| Ghost of the Pacific Cyborg 009 (1968) | |
|---|---|
| Episode 16 | |
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| Air date | July 19, 1968 |
| Written by | Masaki Tsuji |
| Directed by | Yugo Serikawa |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Tragedy of the Beast Man |
Next Ghost Alliance |
Ghost of the Pacific (太平洋の亡霊?) is the sixteenth episode of the 1968 Cyborg 009 Anime. It is a story original to the anime and not based on any manga chapters.
Plot Summary[]
The Cyborgs and Professor Gilmore are summoned to Hawaii to the site of Pearl Harbor. They are asked to investigate strange sightings of ghost ships and planes that are followed by attacks to anyone who sees them. They soon find the US military, American civilains and themselves under attack by ships and planes, almost as if the terrible events of World War II are being re-enacted by the vengeful spirits of Japanese Imperial Soldiers who had died!
Episode Recap[]
009, 003 and Dr. Gilmore are in Hawaii at the site of Pearl Harbor with the US War Secretary. Gilmore asks the Secretary why they are here and he explains that many tourists and civilian residents have reported seeing ghost planes, ships and submarines that appear and disappear into thin air. 009 is skeptical and even the War Secretary says it seems fishy but there have been so many reports that he had to investigate. They head to the exact spot of the strange occurrences and see the water parting, almost as if a ship is moving though it. 003 detects an engine underwater and their ship gets hit, causing everyone to fall down on the deck. A squadron of Zero Fighters appear and begin opening fire on the Pearl Harbor Naval Station and Hickam Airforce Base, damaging and destroying the US Naval Pacific fleet and the stationed aircraft. Once the attack ends, Pearl Harbor Naval Station is destroyed and Hickam is crippled. As the group stand in shock, 003 sees a submarine and its commander: the skeleton ghost of a Japanese Imperial Naval officer.
A B-52 is enroute to Hickam and the Air Force crew talk about the ghost planes, thinking that it is just a big hoax. Little do they know that a ghost Zero fighter is sneaking up behind them, which then opens fire and destroys the aircraft, killing its occupants. The squadron then turn their attention to a US Naval ship out at sea and destroy it using drones a Kamikaze ramming attack. The attacks continue as Zero Fighters and Japanese subs continue to destroy the US Navy fleet.
The 00 Cyborgs meet at Dr. Gilmore's lab and 009 asks 006 if he has learned anything about the ghost ships and planes, to which he says that he has no information that would help. 007 says if they don't act soon, the USA will be defenseless if the attacks continue.
At the bottom of the sea, an old Japanese Imperial Battleship begins to regenerate back into working condition and rise to surface.
A Japanese JSDF pilot named Osumo is testing an aircraft when he suddenly loses contact with his base. He sees a ghostly Zero fighter on his side, which he finds strange as there is nothing on his radar. The ghost of a Zero pilot speaks through his radio, telling him that he is weak and a traitor to his country. But Osumo tries to reason with the ghost that they are at peace now and the Second World War has been over for years. But the ghost rants that the war is never over until those who have wronged the Japanese and betrayed them all die and the "blood of the Allies will stain the waters of the sea". Osumo is attacked and he counters by trying to fire a missile at the Zero Fighter, then plans to eject from his plane. He lets the Zero fighter follow behind the jet then ejects just before the plane gets shot down.
Dr. Gilmore paces around his lab worried that if these attacks continue, the United Nations will view Japan as a hostile nation and declare war on Japan again. He is frustrated that there does not seem to be any scientific explanation for this event. 001 suspects that the person behind this is only targeting America and suspects that these "ghosts" are being controlled. 009 says they need to form a plan, with 007 asking how in the world they are going to fight ghosts. Dr. Gilmore says that he remembers an article years ago about a science experiment to convert human thought into physical objects or warp reality to make their thoughts real. The Japanese government was interested in the experiment of thought projection, but scrapped its funding. He believes that a professor who worked on it, Professor Taira, might have perfected the technology to make the concept work, as he went missing after the project was cancelled and has not been seen since.
