Cyborg 009 vs Devilman Review

In what is a surprising move by Netflix, the crossover Anime Cyborg 009 vs Devilman came out on April 1st. And it's no joke. As the title suggests, the Anime, which came out last fall, is a crossover between two familiar titles in Japan, Cyborg 009, and Devilman.

Now before I give the rundown on the plot, let me provide a brief synopsis on the two series. Despite both series came out in English - Cyborg 009 having aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block in the 2000's, while Devilman on video, both aren't as widely known as Kill la Kill or One Piece. Furthermore, the crossover assumes the viewer is familiar with the two series rather than re-introduce them to new audiences.

Cyborg 009 is created by Shotaro Ishimori, the man behind the Kamen Rider franchise, and is about 9 people who are kidnapped by a criminal organization known as Black Ghost, and transformed into Cyborgs as human weapons. The Cyborgs, named 001 to 009, banded together to battle Black Ghost, who continue their production of cyborgs in their campaign of world domination.

Devilman is one of the earliest and most infamous works by Go Nagai, who also created Mazinger Z, the series that made the Mecha Anime genre today, and co-created Getter Robo with the late Ken Ishikawa. A young teenager named Akira Fudo teams up with Ryo Asuka in a battle against the demons from Hell. To combat these demons, a pure-hearted person must become a demon himself, and Akira is the perfect candidate.

Now that you got an idea of the two shows, it's time to give the plot of the crossover. While the two series are totally unrelated, the crossover depicts the two as sharing the same universe. As the Cyborgs take on Black Ghost, Devilman battles the demons of Hell and kills them in the most brutal way possible. Eventually, their battles will cause the Cyborgs, notably 009, and Devilman, to take notice of one another and mistook one another as the enemy. Later, a mad scientist apparently made a pact with a demon to form the ultimate Cyborg-Demon fusion, which causes the Cyborgs and Devilman to once again cross paths.

As I said before, the crossover requires that you know about Cyborg 009 and Devilman, otherwisse you'd be totally confused as to the plot. And while this is a crossover, it's more of a Cyborg 009 story than a shared narrative with Devilman, as the latter only gets involved in the first and third episodes. You could say Devilman is but a guest character in this crossover.

Maybe it's for the best as the two shows have completely different tones. Devilman is known for its depiction of horror and graphic violence, while also serving as a metaphorical anti-war message. Cyborg 009 is lighter in tone, and has a more superhero feel to it, like the Kamen Rider franchise. Yet, when Devilman and the Cyborgs do cross paths, their respective tones don't seem to contradict one another. You can still see the blood and gore Devilman brings, but it doesn't affect the tone and atmosphere from the Cyborgs at all.

As I watched the crossover on Netflix, I chose to watch the English dubbed version over the original Japanese, and I do enjoy the dub, with Johnny Yong Bosch as Cyborg 009 and Bryce Papenbrook as Devilman. Also, the Opening and Ending themes are performed by JAM Project, who of course did the Opening theme to One Punch Man.

Cyborg 009 vs Devilman is definitely not for those who are unfamiliar with the two series. But for those that do, despite being more of a Cyborg 009 show, it is quite enjoyable and definitely worth watching. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Cyborg 009 vs Devilman, a 3 out of 5.