Cyborg 009 BGOOParts Delete

Champion Red September 2019 issue

Cyborg 009 BGOOParts Delete (サイボーグ009 BGOO PARTS DELETE) is a manga by Tsuguo Okazaki that ran in Akita Shoten's Champion RED. It serves as an alternate universe sequel to the original Cyborg 009, particularly the infamously unfinished "Mythos" arc.

In this storyline, the 00 cyborgs are tasked with traveling to different points of time and space on the way to their final battle, where they must wipe out the "OO PARTS" (out of place artifacts) of Black Ghost while erasing others' memories of their presence there.

This "rematch" between them and the Mythos Cyborgs is only one such mission we see, and is subtitled "The Resurrection of a Myth" (神話復活編). The serialization ran for 35 chapters and is collected into 5 volumes.

Due to it being helmed by Okazaki, this version is often referred to by fans as "OkaZero" (岡ゼロ), along with any other concepts that were devised by Okazaki for his take on the 009 multiverse (such as the ORGate Observer versions of the team).

Overview

"The purpose of the cyborg soldiers, who have transcended time, is to erase the negative legacy of the Black Ghost! The most powerful soldiers with the strength of mythological gods in their bodies are resurrected one after another, and a fierce battle is about to begin!"

The project started when Tsuguo Okazaki was contacted by Masato Hayase, who had seen him drawing Cyborg 009 illustrations on Twitter. Okazaki had originally wanted to do a spinoff manga starring Cyborg 003, which he would title Cyborg 003. He got as far as doing some drafts of the first chapter to pitch, until the idea was rejected by Masato Hayase with the reasoning that it wouldn't be very interesting and that if he were to do a remake, it would make sense to be purely "Cyborg 009" itself.

His next pitch was a sequel to the unfinished Angels arc of the manga, titled Double-O-9: ORGate Observers, featuring the cyborgs encountering alternate universe versions of themselves in their fight against the Angels. This was rejected as being too inaccessible, and that it would be best to focus on an original story than trying to do yet another "final chapter" of 009. In this case, Okazaki's editor at Akita Shoten suggested tackling the Mythos arc, with how there was never quite a proper resolution to the battle. New characters and concepts such as Zeus, the super-powered alter-ego of Dr. Gaia, were created to expand such a story.

"Originally, I was the one who came up with the idea for "Cyborg 009." However, as a 009 fan myself, I knew how difficult a remake would be, so from the start, I didn't want to do a remake. I thought I would either show the things depicted in the original from a different perspective, or depict what goes on behind the scenes of the original... if I could make a manga out of the world that Ishinomori-sensei had created, that would be fine.

Actually, my first idea was to use the title "Cyborg 003" instead of "Cyborg 009." There are many episodes in the original work. I thought it would be good to depict the exploits of 009 and the others from 003's point of view. Around that time, I started drawing 009 doodles on Twitter, wondering how my fans would react (laughs). The reaction was actually quite good.

After a while, Masato Hayase of Ishimori Productions, who had seen my behavior on Twitter, contacted me. At that time, I first told him, "I have no intention of doing a remake," "I think I will have to tamper with the main story, but I don't want to do anything that will tarnish the name of Ishinomori or cause trouble," and "I have no intention of suddenly doing something completely new using 009."

So, when I showed the name of the "Cyborg 003" I was planning to Mr. Hayase, he said, "It's good, but it's a waste" (laughs). He said that I probably wouldn't have many opportunities to draw "Cyborg 009", so if I was going to do it, why not do it under the title "Cyborg 009."

I was unsure what to do. I knew that I definitely couldn't start over from the Birth arc. After thinking about it, I decided that I wanted to write a sequel to the unfinished Angels arc, and this time I started working on the story in that direction. It took a while for the project to move forward in concrete terms, but one day Hayase contacted me and asked, "What about Akita Shoten's Champion RED?" The person in charge was a big fan of Ishinomori's work, and although he was young, he had a strong attachment to Cyborg 009. He strongly recommended that I work with him, saying, "It's rare to come across a person in charge like this!" (laughs).

First, I showed the draft of the 160 or so pages I had saved up to Kobayashi-san, who was in charge of the project, as a proposal. He said, "This is too niche." He said it was a bit difficult for general readers... (bitter laugh). To be honest, I thought that was probably true. I thought it was difficult after all (laughs). I was about to give up, but Kobayashi-san's enthusiasm from then on was amazing. He said, "I want to somehow give 009 shape." As we had various meetings, he said that he liked the Mythos Cyborg arc and that he wanted to see it again. But the Mythos Cyborg arc had a very difficult ending, so even if he said it was a continuation, I couldn't imagine it. Actually, at first, if the drafts I had saved up weren't accepted, I was planning to step down, saying, "It's not my turn anymore, someone else should write it." However, Kobayashi-san seemed to like my drawings quite a bit, and he enthusiastically tried to stop me. I think that the first trigger for me to decide to serialize this series was when he said, "I want to see 009 with these drawings."

- Okazaki's explanation of the BGOOParts Delete project evolution

The resulting story, though full of many mysteries at first, pays homage to these two ideas as well as the many different end points of 009 by its conclusion. Rather than attempt to make it a direct sequel, Okazaki employs the idea of a 009 multiverse, as the 00 cyborgs acknowledge having passed through different worlds and experiencing the memories their counterparts there would have. There were still many restrictions of things that Okazaki was not allowed to do though, such as directly referencing Nazi Germany and the Jewish diaspora in Greece, with him instead having to handle references to past wars and the countries involved rather lightly.

Okazaki would later equate his handling of continuing 009 through an alternate universe setting to that of Sunrise's Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX being a divergent history way of continuing the UC Gundam universe but without betraying that had come before, as well as hoping that any writers that wanted to pick up from his story would handle things the same way:

"Oh, I see. Is that new Gundam set in a future world line in which Zeon was victorious? Yeah...that's a good way to avoid distorting the original work too much...my own work, "Cyborg 009 BGOOParts Delete," was also a work in which I put a lot of effort into creating a setting that would allow those who followed to create something versatile without distorting the original, so I feel a bit of empathy. It's been a while since it was out of my hands, but... if it's about a plan for how to wrap up the long story of the Angel Arc in my work "Cyborg 009 BGOOParts Delete"... I'm hopeful that any manga artist who has a strong love for the original work, like (Kenichi) Muraeda or (Kazuhiko) Shimamoto, could create an interesting work without distorting Ishinomori-sensei's original."

In the plot, it has been over 50 years since the Magma Island sank into the sea (its date given as February 19th, 1968), but rumors abound of strange, Greek mythology-esque monsters having been sighted in the world. This has left people curious of these urban legends, including the 00 cyborgs, who have traveled to this parallel future world to resolve that hanging thread. They learn that ever since the sinking of Magma, the Mythos Cyborgs were secretly sealed away in a deep stasis, and realize they must destroy them as a remnant of Black Ghost. Unfortunately before they can do that, the Mythos Cyborgs are revived, stronger than before, and brought back out for a new battle.

Now the two teams of cyborgs must fight once more, with Dr. Gaia able to repair the Mythos whenever he pleases, in a deadly battle that will decide the future.

Characters

The 00 Cyborgs

• Cyborg 001
• Cyborg 002
• Cyborg 003
• Cyborg 004
• Cyborg 005
• Cyborg 006
• Cyborg 007
• Cyborg 008
• Cyborg 009

In paying homage to the original "Cyborg 003" concept, 003 is revealed at the end to have been the narrator for the whole story and can be considered to be its ultimate protagonist.

It is revealed that during the sinking of Magma, 001 had managed to teleport the rest of the team off the island to the submarine where Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Uranus were waiting. While they managed to barely escape unscathed, they assumed the Mythos team to have all perished. Upon learning that the Mythos cyborgs are in fact alive and have been brought back out to fight, the 00 cyborgs consider their revival to be an unnatural phenomena and that in defeating the the other team for once and for all, they'll be able to truly put them to rest.

The Mythos Cyborgs

• Apollo
• Helena, aka Artemis
• Pan
• Minotaur
• Achilles
• Atlas
• Centaurs (there are three of them; two may possibly be the originals D and K)
• Alogo-Potamo (Hippo Man)
• Hippos (Horse Man)
• Leon (Lion Man), aka Heracles
• Hera (Woman Esper)
• Dr. Gildo Gaia, aka Zeus
• Athena, a killer guard robot made by Zeus
• Ares, another killer guard robot

The Mythos cyborgs are explained away as having been citizens of Greece (intended to be part of its remaining Jewish population), who were suffering in the country post-WWII and accepted Gaia's offer due to the mistreatment and poverty they had continued to experience with Greece's terrible economic situation. This is with the exception of Hera, revealed to have been a Black Ghost scientist named Renata Novak who was in love with Gaia and underwent remodeling.

