009-1 - Reviews

Oh where to start...

Story: It starts out pretty episodic, with Mylene pretty much acting like the female, gun-boobed version of James Bond. Towards the end, there is an actual plot revealed involving the psychic children and some sort of world-wide network.

Animation: Was it just me, or did Mylene's eyes look like they contained male anatomy? Besides that, her cyborg body seems a little ill-proportioned (but it's a cyborg body, so of course it is o.o) The style was similar to that of the 70's and 80's, perhaps to connect with the Cold War feel. Also, the "Russians" were almost misshapen in the face...

Sound: I watched the English dubbed version, and the voice actors were chosen well enough (though why all of the girls had a different accent is beyond me) The only issue I had with it was the third episode, mainly because I kept laughing at Vic's attempt at a "hard-boiled assassin"

Characters: Besides Mylene, most of the characters were bit characters that only appeared to further the story a little. The focus was entirely on Mylene (for whom the anime is titled).

009-1 is an action/drama series, endeavoring to rekindle the nostalgic flame of traditional artistic styles, boasting a retro aesthetic reminiscent of the 1960s era, boosted by modern day flashy visuals. Drawing inspiration from the vintage manga penned by the late Shotaro Ishinomori, renowned for his iconic contributions to the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai Tokusatsu live-action series, this animated adaptation was produced by the eponymous studio he founded. It encapsulates Ishinomori’s signature blend of gloomy and slightly morbid atmosphere.

It is precisely this fidelity to its source material that renders the series an acquired taste, unlikely to resonate with a broad contemporary audience. It will be appreciated only by retro fans or middle aged men who grew up with Ishinomori’s works. In a landscape dominated by the sleek visuals of modern anime, “009-1” distinguishes itself through its vintage allure, assuming you are fatigued by the homogenized aesthetics prevalent in recent productions. Its narrative revolves around curvaceous heroines (for all you pervs), packed with cybernetic enhancements and an arsenal of gadgets (for all you action weebs). It is reminiscent of a fusion between the Bionic Woman and James Bond archetypes. While initially striking, the series’ adherence to retro facial designs may prove divisive, diverging from contemporary anime norms. Nevertheless, it compensates with meticulously detailed backgrounds, suffused with evocative lighting effects that evoke a sense of claustrophobia and unease, shunning cheerful atmospheres in favor of a cold, mechanical ambiance.

Animation, though dated by modern standards, maintains a commendable fluidity, backed up with computers that lend realism whenever characters spin or turn around. There is even some basic battle choreography in every fight. But, being a rule-of-cool action show also demands a suspension of disbelief, as combat sequences often hinge on the convenient incapacitation of adversaries, courtesy of the heroines’ undisclosed gadgets. Basically, the bad guys suddenly move like slowpokes whenever the heroines go on the offense.

Set against an alternate history backdrop, where the specter of the Cold War looms large and espionage takes on cybernetic dimensions, it follows a team of female cyborg spies as they go on missions to protect their leader/creator’s status quo. “009-1” presents an intriguing premise, albeit one explored superficially through episodic narratives punctuated by occasional glimpses into characters’ pasts.

Despite its futuristic trappings, the series goes easy with elaborate technological exposition, favoring a more straightforward approach (don’t expect schematics regarding how that cybernetic woman moves around with a smoke grenade launcher inside her kneecap). After a while the setting doesn’t differ much from any generic fantasy realm full of magic. It’s a mindless romp through a sci-fi landscape unencumbered by excessive technobabble.

Regrettably, the series’ finale fails to leave a lasting impression, offering scant character development and a formulaic resolution reminiscent of countless spy thrillers. The girls are defined primarily by their technological augmentations and retro aesthetics, and their retro-style faces will be a major turn off for younger viewers. They lack the depth necessary for audience investment and won’t ever make you wanna cheer for them. While endowed with tragic back stories, these heroines remain thinly characterized, their narratives veering into melodrama without meaningful exploration. The show’s atmosphere ends up being more captivating than them, leaving viewers to fixate on gadgets and sexy bodies rather than empathize with its protagonists’ tragic pasts.

In retrospect, “009-1” proves a fleeting diversion, its appeal confined to superficial aesthetics rather than enduring narrative substance. Despite its attempts to evoke nostalgia and appeal to older audiences, it fails to carve a lasting niche since you have most likely seen it all before, in a lot better settings than this one. Personally, I mostly enjoyed the visual aspect, which is a small part of the whole. Ultimately, this anime is consigned to the realm of forgettable titles, a time-waster with no actual rewatch value.

THE STORY:

Story? Oh yeah. Now that you mention it, it did have a smidgen of story in there didn't it? Honestly, the "geniuses" behind this anime ought to be proud of themselves for making another anime that begs the question "Why did I just spend that chunk of my life watching this?".

