10 Essential Superhero Anime That Reinvent The Genre
8. Cyborg 009
One of the earliest super-teams to find prominence in Japan, and eventually in an international audience, Cyborg 009 preceded another popular series, Science Team Gatchaman, by only a few years.
Similar to Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy, the anime involved technologically powered protagonists fighting evil, in this case, a single evil organisation called Black Ghost, that's striving to kickstart another world war, throwing multiple other powered enemies at the heroes along the way. Unlike Astro Boy, however, each character was originally human, having been kidnapped by Black Ghost and experimented on, eventually escaping together.
The anime was unique in its international ensemble, with Cyborg 001 from Russia, 002 from the USA, 003 from France, 004 from Germany, 005 being Native American, 006 being Chinese, 007 being British, and 008 being Kenyan. The titular Cyborg 009, Joe Shimamura, was half-American, half-Japanese, who was shunned for his heritage in youth. Each cyborg possessed a different power and compelling backstory, making them interesting as individuals and as a team.
Rebooted multiple times, with the early 2000s anime arguably being its most prominent version, the multicultural, undeniably human superhero story of Cyborg 009 is still as enthralling today as it was when it was created.