#8-Man

[otakween]

8-Man vs. Cyborg 009 - Volume 2

Love a good 2 volume, short read every now and then. Unlike BGOO Parts, this one didn't outstay its welcome. Nothing ground breaking here, just some crossover fanservice like in the Devilman crossover. Fun times. Interested to see what's next for these franchises.

Ch. 7

8-Man tells Joe and Francoise about his past romantic drama with his secretary Sachiko. Francoise apparently "saw" Sachiko's presence when they were in 8-Man's office and wanted the tea lol.

If they're not gonna let Francoise fight, like ever, can they please introduce another female fighter or something? I'm getting really fed up watching her smile blandly on the sidelines or be a damsel in distress. Like if she's a pacifist, fine! But she's also the only girl cyborg so it feels insulting.

The two page spread of the demon God statue was a good jump scare. Let the final showdown, begin!

Ch. 8

Lol I guess the manga heard my complaints because they finally let Francoise shoot a gun at least. Also, her heightened senses finally did something useful. Alright, fine. You win this time mangaka...

Wait, what the hell!? Pyunma's back to his old racist design! THIS MANGA CAME OUT IN 2020 WTF??? (Good thing I didn't pay for this one lol).

Honestly, it seems ridiculous that Skull would just ignore the other numbers cyborgs. There's no way they wouldn't come after their kidnapped friends...just makes him look really stupid.

The Black Ghost minions were drawn all cutesy in like a chibi form. They look like they could be villains from a Mario game or something lol. Not very intimidating.

Ch. 9

Yaaay 008 pointed out the 8 thing =D lol. Glad he gets to contribute to the battle even though there's no water around lol.

Francoise has a weird bonding moment with Dr. Daemon because he saw her in a ballet once. He's definitely the chiller of the two evils but he's still actively working towards world domination and perpetual wars? I don't think this is really a "there's good in him" moment...

8-man sure loses his arms a lot. Guess they're just trying to emphasize his mechanical body.

I swear they used the EXACT same tactic to topple the demon God statue that they used to topple the Atlas-type robots in BGOO Parts! (006 digs a hole and then 005 pushes the big enemy over). Felt weird to see that used back-to-back in manga published so close to one another. Both times they emphasized it as some kinda ingenious strategy.

Ch. 10

Awe, I really liked this finale. They wrapped everything up in a nice, neat bow and sometimes that's all you want.

So Dr. Daemon was actually playing the long game and never allied with Black Ghost at all! Rather convenient lol. Does they mean the gang wouldn't have been able to defeat both enemies at once?

I completely forgot about Joe's juvenile delinquent backstory. Why do I feel like that doesn't fit his character at all? He's such a bland do-gooder now...Anyway, having 8-Man explain that he was a cop on the scene at the time of Joe's escape attempt was a clever way to tie the two series worlds together in a believable way.

So I guess Dr. Daemon is still not a great guy but not that evil either? I don't know enough 8-Man lore to make a conclusion lol. He seemed pretty okay with the heroes dying earlier, so I guess he's just all for himself.

This chapter got all Ghost in the Shell-y with the reveal that Skull isn't a real person, just a robot with implanted memories. Pretty brutal that he decapitated his own lackeys to prove a point what the heck...what if they weren't robots!?

So Black Ghost is dead "for real" now...riiiight. Until they inevitably get resurrected again for some future manga.

I was kinda shook to find out that Joe's hair is a wig (or maybe it's actually implanted into his scalp? IDK). It doesn't actually make any difference, I just never realized that was the case.

Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Tani being science bros was cute. Also enjoyed seeing Ivan (and his one eye) very briefly.

Nice picturesque ending with Joe and Francoise dropping 8-Man off at Sachiko's house and validating his humanity. Wholesome cyborgs supporting cyborgs.

Omake - Duel

A closer look at some 8-Man/Dr. Tani lore. I kinda wish they didn't include this tbh because it ended this volume on a depressing note.

Damn, if I was Ken I'd probably resent my dad too! Ken was like "you only love 8-Man!" and Dr. Tani was like "that's not true!" but then the second Ken dies Dr. Tani's just like "meh, at least I have 8-Man" lol. Poor Ken!

Speaking of poor Ken...that's one severe widow's peak. On top of having a craptastic life, he's also balding? Oh the humanity!

