Movie Reviews: 8-Man After

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Title:
8-Man After

Cast:

Steve Bulen as Hazama Itsuru/8-Man
Mari Devon as Sachiko Yokogawa
Dan Warren as Professor Tani and the Mayer  
Mike Reynolds as Chief Tanaka
Richard Cansino as Officer Ichiro
Catharine Battistone as Sam O'Connor
Art Kimbro Mr. O'Connor
Barry Stigler as Daigo/Mr. Halloween
Jeff Winkless as Tony Gleck
Kirk Thornton as Eddie Schmidt and Chen
Stephen Apostolina as Max

Directed by: Yoriyasu Kogawa 

Country: Japan

Distributed by: J.C. Staff, Act. Co., and Streamline Pictures.

Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller/Adaptation/Anime

Year of Release: 1993

Synopsis: Based on the 1963 manga and anime by science fiction writer Kazumasa Hirai and artist Jiro Kuwata, this 1993 OVA feature film acts as a sequel to the original 8-Man TV series, and takes on a completely unique spin on the franchise. Taking place several years after the original TV series, Sachiko Yokogawa is haunted by the memory of the sudden disappearance of her past lover Hachiro Azuma, who she suspected of being the cybernetic superhero known as the "8-Man". But she has since moved on. In a modern society where robot and cyborg technology has become mainstream and widespread, private investigator Hazama Itsuru is hired by Professor Tani to investigate a cyborg parts theft at the Bio-Techno Corporation headed by the infamous Daigo, who secretly seeks to recreate the world in his own image. Eventually, Hazama meets with Sachiko, who is living her new life working for the very same company that Hazama was sent to investigate. Later, Sachiko finds herself involved with a new 8-Man, who mysteriously appears after Hazama is fatally wounded by an assassin named Tony Gleck. In the midst of a violent urban riot with cyber-junkies creating chaos around the city, this new 8-Man is completely different from his predecessor as he fights criminals in a more aggressive and violent manner. However, Sachiko frequently mistakes him for the original 8-Man, Hachiro Azuma, who in the past was her boyfriend. The question to whatever happened to the original 8-Man however, remains a complete mystery.  

Personal Comments: As far back as memory serves me, 8-Man is yet another anime franchise which I was not aware of back in my early childhood. In fact, like several other anime cartoons I have since familiarized myself with, I didn't know about 8-Man until the mid 1990s when I was a teenager. The first thing I learned back then was that there was a TV show that came out in the 60s, the same decade that marked the debut of far more popular shows such as Speed Racer and Astro Boy. But "8-Man After" was how I first came to know the character. However, I didn't see this OVA until the summer of 1996 when I was 13. The movie was only three years old at the time I first discovered it. So it was still relatively new at the time. Anyway, as I mentioned in the synopsis, "8-Man After" is based on a Japanese manga and anime series that came out in the early 1960s. Although it was called "8th Man" for some strange reason. What's also odd is that the original TV series was only ever shown in black and white. In Japan, the series lasted for 56 episodes. But in America, only 52 of the 56 episodes were dubbed and broadcast on TV. However, even to this day, the franchise remains in obscurity, and not many people seem to know about 8-Man despite that the original TV show was given a US release around the same time it came out in Japan. "8-Man" has a bit of a cult following, meaning that only a certain number of people know about him today. In fact, the show is perhaps one of the rarest and most underrated titles in anime history. Anyway, seeing as the TV show was nowhere to be found on television in the 1980s and the 1990s, I figured that the best way for me to familiarize myself with the franchise was with "8-Man After". And so I rented it from my local Hollywood video store and watched it for the first time. And I have to say it's actually pretty awesome for a rather obscure anime cartoon from the early 90s. But of course, it's not without its problems and plotholes.

