Cyborg She

Cyborg She
Directed by	Kwak Jae-yong
Produced by	Ji Young-jun Hidemi Satani Mataichiro Yamamoto
Written by	Kwak Jae-yong
Starring	Haruka Ayase Keisuke Koide
Cinematography	Junichirô Hayashi
Editing by	Shuichi Kakesu
Release date(s)	May 12, 2008
Running time	120 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Cyborg She (僕の彼女はサイボーグ, Boku no Kanojo wa Saibōgu^?, literally "My Girlfriend is a Cyborg") is a 2008 Japanese film by South Korean director & writer Kwak Jae-yong starring Haruka Ayase and Keisuke Koide.

Story

It is November 22, 2007. Jirou Kitamura (Keisuke Koide) is spending his 20th birthday alone. As he buys a birthday present for himself, he spies a 'cute girl' (Haruka Ayase). The girl, who seems interested in him, follows him into a restaurant, during which she suddenly states that it's 'her birthday too'. The two of them then exchange birthday presents. The girl, who seems unused to everything, behaves very boldly and suddenly rushes Jirou out of the restaurant without paying, provoking a chase through Tokyo. As he spends time with her, Jirou finds himself charmed by the girl. But after a few hours the girl insists she has to leave.

The story then jumps to one year later and Jirou is again celebrating his birthday alone in the same restaurant. All of a sudden, a twin of the girl appears in front of him. This girl, however, has been sent to save him from a disastrous fate by a future version of himself- she's a cyborg, modeled after the girl he met a year ago. Despite her 'cute' outward appearance, she is incredibly strong, and her behavior is erratic. She comes to Jirou's aid whenever he is in danger and saves many other lives through her intervention.

Over time, Jirou not only becomes dependent on, but also falls for her. However, when she cannot return his feelings, he gets irritated and forbids her to from seeing him unless she can do so. He begins to regret this, especially when it becomes apparent she is still helping him while staying out of sight. Another disaster soon happens: a gigantic earthquake completely devastates Tokyo. As his apartment block collapses, the girl appears to help him but even her inhuman strength isn't enough to save her. After telling Jirou that she now understands his feelings, she is destroyed. Distraught, Jirou spends the next 61 years trying to rebuild her. He eventually succeeds, although he passes away soon afterwards.

Further in the future, 63 years later, in 2133, a girl is told there is a cyborg on display that looks just like her. She is curious, and buys the now defunct cyborg to experience the memories stored in her hard-drive. Intrigued, she then decides to fulfill her wish of going back in time to meet Jirou on his 20th birthday in 2007...

Characters

Girl (nameless; seen November 22, 2007)

A girl who suddenly appeared before Jirou whilst he was celebrating his birthday alone. After a few hours, she stated that she had to go and vanished again. She seems to be a notable glutton. Her looks and eating habits were the model for the cyborg who later appeared to him. She seems to have a hidden agenda of her own, though...

Cyborg Girl (nameless; seen November 22, 2008 to sometime before April 7 in 2009)

The cyborg who the future Jirou sent back in time to protect his younger self from a terrible fate. She has superhuman strength and speed, can show holograms through her eyes, and can reproduce the past through this. She can shock people through electrical charge from her skin and eyes, and can also imitate people's voices perfectly after only hearing them once. She appears to be just like a normal person, down to her ability to eat. Drinking alcohol also seems to cause a malfunction in her system. She doesn't like being called a robot.

After Jirou's death, she was preserved in a museum, then put up for auction in the 22nd century.

Her conception and subsequent portrayal was intended to be similar to the behavior of cyborgs in the Terminator series, as a sort of homage as well as parody.

Date of production: 22nd May, 2070 (from the pamphlet)

Codename: Cybodain Model 103 (English subtitles: Cyberdyne Model 103)

Head: A reproduction of human neurons via nanotechnology, with molecular analog circuitry for coordination. She is installed with AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Body: Her bones are made from an alloy found on Jupiter's satellite Io, and her cells are the same structure as a human's. As an android, she seems to have 'eternal life', as her cells don't decay.

Special skill: Gradually being able to understand the feelings of humans.

Mission: Protect Jirou.

Future Girl (nameless; from the 22nd Century)

After acquiring the Cyborg Girl (whom she has a close resemblance to), she learns about its past, and travels back into 2007 where she meet Jirou (hence giving him a memory of her into 2008), and later into the year (not made clear) where Tokyo was devastated by an earthquake, so that she can marry Jirou and spend her life with him.

Jirou Kitamura (the 'boku' of the title)

A university student who has bought a present for himself and gone to eat spaghetti at the same restaurant every year for his birthday. What he studies is unclear, although he attends lectures on mathematics. He has a part-time job at a hamburger shop.

His birthplace was in a small village in the mountains, although it was destroyed by an earthquake which led to the dispersal of all its residents.

Future Jirou became a millionaire through a lottery ticket he had originally purchased. However, the thought of the accident which left him disabled (a random shooting at the same restaurant) still weighed on him heavily, and he decided to send back a cyborg to change his younger self's fate.

When the present Jirou grows old and dies, a waxwork model of him is preserved in a museum alongside the cyborg he created.

Date of birth: 22nd November, 1987

Name: Jirou Kitamura

Address: An apartment in a building at the city centre

Pet: Previously a cat (childhood days), currently an iguana (2007). Its name is always 'Raoul'.

Jirou's grandmother

The one who told Jirou that he should always eat noodles on his birthday for a long life. Thought to be deceased in 2008. It is a secret as to who she really is. Later revealed in the movie that she was Jirou's mother.

Jirou's friend (Kenta Satou)

In the same year as he is at university. Seems to know a lot about cooking involving capibaras, and likes to impress girls.

University professor

Always has a lot of energy when talking about formulas in his lectures. Relentlessly throws chalk at his students, loves baseball and has quirky whole-body gestures when he strikes his target with flying bits chalk kept in a special box.

Shooter

Seemingly lost his mind in the restaurant on the 22nd November 2008. Shot at the customers randomly with an automatic rifle, then poured gasoline all over the restaurant and planned to set fire to it. The cause of future Jirou's disability.

Adaptions

A manga adaption by Akihiro Nakamura was released on the 17th October 2008 (ISBN 4063755746). Based on the film, it was published in Kodansha Weekly Young Magazine, and will probably be released in a volume by KC Deluxe.

External links

• Cyborg She at the Internet Movie Database