Dr. Tani acted like Ken being a cyborg with a human brain was a revelation of some sort? Sooo...if Dr. Tani wasn't the one to turn Ken into a cyborg, who did?

Ken's hero suit (or villain suit, I guess) literally just looks like he sharpied some fake pecs on lol. What a weird design choice.

As far as 1960s manga go, I think I prefer Cyborg 009's art style because it's more over-exaggerated and stylized. I think this allows it to hold up more. 8-Man feels more traditionally drawn (more proportional characters).

I'm kinda glad I got a glimpse into the authentic, OG 8-Man for greater context, but I'll also probably just read this again someday if I ever get to that part of MAL haha.

[8-billion-wishes]

This can’t just be me, right?

[doomedclockworkdotmp3]

his therapist woulda had a field day at their next appointment

[livingfandomly]

Walker? Sir? Mr. Actor?

Jokes aside. That look? That anger? Percy finally having enough and being pissed off with a God who doesn’t care about his children, insulted his friends, ruined their quest and wants to start an unnecessary war where he has nothing to lose? But most importantly… Percy literally QUAKING with unchecked rage for a God who came in the way of him saving his mom?

[lousysharkbutt]

i still had a little re8 to exorcise from my system sorry

[skitskatdacat63]

"Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" - Il Capitano

[egophiliac]

queen of diamonds, upright + reversed 💎

I've redone this like eighty times, I have to just be done with it now and stop staring at all my mistakes oh no 🫠

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

part 1

[3-xenomorph-gfs]

happy dannyversary! here's some of my favorite danny phantom pieces over the years

[mayasgolem]

hi

[kabsey]

so lucanis is canonically mid-thirties, right? so at the end of the fifth blight, he was most likely a young teenager

can you imagine small romantic bean lucanis hearing about the crow from house arainai who fell in love with the hero of ferelden? of course the talons are furious. and even the older crows are annoyed (because now their targets are going to try to seduce them and they'll probably be terrible at it and it will just be embarrassing for everyone). illario calls aranai a sucker and a sap and possibly tells lucanis about the rumors that house arainai buys children from whorehouses for next to nothing and "you get what you pay for"

but while lying in bed late at night after a brutal day of training (i.e., abuse), maybe lucanis finds himself thinking about the stories and songs. arainai fell in love with a hero. he helped saved the world. he had friends. maybe he even saw a wyvern. it doesn't sound so bad to lucanis

but of course, he would never abandon a contract. he would never leave the crows. he would never turn his back on his house and leave caterina and illario behind

so imagine his surprise two decades later when he gets his chance. he falls in love with a hero. he helps save the world. he has friends. (and after the veil is guarded, rook absolutely took him out wyvern watching)

and he didn't even have to leave his old life behind. he doesn't have to live in exile away from treviso. he doesn't have to turn his back on caterina and illario and teia and viago. for once there is no price to pay or sacrifice to be made

for once he can just be happy

(all he has to do is share his body with a demon. but the demon is not so bad really. most of the time, lucanis thinks he's not any worse than illario)

[otakween]

8-Man vs. Cyborg 009

Who's this schmuck? Just kidding, I did some background research and apparently 8-Man is one of the OG cyborg heroes to come out of Japan, predating Cyborg 009 by a year. He's called 8-Man because the scientist who turned him into a cyborg failed this experiment 7 times before getting to him. Yikes.

Crappy name aside (apparently the mangaka also had a manga called "Wolf Guy," which I find hilarious), it's a neat idea to put two OGs against each other. I'm sure the boomers are excited lol. (Come to think of it, Japan's population skews older, so it would make sense that this sort of thing would be published now).

Ch. 1

Coming from the BGOO Parts manga, the art feels a little clunkier and dated here. Backgrounds are very simple and there's less detail in how the characters are drawn. It's still faithful to the original series though and that's good enough for me.

Just like with BGOO Parts, they're rehashing Black Ghost stuff again, with some retconning along the way. Series that resurrect the same villain over and over are so dull. Please do something else writers!! :(

Why did the skull-masked guy (Cyborg #22) look kinda kawaii tho? They drew his eyes all shiny and cutesy.

They flashback to the end of volume 10 AGAIN. I guess that really is the most iconic moment of the franchise, but with every flashback it's losing its charm.