Hera is revealed to have died at the end of the original Mythos, but her consciousness survives within Atlas' discarded head and she is able to possess individuals through a special artifact necklace called Baskania. Gaia is also shown to have a possession ability, which he uses to his own benefit due to his separate Zeus body having mechanical problems and being in storage.

Other developments unique to this story include that Helena is truly representative of the goddess Artemis, and can call on her "Artemis power" to make her cybernetic ribs attach to machinery and pilot it (as she does to the Dolphin, and then Atlas' body). Heracles is also revealed to not truly be a lion creature, but that his lion face is a mask hiding his true human identity beneath.

Allies

• Dr. Gilmore: There are two types of Gilmore in this story. There is the long-deceased one of the parallel future world, and the original existing back in the 1970s. The parallel Gilmore, as a spirit, has entrusted the long-hidden upgraded "Super Dolphin" to the 00 cyborgs, which is buried beneath the former site of his laboratory.
• Hitomi Nagura-Uranus-Brown (ヒトミ・ナグラ・ウラノス・ブラウン): The daughter of Dr. Uranus, born from a relationship between him and a Japanese woman. She would later marry Ricardo Brown, the owner of the Volt Group conglomerate. Hitomi eventually winds up possessed by Hera, after Hera discards Riko as her preferred body. Hitomi was originally intended to be the main heroine of the arc, but Okazaki's editor Kobayashi requested more focus to be put on Riko at the start.
• Ricardo Brown (リカルド・ブラウン): The husband of Hitomi, who has been body-jacked by Dr. Gaia/Zeus and instrumental in reviving the Mythos Cyborgs. The possession by Zeus gives him the ability to shape-shift into whatever form he'd like.
• Riko Uhuru Nagura-Brown (リコ・ウフル・ ナグラ・ブラウン): The granddaughter of Dr. Uranus, who is saved by Joe from one of the Centaurs but later possessed by Hera for a time.
• Jean Arnoul: The brother of 003. In this future parallel world, he is an old man and never appears to have reconnected with his sister, who disappeared back in the 1960s. He is Riko's landlord and acts as a surrogate father figure to her.

Dr. Tyrone Uranus was once associated with Mythos in the past in this parallel world, as with the original canon, though he is now deceased. It is his above descendants that are pivotal in the story. In this continuity, it is clarified that he was of French-African heritage and he had indeed defected after the collapse of Magma, marrying and keeping his past a great secret to his wife and everyone else.

The ORGate Observers: "Double-O-9"

• Double-O-1
• Double-O-2
• Double-O-3
• Double-O-4
• Double-O-5
• Double-O-6
• Double-O-7
• Double-O-8
• Double-O-9

There also exists this incarnation of the team, who are briefly glimpsed in the epilogue via 003's recollections of their adventures. These cyborgs dress in white and black full-body jumpsuits, but retain the large gold chest buttons and can be further differentiated by their entirely black eyes. They were initially a group of parallel world enemies to the 00 Cyborgs, aiming to wipe them out in events prior to this story, but the two teams (apparently) amicably fused together.

As the 00 Cyborgs continue to travel through each parallel world to wipe out "BGOOParts", they will merge with their counterparts that exist or had existed there, while erasing any memories and traces that they had even been a thing there. This is to strengthen themselves for their final battle against the Angels and Gods, who will aim to delete them from the world, and become truly powerful beings that consist of all the memories and experiences of the different multiverse 00 number teams that have existed.

