In today’s world there are very few hidden gems in anime that have not been dubbed. The Skull Man, which fits this category, was a one shot manga in the 1970s and later remade in 1998. The manga was adapted into an anime in 2007, under director Takeshi Mori, creating a new yet similar story to the manga. The Skull Man is considered to be a hidden gem as it was never dubbed or properly exposed to the American audience despite its animation and story being above par.
The anime focuses on Hayato Mikogami, a young journalist, who has returned to his hometown of Otomo. As a journalist he is tasked with investigating the rumors of killings done by a man in a skull mask. As the investigation goes on he discovers connections between the victims, a pharmaceutical company, a religious sect and a half human and half animal creature. Mikogami learns that a local priest has been The Skull Man but was only killing the half human half animal creatures that came from the religious sect caused by a drug from a pharmaceutical company. Upon hearing this Mikogami becomes The Skull Man, eventually is mortally injured by over using his powers, and is turned into a cyborg by a mysterious group called Black Ghost.
The Skull Man is a prequel for an anime called Cyborg 009. The two shows connect through the villainous group called Black Ghost. It is implied that Mikogami was one of the first cyborgs built by Black Ghost. This experimentation led to the 00 Cyborg Project that produced the main cyborgs in Cyborg 009. Both The Skull Man and Cyborg 009 can be fully understood without watching the other, but when watched together provide a greater insight on how the organization Black Ghost was formed. For maximum entertainment the Skull Man, which can be purchased here, should be viewed before watching Cyborg 009.
