009-1 is an action/drama series, which tries to rekindle the spark of the Old School way of drawing. It has a sixties feeling to it, boosted with modern day flashy graphics. Based on an old title by the now deceased Shotaro Ishinomori (mostly famous for his Kamen Rider and Ultraman live action series), it has been animated by the homonymous company he left behind. It is quite close to the feeling of the original; they did a good job at retaining his trademark gloomy and a bit morbid atmosphere. Which is exactly this show is not for everyone. It won't feel likable for most of the modern audience and will be appreciated only by retro fans or middle aged men who grew up with Shotaro's shows and are fans of his work.
PRODUCTION VALUES
Its retro style helps it stands out from most other newer anime series, assuming you got tired of the cop-out looks of most modern shows. And it is all about curvy ladies (for all you pervs), packed with cybernetic limbs and a hundred gadgets, a combination of Bionic Woman and James Bond (for all you action weebs). Remarkable at first, unless you get bothered by the facial structures which is where most of the retro aesthetic is based on (doesn't look like modern anime).
Aside from that there are plenty of detailed backgrounds, dressed with nicely made lightning effects. They are pretty dark-colored, with a mostly chilly mechanical/industrialized look on them, making them claustrophobic and creepy. If you prefer cheery atmospheres, look elsewhere.
Movements are fluid for the time the show was made, backed up with computers to look more real when they turn around or spin, and there is basic battle choreography in every fight. Being a rule of cool action show also means you must not try to reason how everything works out, since you get a lot of bad guys freezing whenever the heroines pull out their secret high-tech gadgets and beat them out of the blue. Basically the bad guys suddenly move like slowpokes when the heroines go on the offensive.
SCRIPT
In an alternative history, where the Cold War still rages on and both sides still use spies, now cybernetic in nature, a team of female cyber-spies takes up missions than involve the protection of their leader/creator's status quo. The backdrop is interesting but they use it in a very light manner. Most episodes are stand alones and from time to time a flashback occurs to give a few simple twists to the story or to flesh out one of the characters.
They went easy with the technology; there is no elaborate explanation regarding how all these hi-tech gismos work. How does that cybernetic woman move around with a smokescreen bomb thrower inside her kneecap? After awhile the sci-fi setting doesn't differ from any generic fantasy realm full of magic. It is a kinda mindless sci-fi series not bogged by technobabble.
The ending is nothing major. You will get to know the characters better but that's it. You'll probably have seen the same scenario on dozens of spy films so far and most likely won't remember anything special about it after it's over. Also the series is short and ends before it becomes annoying.
CAST
Girls with hi-teck gadgets, sexy bodies, and retro-style faces that will be a major turn off for younger viewers. Besides that they will never make you wanna cheer for them. The atmosphere of the show ends up being more captivating than them. I mean, every girl has a dramatic past, it's not like they are left paper-thin in characterization, but it's not detailed. It feels rather basic and can get overblown with cheesy drama at points. For the same reason there isn't much character development, it's more like colorizing them through flashbacks. Certainly not people you will relate with; a common trait of most retro shows where the atmosphere was more important than the characters. You will probably only care about their gadgets and their sexy bodies instead of their tragic pasts.
LEGACY
Can't say I enjoyed it much. I liked the retro feeling but most of the plot was quite boring and although the drama and the action were fine on their own, I've seen it all before, in a lot better settings than this one. It was mostly the artistic aspect that I enjoyed; which tends to be a small part of the whole. The battles were not exciting, the stories lasted too little, and the characters felt basic.
It is a typical story dressed handsomely to appeal to the older members' emotions, a time waster at best and eventually a passable title. It has no actual replay value and is not some great spy/sci-fi series. As far mainstream appeal goes it never had much and got forgotten fast.
SUGGESTION LIST
Kamen Rider (live action sci-fi about superheroes) Ghost In The Shell (hard sci-fi cyberpunk) Battle Angel Alita (manga only, hard sci-fi cyberpunk)
PRODUCTION VALUES
Its retro style helps it stands out from most other newer anime series, assuming you got tired of the cop-out looks of most modern shows. And it is all about curvy ladies (for all you pervs), packed with cybernetic limbs and a hundred gadgets, a combination of Bionic Woman and James Bond (for all you action weebs). Remarkable at first, unless you get bothered by the facial structures which is where most of the retro aesthetic is based on (doesn't look like modern anime).
Aside from that there are plenty of detailed backgrounds, dressed with nicely made lightning effects. They are pretty dark-colored, with a mostly chilly mechanical/industrialized look on them, making them claustrophobic and creepy. If you prefer cheery atmospheres, look elsewhere.
Movements are fluid for the time the show was made, backed up with computers to look more real when they turn around or spin, and there is basic battle choreography in every fight. Being a rule of cool action show also means you must not try to reason how everything works out, since you get a lot of bad guys freezing whenever the heroines pull out their secret high-tech gadgets and beat them out of the blue. Basically the bad guys suddenly move like slowpokes when the heroines go on the offensive.
SCRIPT
In an alternative history, where the Cold War still rages on and both sides still use spies, now cybernetic in nature, a team of female cyber-spies takes up missions than involve the protection of their leader/creator's status quo. The backdrop is interesting but they use it in a very light manner. Most episodes are stand alones and from time to time a flashback occurs to give a few simple twists to the story or to flesh out one of the characters.
They went easy with the technology; there is no elaborate explanation regarding how all these hi-tech gismos work. How does that cybernetic woman move around with a smokescreen bomb thrower inside her kneecap? After awhile the sci-fi setting doesn't differ from any generic fantasy realm full of magic. It is a kinda mindless sci-fi series not bogged by technobabble.
The ending is nothing major. You will get to know the characters better but that's it. You'll probably have seen the same scenario on dozens of spy films so far and most likely won't remember anything special about it after it's over. Also the series is short and ends before it becomes annoying.
CAST
Girls with hi-teck gadgets, sexy bodies, and retro-style faces that will be a major turn off for younger viewers. Besides that they will never make you wanna cheer for them. The atmosphere of the show ends up being more captivating than them. I mean, every girl has a dramatic past, it's not like they are left paper-thin in characterization, but it's not detailed. It feels rather basic and can get overblown with cheesy drama at points. For the same reason there isn't much character development, it's more like colorizing them through flashbacks. Certainly not people you will relate with; a common trait of most retro shows where the atmosphere was more important than the characters. You will probably only care about their gadgets and their sexy bodies instead of their tragic pasts.
LEGACY
Can't say I enjoyed it much. I liked the retro feeling but most of the plot was quite boring and although the drama and the action were fine on their own, I've seen it all before, in a lot better settings than this one. It was mostly the artistic aspect that I enjoyed; which tends to be a small part of the whole. The battles were not exciting, the stories lasted too little, and the characters felt basic.
It is a typical story dressed handsomely to appeal to the older members' emotions, a time waster at best and eventually a passable title. It has no actual replay value and is not some great spy/sci-fi series. As far mainstream appeal goes it never had much and got forgotten fast.
SUGGESTION LIST
Kamen Rider (live action sci-fi about superheroes) Ghost In The Shell (hard sci-fi cyberpunk) Battle Angel Alita (manga only, hard sci-fi cyberpunk)