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8th Man

8 Man
8man-oldanime.jpg
Image from the 1960s television series
エイトマン
(Eitoman)
Genre Science fiction, Action, Adventure, Drama
Manga
Written by Kazumasa Hirai
Illustrated by Jiro Kuwata
Published by Kodansha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run 19631966
Volumes 5
Anime television series
Directed by Haruyuki Kawajima
Music by Tetsuaki Hagiwara
Studio TCJ
Original network TBS
English network Nine Network
Original run 7 November 196331 December 1964
Episodes 56
Live-action television film
8 Man Has Returned
Directed by Akinori Kikuchi
Written by Masakazu Shirai
Original network Fuji TV
Released 31 August 1987
Live-action film
Subete no Sabishii Yoru no Tame ni
Directed by Yasuhiro Horiuchi
Produced by Isao Urushidani
Written by Mitsuyuki Miyazaki
Junko Suzuki
Music by Carole King
Released 1992
Original video animation
8 Man After
Directed by Yoriyasu Kogawa
Produced by Koji Honda
Norihisa Abe
Shinji Komori
Studio J.C.Staff
Licensed by
Released August 21, 1993November 22, 1993
Runtime 25–30 minutes (each)
Episodes 4
Manga
8 Man After
Written by Masahiro Suematsu
Published by Kodansha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run 19941995
Volumes 1
Manga
8 Man Infinity
Written by Kyoichi Nanatsuki
Illustrated by Takayuki Takashi
Published by Kodansha
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Magazine Z
Original run 20052007
Volumes 6
Wikipe-tan face.svg

8 Man (8マン?) or Eightman (エイトマン?, Eitoman) is a manga and anime superhero created in 1963 by science fiction writer Kazumasa Hirai and manga artist Jiro Kuwata. He is considered Japan's earliest cyborg superhero, predating even Kamen Rider (the same year, Shotaro Ishinomori created Cyborg 009), and was supposedly the inspiration for RoboCop.

The manga was published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine and ran from 1963 to 1966. The anime series, produced by Eiken with the TCJ Animation Center, was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System, and ran from November 17, 1963 to December 31, 1964, with a total of 56 episodes (plus the "farewell" special episode, "Goodbye, Eightman").

Murdered by criminals, Detective Yokoda's body is retrieved by Professor Tani and taken to his laboratory. There, Tani performs an experiment that has failed seven times; Yokoda is the eighth subject to have his life force transferred into an android body. For the first time, the experiment succeeds. Yokoda is reborn as the armor-skinned android 8 Man, able to dash at impossible speeds, as well as shape-shift into other people. He shifts himself into Yokoda, this time christening himself as "Hachiro Azuma". He keeps this identity a secret, known only to Tani and his police boss Chief Tanaka. Even his girlfriend Sachiko and friend Ichiro do not know he is an android. As 8-Man, Hachiro fights crime (even bringing his own murderers to justice). He smokes "energy" cigarettes, to rejuvenate his powers, that he carries in a cigarette case on his belt.


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Wikipedia

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