History Main / PostCyberPunk

* ''VideoGame/BeyondTheSteelSky'': Subverted. While the original game was heavily based on Cyberpunk, Saviour Joey's restructuring since then has led to a more positive outlook of technology's impact on society. On the surface anyway.

* ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}'', which eschewed cliché production design and interleaved cyberpunk tropes with romanticism and humanism. [[spoiler:ThePowerOfLove wins. [[BittersweetEnding Kind of.]]]]
%%* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series has many cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk elements.

%%* ''VisualNovel/ChaosHead'', and especially its successor ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate''.
%%* ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere''
* The Caldari State in ''VideoGame/EveOnline'' is themed after Cyberpunk stories, but it's actually closer to Post-Cyberpunk in how it works. The society is controlled by megacorps, but the corporations aren't really evil, and while they compete amongst each other (sometimes violently) and often engage in questionable practices, they still stand united against any external threat to the State. The society is meritocratic, so people who work hard will get into good positions, and the average citizens have fairly comfortable and productive lives (but those that can't keep up with the system are pretty much screwed since there is no such thing as social security).
* ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'': While the first ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' was set in a rather standard cyberpunk world, with the villains being a CorruptCorporateExecutive and an evil insane AI, and the hero a hacker pressed into service after being caught by the MegaCorp's security forces, the sequel is set some 40 years later. In the meanwhile, events of the first game caused a backlash against the corporations that led to the establishment of a quasi-socialist world government locked in a sort of a cold war with the remnants of {{MegaCorp}}s. While the plot of the game is mostly removed from politics, they make an impact on the story at several points.
* In ''VisualNovel/InvisibleApartment'', the setting probably leans more this way than towards traditional cyberpunk. On the one hand, it's highly regulated and involves powerful people covertly using technology for their own interests. On the other hand, people who aren't on the government's wanted lists don't seem to have as bad as a typical cyberpunk dystopia, and there are people on the inside who try to do the right thing.
* ''VideoGame/WatchDogs2'' is set in sunny[[note]] but also appropriately foggy [[/note]] San Francisco and the technology is used by the heroes and villains to achieve their own ends. ''Videogame/WatchDogsLegion'' is a step towards original Cyberpunk, but the ending shows there is plenty of room for a free and just society.

The Post-9/11 ideological atmosphere of 21st Century America also saw a marked decrease in heroes who were decidedly anti-establishment. Despite the dystopian nature of cyberpunk settings, it was frequently assumed that race, gender, nationality, and sexual orientation would be non-issues in the future, the rationale being that the last generation that really cared would have almost died out by then (even racially homogeneous Japan is often depicted as a melting pot in the future). However, now that society is in the chronological era that the majority of cyberpunk depicted, issues surrounding identitarian politics are still not only alive but even more volatile than ever, threatening to make society more divisive. As a result, Post-Cyberpunk is often required to shelve more futurist themes and focus on existing social issues that have carried over from the past millennium. Additionally, it is far more difficult (bordering on impossibility) to operate anonymously or in the shadows outside of the system (the "Punk" aspect of Cyberpunk) or under dual/false identities. The increase of security profiling, monitoring, hidden surveillance and current forensics technology is making it less and less possible to move around without leaving fingerprints or footprints of some type, digital or otherwise. And today, there is now the understanding that there is no anonymity or privacy on the internet.

* Literature/YouCanBeACyborgWhenYoureOlder by Richard Roberts: While containing the CrapsackWorld and StreetSamurai of the classic Eighties cyberpunk, the protagonists are all Young Adult novel heroes and heroines trying to save their OrphanageOfLove. The job of being a corporate mercenary and status of being cyborgs is also treated as being awesome by the protagonist.

* ''Literature/EncryptionStraffe'' is set in an alternate 2010s where Cold War superscience lead to daily used computer technology that interact with human cognitive functions. It explores the more grounded roots of {{Megacorp}}s and private forces, presenting real world conflicts in a cyberpunk lense.

