is a Japanese science fiction manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in many different Japanese magazines, including Monthly Shōnen King, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Shōnen Big Comic, COM, Shōjo Comic, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Monthly Shōnen Jump, and Monthly Comic Nora. In 2012, comiXology acquired the digital distribution rights to Shotaro Ishinomori's catalogue, including Cyborg 009.
Plot
Nine people from around the world are kidnapped by the evil Black Ghost organization, led by the tyrant Skull, to undergo experiments that would allow him to use them as human weapons to promote the production of cyborg warfare. While he succeeds in converting the group of nine into cyborgs with superhuman powers, his most reputable scientist, Dr. Isaac Gilmore, helps the cyborgs escape to rebel against Skull and Black Ghost. The nine cyborgs – from which the name of the series is derived – band together in order to stop Black Ghost from achieving its goal of starting the next world war by supplying rich buyers with countless weapons of mass destruction. After the destruction of Black Ghost, the nine cyborgs go on to fight a variety of threats, such as mad scientists, supernatural beings, and ancient civilizations.
Media Manga
The first series was serialized in Weekly Shōnen King (Shōnen Gahosha). It depicts Cyborg 009's origin story, the escape from Black Ghost, and the group running from the cyborg assassins. It ended with the battle against the Mythos Cyborgs.
The second series, called The Underground Empire Yomi Arc, appeared in Weekly Shōnen Magazine (Kodansha) alongside the release of the film version. The story is highly influenced by Edgar Rice Burroughs' Earth's Core series, including an expedition to the center of the Earth with a drill tank and a reptile race who can use telepathy and grow wings. The story ends with the final battle against Black Ghost. In the final scene, 009 and 002 fall into Earth's atmosphere and are seen as a shooting star by two small children, one of whom wishes for a toy gun and the other for world peace (a scene reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's Kaleidoscope). However, 001 was able to use his telekinetic powers at the last minute to retrieve 002 and 009 from their plummet before death.
The third series, serialized in Bōken Ō (Akita Shoten), contained 6 story arcs, including the Monster Island Arc, the Middle East Arc, and the Angels Arc. The series abruptly ended during the Angels Arc.
The fourth series, called The Battle of the Gods, was serialized in COM (Mushi Production). Ishinomori resumed and retold the interrupted Angels Arc with a new plot, but the series once again ended abruptly. Ishinomori would not resume the series for a few years after this.
The fifth series was serialized in Shōjo Comic (Shogakukan), and included the Wind City Arc, the Snow Carnival Arc, and the Edda Arc. The story deals with legendary and mythical like characters challenging the 00 Number Cyborgs.
The sixth series followed closely after the fifth series. Arcs such as the Deinonychus Arc (appeared in Monthly Shōnen Jump (Shueisha)) and Green Hole Arc (appeared in Play Comic (Akita Shoten)) were depicted, then long after, the Underwater Pyramid Arc was serialized in Monthly Manga Shōnen (Asahi Sonorama).
The seventh series was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday (Shogakukan) alongside the revival anime. A long arc consisting of many short arcs, this series dealt with the battle against Neo Black Ghost as well as the emotional trauma of the 00 Number Cyborgs. The story is set approximately 20 years after the Yomi Arc, and the personalities and conduct of the cyborgs are depicted as more adult.
The eighth series was serialized in Monthly Comic Nora (Gakken). This longer arc was called People Drifting Through Time and Space Arc, and is a sequel to the Immigration Arc. The Count of St. Germain from the Underwater Pyramid Arc appears, but the design of his drawing is different.
Manga publication history The series was written and illustrated by Shotaro Ishinomori, serialized in Monthly Shōnen King, published in Japan by Akita Shoten and other companies through its history, and published in North America by Tokyopop.
Digital comics distributor comiXology licensed the entire catalogue from Ishimori Productions in 2012, and has made the first 10 volumes of Cyborg 009 available to the public.
In April 2012, Shogakukan announced that the Cyborg 009 manga would conclude in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Entitled Cyborg 009 Conclusion: God's War, the manga is to be illustrated by Masato Hayase and to be based on Ishinomori's original concept notes, sketches, and novel drafts, all of which had been gathered by his son, Joe Onodera. Conclusion debuted on April 13, 2012, and ran until February 2014. It was collected in 5 volumes.
