Yuki Kaji, Yuichi Nakamura, and Saori Hayami Attend Preview Screening Event for Cyborg 009: Nemesis

A preview screening event for the new anime Cyborg 009: Nemesis was held on July 18 at Shinjuku Wald 9 in Tokyo, with Yuki Kaji (voice of 009/Joe Shimamura), Yuichi Nakamura (voice of N009/Graviton), and Saori Hayami (voice of 003/Françoise Arnoul) in attendance. Special guest Kyoko, who performs the opening theme song "Ta ga Tame ni," also joined the event.

Cyborg 009 is the signature work that Shotaro Ishinomori continued drawing as his lifelong project. For more than half a century since their creation, the cyborg warriors have protected people from various enemies who threaten peace. In the latest installment, Cyborg 009: Nemesis, a group of nine cyborgs called "Nemesis," who believe that "009 and his comrades cannot lead the world to peace," appears. The story depicts a 9-on-9 battle between the new cyborgs led by the gravity-manipulating Graviton and the 00-number cyborgs, including Joe Shimamura.

The first topic was how the cast members first encountered Cyborg 009. Kaji said that by the time he became aware of things, Cyborg 009 was already naturally part of him, and he knew the characters' visuals and the line "acceleration device" -- but it was only through joining this project that he seriously engaged with the original manga and past anime adaptations for the first time.

"I felt that many aspects of the themes Mr. Ishinomori created in the 1960s are strongly linked to the present day. Cyborg technology has also become something familiar in today's society. The way characters of various nationalities, genders, ages, and races join forces to fight for world peace connects to issues that Japan today needs to think about -- revisiting the work made me feel that all over again," he said, touching on the universality of the themes embedded in the work as well as the bonds between people and diversity.

Nakamura also said he had been aware of Cyborg 009 since childhood, so far back that he couldn't even remember when he first learned of it, but appearing in this work prompted him to dig deeper into it. "Since the original was published in 1964, there have really been so many works influenced by it, or works that tackled similar themes. I came to realize once again that it was grappling with an underlying theme that has no clear answer," he shared.

Hayami said the work had simply always been a part of her life since childhood, to the point that she couldn't recall when she first learned its title or the characters' visuals. After previously joining the cast of Cyborg 009 VS Devilman, she revealed how her impression had changed: "The image I had when I first became aware of things was 'the hero' -- an image of defeating evil. But in reality, each character carries sorrow and suffering, and each holds their own values of what they believe is right. It's precisely because those values clash that it's such a thought-provoking story for viewers too -- I felt that all over again."