When CD Projekt Red and Studio Trigger released Cyberpunk 2077’s prequel spin-off anime, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners , the show not only brought about a revival for the once-troubled RPG but also took the anime industry by storm, becoming 2023 anime of the year while beating out established juggernauts Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan . While the critically acclaimed anime exists as a one-and-done , creator Rafał Jaki still has even more bold tales yet to tell in the adjacent field of manga. What’s more, he’s among the rare few non-Japanese creators to have their manga serialized in Shonen Jump+.
NoName is best described as a supernatural series with a wildly unique premise: What if people had powers based on the root meaning of their surnames? For example, folks bearing the name Rafał—which means “the one who heals”—could become nurses or cure cancer remotely if they’re strong enough. Likewise, biblical names like Isaiah (‘salvation of the Lord”) would pose a significant power imbalance in NoName’s contemporary Nordic setting. To assert authority over folks’ powers, a government organization called the Nordic Naming Agency issues names to newborns.
This naming system not only demarcates the powers of the citizens it closely monitors, but it also preordains their socioeconomic status. The series follows two agents, Ralf (wolf commander) and Ursula (bear), as they search for the missing child of a prominent public figure. What follows is an enthralling procedural drama chocked full of beastly battles, David Martinez and Rebecca-esque odd couple antics, and pulpy government conspiracies.
Although NoName exists as a post-Cyberpunk: Ederunners project for Jaki, its core concept formed in his mind long before the critically-acclaimed anime graced Netflix. In fact, the early onset of what would become the NoName's logline took shape during Jaki’s youth. “I strongly believe that when you have a question about something in your childhood, and you never get an answer that satisfies you, you develop a ‘dramatic question.
’ From that, a great story can be born as you have a different perspective on something that the rest of the world has already agreed upon,” Jaki said. Jaki’s aforementioned dramatic question was whether or not naming things could imbue them with the same reverence as their namesake. From a young age, Jaki would routinely bestow names on PCs, transforming them from mere tools to mechanisms with the power of Goku, the unparalleled wit of Tyrion Lannister, or the hidden potential of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Eva units.
This ritual would echo even later in life when Jaki was given the herculean task of blessing his son with a “good” name. “In the past, parents often gave their children a name that carried a wish or a blessing - calling them something beautiful or strong. I found this tradition very relatable, as all humans have names, but also quite magical, as the name becomes a vessel for goodwill,” Jaki said.
Similar to how Jaki’s mother was the origin of Lucy’s name in Edgerunners , his wife served as the basis of NoName’s resident bearwolf, Ursula. “I find it much easier to write about her, as I already have a 20+-year-old construct in my head— ‘What would my wife do?’” Jaki said, adding that all of NoName’s characters are based on real —albeit exaggerated—traits of people in his life. Jaki is no stranger to making resonating tales thanks in major part to the concerted effort of his past collaborations with CDPR and Trigger with Edgeruners and The Witcher’s full-length manga, Witcher Ronin .
NoName being his follow-up project not only presented a challenge to slap the proverbial board once again, but to do it as the sole writer. “Working on NoName was my attempt to prove to myself that I could create my own world and still find an audience for it,” Jaki said. “As a creative used to working with big intellectual properties and large teams, I wanted to see if I could succeed without those advantages.
” After stockpiling hundreds of bookmarks of artists on X/Twitter for an hour a day in search of a collaborator, Jaki contacted professional digital illustrator Machine Gamu , and the two began working on NoName in March 2023. In contrast to making Edgerunners with a huge team over multiple years, Jaki says making NoName with Gamu is a way more intimate creative experience. Similarly the writer and illustrator duo of Death Note’s creators, Jaki would write scripts akin to a TV script with scenes and dialogue for a given chapter and Gamu would breathe life into the scenes through his black and white sketches, layout, linework, and sound effects.
"GAMU is already a very mature artist who has spent years creating comics on the web. His artwork is realistic but also full of life. While we started working on NoName, it also became apparent that he has a similar love for cringe and funny,” Jaki said.
“I love working with him.” Jaki and Gamu weren’t satisfied with NoName simply being a guest in Shonen Jump+’s catalog of manga. They wanted to challenge the status quo of the medium’s well-trodden method of storytelling by presenting powerful-yet-fallible characters.
“In Japan, some readers wish for the heroes to avoid making big mistakes, whereas in the West, such mistakes are welcomed as they are considered ‘more realistic.’ So, we talked with GAMU about how we can continue to show the competence of our heroes without sacrificing the opportunity for them to make significant mistakes,” Jaki said. This, in turn, roused Jaki to throw caution to bet on himself and enter NoName into Shonen Jump+’s Manga Plus Creators competition for the chance to have it serialized.
“While creating manga in the West, there are very few opportunities to showcase your work in a professional manner. Manga, in general, has a closed system when you can get a chance once you are pro-level already, whereas, for example, Webtoons has an open door. There are many that try, and companies can look at what resonates with the readers,” Jaki said.
“How I see it, Manga Plus Creators competition is an attempt to open the door.” Although Jaki was confident in both the quality of his writing and Gamu’s detailed black-and-white illustrations, he still harbored reservations about their manga resonating with a broad audience. After all, just because something is technically well-made doesn’t automatically mean it will be enjoyed.
Much like with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Jaki kept himself grounded by not agonizing over whether or not NoName would be universially loved. Instead, he ventured to make a work that would give readers a moment of pause in their lives. Fortunately, Manga+ has a comment section whose general consensus from reading NoName’s one-shot in September 2023 was the desire to witness the culmination of Jaki’s dramatic question.
Western readers were impressed with NoName’s powerful one-shot chapter , and American readers were practically frothing at the mouth for the second chapter. In the three months that followed, Jaki and Gamu received further validation that NoName was special when its one-shot gained 1 million views in a week, won the GOLD award in the Manga Plus Creators competition , and would be serialized on a bi-weekly schedule. Suffice it to say, Jaki has come a long from being a 13-year old polish kid with an unbridled obsession with Dragon Ball to becoming the Shonen Jump+'s first western manga creator.
While Jaki can't promise Ralf and Ursula's fates won't end up like David and Lucy's, he can promise that he'll continue paying back the debt he's incurred from both his audience and fellows creators with NoName and six other projects he's hopes to one day pressent to the world. “I create in order to give back even a small fraction of what I have received from loving the work of other creators,” Jaki said. “My hope is to provide someone else with that same moment of awe that I have experienced myself, offering a glimpse into another person's mind and sharing thoughts and feelings.
” Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
