This dubbed vesion of the film is narrated by Chief Tanaka in a film noir style. My boyfriend found it a bit annoying that Tanaka's voice was done by a man who had dubbed for a lot of different Japanese Anime, but I thought his voice fit well.

Tanaka explains how one of the men in his department was shot and killed by a gangster. Instead of letting an abulance take the man to the hospital Chief Tanaka dragged the body to his own car and ended up going for help to Doctor Tanai. Doctor Tania is reasearching cybernetics and needs only a fresh corpse to continue with his experiments. Tanai takes the dead policeman and transforms him into 8 Man.

Tanaka sets 8 Man up as a Private Detective named Azuma and the policeman's girl friend Sachiko ends up working for him. Azuma's former partner in the meantime goes undercover to help take down the man who had Azuma's former self murdered. When he in turn gets shot 8 Man and Chief Tanaka end up taking the gangster out.

8 Man, was not Dr. Tanai's first experiment as it turns out. Tanai made his own son Ken into a robot after he was killed in a car accident. Ken is what brings the thoughtfulness to the movie. Unlike Azuma or 8 man, Ken was left with his memories of being fully human. He hates his fater for what he has become and murders people out of spite. He makes Azuma doubt the worth of his own existance. Ken points out that he can never love Sachiko as he might wish to. Azuma ends up with his own angst about this half-life he has been given.

What Azuma decides to do with the second chance which was forced upon him makes for a truly involving story, at least for me.