The battleship emerges from the sea, revealed to be the Kongō, one of the powerful ships of the First Imperial Naval Fleet. A US naval ship is sailing though some fog and then the ship's Admiral sees the Nagatō. The Admiral recognizes it from the war and shows fear as he orders his men to try and turn the ship around to evade the Nagatō which is going full speed ahead to ram the US ship. The Admiral's command comes too late as the Kongō uses its faster engines to ram into the vessel... 002 reports on the attack and says that the Kongō is headed for San Fransisco. 001 says there is no more time and they need to pinpoint where the thought projections are coming from. 002 informs Gilmore that the Navy ships and the Air Force squads stationed in San Fransisco are trying to fend off the Nagatō.
It is shown the battle is not going well as several ships surround the Nagatō and open fire, but the ship is completely unharmed. The Nagatō then returns fire and destroys the ships surrounding it and then uses its anti-aircraft guns to shoot the squad of fighter jets out of the sky. The Dolphin rushes toward San Fransisco and then Dr. Gilmore send 008 and 009 to locate the source of the attacks on the Kongō. The two scale the side of the ship by 008 using his suction cup fingers and carrying 009 on his back. 006 thinks that the ship has real ghosts, but Gilmore dismisses it as there has to be a scientific explanation. 006 thinks that the ship is haunted by the ghosts of Japanese soldiers and adds that the US and Japan are still not entirely on friendly terms, telling that his people believe in spirits. 007 wonders if it is ghosts are responsible and then yells at 002 saying it is America's fault this is happening by using atomic weapons in the war.
008 and 009 board the ship and get readings of a power source and attempt to investigate, but a US bomber comes in and they escape before it drops an atomic weapon on the ship. When the mushroom cloud settles, it is revealed to the shock of 008 and 009 that the Nagatō is still intact. Dr. Gilmore is beginning to doubt that science is going to solve this. 003 calls the team and informs them that they have found a survivor of the attacks. Gilmore decides they should visit him so they could get a possible lead. The patient is revealed to be Omuro who is in a fevered PTSD state of torment as the voices of the "ghosts" will not leave him alone. 001 uses his psychic powers to read Omuro's mind to pinpoint a possible location of where the "ghosts" are coming from and tells them to start there as he, 003 and 009 will form a small team to sneak in. Gilmore objects to risking endangering 001's life, but 001 argues they do not have any time to debate and lays out the plan. 009 requests 002 accompany them as he can fly him to the location and still be undetected by radar. 002 flies 009 to the location and as they talk, 002 hopes that their countries continue to share peace and 009 says he wouldn't want another war with America.
The power of the force controlling the "ghosts" gets even stronger as more and more sunken ships and downed planes from World War II regenerate, emerge from their watery graves and go forth to destroy the United States.
009 spots a remote island and as they approach, 002 notices a squad of Zero Fighters begin to attack them and 003 in her jet. 009 lands in the now open cockpit of 003's jet and 002 uses the boosters on his jet boots to push the plane from behind to travel faster. The three cyborgs outrun the Zero fighters and land on the beach of the island. 001 is perplexed as this island didn't appear on the jet's radar and shouldn't exist, implying that it is man made. 009 thinks that if this island is man made they can find who is responsible for this. 003 then hears mechanical sounds coming from the shore and the Kongō emerges from behind a cliff and fires upon them, destroying their jet. The four cyborgs flee and try to dodge the Nagatō's fire, entering into a cave to hide.
As they go deeper into the cave, 001 detects a psychic energy coming from a supercomputer and generator and points the others in the direction of its location. 001 gets tired and falls asleep, needing to recharge his energy as he has overtaxed his body. Without the aid of 001, the three cyborgs decide to enter the chamber of the machine and face whatever force is in there on their own. As they enter the chamber, 009 is shocked to see a man attached to a machine surrounded by computers. The man is revealed to be Professor Taira, who has been expecting the cyborgs. Taira says that he had a son who served in the Imperial Military and died in combat. Taira shows hatred towards 002 as he is an American, calling him an "American Dog" when 002 tries to speak to him.
