Cybersix
Cybersix is a series of Argentine comic books created by writers Carlos Meglia and Carlos Trillo. The series first appeared in Spanish during November, 1993.
The heroine of the series is the eponymous character, Cybersix, a leather-clad android who by day operates behind the guise of a high school literature teacher, and by night battles the monstrous biological weapons of her creator. She is aided in her adventures by her childhood friend Cyber-29, who is reborn in the body of a black panther known as Data 7. The extended cast includes Cybersix's colleague and love interest Lucus Amato, as well as other supporting characters.
In 1995, the comics were adapted into a badly-received live-action television series, and again in 1999 into a much more successful thirteen-episode animated series by TMS, with positive critical reception from sources like the Pulcinella Awards,[1] which first aired in Canada on TELETOON and was later dubbed in several other countries.
Story
Template:Spoiler Dr. Von Reichter, a member of the SS and the Nazi party, is an expert in genetic engineering. He originally began his work in concentration camps during World War II, implanting cybernetic organs in the bodies of dead prisoners in an attempt to bring them back to life to serve in the Führer's army. However, the Allied forces intervened to defeat the Nazis, so he fled to South America where he once again continued his sinister experiments.
From one of his experiments emerged the Cyber Series — artificial humanoids possessing superhuman strength and agility. But something was amiss: the 5000 original Cybers, engineered to be the perfect servants, mimicked human emotions too closely, displaying free will of their own. When they began disobeying their creator, Von Reichter ordered all of the Cyber Series to be destroyed. By this time, Cyber-29 had already died in a playtime accident when he fell from a cliff, but Von Reichter managed to transfer the dead child's brain into the body of a panther to be reborn as Data 7. Cybersix was the only true Cyber to survive the massacre, escaping with the help of a black slave who hid her away in a fishing village. When the slave was later interrogated and killed by Von Reichter, Cybersix escaped once again and made her way to the fictitious city of Meridiana, where she adopted the identity of a boy killed in a car wreck, Adrian Seidelman, and now battles her evil creator and his minions.
Like all of Von Reichter's creations, Cybersix depends on a mysterious life-giving fluid called "sustenance". When her supply ran out, she was forced to prowl the city in search of other creatures of Von Reichter's making, such as Frankenstein-like Fixed Ideas or the more human-like Technos, to kill them and take their sustenance to survive. Almost by accident, she became a superhero by defending the people of her city from Von Reichter's malevolent plans, often carried out by his cloned "son" José. Along the way, she meets Data 7, a black panther with the brain of her brother, Cyber-29, as well as a young boy named Julian, and falls in love with biology teacher/reporter Lucas Amato. Template:Endspoiler
Production history
Comics
The Cybersix comics were originally published in Argentina and written in Spanish between November, 1993 and 1999, and spanned six volumes.[2] Collections were released in French and Italian, with twelve volumes distributed by Editions Vents d'Ouest for the former, forty-five for the latter,[3] but no English or Japanese versions were ever made available.[4][5]
Live-action television series
The Cybersix live-action television series debuted in Argentina on March 15, 1995. It was produced by Luis Gandulfo, Sebastián Parrotta, Fernando Rascovsky, and Andre Ronco, and written by Ricardo Rodríguez, Carlos Meglia, and Carlos Trillo. The series aired on Telefé, but was cancelled after several episodes due to low ratings.
Cybersix was played by model Carolina Peleritti, and José was played by Rodrigo de la Serna.
Animated television series
The Cybersix animated television series debuted in Canada on September 6, 1999, and was subsequently dubbed for French, Japanese, Malaysian, Polish, South American, and Thai viewers.[5] It was animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, produced by Herve Bedard, Toshihiko Masuda, and Koji Takeuchi, directed by Atsuko Tanaka, Hiroyuki Aoyama, Nabuo Tomizawa, and Kazuhide Tomonaga, and written by Catherine Girczyc Carlos Meglia, and Carlos Trillo. Original music was composed by Robbi Finkel,[5] and character designs were overseen by Teiichi Takiguchi.
The title sequence and closing credits featured lyrics written by Robert Olivier, which were sung by jazz vocalist Coral Egan.[5]
There were five main cast members who voiced Cybersix. Cathy Weseluck performed the dual role of Adrian Seidelman and Cybersix. Michael Dobson performed the voice of Lucus Amato. Andrew Francis played Julian, while Alex Doduk and Terry Klassen voiced José and Von Reichter, respectively. Additional voices were provided by Janyse Jaud, Brian Drummond, Chantal Strand, and L. Harvey Gold.
Along with the background music, several elements of the cartoon's visual design hint that Meridiana is modeled after Buenos Aires, teeming with decorative sculpture throughout the metropolis, numerous outdoor markets and open-air cafés.
