Cyberpunk Style : Neo Tokyo

Neon signs reflected in wet asphalt, a glowing prosthetic arm, a city that never sleeps and never repairs itself. That image has a name.

Cyberpunk style refers to a subgenre of science fiction born in the 1980s. It describes a society ruled by technology (cybernetics and computers), capitalism and crime. As a fashion aesthetic, it means dark technical clothing, neon accents, masks and utility details worn every day.

Like the kawaii movement and the streetwear style, a real Japanese subculture grew out of this genre. Today, cyberpunk is associated with a post-modern culture.

The cyberpunk is also an individual who often takes a rebellious or anarchistic, individualistic and computer-savvy attitude.

Read on to learn:

• What constitutes the cyberpunk genre
• The origins and history of the cyberpunk trend
• In what forms cyberculture manifests itself in the land of the rising sun and around the world

Cyberpunk story

The cyberpunk genre throws us into a dark vision of a near future where society, far from being improved by technology, falls into decadence. We witness a robotic dehumanization of the human race.

Low life High Tech

In the cyberpunk world, technology has turned man into a cyborg. Cybernetic modifications are commonplace. Most people have bionic prosthetics, chips embedded in the brain that boost their mental abilities. The body has become something replaceable, and it is becoming difficult to distinguish man from machine.

But this technology that seems to improve the human race is the instrument of totalitarian control by large multinationals. These symbols of capitalism dictate and set the rules. Everyone, including governments, are mere puppets. This "Low Life High Tech" situation is perhaps the most representative feature of the genre.

That contrast is exactly what makes the look so easy to read on a street. Matte black clothing for the "low life", one single glowing element for the "high tech". A light-up mask is the fastest way to get there for a convention or a night out.

Virtual Reality

Another major aspect of this genre is virtual reality and hyperconnectivity. William Gibson was the first to introduce the concept of a virtual world created from a network of computers and data in his Neuromancer, before the Internet existed as we know it: Cyberspace.

A world that can be accessed by projecting one's mind directly into the data matrix. Cyberspace is often modeled on the real world, so the line between virtual and real becomes thin. It accentuates the idea of a world where technology has overtaken man. The reality of cyberspace is preferred to that of the real world, and the body becomes a burden, a lifeless pile of flesh.

Cyberpunks, Cybercriminals

We are also immersed in a society where crime abounds. Criminal organizations, sometimes linked to multinational corporations, hold power and influence. The cyberpunk characters often belong to this milieu: computer hacking, narco-trafficking, smuggling.

These anti-heroes often turn against the organizations that use their services and try to control them. But they do not always manage to improve their status.

Through these rebellious protagonists, the genre embraces a nihilistic attitude to life. Similar traits are found in punk culture, hence the name.

Cyberpunk and Postmodernism

Cyberpunk is also considered an important subgenre of postmodernist literature. Cyberpunk authors write in an ironic, playful style with dark humor. Paradoxically, the subjects they deal with are serious, often political. They create new genres and styles by mixing those of authors from former eras. Below, we will see which mixture of genres gave birth to cyberpunk.

Inspirations, Influences and the Birth of the "Cyber" and "Punk" Movement

Although it is a subgenre of science fiction, cyberpunk also drew inspiration from several genres outside of science fiction.

The New Wave

The cyberpunk genre was greatly influenced by the New Wave of science fiction writers of the 1950s and 1960s (Brian Aldiss, J.G. Ballard, Michael Moorcock). These predecessors dealt with environmental degradation, the urban environment, technology, crime, drug addiction and sexuality. Those themes sit at the heart of the cyberpunk genre.

Pre-Cyberpunk

Philip K. Dick and his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" also played a very influential part in the development of cyberpunk. With him we find the almost apocalyptic dystopian atmosphere and the moral problems linked to cybernetics and artificial intelligence that inspired authors like Gibson and Bruce Sterling.

Tough Crime Novel

The genre also borrows from hard-boiled detective fiction. The cyberpunk hero, like the hero of detective fiction, is often a lonely character who relies on his or her own abilities, physical and intellectual, to get out of complicated situations.

Cyber + Punk

Cyberpunk is the combination of two words. "Cyber" refers to cybernetics, a science that compares the functioning of the human body and that of the machine. "Punk" refers to an urban culture and a rebellious attitude to the social order. From this combination comes a genre where characters undergo cybernetic modifications and live at the margins, refusing to fit into the existing system.