OK, getting serious now, the story wasn't so much horrendous as it was non-existent. From episode to episode there seems to be absolutely no congruency whatsoever aside from the accepted notion that time is passing and we are simply watching mission after mission that our main character Agent 009-1, or Mylene Hoffman rather, is assigned to carry out. Finally, in the last episode, some references are made and a character from our past appears, which gives this anime its glimpse into a progressive story telling. It's much more like a collection of shallow poems than a novel of any sort. It was hard to grind through this series and now that it's over I can safely say that I don't intend to ever watch it again.

THE ANIMATION:

As far as animation goes, I was unimpressed.  After having seen some beautiful anime it is hard to jump into this series and manage to take it seriously. A step out of the norm, 009-1 takes a more unique approach with the same quirky drawing style seen in the old Sonic TV Series, as well as Cyborg 009.

The women are all drawn fairly normally despite their outlandish bust and rear accessories, but the men are for the most part, a laugh. Drawn with extra large noses, sunglasses that shape to their eyes, and clumsy, pudgy hands, the masculine portion of the series would be funny if it wasn't first a tad annoying, as 009-1 crept along I found myself expecting to see Doctor Robotnik around every corner.

Beyond the people the guns that she uses look, more often than not, like a squirt gun.  How is a spy supposed to deliver any kind of fear into the enemy with something like that? Just because it is shaped like a gun doesn’t mean that it strikes the same amount of fear as one.  The cars are all very Speed Racer and I couldn't help but notice that the main character (a Spy, if I may remind you) has her code-name on her license plate, I don't think that is the wisest of choices Mylene but you're the secret agent not me.

SOUND:

The music in this show was actually quite nice and gets the highest rating in my review, although, it won't rise above a five since the implementation of said sound was a bit mediocre to say the least.  I particularly remember a very sad melody playing while a character was raging their life away in a monologue.  Other than that, the sound effects were all your general tire skids, laser blasts, and gun fire, followed by a cliché ricochet. As a side dish, the music was quite nice and I did like the occasional Big Band touch, but the cooks dumped it on thick and spoiled the main course.

CHARACTERS:

Mylene Hoffman was a very static character and really the ONLY main character to speak of, very much a female James Bond, the only break in her "I've got a job to do" attitude was her occasional puns and playful banter. Throughout 009-1, the studio did manage to find it in their best interest to introduce some background to the cyborg super agent, which is a touch I could appreciate, except that her unchanging personality remained, and I again found myself getting bored with her.  009-1 will at random find some sort of compassion in herself to help people who get caught up in her missions, whether this is simply because she actually cares, or because her missions are already too easy, and she is looking for more of a challenge, is beyond me.

OVERALL:

This series was really just an excuse to show someone with a nice rack kick some ass, and I can't help but feel that anyone looking to watch something with more depth than a sheet of paper will be sorely disappointed.

An action-packed spy thriller. The story seems interesting. The characters seem pretty interesting. The action isn’t half bad- just over-the-top at some times.

What really turned me off was the implied sex in the first scene and then the l3sbian prostitution-type sex scene for information all in the first episode. And that’s what I saw. There are probably many more such scenes throughout the anime that I can neither confirm or deny due to the fact that I dropped it early.

Probably could have been a good series without the degenerate garbage. 3/10.

You may enjoy this series because of... its refreshingly "retro" style and and refreshingly "grown-up" sensibilities.

On the "style" side of things, the series is modeled along the lines of a Cold War-era spy thriller, and the anime does a good job evoking that tone with sleek and mod-ish character designs, worldbuilding that strongly captures the paranoia-rife eastern/western-bloc mentality of that period, and an array of gadgets and weapons straight out of a James Bond fantasy.  Overall, the tone and style of the series is spot on for what they were shooting for.

This carries over, also, into the attitude and panache of the title character, Agent 009-1 (aka Mylene Hoffman).  There's always something sort of refreshing about women in anime who manage to be both sexy fan-service AND mature, professional *adult* with actual three-dimensional character development, and Mylene is a good example of this.  It's equally fun to watch her work her womanly wiles in pursuit of a mission, or to see her grappling with the morality of some of the gray-area orders she's given.  The fact that they give her some layers instead of going for the easy "sexpot cyborg" action gives this a serious boost in watchability, imo.

You may not enjoy this series because... it's mostly episodic.  This isn't a series that grabs you with one big season-long arc, but one that spends most of its time on "mission-of-the-week" standalones, then launching into a big finale mini-arc in the final few episodes.   The standalone episodes can still be enjoyable for the strong character and worldbuilding elements discussed in the "like" section, but if that's not working for you, the plots may come across as rather lightweight and predictable.

That said, there *is* a progression in the series.  Recurring plot threads and thematic elements pop up enough in the standalone episodes so that when things get more story-arc-driven toward the end, it feels like a natural progression.  I found the concluding arc to be quite satisfying, and given that this is a short one-cours series, the overall time investment to get to that conclusion wasn't terribly high.

Bottom line: An enjoyable action-er that makes up for the ho-hum-ness of some episodic stories with a uniquely retro style and a likeable lead.