There was a diagram explaining 8-Man in the front of the manga and I guess he uses cigarettes as a power source? First of all...huh? Second, that's the most 1960s thing I've ever heard.

Also in the front of the manga is an image of Joe carrying a beat up looking 8-Man. Way to spoil it! I wonder what the vs. in the title is implying? Are they going to be rivals and then team up or are they straight up pitted against each other?

Did they pair these two together because they were like "8? 9? You get it? Eh? Eh?" What if it was 8-Man vs. 008 lol. It would have to be underwater randomly I suppose.

Ch. 2

Okay I stand corrected, I guess 8-Man isn't a cyborg...he's closer to an android, but he has a human consciousness so...he's not really an android either.

This was like, the exposition chapter. They wrote this assuming the reader was new to 8-Man and maybe Cyborg 009 too so they gotta hastily give little wikipedia summaries of what the reader missed lol. Not enough exposition for me to know who the robot bossing 8-Man around is supposed to be though! Maybe that'll come later.

I see the obvious parallels with the stories here, both cyborgs/androids/whatever were created as weapons but their creators wanted more for them. 8-Man has a little more of a film noir vibe tho with the detective aspect.

How the heck is a cigarette a "cooling" tool? My brain does not compute.

So 8-Man is being ordered to attack Joe, I guess. I wonder if he's been misled about Joe's background? He kinda helped him out back there with the cigarette, so I guess he's showing hesitation.

Ch. 3

So I guess Black Ghost's motive is to "resurrect/summon the God of war Ares by sacrificing one of the heroes..." Not Greek mythology again...please. I can't take it anymore!

8-Man's hands kinda look like Mickey Mouse gloves teehee

Dr. Tani and Dr. Daemon look so identical to me that I had to swipe back a few pages and compare them. I finally excepted they weren't the same person when Dr. Daemon referred to Dr. Tani in the third person lol.

We get more revelations about how 8-Man's machine brain works. He retains every memory (either OP or awful) and Ivan can't read his mind. I forgot Ivan could read minds in the first place? I feel like he doesn't do that much.

This manga has a lot of two page spreads, which I appreciate. They make the reading experience more cinematic, it moves things along quicker in general (no dialogue), and it looks great on my giant tablet :D

Ch. 4

The villains from the respective series place their bets on which hero will come out victorious. It gave me Squid Game vibes (but obviously less gruesome).

It's kind of funny how the villains are low key rooting their corresponding hero on, wanting to show off their nemesis to their new friend.

Kinda awkward how the other numbers cyborgs are just tagging along waiting for 8-Man and 009 to be done. I guess there's not much they can contribute, which is probably why BGOO Parts gave everyone accelerator mode...

Obvious fake out death is obvious

I enjoyed the shot of Joe and 8-Man outrunning the shinkansen. That was fun.

Ch. 5

After the battle between 009 and 8-Man, Black Ghost and Dr. Daemon attack and kidnap Joe, Francoise and Azuma. Black Ghost reveals their master plan to harvest memories from the cyborg so that they can resurrect the 3 brains that make up the "true" Black Ghost and put them in a giant robot body.

I'm not fully clear on what Dr. Daemon gets out of all this? I guess he gets to help rule the world or something?

The way they depict Francoise's ability makes her seem hilariously useless. She's supposed to be able to detect things from very far distances but every time she senses something it's like 2 feet away from everyone lol. Like she'll be like "something's coming...from the ocean!" and the gang turns around and it's right next to them. Thanks for nothing lol.

The demon God statue (taken from the original manga) looks kinda silly. It's bird beak makes it look like it's from Darkwing Duck or something haha.

Ch. 6

Okay 8-Man and Francoise getting all flustered once Francoise implied that her and Joe are in love was really cute. I wanna see more scenes of them getting to know each other and becoming friends :D (not likely)

The concept of world domination via a giant space satellite/demon God statue is pretty badass, not gonna lie. Very classic evil guy plan.

Seems we can now drop the pretenses that this is going to be a "versus" situation and everyone will just team up in volume 2. Pretty predictable.

[lambf4rm]

i prefer the term ‘artificial person’ myself

[digitalsnail]

big man just wants a beach episode 🏖️

[mischiefbuckley]

abc really said let’s go ahead and make wikipedia late night deep diving Buck who’s trying to learn all he can about current hyperfixation canon and I love it here so much

[lousysharkbutt]

just some guy