Before I review the OVA, I first want to go over the premise of the original TV show for those of you who have never heard of 8-Man before until now. You probably remember that I briefly mentioned him in my review of Robocop which I posted a while back. And I also pointed out that he might have been one of the primary inspirations for Robocop in terms of his origin and background. Now I know this may be hard to believe for a lot of Robocop fans. But trust me; I had the same impression when I first learned about this myself. But interestingly, 8-Man has the same basic premise as Robocop; an ordinary police officer gets mortally wounded by a gang of criminals. And then shortly after his presumed death, he is turned into a badass cyborg superhero who fights crime and the forces of evil. What really caught me off guard here is that 8-Man came LONG before Robocop was even invented. But their backgrounds are so similar that it's hard not to compare the two. So I guess in that sense, 8-Man could very well be the inspiration for Robocop or at least one of them. As a cyborg, 8-Man's powers consist of great speed, strength, and agility. He also has enhanced computerized eyesight that can come in handy when trying to solve certain problems or in a tight situation. He is incredibly strong and versatile, and is as fast as lightning like the DC Comics superhero; The Flash. In the English version of the TV series, he was often referred to as "Tobor the Detective". But in fact, like many other anime cartoons that came to America around the 60s, 70s, and 80s, many of the characters have undergone name changes in order to target the show towards American audiences. However, rather than being brought back to life by a power hungry organization like OCP, 8-Man was brought back to life by the kind and well-meaning Professor Tani, who was originally a scientist who worked for the corrupt company of Armaco that wanted him to make them weapons of mass destruction to help conquer the world. In the TV series, 8-Man had few friends, but many enemies. One of his rivals was a cyborg named Ken, who in one particular episode titled "Battle of the Brothers", was revealed to be the son of Professor Tani. But Ken's rivalry with 8-Man was short-lived as he succumbed to a fatal design flaw in his anatomy; his delicate human brain was unable to withstand the speed and friction caused by his robotic body. And then there are other villains such as Dr. Spectra, whose kind of like the show's equivalent to Dr. Wily in terms of being an evil scientist bent on world domination. And then there's Samantha 007, who was one of 8-Man's toughest challengers. There were other villains from the original 60s series as well such as Ennon 005 and Jupiter. But if I go over each and every one of them, I'll be doing this until the next century. So let's just move on.

Now, let's talk about 8-Man After. Originally, it was a 4 episode OVA series. But when it was released on VHS and DVD, it was stitched together as a feature length movie. As I mentioned earlier, the story in this movie takes place at least several years after the original series ended. The movie opens with a flashback scene to when Sachiko witnessed Hachiro Azuma transform into 8-Man, and vanish into the night without a trace. And he hasn't been seen ever since. Some years later, she finds herself a new job working at the Bio-Techno Corporation that manifests its business and financial production through robot and cyborg technology. Shortly after getting acquainted with Hazama Itsuru, who becomes her new love interest, she is attacked in her hotel room by the assassin Tony Gleck, who interrogates her on Hazama and about the case he's on about a missing scientist named Eddie Schmidt. Suspecting that Sachiko is in danger, Hazama arms himself with his gun, sneaks into the room, and attempts to apprehend Tony. But Tony fatally wounds Hazama by cutting off his hand with his knife, and driving the blade of his knife into his stomach. With his last bit of strength, Hazama manages to push himself along with Tony out the window of Sachiko's room, and into a nearby drive way. However, only Hazama's corpse is seen lying on the ground. Traumatized, Sachiko loses consciousness and passes out. Meanwhile, Hazama's body is secretly escorted to Professor Tani's laboratory, where he is upgraded with a new cybernetic body, and becomes the second 8-Man. However, Hazama proves to be completely different from his predecessor, Hachiro Azuma, who would not harm his enemies in anyway other than just busting them and sending them to prison. Instead, Hazama is short-tempered and violent by nature, and even goes as far as to kill his enemies without thinking twice about it. As 8-Man, he is fierce, brutal, and merciless towards his enemies. In fact, it is even shown in a flashback scene that Hazama's tendency for violent behavior started when he witnessed the murder of his fiancée at the hands of Tony Gleck himself. Traumatized by the event, Hazama mercilessly hunted down and killed each and every one of Tony's men, until he finally confronted Tony himself on a railroad, shot him in the shoulder, and sent him falling to his presumed death. Only it turns out that Tony survived his fall, and became a cyborg under the influence of Mr. Daigo, who also goes by the alias "Mr. Halloween". And all this was before the events of the film. Like the usual psycho slasher type villain, Tony has a bizarre fixation for knives, and has a blade that protrudes from his cybernetic arm. Later, he gains upgrades for his body from Dr. Schmidt, who for some odd reason has implanted his own brain into a super computer hidden deep within a desolate underground laboratory. Why he did this to himself is never explained. Having long studied 8-Man, Schmidt was able to copy some of 8-Man's abilities while providing Tony with his upgrades, which means Tony is just as fast and agile as 8-Man, and has great strength and endurance to match. These upgrades along with his wrist knife makes Tony a lethal killing machine, and a force worthy of mention. In fact, in my opinion, Tony Gleck is one of the most badass anime villains right next to Knives from Trigun, Vicious from Cowboy Bebop, and Gemma from Ninja Scroll. However, Schmidt warns Tony that his design is incomplete. And that like most cyborgs, he requires an endless supply of stimulants to maintain his system. Unfortunately, the stimulants that maintain his system are the same thing that is slowly destroying it. So, Schmidt and Tony's next plan of action is to capture 8-Man, erase his memories and personalities, and replace them with Tony's brain and personality so that he would be more stable and wouldn't require stimulants. And so, Tony has his two henchmen Chen and Max abduct Sachiko, and Hazama must once again face his longtime adversary in a one on one fight to the death to settle the old score once and for all.