* ''VideoGame/WatchDogs2'' is set in sunny[[note]] but also appropriately foggy [[/note]] San Francisco and the technology is used by the heroes and villains to achieve their own ends.

* ''Anime/TheOrbitalChildren'', by the creator of ''Den-noh Coil'', ultimately has an optimistic attitude towards space colonization and artificial intelligence.

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* In ''Anime/PsychoPass'' the protagonists work for the system and technology has brought something close to utopia, but there are darker undertones in relation to how technology has affected humanity and the nature of the Sibyl System.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Transistor}} Transistor]]'', which eschewed cliché production design and interleaved cyberpunk tropes with romanticism and humanism. [[spoiler:ThePowerOfLove wins. [[BittersweetEnding Kind of...]]]]

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' takes place in an EverythingIsOnline world where Internet browsing is accomplished by using sentient programmes called [[RobotBuddy Network Navigators]] (also known as Net Navis, or just Navis). While the world is generally bright and cheery and the protagonist and companions never stray into [[AntiHero AntiHeroism]], viruses, which serve as the game series' Mooks, are horrifically common and cyber-crime is a very real threat.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' takes place after the post apocalyptic ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'', where humans and reploids live side by side and are rebuilding society a new.

* ''VideoGame/SystemShock2''. While the first ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' was set in a rather standard cyberpunk world, with the villains being a CorruptCorporateExecutive and an evil insane AI, and the hero a hacker pressed into service after being caught by the MegaCorp's security forces, the sequel is set some 40 years later. In the meanwhile, events of the first game caused a backlash against the corporations that led to the establishment of a quasi-socialist world government locked in a sort of a cold war with the remnants of {{MegaCorp}}s. While the plot of the game is mostly removed from politics, they make an impact on the story at several points.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''[[{{Webcomic/ClaudeAndMonet}} Claude & Monet]]'' takes place in a future that's just as retro as it is futuristic, yet at the same time also feels like the problems and solutions of the present have also crept in. In other words, ''plus ça change....''
* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''. On the surface, it looks like a story about a group of friends just going about their daily lives and being snarky. And then you see the [=AnthroPCs=], which are basically {{robot}}s that function as pets and home computers, although it's not always clear just how that's supposed to work. The [=AnthroPC=] characters run the range from CuteMachines and RobotGirl to EatingMachine and at least one KillerRobot. There is even a chart showing the MechanicalEvolution of the setting.

* Synergy from original ''{{WesternAnimation/Jem}}'' had a UrExample of Punk with its aesthetic and advanced technology of how projects itself with a more nicely and useful personality than other Als from Cyberpunk in that [[TheEighties time]].

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* ''VideoGame/{{Rollcage}}'' is set in a heavily technological future world a few centuries in the future. Overall, things don't seem very grim, as there are pleasant seaside resorts with cool futuristic architecture and hovering billboards, a highly advanced, but well-lit and tidy (rather than dystopian) megacity, and even pretty hospitable and busy colonies on Mars. Everything seems to be powered by clean propulsion technology and hovertech is pretty widespread. Add to that the fact the game revolves around a few thrill-seeking daredevils practicing street racing with nigh-indestructible super-fast cars that have no issues with riding upside down, since both their upper and lower halves are identical.

* In general, ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' tends to be on the PostCyberpunk end of the spectrum. ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' is closest to Cyberpunk, thanks to being written by the writer of ''[[Anime/SerialExperimentsLain Lain]]''. There's a secret government conspiracy, monitoring everything and conducting dark experiments; the heroes are young streetwise punks who befriend what are, ''essentially'', rogue AIs. They end up subverting the government conspiracy and stopping more dangerous AIs. Philosophical questions about life arise. Granted, as it's part of a Mons children's series, on the whole, it's not as grim as other examples here, but by the same coin, it's pretty heavy for a "shonen" series (and is sometimes criticized for being ''so'' different in tone than its stable-mates).
* The ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' series is perhaps an extreme example of Post-cyberpunk characterization. The main heroes are just normal kids with families and friends, who happen to also restore order to the Digital World, not to mention forge unbreakable bonds of friendship with sapient computer programs. Also, there is a important focus on relationships as much as world saving.
* ''Anime/DigimonUniverseAppMonsters'', although not as egregious as ''Tamers'', has ''applications and softwares turned into living AI and fighting each other'', among other things. Hackers are also present as well.

