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Cyborg 009
Japanese cover of Cyborg 009 volume 1
サイボーグゼロゼロナイン (Saibōgu Zero-Zero-Nain)
Genre	Science fiction[1]
Manga
Written by	Shotaro Ishinomori
Published by	Akita Shoten Kodansha Media Factory Shogakukan Shueisha
English publisher	NA ComiXology
Demographic	Shōnen (except 5th arc) Shōjo (only 5th arc)
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen King Weekly Shōnen Magazine Shōnen Big Comic COM Shōjo Comic Weekly Shōnen Sunday Monthly Shōnen Jump Monthly Comic Nora
Original run	July 19, 1964 – 1981
Volumes	36 (List of volumes)
Anime film
Directed by	Yugo Serikawa
Produced by	Hiroshi Okawa
Written by	Takashi Iijima Yugo Serikawa
Music by	Ichirou Kosugita Noriyoshi Oohira
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	July 21, 1966
Runtime	65 minutes
Anime film
Cyborg 009: Monster Wars
Directed by	Yugo Serikawa
Produced by	Hiroshi Okawa
Written by	Daisaku Shirakawa Yugo Serikawa
Music by	Taichiro Kosuki Susumu Konishi
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	March 19, 1967
Runtime	60 minutes
Anime television series
Directed by	Yugo Serikawa
Written by	Masaki Tsuji
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	NET
Original run	April 5, 1968 – September 27, 1968
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Audio drama
Station	NBS
Original run	January 29, 1979 – February 23, 1979
Anime television series
Directed by	Masayuki Akehi
Produced by	Takahashi Iijima Takeyuki Suzuki Yoshiaki Koizumi
Written by	Akiyoshi Sakai Haruya Yamazaki
Music by	Koichi Sugiyama
Studio	Toei Animation Nippon Sunrise
Original network	TV Asahi
English network	US KEMO-TV (subtitled)
Original run	March 6, 1979 – March 25, 1980
Episodes	50
Anime film
Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Vortex
Directed by	Masayuki Akehi
Written by	Ryuzo Nakanishi
Music by	Koichi Sugiyama
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	December 20, 1980
Runtime	130 minutes
Game
Developer	Riot
Publisher	Telenet Japan
Genre	Action
Platform	Mega CD
Released	July 30, 1993
Game
Developer	Interbec
Publisher	Bandai
Genre	Action
Platform	Super Famicom
Released	February 25, 1994
Anime television series
Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier
Directed by	Jun Kawagoe
Produced by	Taka Nagasawa Takayuki Nagasawa
Written by	Kenichi Ohashi Tomoko Konparu
Music by	Tetsuya Komuro
Studio	Japan Vistec
Licensed by	NA Discotek Media
Original network	TV Tokyo
English network	SG Animax US Cartoon Network (Toonami)
Original run	October 14, 2001 – October 13, 2002
Episodes	51 (List of episodes)
Game
Simple Characters 2000 Series Vol. 15: Cyborg 009: The Block Kuzushi
Developer	Access
Publisher	Bandai
Genre	Action
Platform	PlayStation
Released	October 10, 2002
Game
CR Cyborg 009
Developer	NewGin
Publisher	NewGin
Genre	Pachinko
Platform	Arcade
Released	2003
Audio drama
Cyborg 009: Rebirth
Original run	September 21, 2009 – September 28, 2009
Manga
Gods' War
Written by	Joe Onodera
Illustrated by	Masato Hayase
Published by	Shogakukan
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Weekly Young Sunday
Original run	2012 – 2013
Volumes	5
Anime film
009 Re:Cyborg
Directed by	Kenji Kamiyama
Produced by	Tomohiko Ishii
Written by	Kenji Kamiyama
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Studio	Production I.G, Sanzigen
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation UK Anime Limited
Released	October 27, 2012
Runtime	105 minutes
Original video animation
Cyborg 009 VS Devilman
Directed by	Jun Kawagoe
Written by	Tadashi Hayakawa
Studio	Bee Media, Actas
Released	October 17, 2015
Runtime	30 minutes each
Episodes	3
Anime film series
Cyborg 009: Call of Justice
Directed by	Kokai Kakimoto
Produced by	Katsuji Morishita Yoshiki Sakurai
Written by	Kenji Kamiyama
Music by	Yoshihiro Ike
Studio	OLM Digital, Signal.MD
Released	November 25, 2016 – December 9, 2016
Runtime	100 minutes each
Films	3 (List of films)
Anime and Manga portal

Cyborg 009 (Japanese: サイボーグゼロゼロナイン, Hepburn: Saibōgu Zero-Zero-Nain) is a 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.^[2][3]

Plot[edit]

This section needs an improved plot summary. (January 2017)

Nine people from around the world are kidnapped by the evil Black Ghost organization, led by its tyrannical leader 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 his organization. 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.

