Cyborg 009

Plot

Nine individuals from different countries are abducted by the Black Ghost organization, led by Skull, to be turned into cyborg weapons. Their lead scientist, Dr. Isaac Gilmore, helps them escape. The nine cyborgs unite to stop Black Ghost from triggering a world war by selling weapons.

Media

The first series, serialized in Weekly Shōnen King, covers the origin, escape from Black Ghost, and pursuit by cyborg assassins, ending with the Mythos Cyborgs battle. The second series, The Underground Empire Yomi Arc in Weekly Shōnen Magazine, draws from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Earth's Core series, featuring a drill tank expedition to Earth's center and a telepathic, winged reptile race. It concludes with the final battle against Black Ghost; 009 and 002 fall toward Earth but are saved by 001's telekinesis.

The fourth series, The Battle of the Gods in COM, retells the Angels Arc with a new plot but also ends abruptly. The sixth series includes the Deinonychus Arc in Monthly Shōnen Jump, the Green Hole Arc in Play Comic, and later the Underwater Pyramid Arc in Monthly Manga Shōnen. The seventh series in Weekly Shōnen Sunday, set about 20 years after the Yomi Arc, depicts the battle against Neo Black Ghost and the cyborgs' emotional trauma, with more adult personalities.

English releases

The 1979 series aired with English subtitles on Japanese-language television in Hawaii, California, and the New York metropolitan area; subtitles were produced by San Francisco-based Fuji Television, which did not broadcast it on KEMO-TV. The 1980 film was released in the US in 1988 by Celebrity Home Entertainment as Defenders of the Vortex, using an edited English dub from Frontier Enterprises; an unedited direct-to-video version followed in 1995 from Best Film and Video Corporation. The 2001 TV series was licensed by Avex Inc., dubbed by Animaze and ZRO Limit Productions, and aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami and later its Graveyard Shift block.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released the first 8 episodes on DVD in uncut bilingual and edited dub-only sets; Madman Entertainment released the first 26 dubbed episodes in Australia, now out of print. Discotek Media licensed the 2001 series at Otakon 2017, releasing the entire uncut bilingual series on SDBD on June 25, 2019, including the God's War finale premiere, with a restoration essay by Justin Sevakis and an 83-page art gallery. The 2012 movie is licensed by Funimation in North America, Anime Limited in the UK, and Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand, with an English dub by NYAV Post and theatrical releases in all three territories.