Cyberpunks come into being

The term "Cyberpunk" was first used in 1983 by Bruce Bethke in the title of one of his short stories, published in Amazing Science-Fiction Stories magazine. It was popularized the following year by Gardner Dozois, who used it to describe a group of authors behind a brand new genre: Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Lewis Shiner, Pat Cadigan and Greg Bear.

Gibson, with Neuromancer, played a founding role in the history of cyberpunk. We owe him concepts such as cyberspace, a true prediction of today's Internet. Other authors such as Sterling also matter. In his preface to Mirrorshades: A Cyberpunk Anthology, a collection of short stories written by several cyberpunk authors, he defines the foundations of the genre and of cyberculture.

The Punk Style

Other sub-varieties have grown out of cyberpunk. Solarpunk offers a more optimistic vision of the future, where renewable energy helps man make the earth a better place. Biopunk is dominated by genetic modification technology. Steampunk usually takes place in a technological setting close to the Industrial Revolution, in a Victorian era. There are still a large number of "punk styles":

• Atompunk
• Biopunk
• Bronzepunk
• Clockpunk
• Dieselpunk
• Oceanpunk
• Ironpunk
• Desertpunk
• Lunarpunk
• Nowpunk
• Tupinipunk

Adaptations and Influences

The cyberpunk genre has seen a variety of adaptations: in movies, in games, in manga and comics. Cyberculture has also been influential in fashion, music and art in general.

Cyberpunk Film

The cyberpunk genre began as a literary genre and later became a film genre. The first major screen adaptation was Philip K. Dick's novel, released as Blade Runner in 1982. Others followed, such as the Matrix trilogy (1999), inspired by Simulacra and Simulation, a book by Jean Baudrillard. Several other cinematic works fit into the cyberpunk genre:

• Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982; re-adapted in 2017)
• Tron (Steven Lisberger, 1982 re-adaptation in 2010)
• RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987). This film was remade in 2014.
• Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990; a 2012 re-adaptation.)
• Hardware (Richard Stanley, 1990)
• Demolition Man (Marco Brambilla, 1993)
• Johnny Mnemonic (Robert Longo, 1995)
• Judge Dredd (Danny Cannon, 1995)
• Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)
• Nirvana (Gabriele Salvatores, 1996)
• The Fifth Element (Luc Besson, 1997)
• New Rose Hotel (Abel Ferrara, 1998)
• The Matrix trilogy (the Wachowskis, 1999)
• Avalon (Mamoru Oshii, 2001)
• Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002)
• Cypher (Vincenzo Natali, 2002)
• Immortal, ad vitam (Enki Bilal, 2004)
• Babylon A.D (Mathieu Kassovitz, 2008)
• Chappie (Neill Blomkamp, 2015)
• Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017)
• Alita: Battle Angel (Robert Rodriguez, 2018)
• Upgrade (Leigh Whannell, 2018)

Cyberpunk Comics

Cyberpunk qualities can be found in some comics. The Long Tomorrow by Moebius and Dan O'Bannon became one of the inspirations for Gibson's Neuromancer and for the Blade Runner film. Moebius later worked on another key title, The Incal, with Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Frank Miller drew Rōnin at DC Comics. The work, published at the same time as several major titles of the genre, shares many of its traits, notably the telepathic faculties found in Akira.

Cyberpunk Mangas and Anime

Although born in the United States, cyberpunk is not the exclusive domain of American authors. A Japanese cyberpunk emerged in 1982, the same year as Blade Runner, in manga, with a first emblematic work: Akira, drawn by mangaka Katsuhiro Ōtomo.

Akira was adapted into anime in 1988 and, like Blade Runner, became fundamental to cyberpunk anime and manga. Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell, to name only two of the most famous, are among the productions inspired by Ōtomo's work. He himself drew on Japanese punk culture.

Those biker jackets and capsule gang outfits are also why the sukajan (スカジャン, the Japanese souvenir bomber jacket) keeps coming back in cyberpunk wardrobes. Embroidered, satin-smooth, easy to wear over a black hoodie.