Characters[edit]

Media[edit]

This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia's inclusion policy. (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Manga[edit]

The first arc 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 arc, 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,^{[original research?]} 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). This point was the intended finale for the series; however, by popular demand, the producers wrote the two heroes to be rescued.^{[original research?]} As such, 001 was able to use his telekinetic powers at the last minute to retrieve 002 and 009 from their plummet before death.

The third arc, serialized in Monthly Bouken-oh (Adventure King) (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 arc, called The Battle of the Gods Arc, 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 arc 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 arc followed closely after the fifth arc. 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 arc 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 arc 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. Ishinomori's death made this the last work of the series, although it is not the final chapter.^{[original research?]}

Manga publication history[edit]

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.

The Tokyopop release took multiple liberties with the dialogue and translation, and was sourced from the Media Factory "MF Comics" release that had been published in 2003.^{[original research?]} The MF Comics release had comprised 36 volumes, of which Tokyopop had only covered 10. Ishinomori's initial intent was to have the Yomi arc be the end of the series, but he continued the series due to the fan letters that urged him to resurrect 009 and 002.^{[original research?]}

Digital comics distributor comiXology licensed the entire catalogue from Ishimori Productions in 2012,^[2] 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.^[4] 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, Jo Onodera. Conclusion is scheduled to debut on April 13, 2012.^[5]

Graphic novel[edit]

A full-color graphic novel based off the franchise was released at San Diego Comic-Con International 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).^[6] The full release was on September 11, 2013.^[7] The graphic novel is written by F. J. DeSanto and Bradley Cramp, penciled and inked by Marcus To, and published by Archaia Comics.^{[8][needs update]}

Movies[edit]

1966 film[edit]

The first Cyborg 009 film was released on July 21, 1966. It was produced by Hiroshi Ōkawa (uncredited) and directed by Yugo Serikawa.

Cyborg 009: Monster Wars (サイボーグ009 怪獣戦争, Saiboogu Zero-Zero-Nain Kaijuu Sensou) 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 the both of the films was "Song of Cyborg 009" (サイボーグ009の歌, Saibōgu Zero Zero Nain no Uta) (Lyrics: Masahisa Urushibara, Composer, Arrangement: Taichirō Kosugi, Singer: Tokyo Meister Singer)

Cast[edit]

1980 anime film[edit]

An anime film for the second anime television series was released on December 20, 1980 named Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Vortex (サイボーグ009 超銀河伝説, Saibōgu Zero Zero Nain: Chou Ginga Densetsu).

The theme song was "Love of 1 Billion Lightyears" (10億光年の愛, Jū-oku Kōnen no Ai) (Lyrics: Michio Yamagami, Composer: Kōichi Morita, Arrangement: Reijirō Koroku, Singer: Yoshito Machida).

Cast[edit]

2012 film (009 Re:Cyborg)[edit]

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.^[9] A manga adaptation by Gatou Asou, character designer for Moribito and Occult Academy, was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan.^[10] The UK anime distributor Anime Limited announced that they acquired the movie and produced an English dub at NYAV Post.^[11]Madman Entertainment also has rights to release the film in Australia and New Zealand.^[12] At Anime Expo 2013, Funimation had announced that they acquired the film for North America.^[13] The English voice cast was announced on April 16, 2015.^[14]

Cast[edit]

2016 film trilogy (Cyborg 009: Call of Justice)[edit]

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.^[1] 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.^[15] The films, edited down into 12 episodes, were released worldwide on Netflix on February 10, 2017.^[16]

Cast[edit]

Television series[edit]

1968 series[edit]

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 "Cyborg 009" (サイボーグ009) (Lyrics: Masahisa Urushibara, Composer, Arrangement: Taichirō Kosugi, Vocals: Tokyo Meister Singer. The outro theme was "End the Battle" (戦いおわって, Tatakai Owatte) (Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori, Composer, Arrangement: Taichirō Kosugi, Singer: Vocal Shop)

Cast[edit]

DVD Box[edit]

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[edit]

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 "For Whose Sake" (誰がために, Taga tame ni). 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 "Someday" (いつの日か, Itsu no Hi ka). 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.

Cast[edit]

2001–2002 series[edit]

A third television series, entitled Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 14, 2001 to October 13, 2002 on Sundays at 18:30. It spanned a total of fifty-one episodes.

The Opening theme song for the third anime television series was "What's the Justice?" by Globe. The First ending theme was "Genesis of Next" by Globe followed by "Starting from Here" by Globe and later was replaced with "I Do" by Fayray.

