The chrome upgrades in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners give users enhanced abilities and were a predominant part of the Netflix anime series. For some characters, like Kiwi, chrome was incorporated significantly into their character design. Now, new behind the scenes art reveals further details about Kiwi and her chrome.Cyberpunk: Edgerunners aired in September and has since gained a major following. The show follows David Martinez as he finds a new ragtag family and becomes an edgerunner in Night City. To improve his abilities, David is seen adopting various chrome implants. His companions have stylistic chrome of their own, as do their adversaries. Kiwi, voiced by Stephanie Wong in English and Takako Honda in Japanese, is one of the edgerunners in the crew David joins up with. She is a netrunner who served as a mentor to Lucy, bringing her aboard Maine's crew.On Twitter, the official Cyberpunk: Edgerunners account shared a look at Kiwi's design, providing a closer look at her face. Designed by Yusuke Yoshigaki, it confirms what lies under her mask. Underneath Kiwi's mask is...still nothing! There is a gaping hole in her face, which displays a metal interior. She does not have lips, teeth, or any other standard organic features in her lower face. This view of her appeared in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Episode 6, "Girl on Fire". Maine finds Kiwi with her mask ripped off, revealing nothing behind it, very briefly. However, at this point, Maine hasn't quite been himself, beginning his fall toward cyberpsychosis. This could have called the scene into question, making it a question of if Kiwi really doesn't have organic features under her mouth.
Kiwi's Facial Reveal is Far More Disturbing Than Naruto's Kakashi
Kiwi is seen throwing up in a later episode, with a hint of her upper "mouth" showing, but not providing a closer look at the interior. She also cracks a joke in another episode about biting her tongue, despite not having one. This artwork from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners officially confirms that her mask serves as a faceplate, not just an add-on. This calls a couple details into question, that make more sense to fans of the game the show is based on, Cyberpunk 2077. Kiwi is seen smoking in the show through her faceplate. Considering she is still alive and capable of breathing, it makes sense that she'd have an internal implant that allows this to happen. She is also able to talk, which points to her likely having some speakers linked up inside her body to allow for outward speech and not just communication via mental comm uplink. Of Maine's crew, she may just be the member who has the most invisible chrome apart from Lucy who doesn't have very many visible, outward upgrades relative to her companions. As a netrunner, she and Kiwi likely have more work done on their mental capabilities than their physical appearances by comparison.
Some anime have put great emphasis on unmasking characters, such as in Naruto, in the filler episode which sees Naruto and his teammates try to unmask their mentor, Kakashi. However, Kakashi has a rather normal face overall with no major secrets to hide. Kiwi's mask, on the other hand, serves a whole other purpose - making her face appear as one coherent structure despite her cybernetic upgrades and alterations. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners may have concluded, but the characters hold many secrets that fans may slowly be able to learn more about based on behind-the-scenes details like this design art.
Source: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners