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Cyborg 009, Devilman Battle in Crossover Anime Film
posted on by Karen Ressler
Japanese newspaper Sankei Sports reported on Friday that Shōtarō Ishinomori's Cyborg 009 and Gō Nagai's Devilman series will get a crossover anime, titled Cyborg 009 Vs. Devilman. The anime will open in Japanese theaters in October for a limited two-week engagement.
In the story of Cyborg 009, Joe Shimamura and others gained cyborg powers when they were involuntarily altered by an evil organization, and then they fight to protect the world against the organization. The story of Devilman follows Akira Fudō, who fights invading enemies to save humanity after being possessed by demon powers.
In the new film, the two title characters will meet and battle because of a certain incident. The tagline reads, "Who will survive…?"
Nagai worked as an assistant to Ishinomori and drew backgrounds for Cyborg 009 before launching Devilman. According to Sankei Sports, Nagai has had thoughts on a collaboration with Ishinomori for a long time.
A new Cyborg 009 anime project and a Devilman anime project had already been announced for limited event screenings this fall, but the two announcements were not linked together at first.
Ishinomori first launched the Cyborg 009 manga in the Weekly Shonen King magazine in 1964, and the series remained unfinished due to his death in 1998. Three Cyborg 009 television anime series adapting his manga premiered in 1968, 1979, and 2001. Four theatrical anime film adaptations also debuted in 1966, 1967, 1980, and 2012. Kenji Kamiyama directed the last film in the franchise, 009 Re:Cyborg, in 2012. Mamoru Oshii also directed his own 3D short of Cyborg 009 in 2010 with sponsor Panasonic.
Nagai launched the original Devilman manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 1972. The collected volumes of the manga have more than 10 million copies in print. A television anime adaptation of the manga aired simultaneously in 1972.
The anime and manga series have spawned more than a dozen different spinoffs and remakes since 1972, including manga, OVAs, and a 2004 live-action film.
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