After the magical adventures of little Ransie, she retraced in the column last week, the journey among the 80s anime continues between giants and superpowered characters with Cyborg 009 - And new supermagnifici. We are in 1982 when this anime is broadcast for the first time in Italy, within Bim Bum Bam. The animated series, consisting of 50 episodes, is the first to be broadcast in Italy but, in reality, it is already the second created on the theme. But we will talk about this later. Now let's find out what Cyborg 009 is about.
Cyborg 009 - The nine super-magnificent: the plot
The Giants invade the earth
“It happened billions of centuries ago, when there was no life whatsoever, neither the land nor the sea existed. When everything was dominated by nothing, even before the light, in the immense darkness of the unknown. " Thus begins the story of Cyborg 009, which introduces us to the birth of the universe, populated by dangerous giants then sucked into a black hole, up to the creation of the Earth and life on the planet. With a big time jump we come to the present day. Here, the Dr. Isaac Gilmore receives frightening news: some beings stronger than men are about to invade the Earth. This is why he begins to assemble his special army, made up of nine very strong Cyborgs. Each of them, whose name is indicated with a number ranging from 1 to 9, has a particular power that makes it a skilled fighting machine. It turns out then that the invaders in question are none other than those terrible giants who believed themselves to have been missing for millions of years in the universe and are now ready to take revenge.
Who are the nine Cyborgs really?
But let's take a step back to answer an essential question: who are these 9 Cyborgs? The protagonists of the story are actually not real robots. They were all born human but, years earlier, they were kidnapped by acriminal organization called "Black Ghost" who did experiments on them. Dr. Isaac Gilmore is initially an integral part of the 00-Cyborg project and puts all of himself into the experiments that lead to the birth of these super-men with disparate powers and with the goal (according to him) to improve humanity. But when he realizes that the organization's plans have cruel and dangerous aims, he decides to run away, but taking the 9 cyborgs with him. From that moment together they will fight the criminal organization of the 'Black Ghosts'.
I 9 Cyborg: storie e poteri
The nine protagonists of the story are all different from each other, in powers, stories and characteristics. Let's start from then Cyborg 001 whose name is Ivan Whiskey. He has the appearance of a child and is actually the only one who has not been subjected to experiments by the Black Ghost as he was on his father, trying to cure him of his illness, to then make him a cyborg. 001 ha psychic and telekinetic powers.
Cyborg 002 and Jet Link
Before getting a spot on the special team, Jet is the leader of a gang of thugs in New York and it is during the clash with a rival gang that ends up killing the leader. After this episode he was contacted by the Black Ghost, hidden and later transformed into a cyborg. It has been enhanced with thrusters in the feet that allow it to fly at great speeds.
Cyborg 003 and Françoise Arnoul
It's a'former French dancer who is kidnapped by Black Ghost with the excuse of a professional career, obviously fake. She has super hearing and super vision and is the only female member of the group.
Cyborg 004 is Albert Heinrich
It is a real living weapon, as its body is equipped with a real arsenal. Missiles, a machine gun, razor sharp blades and an explosive device are just some of the weapons at his disposal. He is plagued with guilt over the death of his girlfriend with whom he worked in a German circus and is certainly the one who has undergone the most changes among the nine, something for which he suffers a lot.
Cyborg 005 is Geronimo Jr.
He is a Native American, kidnapped by the Black Ghost after abandoning his comrades, disappointed that they had given up on being just an attraction for whites without, instead, fighting this condition of theirs. After the experiments, he became a very strong cyborg and a real one armatura epidermica which makes it immune to enemy attacks.
Cyborg 006 is Chang Chang Ku
Descendant of a Chinese peasant family, he is the owner of a famous Chinese restaurant chain but decides to sell it to devote himself to the mission with the other cyborgs. It has the power to issue powerful flames from the mouth.
Cyborg 007 is Brittany
He is a disgraced English actor and now an alcoholic. He is recruited by the Black Ghosts which makes him a very powerful weapon: the British is in fact capable of transform into anything, person or animal wishes.
Cyborg 008 is Pyunma
He is the son of a Kenyan tribal chief, a very skilled fighter who was kidnapped as a slave. It has the ability to swim very fast underwater without problems of air and breathing.
Cyborg 009 and Joe Shimamura
He is the true protagonist of the story, as well as the strongest of the nine cyborgs. It is indeed endowed with great strength, speed and a bulletproof skin. Orphaned as a child, after the abandonment of his father, he was raised as a hooligan until he was recruited by enemies. Disillusioned with life, Joe will be able to find trust in others thanks to his team but, above all, thanks to Françoise.
The end
After a long series of vicissitudes, important encounters, rescues and fights (such as those against the gods of Asgard commanded by Odin), the group of 9 cyborgs arrives in the den of the enemies: the Black Ghost. The organization, resurrected from its ashes, is headed by three even more tyrannical cyborgs: Brahma, Vishnu e Shiva. Arrived therefore in the den of the enemies, in the 50th and last episode, the nine fighters meet the mysterious messiah of the East Gandal. It turns out he's connected to the three leaders of the Black Ghost who, when cornered, unite into a single, powerful being with super brains in sight. Gandal will change the tide of the final battle. Thanks to his contribution, the enemies are destroyed and the Black Ghost explodes. However, the ending remains open to a possible reappearance of enemies in other parts of the universe.
Cyborg 009 - The Nine Supermagnificies: Curiosity
Manga and setting
As is almost always the case with Japanese anime, too Cyborg 009 was born as a manga. Designed by Shōtarō Ishinomori, was published in installments starting from 1964. Among the pages of this work - which later gave inspiration for films and TV series - the historical setting of the story starring the 9 cyborgs is also better explained. We are in fact at the end of the Second World War. In this particular historical context, the two superpowers USA and USSR initiate a very intense production of weapons, including nuclear ones, with the aim of demonstrating their superiority to the other nation and, therefore, threatening it. In this situation of fear and uncertainty, the Black Ghost criminal organization is imposed with the aim of conquering dominion over everyone. Hence the request for the help of the best scientists on the planet for the creation of cyborgs and the beginning of the story we have told.
Movies, books and TV series
If Cyborg 009 - The nine supermagnifics is the first anime TV series to arrive in Italy, it is not the first to be released in Japan. In fact, let's go back to 1966 (and then 1967), when the first two adaptations of the manga are published there, two films about an hour each produced by Toei Dōga and directed by Yūgo Serikawa. The two films will then be united and summarized in a 1970 film. In 1968 the first animated series with the title also arrives Cyborg 009. It is in black and white, consisting of 26 episodes, but remains in Japan: it will never arrive in Italy. Instead, what arrives there is the second series, released in Japan in 1979, which appears in our country in 1982. It consists of 50 episodes, this time in color, and will be repeated on several occasions until 2005.
On the occasion of Shōtarō Ishinomori's 25-year career, in 1980, a third film produced by Toei, Cyborg 009: The legend of the supergalaxy, which has no ties to the TV series. In 2001 comes the third animated series, Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier, which, however, did not arrive in Italy. In 2012 it was released the movie 009 Re: Cyborg which is proposed as a sequel to the manga. At the 50th anniversary of the manga, a trilogy of films has arrived - Cyborg 009: Call of Justice - then became a 12-episode series for Netflix in 2017. There is also a crossover released in 2015 in Japan entitled Cyborg 009 vs Devilman, 3 OAVs that unite the two series.
Finally Shotaro Ishinomori made a trilogy of novels entitled The battle against the gods, designed with the function of concluding the story. They never arrived in Italy.
The abbreviation
The Italian theme takes the title of the animated series, Cyborg 009 - And new supermagnifici. It is written and sung by Nico Fidenco.
You want to relive other animated stories set in the Years' 80? We took a dip in prehistoric times with Ryu the cave boy, then in the troubled history of Lady Oscar, between Sorgenti Maledette with Ranma 1 / 2, among the thousand messes of Doraemon e Nobita. We went to a dystopian future with Conan, and we are passionate about the sporting challenges of Holly and Benji, Lotti e Mila and Shiro. But also a lot, more!
Discount
Cyborg 009 (Vol. 1)
- Ishinomori, Shotaro (Author)
