Cyborg 009: Call of Justice 1

My Review will have some things that may be considered spoilers for some but, judge for yourself, or not... I'll try to keep it at minimum.

Well, the art is pretty good looking, despite the abrupt change in the look of some characters, specially 002, that is completly unrecognizable, I kept asking myself who was that one, lol. But that doesn't bother me at all, I'm no fan freak for appeareances and that kind of stuff.

The problem with the series is with its inconsistencies in the plot and characters motivations.

I'll point just a few or the list will become too long:
1- It is revealed that one of the Cyborgs have a special power that may frustrate the villian plan, nothing is done with that.
2- The plot develops around an mysterious object and its contents, the solution is pretty damn easy (to don't say forced) and then the series resumes itself in a talk about feelings and friendship...
3- They can't decide if they are strong or weak against the UNG droid armors, sometimes they get their ass kicked, sometimes they disarm them or just ignore them completly, it is also said that their weapons can't affect but they do have a weapon to affect them that is revealed at the end.
4- You know the vampire myth where you can only enter a house if you are invited? Well, it is just how they solve one of the "dangerous" situations the villian was like: "Hey, you there, outside of my well protected and fortified door, why don't you come in my safe room that have basically no protection to have a have a chat. Ow, dont be silly, you just destroyed half of the base"

I tought on a lot more but couldnt think in a way to talk about them without spoiling them, hope it was helpfull somehow.

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I watched a few episodes of a Cyborg 009 show back in the day, so I thought this movie would be a good idea to get re-acquainted with the franchise, yet again. So, was Call of Justice any good? Well, let's hop on and find out, shall we?

Warning! Spoiler alert!

Story
The Cyborgs are just trying to live happy and normal lives until they are forced to fight a new dark force that threatens to end life as we know it. As the Cyborgs fight these new enemies, 009 (the protagonist) is forced to confront everything he'd ever believed in.

The action and pacing of this movie are very good. The action is intense, but never to the point where it becomes blatantly ridiculous and the story always takes steps to give the characters time to breathe and think about what just happened. With so many shonen series that emphasize style over substance, it's good to see a movie that knows the meaning of the world "subtletly." (8/10)

Characters
The characters are supposed to be the lifeblood of the story. You can have as much epic music and intense fight scenes as you want, but they won't matter if you don't have characters worth sympathizing with and get behind. I've said that before and I'm sure I'll say it again. The Cyborgs develop quite beautifully throughout the story as they support each other throughout their struggles. The biggest beneficiary, though, is our protagonist 009, who is tired of the constant fighting that has defined his whole life and wants some peace and quiet, yet his very mission forces him to endure conflict. His struggle in this movie is to find a balance between his desire for peace and his commitment to his mission.

The antagonists are all interesting characters and I found myself sympathizing with their motivations, even if I didn't condone their actions. This is what a good story should do, get you to care about characters from both sides of the conflict. (9/10)

Art
The visual style in this movie was outstanding. Everything, from the character designs, the lightning, the backgrounds and even the fight scenes benefitted from incredible animation. This movie is a perfect balance between traditional anime style and computer-generated animation. (9/10)

Sounds
Call of Justice boasts an incredibly good soundtrack, with excellent opening and closing songs. We also get to enjoy the vocal performances of veterans like Cristina Valenzuela (003), Robbie Daymond (002), Benjamin Diskin (007) and Chris Tergliafera (005). In my opinion, though, the real standout of the movie was Kyle McCarley (009). I'm not exactly familiar with this career, but I believe he did a fine job in the lead role. (9/10)

Conclusion
Call for Justice is a fun and thrilling movie that boasts a pretty good balance of action and character drama, enhanced by incredible visual effects and an intense soundtrack. It won't necessarily make you a fan of the overall Cyborg 009 franchise, but makes up for that by being a fun and solid experience. (8/10)

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