You must now design the most generic possible protagonist of a cyberpunk setting. Besides a trench coat, katana...

Yes

The guitar care is a rocket launcher

I loved Seveneves but jesus christ does Stephenson not know how to end a book.

And he doesn't even realize it when it's pointed out to him he defends all those lousy endings!

The OP image is literally fanart of Hiro.

Huh. Doesn't look like I pictured him.

A robotic left foot.

Yeah, I always thought of him as trying hard to look cool, while not actually looking that cool.

HE NEVER ASKED FOR THIS

Give him a stupid looking hat.

When did Katana = cyberpunk thing start anyway?

I always found that aspect to be weird as fuck. It's not like Ghost in the Shell had bunch of cyborg samurais flipping around.

Neuromancer had a character with throwing stars, and it progressed in cyberpunk culture from there into further weebness.

Actually, it was only a single throwing star, and it showed up like once in the entire book. If anything, Molly's flechette gun is the weapon I most remember from Neuromancer.

Cyborg arm.

Fair cop. But virtually all cyberpunk has its roots in Neuromancer, including the weeb stuff.

As for katanas specifically? Tough call, I don't rightly know.

Japanese culture was hugely influential in the 80s due to the Japanese Economic Miracle, so a lot of speculative sci fi from then assumes that Japan comes to match the US in economic and cultural influence in the near-far future of the early 2000s.

They're sick as fuck dude.

Well, Case has his one throwing star he always plays with, but there is also the literal ninja Hideo. So that's got to count for something.

Don't see many space rastas though.

>As for katanas specifically? Tough call, I don't rightly know.

>When did Katana = cyberpunk thing start anyway?

Nu-Yen," 80s" and:

I'd say Neuromancer is the source of the concept, but the aesthetic of it was really codified by Blade Runner.

I would presume that it has to do with the times. I think it was the 80s when a bunch of japanese culture came to U.S. in the form of anime, which created the whole ninja thing. And ninjas are depicted with katanas.

>And ninjas are depicted with katanas.

Urge to... weeb.. risinng....

>Robotic prosthetics, nanomachines, sub-dermal chips or a mix of any of the above
>Trench boots or low-top sneakers
>A futuristic-looking revolver, like a Chiappa Rhino or a spray-painted Nerf gun
>Slick-back hair in a muted color or white

Snow Crash. It's surprising this wasn't the immediate answer. it's a foundational cyberpunk novel, and if you haven't read it, I'm going to be a tiny bit disappointed in you... that being said, It's been aeons since I've actually read Neuromancer, so I'm 100% sure people will get on my dick for that.

Hiro was Blackanese but most people actively forget about that over the course of the book (since I don't recall Stephenson calling attention to his appearance since it wasn't all that important). all they remember is his choice of armament, primarily thanks to his fight in the black sun. I'd also peg it as the reason most settings have a corprocratic government, or something similar like SR's Corporate court. In fact, I'd actually venture the OP's Image is supposed to be an Illustration of Hiro.

Seriously teej, read Snow Crash if you haven't. I'll shill that book until the day I die.

>it's a foundational cyberpunk novel

Not even, dude. Cyberpunk as a genre began in the late 70s and came to fruition with Neuromancer in 1984 Snow Crash didn't appear until 1992, and it's a satirical take on what was a well-established, almost dead genre at the time.
Snow Crash is awesome, but it's mostly gently poking fun at cyberpunk, taking that old horse out for one more ride, just for shits and giggles

The being stabbed in the dick with necrotizing poison didn't jive that well with me though.

Ironically, I actually kinda feel like it's foundational for Post-Cyberpunk.

It wasn't just that Japanese culture started to reach the West, it was that at the time it looked like Japan was soon to usurp the US's position as the economical and cultural superpower of the world.

It's like China and India now.

India is a little overhyped in this regard. They're strong, and getting stronger, but not at the rate or as consistently as Japan or China did. They still have serious corruption problems, and too many foreign corporations are dominant there without strong native competition.

It's foundational to modern cyberpunk though, like the cornerstone on the new wing of the building. it prevented what was the state of cyberpunk at the time as far as I've seen (intense navel gazing) from running the genre into the ground. it seemed to inject the same feeling of self-ribbing the novel had into the genre. I've yet to see an super-duper-cerial-you-guys take on cyberpunk since, mostly because it provided the framework to let the minor goofy implications of the cyberpunk genre get codified without breaking into total clownshoes.

I'm not that big into pre/post genre divisions personally, though I'd definitely agree if by post-cyberpunk, you mean the current state of affairs.

Is Hiro half-korean or half-japanese? I kind of remember Stephenson just kind of switching in the middle of the book

If we are going for pure asthetic? Wrist mounted computer/ keyboard is essential.

Pistol

he needs a girl he loves, but she is too cold to love him back, but he keeps the flame.

Sly boots. If you have not played Anachronox, go do it.

Half-Japanese. Hiro's father (or grandfather?) took a Japanese wife during the Occupation.

Some sort of arm gadget like a rc helicopter controller, and a gun

Came here to post this, Hiro Protagonist

So, Stephenson-shilling people, I've read Snow Crash some time ago and I mostly liked, especially the cool concept stuff, awkward sex scenes - less so. What other Stephenson novels should I consider reading?

>awkward sex scenes
Read William Gibson's shitty sex scenes. The only other book of Stephenson's I read was Quicksilver when I was like 14 or 15 and I fucking hated it.

He smoulders with generic rage.

Also only ever says "...Whatever."

I get the feeling that that was meant to feel uncomfortable - as a reminder that even with all the fun and games, America had turned into a real shithole.

There's actually something similar (blades, not neurotoxin) that was proposed in South Africa, but I don't think it ever made it to production.
On the other hand South Africa is a country where anti-carjacking flamethrowers are legal

>awkward sex scenes
Trust me, nobody liked them, because they weren't meant to be hot. you can tell the writing was supposed to convey that weird awkwardness that can come along with the situations they happened in. like a cocktail of teenage hormones going off at the exact wrong time.

and as far as actual suggestions, diamond age was fun

...

Actually, how old is YT meant to be?

Bump

Unpopular opinions time:

>Snow Crash is a shitty novel
>YT is a shitty character
>Hiro is no better

No, I think so too.

First time I tried to pick it up, I immediately put it down when the author tried to make me think pizza delivery was important/badass.

I picked it up again when I was older and realized it was satire.

But it more than that. Not only do these characters view the whole world in a fucked up self-catering way, the world is ACTUALLY that fucked up. The entire place is a specially made niche for angsty rebellious teens to fall into. It's forced as all fucking get out.

YT needs to be bitch slapped.

The semi-religious overtones at the end were retarded.

>A mild drug addiction.
>Some cybernetic implants
>Being either white or Japanese
>A pistol, preferably solid projectile, though las will do
>Amnesia
>No friends or family, only contacts and sources

>it's a foundational cyberpunk novel
It's actually a parody of cyberpunk novels, but I guess you're half-right

>Actually, how old is YT meant to be?
I believe they state her age as 15 in the book.

>Hiro was Blackanese but most people actively forget about that over the course of the book (since I don't recall Stephenson calling attention to his appearance since it wasn't all that important).
When he gets hassled by white supremacists in Alaska, and when he gets hassled by an honorabu Nippon avatar

>Jack Kendo Smith
>Half White , Half "Asian"
>Joined the army, kicked out for being too good and not following orders to kill civilians
>Military prosthetic removal left him with a cyber drug addiction
>Right arm: tazer wolverine claws but they are two katanas not three swords that can railgun ninja stars between them that can be used as melee drones or smart grenades
>Left arm: hacked persocom miniputer based on a powerglove that lets him hack with hand gestures
>Secret military brain implant somehow slipped passed enhancment removel and lets him do super stuff like testosterone and adrenal bursts, super hacking, healer nanites
>Wears a top hat with a gun in it
>One Cybereye for aug vision and a one use laser
>Uses a new super tech coilgun machine pistol smartgun he has no right to get his hands on alongside a augmented webly revolver that can use smart ammo despire being a dumbgun
>Aviators
>Leather Duster camo-panels
>Circuit tattoos that let him interface with his smartgun, claw drones
>Has a portable hacking rig built into a guitar case with built in turret gun, explosives
>Has a motorcycle with robot legs and an AI based on his childhood dog, and a secret backup ai based on a combo of his ex (who he still loves) and himself that he calls his daughter
>Super enhanced robo dick
>Has amnesia, but got double amnesia so doesnt remember he forgot anything
>Didnt ask for this, despite explicitly demanding this

A fucking cigarette. None of that vapeing shit either.

not a e vig, but smart cigarettes with on board computers that auto fine you if you dont put them in the bin

and our generic protag drops em in the street anyway