Cyborg 009: Bgooparts Delete A manga series written and illustrated by Tsuguo Okazaki, titled Cyborg 009: Bgooparts Delete, was serialized in Champion Red from July 19, 2019, to September 19, 2022.
8 Man vs. Cyborg 009 A crossover manga between 8 Man and Cyborg 009 by Kyoichi Nanatsuki (script) and Masato Hayate (art), was serialized in Champion Red from July 18, 2020, to May 19, 2023. In this work, Black Ghost, revived after the Cold War, kidnaps 8 Man's inventor, Tani, to blackmail 8 Man to destroy the 00 cyborgs, so that Black Ghost can dominate the world using a laser satellite created by Professor Demon (one of 8 Mans original antagonists). 8 Man, Professor Demon, and the cyborgs team up to destroy Black Ghost.
Graphic novel A full-color graphic novel based on the franchise was released at San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2013, to align with the anniversary of Ishinomori's original manga. The book is a condensed retelling of the 00 Cyborgs' battle against Black Ghost, led by Sekar (Skull). The full release was on September 11, 2013. The graphic novel is written by F. J. DeSanto and Bradley Cramp, penciled and inked by Marcus To, and published by Archaia Comics.
Films 1966 film The first Cyborg 009 film was released on July 21, 1966. It was produced by Hiroshi Ōkawa (uncredited) and directed by Yugo Serikawa.
was the second film for Cyborg 009 and released on March 19, 1967. It was produced by Hiroshi Ōkawa and directed by Yugo Serikawa.
The theme song for both films was (Lyrics: Masahisa Urushibara, Composer, Arrangement: Taichirō Kosugi, Singer: Tokyo Meister Singer)
Cast
009: Hiroyuki Ōta 001: Kyoko Toriyama 002: Ryō Ishihara 003: Judy Ongg 004: Hiroshi Ōtake 005: Hiroshi Masuoka 006: Arihiro Fujimura 007: Machiko Soga 008: Kenji Utsumi Professor Gilmore: Jōji Yanami Black Ghost Leader: Masato Yamanouchi Beagle: Kiyoshi Kawakubo Easel: Sanji Hase Helena: Etsuko Ichihara Narrator: Ryō Kurosawa
1980 anime film An anime film based on the second anime television series was released on December 20, 1980, named .
The theme song was (Lyrics: Michio Yamagami, Composer: Kōichi Morita, Arrangement: Reijirō Koroku, Singer: Yoshito Machida).
Cast
009: Kazuhiko Inoue/Walter Carroll 001: Fuyumi Shiraishi/Mary Malone 002: Keiichi Noda/Don Pomes 003: Kazuko Sugiyama/Michelle Hart 004: Keaton Yamada/Richard Nieskins 005: Banjo Ginga/Frank Rogers 006: Sanji Hase/Jeff Manning 007: Kaneta Kimotsuki/James Keating 008: Kazuyuki Sogabe/Clay Lowrey Professor Gilmore: Jōji Yanami/Cliff Harrington Dr Cosmo: Ichirō Nagai/Mike Worman Saba: Noriko Ohara/Gerri Sorrells Princess Tamara: Hiroko Suzuki/Deborah DeSnoo Zoa: Tōru Ōhira/William Ross Gallo: Chikao Ohtsuka/Lanny Broyles Narrator: Ryō Ishihara/Avi Laudau
2012 film (009 Re:Cyborg) A 3D film, produced by Production I.G., Sanzigen and Ishimori Productions, was released on October 27, 2012. Kenji Kamiyama was the director and writer. Kenji Kawai, who worked before with Kamiyama on Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and Eden of the East, composed the music. The film was released in Japan on October 27, 2012. It also opened simultaneously in more than five Asian regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea. A manga adaptation by Gatou Asou, character designer for Moribito and Occult Academy, was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan. The UK anime distributor Anime Limited announced that they acquired the movie and produced an English dub at NYAV Post. Madman Entertainment also has rights to release the film in Australia and New Zealand. At Anime Expo 2013, Funimation had announced that they acquired the film for North America. The English voice cast was announced on April 16, 2015.
