Shotaro Ishinomori is a prominent creator in Japanese culture and across the world. He is probably best known for creating the Super Sentai (aka Power Rangers) genre. But he is equally notable for various manga and anime properties, my favorite of which is Cyborg 009. Beginning as a manga series that ran from 1967-1981, it has spawned 7 animated movies, and 3 separate animated series. The story focuses on Joe Shimamura (aka Cyborg 009) who wakes up to find himself cybernetically enhanced and with only intermittent memories of his past. He meets all the other previous Cyborgs (numbers 001 through 008) and they all escape the facility that kidnapped and experimented on them. Each Cyborg has one unique ability, like flight, shapeshifting, telepathy, etc. The premise reminds me of other more modern properties that I've loved like Next Men and Gen13. Something I especially appreciate about Cyborg 009 is their matching uniforms that barely changed throughout their 56-year run.
These toys are technically made in conjunction with a 2001 TV series, but they could easily pass for the 1960's versions. Bandai released three boxsets with three characters each. This review will focus on Cyborg 003 (Francoise Arnoul) who has enhanced vision and hearing. The group is multinational and represent different nations and cultures across the globe. Francoise represents France.
Cyborg 001 (Ivan Wisky - Russia - Psychic)
Cyborg 002 (Jet Link - USA (NYC) - Flight)
Cyborg 003 (Francoise Arnoul - France - Vision and Hearing)
Cyborg 004 (Albert Heinrich - Germany - Weapon Hands)
Cyborg 005 (Geromino Junior - Native American - Strong/Bulletproof)
Cyborg 006 (Chang Changku - China - Breathes Fire)
Cyborg 007 (Sir Great Britain - Great Britain - Shapeshifter)
Cyborg 008 (Pyunma - Kenya - Aquatic)
Cyborg 009 (Joe Shimamura - Japan - all the powers?)
Her cape is cast in a rigid plastic and attached at the back of her neck with a hinge and swivel joint.
Francoise (and all the Cyborgs) come with a figure stand a small blaster which fits in their holster. She also originally came with three extra hands. I bought all my figures loose at a toy show and none had their extra hands.
There was another release of all these figures individually packaged and wearing green variations of their costumes. From what I understand, the original manga in the 1960s was in black and white, but with color covers. I've seen that sometimes the costumes were green on these covers. Then in an Anime series called Battle Alive, they wore the green costumes again. I believe these green figures are specifically related to the DVD releases.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here are all the Cyborgs 00s together. I should have posed them in numerical order. From Left to Right: Cyborg 006 (Chang Changku - Breathes Fire), Cyborg 007 (Sir Great Britain - Shapeshifter), Cyborg 005 (Geromino Junior - Strong/Bulletproof), Cyborg 004 (Albert Heinrich - Weapon Hands), Cyborg 003 (Francoise Arnoul - Vision and Hearing), Cyborg 001 (Ivan Whisky - Psychic), Cyborg 008 (Pyunma - Aquatic), Cyborg 009 (Joe Shimamura - All the powers?), and Cyborg 002 (Jet Link - Flight).
Cheers!
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