8th Man After is a 1993 OVA anime that serves as a sequel to 8 Man (1963), animated by J.C.Staff. It's also a Darker and Edgier Revival to attract new viewers to the franchise.
The OVA takes place years after the original manga and anime, where Hachiro Azuma's a well-established superhero as 8 Man. Sachiko Yokogawa, Azuma's love interest and secretary, was shocked by the revelation in the prologue that Azuma was 8 Man; Azuma runs away and is never seen again.
Years later, Sachiko moved on and was recruited to the Biotechno Corporation in order to start over, working in public relations. One day, a private detective named Itaru Hazama was recruited by Professor Tani to investigate what seemed to be theft of cyborg-related parts; the two meet when Hazama tries to sneak in to interview the Biotechno CEO, Daigo. Hazama later learns that the trail leads to a criminal syndicate led by a Mr. Halloween. And among those working under him is Tony Gleck, a Dirty Cop who's responsible for killing Hazama's sister many years ago prior to his PI work. To work the case (and survive being the new 8 Man), Hazama needs to navigate the New York City-esque city while trying to avoid being killed by Mr. Halloween's goons. Or by Tony, who has a bone to pick with him.
This has joined its originator as a Cult Classic due to its unique blend of dark Cyberpunk and over-the-top Super Hero themes. It is also remembered for its mock-worthy Drugs Are Bad themes - Cybernetics Eat Your Soul because they are unusable without Psycho Serum. 8 Man is resurrected to fight them, fueled by Super Serum.
8th Man After was released in English by Streamline Pictures in the Nineties; Discotek Media re-released it on DVD in 2016 with both the original Japanese language track and Streamline's dub.
There is a manga adaptation that lasted for one volume, which was published by Kodansha from 1994 to 1995 under Weekly Shōnen Magazine.
The OVA contains examples of:
- Brain in a Jar: A scientist mentioned in the first few episodes is revealed to be Tony Gleck's Evil Genius, who has been providing support for his growing collection of cybernetic enhancements. The scientist is able to avoid the risks of the Psycho Serum the other cyborgs in the series use because of his immobile condition. However, the only solution he can offer Gleck is to steal 8 Man's body and use it as his own.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Cyborgs routinely run rampant because the cybernetic link to the nervous system along with the massive boost in strength unhinges most people's minds. 8 Man, being a (Bishōnen) Phlebotinum Rebel with "good cybernetics" is able to escape these effects (mostly) and battle the evil MegaCorp producing them.
- Dragon Ascendant: After sabotaging the football team, Tony Gleck is able to stage a hostile takeover of the Biotechno MegaCorp, and force his former boss Mr. Halloween (Daigo) to be turned into a cyborg suicide bomber.
- Drugs Are Bad: Used by the OVA in place of Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: it's not the cybernetics per se that drives the users crazy, but the massive quantities of Psycho Serum they have to take to use the implants effectively. 8 Man makes do with good-old Super Serum. Which turns out to be closer to "I Just Get These Headaches" Serum, because of the overreaction Hazama has to the memory of his (fiancee/sister)'s murder. The metaphor becomes a little on-the-nose when 8 Man has to fight a football team that was augmented, and later help his sidekick's Disappeared Dad, a team member, fight through withdrawal symptoms.
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: In the first episode (or act of the Compilation Movie), Tanaka mentions that Hazama's fiancee was killed. Much later, when Hazama actually flashes back to the incident, several characters mention that his sister was the one killed.note
- Flash Step: 8 Man's superspeed is portrayed as this trope, with the sparks of his footsteps often the only sign that something struck an opponent.
- Killed Off for Real: It's revealed that Azuma was deleted from his cyborg body with no explanation as to how or why he was deleted, the only remaining trace being his name, and his successor Hazama inheriting the body. However, combining statements from Sachiko and Professor Tani suggests that Azuma eventually wasn't able to cope with his situation and died. Since Tani had the body to begin with, it's possible that he ended up euthanizing Azuma.
- Nonstandard Character Design: Tanaka ("Fumblethumbs") from the original series (and his rookie cop nephew Ichiro) have noticeably more cartoony designs than the other characters.
- Police Are Useless: The city police have a hard time taking on heavily armed cyborg terrorists and criminals because their cyborg parts give them the edge over them with built-in small arms. It takes a lot of firepower to take on the bad guys.
- Put on a Bus: Azuma disappears not a minute into the OVA, never to be seen again.
- We later discover that Hazama isn't a totally new 8 Man, but inhabits the original body. Azuma's mind had been deleted by persons and methods unknown.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In "Mr. Halloween", Hazama remembers the night his sister (or fiancee?) was murdered by Tony Gleck, and how he promptly hunted down and killed those responsible, despite the risk that he can be arrested. The memory of the murder unfortunately can trigger Unstoppable Rage.
- Super Serum: Used in the OVA; Professor Tani has a higher-quality serum that allows Hazama to function without going crazy. At least, without going as crazy.
- Tagalong Kid: Tony - not to be confused with The Dragon Tony Gleck. Tony is a Satisfied Street Rat who is basically Hazama's sidekick.
- That Man Is Dead: Professor Tani advises the new 8 Man to use this as a coping mechanism after Hazama's transformation.
- Visionary Villain: Daigo, the CEO of the Biotechno corporation, dreams of making the city great under his guidance — including the cyberpunk crime wave he causes as the crime boss "Mr. Halloween". Gleck is able to depose Daigo after his plan to create a championship football team by using cyborgs ends in a massacre.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Hazama still has this ability as the new 8 Man; however, besides changing to and from his secret identity, he only uses it to distract Sachiko from discovering his secret. When she realizes that Hazama had been stabbed before his Emergency Transformation, Hazama uses his powers to produce the scar that Sachiko expected.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Sachiko chews out 8 Man for using excessive force in killing a rampaging cyborg football team in "End Run", going so far as to call him scarier than the cyborgs he killed. The cyborgs that were in the midst of slaughtering dozens of innocent fans in the stands and were just about to do the same to Sachiko before 8 Man arrived. Of course, it could be a Dub-Induced Plot Hole because 8 Man not only killed cyborgs that he'd already disabled, but grabbed Sachiko by the collar and was about to do the same to her. 8 Man and Professor Tani comment that the incident was a rampage; Hazama and 8 Man aren't really that compatible due to his Unstoppable Rage, and there's an ever-present threat of Hazama tearing people to pieces just because he's in the grip of a violent flashback.
