Astro Boy
the study of a fossil
When my buddy Gyabbo began to spread Tezuka Day and its proposal, I immediately thought if I could participate, since I had not read any history of Tezuka's so far and knew it would be difficult to get material by him here but what, with a work so extensive, which I'll choose? So for be there at the time he made the call to choose what we would talk I quick yelled, "Astro Boy!".
The reason I pick a work just as important of the author and his most famous work in the West was pure convenience. I had never read Astro Boy, just watched some random episodes on Youtube. I chose to talk about Astro Boy because I already read Naoki Urasawa's Pluto and wanted to talk about it.
Astro Boy has an immeasurable value and importance to the Japanese anime and manga, but given his age still makes sense to read it today beyond mere historical curiosity? Once you have had access to all the later works that were influenced by him and Tezuka's legacy, not just reusing themes or concepts, and evolving them as in the case of Urasawa? This was a question I had no answer then, and now through this special text allow my to tell you what I discovered.
As always there are those uninformed, and inform be exactly the goal of this event, first I should note that Astro Boy was the first anime made for television in a weekly format (I guess...), which in addition to pioneering set the standard used until today in Japanese animation. Of him comes from the format of 22 minutes per episode, one episode per week and several patterns of animation. For you who just know it is a very old series, already with 60 years of age, might imagine that the animation of Astro Boy is pretty poor in order to compare with many poor animation present in animes that are made today.
I will not say much else about the history around original Astro Boy, I leave that to others, as many have done. If you want to know more about this historic moment I recommend reading other blog posts and neighboring sites. Here I will limit myself to talk about one history in special, perhaps his most famous, called "The Greatest Robot On Earth".
This story aired on TV for the first time in 1963 and was subsequently placed on the paper in Astro Boy manga drawn by Tezuka in the following year. It's a classic story of the hero who confronts the villain who is not really "that" villain and was one of the most popular stories of the series between the Japanese at that time, being today the most famous story of the series, which won more versions over the years.
In Greatest Robot On Earth, Pluto, a powerful robot specially made to be the strongest of all at the request of a deposed Sultan, by revenge and vanity, is sent to destroy the seven strongest robots in the world, and among them is naturally Atom.
After reaching the maximum of its popularity, with a world and several established characters, Pluto, a robot came out of nowhere, in Tezuka's own words, "without hesitation, doubt, shame or resentment," simply appears and begins to destroy this world newly created . One by one the seven greatest robots are being destroyed as the world watches the massacre stunned not knowing who are the author of such a heinous crime, until arriving in Atom, when Pluto is unable to destroy him by a simple order of the adoptive father of Atom. He prohibits Atom fighting Pluto.
Not only is the Sultan's desire for revenge that moves Pluto is also vanity to show who is the strongest, and to demonstrate that Pluto should not only destroy the robots, he must defeat them in a fair fight. Does not make sense only destroy Atom if he not react.
The moral conflict of Greatest Robot On Earth revolves around Pluto being what made him be, the strongest, and Atom's desire to be the strongest.
Atom is the hero and he himself consider as such, and therefore he is tormented with the prohibition of his father to do what he thinks is right and inevitable, and worse, Pluto shows be a robot stronger than him, which is a shock to the previously almighty Atom.
The sensation while reading Greatest Robot On Earth is it could be a better story.
The Greatest Robot On Earth is a good story, a good manga, but for today's reader seems simple and naive, and it is. And above all, children.
Don't take this as a negative criticism, I'm just putting in perspective. Astro Boy is an old anime/manga and should be viewed as it is. He is good within the limits set out by time, talent and competence of Tezuka allowed him to be. He could be better, but not at that time.
In fact, the Greatest Robot On Earth was made better, decades later.
Naoki Urasawa is now a renowned manga.
And he doesn't came to this prestigious position from night to day, not without much effort.
Since the beginning of his career in 1980s with a oneshot, as well as all, he had to push very hard till have his regular series Yawara! about a judoka girl with which he achieved success and popularity. As is common in this environment that success becomes a danger doom, with fans creating an expectation incompatible with what he had in mind about sharpening his storytelling skills. There came a moment when he almost gave up his career because of the reception from the fans, but fortunately, he continued to create stories that he wanted the way he wanted.
Naoki Urasawa is today considered a master of suspense manga, and also one of the best at drawing expressions and emotions.
In 2004, established after the success of Monster and 20th Century Boys, he began an ambitious project. Instead of creating an original story, he remade a classic story of another genius, regarded as the greatest legend of manga. Naoki Urasawa gave us his reinterpretation of Astro Boy's Greatest Robot On Earth by Osamu Tesuka.
For most brilliant, innovative and important that has been Osamu Tesuka, Naoki Urasawa's Pluto shows how brutally that time passes even for gods.
It's no coincidence that Urasawa is considered love by the God of mang and that God would be the Tesuka?
In Pluto, Urasawa took the world of Astro Boy and made him more credible as required by our critical sense today.
Something that can be observed in older works of Tezuka - and probably this is a common detail in works at that time - is that he does not seem to have much sense of time. The time in Tezuka's manga is very confuse and even incoherent. It's one of those details that are "just" details. If it is not so important for the story work, ignore, is what it seems.
Even having its flaws too, Pluto is wonderful in that it proposes having more than one moment of genius. As mentioned, Urasawa wanted to sharpen his skills and did so for two decades. He mastered the narrative and art. They really complement each other in his works and this jumps sight impressively in Pluto. Although being starred by robots we can feel the full weight of their feelings being transmitted to us by the drawings.
For Pluto be a story in just 8 volumes closed, Urasawa had to think of every detail of the world and its importance to the characters. It is a well-constructed retro world updated. He is very technologically advanced with an aesthetic sometimes a little outdated geared. And of course, is a crime thriller with an intricate network of relationships and motivations that move all persons in the story. And in Pluto the main character is not Atom, the protagonist rather of him is the robot German Gerhardt (renamed Gesicht), a detective responsible for investigate the mysterious murder of the greatest robots in the world.
For this change of perspective, after all the original Gesicht was killed early in the original, is complicated and arbitrary directly compare the two sisters works. Greates Robot On Earth is a simple shounen action, Pluto is a crime thriller. What is certain is that both are excellent in their proposal. Instead of comparing exactly what they have different or similar, I'd better compare their meanings.
Because it is a crime thriller in a classic noir atmosphere with echoes of Blade Runner, Pluto seems naturally bitter. While the Greatest Robot on Earth has small questions about the needs of robots, their freedom and relationship with humans, Pluto has already reflected on these issues and drew its conclusions.
Robots in Tezuka's Astro Boy are a strange mix between traditional intelligent robots that obey the laws of robotics dictated by Asimov, so that they can not harm humans, endowed with feelings of empathy and remorse. All robots are good, they MUST be good. For lack of these "feelings" in its programming Pluto is seen as a stranger. Almost all thought of this story about Tezuka's robot comes down to it.
On Pluto Urasawa Naoki goes much further.
Those robot has no feelings, they just pretend to have them.
They don't feel, they mimic.
On Pluto we see interesting discussions and debates on all matters concerning this issue. Gesicht is surprised, if he is really capable of it, to see how Atom is convincing in mimicking a human and has claimed to feel pleasure. And further, through its human and robots characters and we see explored the possibility of a robot to develop true feelings that brings us to "Cyborgs Dream of Electric Sheep?". To this, Urasawa add characters very welcome as a killer robot who discovered what hate is.
And while the world of Greatest Robot On Earth seems indifferent while amazed by the robots, the world of Urasawa's Pluto seems to sympathize with them, offering various benefits and pampering as if trying to relieve some burden of conscience, repenting of having created robots so "human" but powerless to give up of them, or the courage to get rid of them and need them there to suffer for them - by humans.
It's electrifying how at the same time we see discussed the capacity of a robot to love and hate, we see the consequences of humans being able to love and hate without limits objects strictly lifeless.
What about Atom in Pluto, the robot boy who wants to be human?
Atom for more space to give in to the other robots to shine, and they all shine in Urasawa's responsibility, it seems to be left a little aside. But if he stands aside, is not by others occupy its space, is by choice.
On Pluto we see Atom beyond just fighting. Instead of contributing to investigation and the city with punches and shooting on bad guys, he helps police forces as a forensic machine. He contributes its advanced sensors and analytical skills. This difference between the two stories is not just a matter of opportunity to show him doing it because it is the largest participation that Atom wants to have in this conflict. Instead of seeking to be stronger to go away with Pluto he uses all the forces he have to refuse to fight, and does so without his father need to tell him, it's on his own accord that he makes this decision.
Instead of fighting he prefers to go to school, walk with other children, eat tasty treats, observe insects ... doing so was he just imitating a child like Pinocchio? