8th Man
| 8 Man | |
Image from the 1960s television series
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エイトマン (Eitoman) |
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| 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 | 1963 – 1966 |
| 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 1963 – 31 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, 1993 – November 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 | 1994 – 1995 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| 8 Man Infinity | |
| Written by | Kyoichi Nanatsuki |
| Illustrated by | Takayuki Takashi |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Magazine Z |
| Original run | 2005 – 2007 |
| Volumes | 6 |
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