009-1

With so many anime titles being released year after year, it's hard to keep track of them all, let alone watch a handful before another batch is delivered. This constant barrage of entries often means that many shows will inevitably fall into the cracks of obscurity, regardless of what it may have to offer. The kind of titles that would only be talked about after they develop a devoted cult following or are merely picked up by happenstance by viewers browsing the catalogs of yesteryear. And with the number of title releases increasing drastically in the 2010s, the chances of those stragglers falling out ofthe general public's eye has only gotten more commonplace. 009-1 is yet another statistic of this occurrence, being passed up for the far more popular Death Note, Code Geass, Welcome to the NHK, Higurashi, Black Lagoon, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and much more that aired that same year. A huge contributing factor as to why this might have happened, outside of the popularity of the previously mentioned works, could be the appeal that 009-1 was going for. An appeal, that, at the time, wasn't something the anime market was yearning for. But perhaps this is the right time for it to make a resurgence in the public consciousness, as this very appeal has recently gotten in the forefront of what's dominating the conversation in the community. As of late, there's been a growing trend in adapting older anime/manga titles or adhering to the aesthetic qualities of them to either retrofit it to a newer audience or to service the older fans of the medium. With entries like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Hunter X Hunter, Sailor Moon Crystal, Parasyte and Kill la Kill, to just name a few, 009-1 is more or less an earlier case of this. But where something like Kill la Kill and Parasyte is trying to use that appeal, while also adhering to modern day sensibilities, for 009-1, I think it's safe to say that it's targeted to a different crowd altogether. It's a show made for those anime fans that have been around long enough before programming was merely a click away, and the idea of simulcasting was still just a wet dream. It's targeted towards the people that have lived through the days where sheepishly purchasing a VHS copy of animated ultra-violence from the video store was the norm and would often leave a hole in your wallet. A time when curious kids, their older cousins, and best friends, would secretly gather to watch Ninja Scroll, MD Geist, Tekkaman Blade or what have you, and knew that this was something different. They knew that this wasn't your ordinary cartoons on TV, this was violent, this was "adult," this was awesome! While presented with a little more class than your macho men solving issues with their fists, 009-1 still contains that old school aesthetic with its art style and story structure, borrowing heavily from the early Tatsunoko Production era of animated works. What makes it different, however, is the kind of content it chooses to cover. Following the narrative of a Hollywood spy flick, 009-1 not only takes a page from retro animes' book in how it looks but also the spy thrillers from that era of film as well. This is immediately made apparent from the setting and subject matter it chooses to inhabit. The story takes place in an alternate timeline where the Cold War never ended, as the world is split into two factions, the East and West block. While presenting peace and negotiation to the public, behind the scenes, these two governing bodies of each wing are waging war against each other, in an endless pursuit to proclaim dominion over the opposing side. One of the primary methods they often utilized were the use of secret intelligence operatives, or spies if you prefer, to either implant counterintelligence information or to gather intel on the enemy. The anime revolves around the escapades of one of these spies, Mylene Hoffman, or better known by her codename, 009-1. Presented in a semi-episodic structure, a majority of the series follow the stand-alone missions of 009-1. With the help of cybernetics and acquired skills as a secret agent, we watch her take on these missions either by herself or with the assistance of other members. With buildups that led into frenetic spurts of action in every episode, the anime made sure that the narrative was never dragging on its heels. Now, where the movie buffs would be pleased is the way each episode plays out. The show is like a hybrid of the James Bond, Charlie's Angels, The Bionic Woman and several other titles that fall within the secret agent sub-genre. These missions can range from espionage to your classic assassination showdowns. The only downside is that it never breaks the mold of this formulaic construct associated with your garden variety spy/thriller stories. If you expect something beyond the usual offerings, you'll probably be let down, however, if secret agent antics is all that you came for, 009-1 will certainly deliver. The show also tries to be more adult orientated by not shying away from sex and violence, but due to the character designs (which we'll discuss later) and the show's "to-the-letter" writing, it was a hit or miss at times. Credit is given for it not shying away from the use of sex appeal and violence, despite the slightly juvenile attempt on the matter. It's these elements that are integral to the spy genre and would have felt baseless without it. Now the biggest downside to this episodic structure is that there's never a real sense of finality when everything is said and done. It still had its appeal and entertainment value, but with no direction or end goal set in place, there was nothing to take away from it. It served no actual purpose beyond retro flavoring and paying homage to spy flicks. Not that I wanted it to do anything more, in the first place, but it's still something that needs to be addressed. The only continuity that the show had come around the latter half where a plot-line involving mutants took place. But like most of the show, it ultimately led nowhere in the end and was more of the same storylines presented before but with the added benefit of being more extensively explored. So if you adjust your expectations accordingly, 009-1 could be an entertaining romp. It's the moment you start demanding more than it begins to fall apart. The 1st thing that'll jump out at you is undoubtedly the art-style. It brings together an old-school aesthetic with a modern day presentation, which understandably