Review for 009-1: Volume 2

Introduction

Only a complete moron would look back with nostalgia at the Cold War era, the age of superpower brinkmanship, the constant edge of nuclear annihilation and the constant war of ideologies. Fortunately I am such a man. I still believe that the Cold War was a simpler, more understandable age, and above all it gave us the best entertainment, with movies like Wargames, and music videos like Two Tribes. Best of all it gave us the spy thrillers, East versus West, Bond versus Boris, all manner of edgy, heart pounding stuff. It may have seemed like the birth of a new era back in 1989, when Communism collapsed, when former enemies became best friends, and Ronald Reagan's claw like hand was prised away from the red button. But now look at us; global warming, overpopulation, resource depletion, religious strife, home grown terrorism, Conservatives and Liberals living together. I tell you, the future is a scary place.

Thankfully for people like me, there are still those for whom the Cold War never ended, and among them is Naoyuki Konno, who a couple of years ago went about adapting a 1960's Cold War spy manga into anime form. Shotaro Ishinomori created 009-1 back in 1967 (not to be confused with the same author's Cyborg 009 from 1963), a manga series about secret agents fighting the Cold War. But this is a world where the Cold War never ended, the West Bloc clandestinely fights the East Bloc 140 years on, and the secret agents are cyborgs. The West has the elite 009 group of female agents, combating the evil designs of the East. I've imported the Region 1 ADV releases, as the UK discs are getting scarce now. In the US, Volume 2 was also released as a special edition with a handy box to store the complete collection in. This second volume has 4 further episodes.


Mission 5. Woman of Gold
Mylene is on a rare vacation, taking some time out to enjoy the sights and sounds of Rome, making a wish at the Trevi fountain. But it quickly turns into a busman's holiday, when on her way out of the city, she meets a damsel in distress, a woman broken down on the side of the road, who not only needs a lift back to Trevi, but also a hand avoiding the big men with guns chasing after her. Meanwhile back in Rome, 009-4 is at work trailing a shifty looking East Bloc courier named Borzov, who is looking to meet a certain woman at the Trevi fountain.

Mission 6. Pop
When Mylene was just a rookie agent, she was partnered with a man named Ironheart who turned out to be quite the mentor, kept her out of trouble, and taught her the tricks of the trade. But now Ironheart has gone to ground following his most recent mission behind enemy lines. It's up to Mylene to find out just what has happened to him, and take whatever action is appropriate. She finds the ace secret agent in the country, working on his art. It turns out that what he has learned during his last mission is the sort of information that would benefit neither side, no matter how much they would covet it. But as an agent he hasn't the scope to make such a decision. Now Mylene has a decision to make. But she isn't the only one who has tracked Ironheart down.


Mission 7. Port
Mylene's been instructed to investigate the famous chess player Thomas Gustav. Gustav defected to the west 5 years previously, but now he's suspected of being a spy for the East, somehow smuggling information out. So why is Mylene spending time with a young boy named Billy? Billy lives with his alcoholic grandfather in a shack on the docks. His mother died some years previously after his father abandoned her, and his grandfather tries hard to make ends meet, but just doesn't seem to manage it. The only bright spot in his life is Mary, his second mother. Mary's a rich woman who often comes by with armfuls of presents, doting on Billy as a replacement for her own dead child. So when 'Eileen' shows up in a rainstorm, lost, bereft and apparently having domestic problems of her own, Billy sees a kindred spirit in her.

Mission 8. Calendar Of The Past
Mylene's latest mission is one that evokes strong memories. She's to go to the Sneg Pass, meet with a traitorous double agent, and identify and eliminate him or her. Years previously, Mylene and her family had tried to defect from the East through the Sneg Pass, and had wandered instead into a war zone. Mylene was the sole survivor, and only because she was rescued by a West Bloc agent. It's why she became an agent herself, the ultimate expression of the freedom that her family had died for. But Mylene's recent performances have caused concern in the higher echelons of the 00 organisation. There's concern that she may be getting soft, and those concerns may be justified given the identity of the double agent.

Picture

009-1 gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, NTSC of course, as befits a Region 1 disc. The transfer is clear and sharp, and I didn't notice any immediate flaws, beyond those that usually present themselves on anime DVDs, minor aliasing and the like. It's a curious blend of old and new for the anime, in all respects really, but also with the visuals. The character designs are very much of the period of the manga, stylistically appropriate to the 1960's, and a far remove from the character designs that are more prevalent today. That means a simpler design ethic, less detail in the faces and fewer nuances in the animation. You'll also find plenty of funky camera angles, as befits a 1960s spy show. But the world designs are detailed, the animation is energetic and fluid, and CGI is used to its usual fine effect in bolstering the 2D animation. In that respect it's very much a modern anime show. It's worth mentioning the costume designs, as this isn't a show where characters wear just one costume throughout, and Mylene has a large and stylish wardrobe to hand.