In addition to some of the returning faces from the original 60s show, this movie also features a few new faces so to speak. Some of the returning characters include Professor Tani, 8-Man's creator and mentor, Chief Tanaka, the head of the Tokyo Police Department and one of 8-Man's closest friends, Sachiko Yokogawa, 8-Man's love interest, and Officer Ichiro, who in the original TV series was a young boy who admired 8-Man and looked up to him as a heroric figure. In this movie however, Ichiro is all grown up, and now works as an officer in the police department headed by Chief Tanaka. Some of the new characters who were introduced in this movie include Hazama Itsuru, the second 8-Man and the main protagonist, Tony Gleck, Hazama's archenemy and the main antagonist, Mr. Halloween, the head of the Bio-Techno Corporation, Sam O'Connor, a young African American boy whose searching for his father who mysteriously disappeared years ago, Mr. O'Connor, Sam's missing father who had his arms and legs replaced with robotic ones, and Max and Chen, Tony's cyborg lackeys. For the most part, I found some of the old characters to be quite relatable. But I also had a great liking to some of the new characters introduced in the movie. For me, the character who I found myself relating to the most was Hazama Itsuru because of his somewhat brash yet confident attitude. He's not a complete douche bag, but like the usual anime protagonist, he does come off as serious, aloof, tough, and headstrong. In my point of view, Hazama was basically the anime version of Dirty Harry. Especially considering his short temper and his tendency for violent behavior. What's really interesting is that as 8-Man, Hazama tends to hide his emotions, and acts cold and machine-like on the outside. But as Hazama, he is very emotional, and often expresses feelings such as anger, frustration, despair, and concern. Anyway, Hazama in my honest opinion is quite a memorable character. He is somewhat of a hardhead and a loose cannon, but that's what I loved about him; he's completely different from his predecessor, and he lets his actions do the talking. His relation with Sachiko is somewhat mixed. Or more specifically, Hazama has kind of a crush on her, but she is unwilling to allow him into her life because she longs for past lover Hachiro Azuma to return. And like I said before in the synopsis, when Hazama assumes the role of 8-Man, Sachiko often mistakes him for the original 8-Man. For a long time I always wondered who Hachiro Azuma was. And since I saw this movie prior to when I saw the TV series, I was rather confused. And it wasn't until another several years later when I finally learned who Hachiro Azuma was when I watched a few of the episodes of the original TV show on YouTube. Oh, and I don't want to forget that like most of the other anime films I saw back in the day, 8-Man After is considerably bloody and violent. In fact, it's far more gruesome than the original TV show from which it is based on. Just a little heads up for those of you who are easily nauseated by intense bloody violence.

I'm not sure how many people are familiar with the English voice cast. But some of the voices in this movie may instantly strike you as downright familiar. One of the most instantly recognizable voices in the English version of this movie is definitely Mike Reynolds, who like Frank Welker, has voiced numerous fictional characters from various American and Japanese cartoons alike. In 8-Man After, he was the voice of Chief Tanaka. Most of you out there may remember Mike Reynolds as the voices of Takuma Hashizume from Rorouni Kenshin, Lord Orkham from Wolf's Rain, the Minister from Ghost in the Shell, Widimer from Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, and so much more. He's also done numerous voices for characters from the Robotech series, the 1994 Gatchaman OVA series, Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, Maple Town, and lots more. One of Reynolds' most short lived roles was as the British Prime Minister who gets assassinated by Cammy at the beginning of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. He has even played the voice of Nezu for the Pioneer dub of the anime film Akira. Oh, and I didn't mention this before, but it's worth pointing out that Reynolds even did the English voice for Lt. Bob Bragan from Golgo 13: The Professional. In fact, Mike Reynolds is pretty much in the same league as Frank Welker; he's everywhere.