Chapters

1. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 1
2. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 2
3. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 3
4. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 4
5. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 5
6. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 6
7. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 7
8. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 8
9. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 9
10. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 10
11. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 11
12. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 12
13. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 13
14. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 14
15. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 15
16. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 16
17. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 17
18. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 18
19. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 19
20. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 20
21. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 21
22. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 22
23. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 23
24. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 24
25. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 25
26. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 26
27. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 27
28. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 28
29. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 29
30. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 30
31. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 31
32. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 32
33. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 33
34. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 34
35. The Resurrection of a Myth Part 35: Epilogue: 003

Cancelled Sequels

Eventually, on February 27th, 2025, Okazaki would clarify in a set of tweets that he had fully intended to continue the BGOOParts Delete story past "Mythos", revisiting other storylines in Cyborg 009, but various circumstances meant these sequel plans were rejected by the publisher and IshimoriPro:

"Incidentally, for my work "Cyborg 009 BGOOPARTS DELETE," I had plans for a Vietnam chapter and a Middle East chapter after the already published Mythos Cyborg chapter. And after that, I thought it would be nice to have a happy ending to the Angel Arc... but unfortunately, for various reasons... I just wasn't that lucky... (bitter smile)"

Trivia

• As with the original manga, three certain different worlds and their pivotal ending events (before Ishinomori's attempt at writing Conclusion: GOD'S WAR, followed by his son's take) laid out in the epilogue would happen to be the finale of the Yomi arc, as well as referencing the unfinished "Angels" and "Battle with the Gods" storylines, which included Dr. Gilmore being possessed by the Gods and killed by 001. It can then be figured that out in the 009 multiverse, the worlds where Yomi and these later arcs take place on are all considered to be separate, with a diverging point being whether 009 and 002 die in their re-entry to Earth or are saved by 001 (the possibility of their actual death on a world is remembered by 003, as she recalls a scenario where Joe is truly lost from that event). As the Yomi arc was also a replacement itself for the deferred Mythos, it may also be figured there are some worlds where Mythos happened instead as that pivotal battle against Black Ghost instead of Yomi.
• In tweets, Okazaki would explain that while his editor forbade him from directly using the term "Jewish people" (Yudaya-jin) to identify the Mythos cyborgs' heritage, he felt it important that Apollo and Helena would especially be such to explain why they would be ordinary humans yet be horribly discriminated against and feeling driven to accept the offer by Black Ghost to "become gods". "When I see fan art like this, I really wanted to depict the Mythos Cyborgs' past in accordance with historical facts. Because of Pu◯ n, we can't use expressions like Na◯is due to adult reasons... But the Mythos actually had a deep drama going on... In my setting they were Je◯ish people in Greece...Both Apollo and Helena were given terrible situations in which they had to rely on their young and beautiful bodies for sustenance...That's why, in the original story, Helena's heart is shaken by one word from Joe, the first time she is treated like a beautiful girl... There were really a lot of things I wasn't able to depict. This is the modern age...During the Nazi occupation, 90% of the Jewish population in Greece was arrested and forced to meet a tragic end. The survivors also became miserable, socially vulnerable people in the civil war that followed WW2... Yes... that's why I really wanted to depict the drama of the Mythos who willingly sought to become mythical cyborgs."
• Poseidon is a notable member of the original Mythos cyborgs (along with the nameless dragon that briefly appeared) to not receive a role in this story, possibly due to the fact he only had such a bit part early on in the arc and was never actually utilized in battle. It does appear, however, that the general "bearded old god" look he had is similar to the aesthetic that Okazaki would use for his creation of Zeus.
• As with the 2001 series, Okazaki has continued the identification of the Woman Esper as Hera, while utilizing the Heracles name for Lion Man from the Mega-CD (though also nicknaming him "Leon"). While keeping Helena's classic appearance intact, he also manages to split the difference between different adaptations using either her or Artemis as the sister of Apollo by deciding that both are her names. Horse Man is only identified by the name "Hippos" (from hippo; Greek for "horse"), while the infamous Hippo Man informs 007 that his true name is Alogo-Potamo (from the words alogos, meaning "irrational, brute," and potamos, meaning "river").
• Prior to this, the "Ares" name had been utilized for the Generalissimo/Demon God Statue in Akiyoshi Sakai's light novel Cyborg 009: SF Roman, which was a combination of the Mythos and Yomi arcs as the Monster Wars movie had been (having been made as a media mix in tandem with Ishinomori starting production on that arc, and being released by the time the arc wrapped). Masato Hayase and Kyoichi Nanatsuki would continue the Ares name for its successor Ares 2 in 8Man vs. Cyborg 009, but in a world without Yomi and with Mythos in mind for this work, Okazaki opted to utilize it for a killer robot and the most inhuman of Gaia's creations. This would also mark the first time the goddess Athena's name would be sourced for anything in 009 for Gaia's other robot, when it comes to how Greek and Roman mythology characters were pivotal for such things.