* ''Anime/Belle2021'' could best be described as "cyberprep" in the vein of ''Film/{{Her}}''. It features very few "punk" elements, but uses many concepts that find their origin in {{Cyberpunk}}, including a virtual [[TheMetaverse metaverse]] and commonplace [[BrainComputerInterface brain-computer interfaces]] coexisting with more mundane technology like smartphones, motorcars and trains.

* The film ''Film/{{Her}}'' features artificial intelligences that have the capacity to fall in love with natural-born humans and futuristic cities of glass and steel, which fulfils the "cyber" part, but very little in the way of "punk", other than the main character's boring corporate job. Many critics refer to it as "cyberprep".

* ''Anime/Belle2021'' could best be described as "cyberprep" in the vein of ''Film/{{Her}}''. It features very few "punk" elements, but uses many concepts that find their origin in {{Cyberpunk}}, including a virtual [[TheMetaverse metaverse]] and commonplace [[BrainComputerInterface brain-computer interfaces coexisting with more mundane technology like smartphones, motorcars and trains.

* ''Anime/TheOrbitalChildren'', by the creator of ''Den-noh Coil'', ultimately has an optimistic attitude towards space travel and artificial intelligence.

* ''Anime/TheOrbitalChildren'' by the creator of ''Den-noh Coil'' ultimately has an optimistic attitude towards space travel and artificial intelligence.

What the old and new Cyberpunk genres share is a detailed immersion in societies enmeshed with technology. They explore the emergent possibilities of connectivity and technological change. What Post-Cyberpunk has that separates it from pure Cyber Punk works is an emphasis on positive socialization. In Lawrence Person's [[http://slashdot.org/features/99/10/08/2123255.shtml "Notes Toward a Post-Cyberpunk Manifesto"]] he describes typical Post-Cyberpunk protagonists as "anchored in their society rather than adrift in it. They have careers, friends, obligations, responsibilities, and all the trappings of 'ordinary' life." For this reason, character goals also differed characteristically, "Cyberpunk characters frequently seek to topple or exploit corrupt social orders. Post-Cyberpunk characters tend to seek ways to live in, or even strengthen, an existing social order, or help construct a better one." In other words, there is a notable absence of 'punk' elements as found in most other PunkPunk genres. And in recent years several works that rely heavily on the post-cyberpunk conventions and tropes and have a strong post-cyberpunk atmosphere managed to drop most of the 'cyber' aspects as well. (see ''Film/{{Inception}}'' and ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' as examples.) Just like it's mentioned in the CyberPunk article, Post-Cyberpunk heavily deals with ''Social'' sci-fi in accordance with AsimovsThreeKindsOfScienceFiction, but its portrayal of technology is more neutral than Cyberpunk's, and sometimes it's downright positive. While Cyberpunk focused on technology going beyond our control and dooming us all, Post-Cyberpunk states that HUMANS cause technology to go awry, and that responsible use of technology could actually bring us to a new age. Simply put, Post-Cyberpunk basically reins in Cyberpunk's excess and tries to give us a more open vision of the future.

Aside from this main difference, the two sister-genres share many themes, tropes and story elements to the point that many question the legitimacy of this genre as separate from CyberPunk, and contend that Post-Cyberpunk is simply Cyberpunk expanded beyond its base and taken further logically. Purists, however, see a definite difference.

As with mainstream punk culture, the cyberpunk movement (and it really did start as a serious Anarchist socio/political movement as in the 1986 Cyberpunk Manifesto) got LostInImitation which emphasized stylish elements over substance. PopCulturalOsmosis pushed the visual aspects of cyberpunk over the deeper meaning of the cyberpunk movement. Ironically, the [[Film/BladeRunner film that established the Ur-Example of the cyberpunk look]], did not have significant cyberpunk themes (such as hackers, cyborgs, and cyberspace). It was a futuristic noir film that approached the often approached WhatMeasureIsAHuman theme. But the slick, cynical [[FilmNoir Neo Noir]] style along with the background extras wearing mowhawks, black leather, sunglasses, [[EverythingsBetterWithSamurai AsianFetish]], and other tropes that would eventually make it into ''Film/TheMatrix'' trilogy remain the chief identifiers universally associated with cyberpunk. While the actual subculture punks did don signature looks, they were [[PretenderDiss eventually outnumbered by posers who like to dress the part]][[note]]Often they will dress in a way that exaggerates the look of the real exponents who are typically far more subtle, at least in public[[/note]] but don't care about or understand the philosophy or lifestyle. The exponents of the original Anarchist cyberpunk movement were apparently not into costuming and insisted that a cyberpunk can and does look like anyone.[[note]]It is worth noting that the protagonist of Blade Runner (and the book it is based on), Rick Deckard, was not a punk or social misfit, but, being a police officer (or bounty hunter as in the book), an adult member of the conservative establishment.[[/note]]

Basically, if you have a CrapsackWorld modelled on ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' and/or [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld Japanese]] [[MegaCorp Zaibatsu]] where (most critically) technology is a method by which the power elite control the people, and the protagonists are entirely against said society, you have traditional CyberPunk. If, however, you have a world that has ''some'' redeeming features, is not controlled by the State and/or MegaCorp, technology ''isn't'' screwing everything up, and the protagonists are trying to ''fix social problems from within'' rather than rebelling against society from without, you have Post-Cyberpunk. Of course, there is plenty of overlap.

Compare {{Cyberpunk}}, CyberpunkForFlavor, PunkPunk, and {{Postsomethingism}}. See CyberpunkTropes for tropes found in Post-Cyberpunk works and shared with its cousin CyberPunk. Also compare to {{Solarpunk}}: both were created as reactions to Cyberpunk, but came to different conclusions - Post-Cyberpunk says "the future sucks so we will redeem it", it accepts the world we live in and the systems that support it (industrialization, corporate globalism and resource exploitation), but adapts them to be less harmful; Solarpunk says "the future sucks so we will replace it", it rejects the Cyberpunk vision entirely and presents a new vision built around small communities, sustainable ecology, artisan craftsmanship and social anarchism. Unlike Cyberpunk, which may ascribe to ScienceIsBad, Post-Cyberpunk and Solarpunk are more likely to ascribe to ScienceIsGood -- or at least, science ''can'' be good if not abused.

** The 1988 novel, ''Literature/IslandsInTheNet'' is one of the original Post-Cyberpunk works. Sterling tackles the problem of corporate power head on, envisaging Rizone, a highly networked multinational founded on "economic democracy."
** His two interlinked short stories, ''Maneki Neko'' and ''Bicycle Repairman'', both published in his seminal collection [[MeaningfulName meaningfully called]] ''Good Old-Fashioned Future'', arguably do an even better job at it, due to being written more than a decade later, when his ideas became clearer. But then, Sterling has always been [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism ''less'' bleak]] than most of the CyberPunk authors.

* Allen White's ''Literature/{{Murderworld}}'' posits a mostly-functional American democracy, although one tainted by corporate influence, economic classism, and a societal propensity for simulated violence that spills over into the real world and its politics.

* Brian Parker's ''Literature/{{Easytown}}'' is a FantasticNoir DetectiveThriller about a New Orleans detective in a crime ridden city with advanced AI, cybernetics, as well as humanlike androids.