Cast[edit]

Original video animation[edit]

A three-part original video animation crossover with Go Nagai's Devilman series, titled Cyborg 009 VS Devilman, received a two-week theatrical release in October 2015. The OVA was directed by Jun Kawagoe.^[17][18]Netflix released the OVA internationally in 20 languages on April 1, 2016, including an English dub.^[19]

Cast[edit]

Radio dramas[edit]

1979 radio drama[edit]

A radio drama was produced for NBS's Kirin Radio Theater from January 29 to February 23, 1979.

Cast[edit]

2009 radio drama[edit]

A second radio drama, entitled Cyborg 009: Birth, was aired in two parts on September 21 and 28, 2009.

Cast[edit]

Video games[edit]

Three video games based on the series were released only in Japan. One of them was an action platformer released for the Super Famicom by BEC in 1994; for each level the player selects one of the eight adult cyborgs (001 is not playable) as the leader of a strike force for a particular mission accompanied by two others. The second game (released by Telenet Japan's subsidiary Riot) in 1993 was for the Mega CD and is also a side scroller.

In 2002, Simple Characters 2000 Series Vol. 15: Cyborg 009: The Block Kuzushi was released for the PlayStation by Bandai.

International releases[edit]

The 1979 version aired in Italy in 1982 and became popular with Italian viewers.^{[citation needed]}

The 2001 version aired on MBC 3 several times starting from 2005 and became extremely popular with Arab viewers.^{[citation needed]}

North American releases[edit]

The 1967 movie was released in Mexico, and years later, the 2001 television series aired on Toonami in 2003. The movie was later replayed on Cadena Tres in 2007, and was quite popular with Mexican viewers.^{[citation needed]}

The 1979 series was broadcast with English subtitles on Japanese-language television in Hawaii, California, and in the New York metropolitan area. The English subtitles were produced by San Francisco-based Fuji Television, which did not broadcast the series as part of its Japanese programming on KEMO-TV.

The 1980 film was released in the United States in 1988 by Celebrity Home Entertainment as Defenders of the Vortex, with an edited version of an English dub that was commissioned through the Tokyo, Japan-based Frontier Enterprises. It later received an unedited direct-to-video English release in 1995 by Best Film and Video Corporation with the full version of the same dub.

The 2001 TV series was licensed by Avex Inc. (the North American branch of Avex Mode, the 2001 series' original distributor in Japan) and dubbed into English by Animaze and ZRO Limit Productions. The entire series was dubbed, with the first 26 episodes shown on the Toonami programming block on Cartoon Network, while episodes 27 to 47 were shown in a late-night block before the show was dropped from their lineup. The first 8 episodes are currently available on DVD from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment in both an uncut bilingual and a dub-only "cut" broadcast version. As of 2017, none of the other episodes have become available on home video. Japanese and Hong Kong releases remain the only way to see the entire series on DVD, while Madman Entertainment released the first 26 dubbed episodes to DVD in Australia. Discotek Media announced during their Otakon 2017 panel that they have licensed the 2001 series, and they will release the entire series, in the uncut bilingual version, on a SDBD set later in 2018.^[21]

The 2012 movie is licensed by FUNimation Entertainment (North America), Anime Limited (UK), and Madman Entertainment (Australia/New Zealand). An English dub was produced by NYAV Post, and a theatrical release was released in all three territories.^[14]

Legacy[edit]

In the Skull Man manga, Joe/009 makes an appearance in Chapter 36 in a chance meeting with Ryuusei Chisato, the Skull Man. Both discuss the nature of evil and humanity over coffee, and meet again by chance when the Skull Man stops a dirty deal by politicians on the docks. The 2007 Skull Man anime was set up as a prequel of Cyborg 009, with many of the events in the series finale setting up for the pilot episode of Cyborg 009. In the 1997 anime King of Braves GaoGaiGar, the character Soldato J is a tribute to Jet Link/002, sharing his love of flight, acceleration modes, and his characteristic nose.^{[original research?]} Soldato J's number in the Corps to which he belongs is 002, further reinforcing this link.^{[original research?]} Shotaro Ishinomori later created Himitsu Sentai Goranger and J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, of which the latter series is especially similar to Cyborg 009 in terms of characters and premise. The Mega Man video game character Proto Man is also visually inspired by Cyborg 009.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 
  Official website (in Japanese)
  


• SPTI's Anime & Animation Brochure: Cyborg 009
  


• 
  サイボーグ００９ Asahi Shimbun, 15 July 2008 (in Japanese)
  


• 009 Re:Cyborg Movie


• 
  Cyborg 009 (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia