His Voice and Two Angels: 009 RE: CYBORG as a Critique of Justice

Abstract

Many films often depict the “superhero of justice” with conceptual uncertainty about the icon. While 009 RE: CYBORG (Dir. Kenji, Kamiyama,2012) is classified as a film of that sort, it presents a different view of the issue of justice in a peculiar way with images and sounds. Referring to the Critique of Violence (Benjamin) and Force de Loi (Derrida), I examine the peculiarity of the film as putting into question the representation of violence,integrated with the function of concealment, which forms a pivotal condition to realize the concept of “justice.” In the film, the question of justice is developed in the two dominant manners of expression: (1) the auditory composition of “His Voice” that compels the listener to violently execute justice, and (2) the visual composition of “Angels” that lead the protagonist, Joe, to establish a new relationship with His Voice, thus releasing himself from a mere execution of justice. Based on the analysis of them, this article concludes that the representation of the hero in the animation film effectively resists the execution of justice, as well as addressing the presence of it.