"Nine human beings from across the globe are remodeled against their wills into human weapons known as Cyborgs by the nefarious Black Ghost Organization. Our hero, 009, is half-Japanese, half-American and, equipped with Mach-speed acceleration among other extraordinary abilities, is the most advanced of the nine Zero-Zero Cyborgs (all of whom have super powers). From different countries, different races and even different eras, theses nine inimitable individuals cooperate with each other to fight against Black Ghost and the strange vicissitudes of their fortunes."

Okay, I didn't see the first volume from the series (I'm anxiously awaiting to read John's review) but in Cyborg 009: Good Vs. Evil, the second volume of the show, there was some interesting action taking place. Apparently, there are nine cyborgs that live together under the tutelage of a scientist, Professor Kozumi and a doctor Gilmore as they fight the evil plans of a group led by the Black Ghost. Here's a quick breakdown of the episodes included in the volume:

Episode 5: Tears Of Steel:
The team is attacked by a large cyborg, 0011, which is in the shape of a large flying saucer with legs. While 009, Joe Shimimura (Joshua Seth), is the lead cyborg (gifted with super speed) for the series, this episode centered on the East German cyborg (004?), starting off by showing his previous life and then looking at his humanity as he struggles with life or death decisions.

Episode 6: Search For The Professor:
The professor appears to have been abducted and the team split up to find them. 009's team run across a mansion and meet a beautiful woman. Working on their instinct's, they come back to investigate her at night, finding the mansion to hold many deadly secrets, including 0012.

Episode 7: Defeat The Invisible Opponent:
The team searched Tokyo for the missing professor. Even if they find him alive, they know that the hand of the Black Ghost will be close at hand. The team gets to fight a huge, invisible cyborg that appears to possess similar powers to their own, making him especially difficult to deal with.

Episode 8: Friend:
In the second part of the story started in episode seven, the team fights cyborg 0013, with 009 taking the lead. When a couple of the Black Ghosts henchmen attack 009, he tries to reason with them, knowing them from his past. Can 009 save the professor or will he become the latest casualty in the battle of good vs. evil?

I think the show holds some promise for those who enjoy retro anime styles. The themes were generally the generic "help your friends", "do the right thing" type that are common to the genre but there was a bit of interesting exposition and character growth. I was disappointed that the original Japanese language track wasn't present and the lack of extras lowered the value for me. Maybe a paper insert detailing the individual cyborgs and their main powers would help keep track of them in the future but I'm going to list this one as Recommended based on the four episodes on this DVD.

Picture: The picture was presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio full frame color. The anime style was similar to Android Kikaider and the colors were bright with a bit of detail. There wasn't a lot of grain although a bit of mosquito noise popped up at times. The picture looked better than the show looked recently on the Cartoon Network.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of 5.1 Dolby Digital surround in English, Spanish or Portuguese. For the most part, the audio was solid with some separation but my biggest complaint was the lack of the original Japanese language track. The vocals were okay and the sound effects/music were decently mixed but without the original track to compare it to, I can't say whether it's better or not. On its own though, the audio was well done, if not the best I've heard.

Extras: There were a few trailers, a paper insert, and a couple of collector cards included (not much).

Final Thoughts: The direction wasn't perfect and the technical matters okay but my favorite aspect of the show dealt with the cyborgs trying to rediscover who they were in relation to their enhancements. The human element tends to draw me in more than the battle scenes if done well so check it out if you get a chance.