Cyborg 009 - Uncut & Unedited

Cyborg 009 - Uncut & Unedited

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DVD Reviews of Cyborg 009 - Uncut & Unedited

DVD Review: Shotaro's "finest" remade for the nu' mill.
Summary: 3 Stars

Based sorely on the late 1960s anime, remake CYBORG 009 may seem like a X-men rip-off to some, but it's more, and also less, than just what it seems. More, as in the plot construction. These cyborgs weren't created by blueprint, they were create by the humans they used to be. These heroes were once humans before they were abducted by an evil syndicate called the Black Ghost. They were first observed then tested on, converting them into cyborgs for the sole purpose to be weapons of destruction. The recent converted cyborg, Joe Shimamura, managed to escape from Black Ghost and joins the other eight cyborgs, whom also escaped from BG's wrath, in an attempt to stop the syndicate once and for all, while at the same time, getting use to their alternate lifestyle.

Trying to destroy the Black Ghost syndicate might be a one-thought objective that turned me off from the series, but the one thing that got me interested in CYBORG 009 are the cyborgs themselves. Each of them has a distinct personality, albeit stereotyped from their national background, and actually express the nature of their own being to try to get on with life that was once theirs, but was taken away. It also lays out a back story for almost each of the person as the series progress, and their backstory can also led the characters causin' conflicts to other beings in this show, which freshens up the livelihood of the story. It got my attention because of the series' perception, and the music score and dubbing ain't bad.

Less, as in the characters' abilities. Personally, I find the cyborgs to have the most linear and recycle powers anyone's every had. Cyborg 001, the sleepaholic baby with a binky, has telekinetic powers and can talk to people with their minds (ooohh! [sarcasm]). Cyborg 002, the typical N.Y. punk, flys like a jet (like 40% of the superhero population). Cyborg 003, the cute French blond girl, has the ability to see through walls and predict certain outcomes. Arrogant German Cyborg 004 has legs that shoot rockets. Cyborg 005, the kooky Chinese with droopy eyes, breaths like a dragon and burrows like a mole. Cyborg 006, the bulky Native American, is a hulk wannabe with an articulate verbal structure. Bald Englishman Cyborg 007 transforms into any being or object of any size and object. Cyborg 008, the ex-slave African, doesn't really have a special ability, he just swims fast and breaths underwater, which like Aquaman, is the worst superpower anyone can have. Then there's the new kid on this block, Cyborg 009 (Joe Shimamura), a young boy with a dark past(yadda-yadda) that moves fast, quick as the Flash.

So the cyborgs' powers are weak, but so is the character design. The characters are not the prettiest by today's anime standards, and even if Shotaro back then tries to imitate the characters' design from Tezuka's design, he did a pretty poor job on that. 004's eyes looks like they were damaged during corrective surgery, the men's noses are huge and awkward, the body structures are messed up, and even with the most beautiful people in this anime (009 and 003), Roger Smith and Rei Ayanami, they are not. What's even worse, going through half-season with this series, there's a clip show. I do not want to see an episode containing clips from earlier episodes, that was a waste of my viewing time and the animators' money. In my opinion, pronouncing the name "00" as 'zero-zero' to any character is quite ludicrous, even though I understand that saying "00" as 'double-oh' is a result of copyright infringment since James Bond has the right to use that for 007; also ludicris, is that after 009, it goes by 0010, instead of 010 (what?).

Though I've only seen 25 of the 52 episodes it suppose to show in America, CYBORG 009 has already been appealling. I'm surprised to the fact that Sony had some involvement with this anime. Even though I despise Sony for the movies the company makes, when it comes to anime, they seem to done the distribution right (METROPOLIS, COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE), and having this DVD release uncut with eight episodes in any of the two languages, this is no exception. If people can ignore the ugly design and the basic premise, they might enjoy this anime. It's not breaking any new ground, but it's purpose was to be emotional and entertaining, and CYBORG 009 does 'em both.

Description of Cyborg 009 - Uncut & Unedited