Sound

You have a choice between DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese, along with optional translated subtitles and a signs only track. It being an action led show, the temptation would be to opt for the Surround track, but while the main cast was solid enough, I did raise my eyebrows at some rather clichéd Eastern European accents. My preference as always was for the Japanese track, and the stereo manages to keep up with the bullets, lasers and explosions well enough. Taku Iwasaki provides the music, and it's a suitable accompaniment for a techy, futuristic spy series. However I do feel that his best James Bond riff can be heard in the soundtrack for Read or Die.

Extras

009-1: Volume 2 comes in an Amaray style Case, and the disc gets the usual animated menus and jacket picture. The disc autoplays with skippable trailers for Newtype USA and Anime Network. Go for the Special Edition release and you get a handy carry case for all three volumes of the series. It's in the form of a steel briefcase, complete with latches and handle, and is completely impractical, but very cool to look at. You could conceivably use it for storing your sandwiches. Me, I'm keeping it if I ever find myself 106 miles from Chicago, with a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, in the dark, and wearing sunglasses, and I need a place to keep my microphone.

This time the extras are lighter than the previous volume, with just a minute worth of the Japanese Commercials, and a 3-minute pilot video to enjoy.

9 pages of artwork and text detail the weapons and gadgets used in the show, particularly the four episodes on this disc.


You get the clean credits again.

Trailers on the disc for other ADV shows include Le Chevalier D'Eon, Red Garden, Gantz, Madlax, Air Gear and Innocent Venus.

In the Amaray case, you'll find a 16-page booklet, 009-1 Secret Instruction Report: Volume 2. There's a run down of the main characters in the show, as well as the characters you'll encounter in each of the episodes. There's also some background to this Cold War world of the future, this time with a breakdown of the 00 organisation, and a list of the 009 agents, as well as a breakdown of Mylene's cybernetic enhancements. You'll also find some staff interviews, there is one with Japanese voice of Mylene Hoffman, Yumiko Shaku, and one with sound director Yoshikazu Iwanami. This is a nice detailed booklet, and well worth a read as it supports the episodes well.

Conclusion

The first volume of 009-1 really struck a chord with me, with its complex characters, its more adult storytelling style, its Cold War style vintage Bond antics, and its cybernetic sci-fi veneer. It had the makings of a proper 1960s spy story, with just enough of a modern twist to keep it relevant to modern audiences, and it also seemed to build up quite an overarching story in its first four episodes that promised more of the same as the series progressed. This second volume then turns out to be a comparative disappointment, with the grand storyline kept on the back burner, only occasionally alluded to, and more worryingly, it also sees the same story repeated twice in two episodes on the same disc. It's hard not to feel a little short-changed with 009-1: Volume 2.


The first episode on the disc is completely stand alone, with Mylene on vacation, running into an enigmatic woman, and getting involved in the hunt for an East Bloc courier. It's a neat little story that is entertaining and action packed, with the main antagonist an android made of gold, with a transparent outer covering. In many ways the design is reminiscent of Crystal Boy, the main villain in the Space Adventure Cobra movie. There's quite a nice interpretation of Rome and the Trevi fountain, the sort of globetrotting that any decent spy adventure deserves. While the Golden Bat group does reappear in this episode, there doesn't seem to be any lead on from the earlier episode, or build up to any future episode.


If there is a narrative arc on this disc, it's in the final three episodes, which take a look at Mylene's softer, more human side, examining her past, and how it has shaped the woman she is now. It becomes clear that ruthless and efficient spy she may be, that only masks a conscience and a set of morals. Pop sees her having to face her former mentor when he drops off the radar with a vital bit of information, with orders from her superiors that she is reluctant to follow because of their shared past. Port sees her relating to a young orphan who is left having to support his alcoholic grandfather. It appears to be an odd diversion from her mission to smoke out an East Bloc spy, as it is difficult to see what relevance a hard up family can have to high-level espionage. Finally Mylene's past is recalled again when she has to take out a double agent. Her softer side has been noticed, and the minor hesitations because of it, and the major contribution to the overall arc is that her superiors have developed concerns over her continued usefulness as an agent. Through the flashbacks to the past, and the actions she has to take in this episode, the ironies of her life as an agent become clear.


But the downside is that both Pop, and Calendar of the Past essentially tell the same story, albeit with different antagonists, and with different flashback sequences. We have Ironheart and Nelson, and we have Mylene the rookie, and Mylene the defecting child of the East, and in both the ultimate message is that being a spy isn't all that it is cracked up to be. The quality of the anime remains high, great acting, great animation, brilliant artwork, and engaging writing and plotting. It's just that two episodes telling the same story over in short order is pretty redundant, and the space could have been used to tell another story instead. Maybe it will all make sense in the final volume.