009-1

Author: Koichi Sakamoto

Measured by long-term impact, 009-1 has one of the most impressive lineages. An incredibly important manga in the late 1960s, then a live-action television drama, and then in 2006, more than 40 years after the manga's debut, an anime series, followed by a feature film seven years later. Inspired by James Bond, and perhaps even slightly more by Modesty Blaise and Raquel Welch's Fathom, 009-1 is a spy thriller with Mylene Hoffman as our cyborg agent hero. Where Bond has his gadgets, Hoffman has cybernetic implants that allow her to become a perfect fighting weapon and super-agent! The manga was amazingly influential, it pioneered the 'breast gun' phenomena seen in Austin Powers for example, but also provided an excellent example of what the combination of super-spy storytelling with science fiction within a saucy narrative can provide the viewer. The series excels not only in storytelling, but maintaining that 1960s series feeling that is such an important marker of bringing out some of the more anachronistic elements of the original. It feels less like a re-tread, and more like a powerful piece of polished, contemporary anime. Why it's on the list: You can look at the history of anime all you want, but if you don't include 009-1, you're not looking closely enough.