultimately slammed him into the cold ground, shattering his young life to pieces. However, only the tenacity named love, which he mustered at the very end within the Cyberskeleton’s anti-gravity field, certainly shook off that gravity and reached the silence of the distant lunar surface.

(In the next installment, Part 14 [Summary], we will present the final conclusion regarding the true nature of the “sense of void” that the work Edgerunners thrust upon modern society at the end of the intersection of all these tragedies.)