002 tries to rush him, only to get shocked by an electric forcefield. 002 then tries to use his Super Gun but the beam gets blocked by the shield. Taira says he only let the cyborgs come this close to him as they pose no threat to him with his forcefield up. 009 asks why he is doing this and Professor Taira reveals that he had a PhD and worked on this machine for years and now with it complete he can project his thoughts across the world and destroy America. He then demonstrates his machine by targeting the Golden Gate Bridge. 009 says this is madness as he tries to reason with Professor Taira, saying he will kill millions and he is committing an act of genocide on innocent people.
Professor Taira rants that he is giving Americans what they deserve as they are all guilty, not innocent, and will face judgement. 009 asks why he hates America so much, with Professor Taira responding that when he came home from abroad he found his home and nation in ruins. Professor Taira saw that the Allies used the atomic bomb on unsuspecting innocent civilians and he had lost his entire family to the bomb and in the war. Images of the Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial are shown and the devastation that World War II left behind. He then recites the death toll of the atomic bomb and speaks of all the families who lost their homes and loved ones. He is only doing this to give the victims the solace of knowing the terror that destroyed their homes had been vanquished. He says that on the very anniversary of the day Hiroshima was destroyed, he will avenge those who had been killed. "TODAY, THE IMPERIAL SUN RISES ONCE MORE!"
The Thought Constructs attack San Fransisco and the military forces protecting it. Professor Taira sees the destruction through his device and is pleased. 009 tries to stop him but even with his super-speed, the forcefield holds and electrifies him. 009 keeps trying but Professor Taira says it is no use as his forcefield will hold no matter how much force 009 uses. 009 then tries to appeal to Professor Taira, saying his hate has blinded him and he has forgotten his humanity. 009 says he's worse than the Americans who attacked Japan as the two nations were at war at the time and while what they did was wrong, in times of war there is sometimes no alternative. Professor Taira's vendetta does not matter as those he is attacking are not soldiers but the innocent people who live in San Fransisco and he is going to be a murderer. Professor Taira then hears the screams of all the scared and injured people in the city and is horrified, realizing this is the same sound that he heard in Hiroshima. He cannot drown them out and feels horror and shame, but then the spirit of his son Utaro appears. This confuses the Cyborgs as it seems Professor Taira is talking to himself.
Utaro tells his father that what he is doing won't make him happy, it will make him sad and dishonor him. Professor Taira apologizes to his son as he now fully realizes what he has done. Utaro then removes the control unit from his father's head. Utaro then pleads for Professor Taira to let go of his hate and remember happier times when he was alive, like the time Taira took Utaro fishing as a child. Professor Taira hugs his son and promises to remember him in happier times. All the ships and planes return to their final resting places and deteriorate back into their decaying states. The Dolphin observes this as they have Professor Taira in custody. 009 asks Dr. Gilmore what exactly happened, as it seemed Professor Taira was talking to an actual ghost. But Dr. Gilmore does not know and says perhaps there are things beyond this world like the afterlife after all. Gilmore says that the ghost who stopped Professor Taira was probably a reminder that humanity should learn from its past mistakes and try to make a better world, or we doom ourselves to repeat those disasters that hurt so many. He then says the machine Professor Taira built is a testament to the limitless power of the human mind but it was used for evil and hopes that the hatred Professor Taira formerly had is a lesson in how our prejudices can destroy us.
Characters[]
- Cyborg 009
- Cyborg 007
- Cyborg 006
- Cyborg 003
- Cyborg 002
- Cyborg 001
Errors[]
- The mention of a War Secretary is an error, as the position of War Secretary among the Allied Nations had been dissolved in favor of the position of Secretaries and Ministers of Defense by 1968. The UK had made the transition to the Ministry of Defence only 4 years prior, while the United States had dissolved the position for over 21 years and now had a Secretary of Defense: Robert McNamara of the Kennedy Administration. Japan itself had no War Minister after its defeat in World War II due to US occupation and a revised Japanese Constitution abolishing the position in the National Diet.
Notes[]
- This episode, despite being anti-war, dealt with touchy subjects at the time: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the US Air Force. World War II ended only 23 years ago at the time this aired.
- This episode uses the classical piece Night on Bald Mountain to set the eerie mood of the "ghost" fighter planes and ships attacking.
- This episode reveals a superpower Cyborg 008 has never had before or since, transforming suction cup fingers to scale walls.