It's also worth mentioning that there's yet another familiar voice in 8-Man After. Namely, Steve Bulen, who as I've listed in the cast of actors, is the English voice for Hazama Itsuru. I'm not so sure how many people besides myself know about him, but if you've seen the English version of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, you may instantly recognize Bulen as the voice of the head officer of Interpol, who recruits Chun Li and Guile to bring down Bison and the Shadowlaw organization. And you won't believe this, but like Mike Reynolds, Steve Bulen has done numerous voices for various American and Japanese cartoons alike. Some of the productions he's participated in include Dirty Pair, Crying Freeman, Doomed Megalopolis, Fist of the North Star, Ghost in the Shell, Vampire Hunter D, Outlaw Star, Trigun, Mobile Suit Gundam, Perfect Blue, and lots more. He has also worked as looping director on several feature films and wrote several episodes of Bob in a Bottle, Maya the Bee, Jungle Tales, Bumpety Boo, Saban's Adventures of Pinocchio, The Littl' Bits, Samurai Pizza Cats, and Sandokan.

It's also worth mentioning that 8-Man himself has even appeared in a side-scrolling arcade game that was made by Neo-Geo, and was released back in 1991. Like most side-scrolling games at the time, you play through a variety of levels as you destroy any on-screen enemies that come your way, avoid obstacles and hazards such as pits, acid pools, spikes, and erupting lava, and defeat the stage bosses to proceed to the next level. Some stages in the game have you playing normally, while a few other stages have you speeding through the level at an insane speed while fighting enemies and dodging obstacles. The graphics in this game are pretty decent for an old Neo Geo game. There isn't a whole lot to look at. But all in all, the graphics are pretty decent. Complete with bright colors, great details, and nice animations and special effects for the sprites. The controls are quite smooth and responsive. You can control your jumps, move from left to right, attack, jump, slide, jump and attack simultaneously, and you even have a special attack that lets you fire multiple projectiles in multiple angles. This can come in handy when you're surrounded by enemies. Oh, and of course, this is a two-player game in which a second player can aid you. Interestingly, even though he does not appear in either the manga or the anime series, the second player is referred to as "9-Man". And when you play this game with a friend, you can perform a "big bang" attack that destroys all enemies on screen. But the first and second player must press the special attack button simultaneously in order for the attack to work. As far as I know, there's no actual story for this game. But if I had to guess, I'd say that 8-Man must defend humanity against an army of rogue robots that are being controlled a renegade biological computer that threatens mankind. That's the best I can make out of it. The one downside to this game is that there's no special ending. Once you've defeated the final boss at the end, you simply enter your initials, and you're given a screen that says "Congratulations" along with your maximum score. Oh, and I don't want to forget that there are sub-bosses in this game as well as the major bosses. And one of the sub-bosses is an obvious reference to the Predator.

In recent years, a newer manga series called "8-Man Infinity" is being authored by Kyoichi Nanatsuki under Kodansha, which is being serialized under Kodansha's Magazine Z. Not much is known about this current saga. All I know is that it's a modern day take on the 8-Man franchise that started back in 2005, and it's currently an ongoing series. Because information regarding this manga is a bit hard to come by, there's not a whole lot I can say about it because most likely, the manga is only being released in Japan.

Overall: As you may or may not have guessed, 8-Man After is yet another one of those rare anime titles that has greatly influenced my imagination from the time I first saw it back in the 90s. Sure, it may not be the most popular or the most well-known title in the anime category. But along with several other anime films that I've already reviewed, it has opened my mind and has broadened my horizons to new heights. In fact, 8-Man After has inspired me in a very similar way the Terminator and the Robocop films have influenced me with its unique take on the robot and cyborg genres. Now, is 8-Man After perfect? No. Of course not. It does have some issues that could have been ironed out. But in my honest opinion, it's average at best. Packed with relatable characters, a well-written story, nice animation, and intense action scenes, 8-Man After has definitely earned its place as one of my personal favorite cult anime cartoons of all time. It may not have been a major success like the highly acclaimed "Ghost in the Shell" directed by Mamoru Oshii, which has since gained mainstream acceptance along with spawning a sequel that came out in 2004. And while it does have its flaws and inconsistencies, it's an overall decent and enjoyable film. I would recommend this film only to those who are into sci-fi and anime. Especially 90s anime. If you are familiar with Japanese superheroes like Casshern, Kikaider, or Kamen Rider, then I'd strongly suggest you rent 8-Man After and see it for yourself. You may or may not like it. It's up to you really. Anyway, this movie's influences remain strong in me to this very day. And even though not many people seem to know about it, its obscurity only makes it more special to me. And since it's based on a much older TV series that's about 50 years old now, 8-Man has become as special to me as all the well-known superheroes from the Marvel and DC universes. 8-Man After is now available to own on DVD, and can be ordered online from amazon.com. I'd strongly recommend this to you if you're into sci-fi and superheroes.

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Cambion-Hunter's avatar
Good review. After seeing this and some footage of it in your videos, I am more interested in this.

Thanks, man. :)