Here are the titles most often cited by readers who want to start with the genre:

• Akira (Katsuhiro Ōtomo,1982; animated in 1988)
• Serial Experiments (Lain Ryutaro Nakamura, 1998)
• Bubblegum Crisis (1987)
• Silent Möbius (Kia Asamiya, 1989)
• Ergo Proxy (Shukō Murase, 2006)
• AD Police (Tony Takezaki, 1989)
• Gunnm (Yukito Kishiro,1990)
• Cyber City Oedo 808 (Yoshiaki Kawajiri,1990)
• Armitage III (1994)
• Ghost in the Shell (Masamune Shirow, 1989; adapted to anime in 1995 and to film in 2017)
• Eden (1998)
• BLAME! (Tsutomu Nihei, 1998)
• Metropolis (Rintarō, 2001)
• Appleseed (Masamune Shirow,1985)
• Mardock Scramble (Tow Ubukata, 2003)
• Texhnolyze (2003)
• Wonderful Days (Kim Moon-Saeng, 2003)
• Mardock Scramble (2010), based on the graphic novels by Tow Ubukata (2003)
• Vexille (2007)
• Accel World (2010 manga, animation in 2012)
• Psycho-Pass (2012)

Cyberpunk video games

The world of cyberpunk also appears in games. Players live adventures set in typical genre environments. Gadgets, bionic prosthetics, trips into cyberspace and conflicts with multinationals or other controlling organizations are on the agenda. Cyberpunk 2077, developed by CD Projekt Red for PC and console, became a commercial success despite a rough technical launch.

• Cyberpunk 2013; Cyberpunk 2020; Cyberpunk Red (Role-Playing Games, R. Talsorian Games)
• GURPS: Cyberpunk (Steve Jackson Games; An anecdote about the game's design involves the U.S. Secret Service)
• Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix)
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal, 2011)
• Shin Megami Tensei II (Atlus)
• System shock I & II (1994, 1999)
• Nomad Soul (1999)
• Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk music

The musical atmosphere of cyberpunk films such as Blade Runner inspired a musical genre of the same name. It is built on synthesizer tones and themes dealing with a dark future and a mechanized humanity. Several artists and groups belong to this category or have produced works with cyberpunk traits:

• Afterworld (Siren, 2015)
• Cyberpunk (Billy Idol, 1993)
• Trinity (Laylow)
• Man-Machine (Gary Numan)
• Year Zero (Nine Inch Nails)
• Daydream Nation (David Bowie)

Cyberpunk art

Neon, often red, pink or bright blue, combined with black to produce a futuristic glow, dominates cyberpunk visual art. It also shows dark underground spaces and mostly geometric shapes.

Architecturally, the cyberpunk setting is built on towering skyscrapers and precarious suburban areas. For some, the Sony Center in Berlin is a real-world cyberpunk environment.

Cyberpunk clothing

Cyberpunk also refers to a fashion. Techwear is a style of clothing inspired by the genre and by urban street fashion. The look is often worn and recycled, practical and functional. It uses gadgets or high tech accessories such as glasses and gas masks. There is also the cybergothic (cybergoth) style, which combines the dark colors of goth with the bright neon of cyberculture.

What makes an outfit read as cyberpunk rather than costume is restraint. Keep the base dark and technical, then add one loud piece. That balance is close to what we call Wabi-Sabi in the shop: an imperfect, lived-in base that lets a single detail shine.

How to dress in cyberpunk

To respect the codes of cyberpunk fashion, wear clothes with a futuristic, avant-garde cut. In particular:

• Techwear
• The Japanese face mask
• The Japanese bomber (sukajan)
• Japanese cargo pants

You can also finish the outfit with colorful, flashy accessories. A reflective jacket, translucent glasses or a futuristic t-shirt will push the look further.

Cyberpunk is now!

Today, more than in the 1980s, the cyberpunk future is becoming reality. Technology has evolved and is more present in our lives than ever. Few of us could imagine life without smartphones, computers and screens. They make our days easier and more efficient, and they get more ergonomic every year, reducing the distance between us. Like prostheses. So we are not so different from cyborgs.

Few of us could go a single day without texting, posting, reacting to comments or following our favorite pages. A good part of our interactions happen online. The hyperconnectivity described in William Gibson's fiction is very real. For many, it has taken over real life, as if their minds resided in that data matrix we call the Internet.

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