means that intended audience might be more geared towards young adults and older. Given that it's an adaptation of a manga that was published during 1967-74, this depiction was intentional. It's packaged with retro fans in mind, but that doesn't mean that younger anime viewers wouldn't find it serviceable as well. It's just that those keen to the older art-style methods would find it more appealing than those unfamiliar or use to contemporary art-style standards. It's as if the show had captured a cryogenically frozen state in anime's metamorphosis and decided to wait until the 2000s to thaw it out. The characters were literally drawn to their archetype, with exaggerated body features often being used to emphasize what kind of personality trait they would portray. Maniacal villains looked maniacal; rotten old hags looked rotten; bodacious super spies looked bodacious, and so on. It helped to make them easily distinguishable, if only at the cost of not always looking appealing. While the artistic initiative can be respected, it did run of risk of some of the characters coming across as caricatures than actual people. They can range from simplistic to body models ripped right out of the pages of a classic Disney film. Despite some of the outlandish character designs (even for retro standards), the animation is quite fluid. The character movements had a sense of elasticity to them, making actions scenes easy to comprehend and engaging to follow. It wasn't overly extravagant but the effort placed in was quite apparent, and when compared to titles made around the same time, it was a cut above the rest. Stark shading and limited color choices were used to make the environments and set pieces morbid and dreary, which lends itself well to the kind of mystique commonly associated with spies. This minimalistic color choice was also sometimes used to emphasize scenes or things of interest within keyframes further. It was a pleasant touch of visual storytelling that wasn't exceptional but certainly appreciated. The tone often changed in accordance with the mission being carried out, but for the most part, it had a particular melancholic mood throughout. It felt cold and desolate, often reflecting the mentality of the adult cast the show is primarily consisted of. The unique art style coupled with the dark tone made it stand out from what's commonly being produced today. For retro fans, it's visual eye-candy, and for modern ones, it'll be an uncommon (but hopefully enjoyable) experience. Voice acting ranged from good to overly schmaltzy. From the silly mimicking of a British accent to a cartoonish Russian rendition, you could tell that the voice actors and actresses were all having fun with the roles. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to fool someone into thinking he was born and raised in the USA, needless to say, no one is taking it too seriously. Despite this, I highly suggest watching it dubbed, as it adds to the throwback feeling the show exudes. It hammy and overdone at times but to its benefit given the caricature designs. The soundtrack is reminiscent of that of many secret agent flicks, with booming brass sections, heavy percussion thumping, violin instrumentals interspersed and sultry musical undertone. Like entering the smoky room of an unground jazz pub. It's smooth, it's stylish, and fits the show like a glove. While nothing I recommend listening to by itself, it does its job well. Like their designs, the characters were also simplistic. This didn't hurt the show, however, as it never required in-depth personalities to carry the content. Our protagonist, 009-1, is a blonde bombshell with a level-headed attitude. While she let her emotions often get the best of her, she still manages to carry out her assignments without her feelings hindering her. She's a field agent that's partially cynical due to her line of work but still cares enough that you know her actions are mostly done out of a sense of duty. Equipped with cybernetics and built-in weaponry, she's pretty much a walking Swiss-army-knife. Her arsenal, as well as the other cyber women regularly introduced, vary from person to person. As the story further plays out, we're eventually given a backstory to pin her with, making her slightly more human as a result. Outside of our main character, every other side character is treated as just that; side characters. None ever takes center-stage and are often there to merely round out the experience. Despite that, a few of the one-off characters were adequately characterized before the 20-minute time span was up. They were given a motive, a personality, and to some degree, an understandable reason for being. Since the story format limits most of these characters from being reoccurring ones, it was hard to grow to attached to any of them, they were fleshed out enough to be passable but didn't have enough screen presence to make a lasting impression. Other reoccurring characters also included a few other cybernetic female agents that would often work alongside 009-1 and others that became more relevant towards the show's final act. While as individuals the characters didn't amount to much, their dialogue and interaction among each other slightly made up for it. There was always this sharp wit and banter to the conversations they all shared with each other, especially when our protagonist was at the receiving end of said dialogue. 009-1 offers enough to work, but nothing beyond that, and that's fine. It's a show with a specific intent that never veers off course to grab at things it's not capable pulling off. This commitment may have kept others from recommending it, given the very limited space of appeal it's going for, but it certainly worked in its favor when that's all you really want out of it. I didn't anticipate liking this as much as I did, but because of the brisk pacing, art direction, and sense of energy, I wasn't ever bored. It's a show that worked from moment-to-moment. I might not take away much from the experience, but I didn't feel like I wasted my time either. If you're a fan of the spy genre or just love that 60-70s aesthetic, then I highly suggest checking this one out. It had style and knew its target audience, which is saying a lot when compared to shows that desperately cling to broad appeal and miss everyone all at once. While a little rough around the edges, 009-1 carried itself with a type of swagger and confidence that was undeniable. And if only for that alone, I believe it's a title worth checking out.