2016 film trilogy (Cyborg 009: Call of Justice) Another 3D film, produced by Production I.G. and animated by OLM Digital and Signal.MD and distributed by Toho, was released on November 25, 2016. The movie itself was divided into three parts, with Part 2 being released December 2, 2016 and Part 3 on December 9, 2016. Kenji Kamiyama was chief director of the project, and Kokai Kakimoto directed the film. Netflix acquired digital distribution rights to the movie, where the movie was shown first on Netflix Japan in Spring 2016, with other territories following later. The films, edited down into 12 episodes, were released worldwide on Netflix on February 10, 2017.
Cast
009: Keisuke Koumoto/Kyle McCarley 001: Misato Fukuen/Erica Mendez 002: Takuya Satō/Robbie Daymond 003: Risa Taneda/Cristina Vee 004: Satoshi Hino/Ray Chase 005: Kenji Nomura/Chris Tergliafera 006: Mitsuaki Madono/Kirk Thornton 007: Setsuji Satō/Ben Diskin 008: Haruki Ishiya/Zeno Robinson Katarina Canetti: Yui Makino/Cherami Leigh Emperor: Kazuhiko Inoue/Patrick Seitz
Television series
1968 series An anime adaptation was released on April 5, 1968, on NET and ended on September 27, 1968, with a total of 26 episodes. This series was directed by Yugo Serikawa, Takeshi Tamiya, Tomoharu Katsumata, Toshio Katsuda, Taiji Yabushita, Ryōzō Tanaka, Yoshikata Nitta, Kazuya Miyazaki, Fusahiro Nagaki, Minoru Okazaki, Yoshio Takami.
The opening theme song for the anime series was (Lyrics: Masahisa Urushibara, Composer, Arrangement: Taichirō Kosugi, Vocals: Tokyo Meister Singer. The outro theme was (Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori, Composer, Arrangement: Taichirō Kosugi, Singer: Vocal Shop)
Cast
009: Katsuji Mori (as Setsuya Tanaka) 001: Fuyumi Shiraishi 002: Ryō Ishihara 003: Hiroko Suzuki 004: Hiroshi Ōtake/Kenji Utsumi 005: Hiroshi Masuoka 006: Ichirō Nagai 007: Machiko Soga 008: Keiichi Noda Professor Gilmore: Jōji Yanami
DVD Box The "サイボーグ009 モノクロ DVD BOX" was released in January 2006 from Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The low-priced edition "サイボーグ009 1968 DVD-COLLECTION" was released in July 2009 from TOEI COMPANY, LTD.
1979–1980 series Another anime for Cyborg 009 was released on March 6, 1979, on TV Asahi and ended on March 25, 1980, with a total of 50 episodes.
The opening theme song for the anime was . The lyrics were by Shotaro Ishinomori, the composer was Masaaki Harao, the arrangement was done by Koichi Sugiyama and vocals were provided by Ken Narita and Koorogi '73); the ending theme was . The lyrics were by Saburō Yatsude while the composer was Masaaki Harao, the arrangement was done by Koichi Sugiyama and vocals were provided by Koorogi '73. The show was a huge hit in Sweden where it was one of the earliest anime series to be dubbed into Swedish and released in its entirety on VHS. The success with the audience came despite the fact that the entire voice cast was provided by one actor, Danish national Timm Mehrens.
Cast
009: Kazuhiko Inoue 001: Sachiko Chijimatsu 002: Keiichi Noda 003: Kazuko Sugiyama 004: Keaton Yamada 005: Banjō Ginga (as Takashi Tanaka) 006: Sanji Hase 007: Kaneta Kimotsuki 008: Kōji Totani Professor Gilmore: Kōsei Tomita Brahma: Toshio Furukawa Vishnu: Takashi Tanaka Shiva: Kōji Totani Gandal: Kōji Nakata Odin: Ichirō Nagai/Shigezō Sasaoka (Neo Black Ghost Arc) Loki: Isamu Tanonaka Thor: Hidekatsu Shibata Freya: Rihoko Yoshida Narrator: Keiichi Noda
2001–2002 series