On April 28, 2000 Cybersix won "Special Mention for the Best Science Fiction Program" at the Pulcinella Awards in Italy for that year's competition.[1]
Episode list
| Ep# | Total | Title | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Mysterious Shadow" | September 6, 1999 | |
|
High school teacher Lucas Amato makes a new friend in fellow teacher Adrian Seidelman and encounters the dangerous minions of José and Von Reichter by night, not suspecting that "Adrian" is actually the mysterious and enchanting Cybersix, who comes to his rescue. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "Data 7 & Julian" | September 13, 1999 | |
|
Von Reichter sends a panther by the name of Data 7 to track down and destroy Cybersix. The cat holds the transplanted brain of Cyber-29, Cybersix's deceased brother, and defects to join her instead. | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "Terra" | September 20, 1999 | |
|
Von Reichter creates a monster named Terra from ancient mud fused with sustenance. When the creature battles Cybersix, her altruistic essence transforms its malevolent heart to goodness, only to ultimately sacrifice itself on her behalf. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "Yashimoto, Private Eye" | September 27, 1999 | |
|
José kidnaps a young girl named Ikiko to blackmail Meridiana's most renowned detective, Yashimoto, into hunting down Cybersix. Julian also falls into José's clutches and Cybersix must rescue them. | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Lori is Missing" | October 4, 1999 | |
|
Lori, a streetwise teen at Meridiana High School, runs into José's gang in a dark alley and ends up being abducted as José schemes to tunnel his way into the city bank. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Blue Birds of Horror" | October 11, 1999 | |
|
Meridiana is beset by swarms of hostile birds controlled by José from a TV broadcast tower, but Cybersix and Lucas discover the source of the signal and set out to foil José's plans. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "Brainwashed" | October 18, 1999 | |
|
Julian's friend, Detective Henrique, and other officers in the Meridiana police force are brainwashed by José's new mind-control device, ordered to patrol the city streets for Cybersix. Julian tries to help but instead becomes bait to lure Cybersix into a trap. | ||||
| 8 | 8 | "Gone With the Wings" | October 25, 1999 | |
|
Von Reichter sends a horde of winged goblins to terrorize the city with the shrieking destructive power of their supersonic blasts. With some assistance from Julian and Data 7, Cybersix battles this winged menace. | ||||
| 9 | 9 | "Full Moon Fascination" | November 1, 1999 | |
|
Strange werewolf attacks threaten the citizens of Meridiana when a new teacher named Elaine signs on to work at the high school. She quickly seduces Lucas, much to Adrian's chagrin. When Lucas transforms into a werewolf, Cybersix is reluctant to fight him and tries to remind Lucas of who he really is and their relationship. | ||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Eye" | November 8, 1999 | |
|
Von Reichter sends a bizarre eyeball creature to José for testing. José exercises its mind-robbing powers of hypnosis to overtake the city, but the Eye soon grows beyond his control. | ||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Greatest Show in Meridiana" | November 15, 1999 | |
|
José captures Data 7 and stages a circus show in Meridiana whose main attraction is an army of deadly mechanical animals pitted against Cybersix. | ||||
| 12 | 12 | "Daylight Devil" | November 22, 1999 | |
|
A reptilian woman named Grizelda who has powers of invisibility stalks Cybersix relentlessly in a deadly chase. As Adrian, he can only run from her, not wishing to reveal his true identity in the light of day. | ||||
| 13 | 13 | "The Final Confrontation" | November 29, 1999 | |
|
Von Reichter sends a island-sized living bomb toward Meridiana, planning to destroy the city and Cybersix once and for all. After kissing Lucas in a farewell embrace, Cybersix rushes off to force her evil creator into a final showdown. Meanwhile, feeling cheated by his father's plan, José has reprogrammed the bomb to return to Von Reichter's seaside lab, which is engulfed in explosive flames as Cybersix desperately races for the exit. | ||||
Differences between media
The method by which Cybersix obtains sustenance is different depending on series incarnation. In the comic book, Cybersix sucks sustenance directly from the neck of those she hunts as if she were a vampire; however, she does not have fangs, instead simply making a wound in the victim's neck with her teeth, then drinking the sustenance that bleeds from the wound. Conversely, in the animated series, Von Reichter's creations leave glowing vials of sustenance after being killed, which Cybersix open and consume.
Cybersix's outfit of black bodysuit, high heels, hat, cropped gloves, and cape with red lining was taken from a Techno prostitue in the comics, while its origin is never explained in the animated television series.
Some of the more mature story elements, such as José and Von Reichter's Nazi background or Cybersix's youth, are not openly revealed in the animated series, but are suggested through dialogue, flashbacks, or visual clues, such as the military-style goose-stepping that both José and Von Reichter engage in.
The live-action series was heavily toned-down from the comics. Violence was reduced, and mentions of sex and drugs were absent.
References
- ^ a b Telecom. "CYBERSIX won a prize at the PULCINELLA AWARDS". Retrieved 2007-05-15.
- ^ "Cybersix.it". Retrieved 2007-05-15.
- ^ "Cybersix.it". Retrieved 2007-05-15.
- ^ "Cybersix.it". Retrieved 2007-05-15.
- ^ a b c d Telecom. "Cybersix FAQ". Retrieved 2007-05-15.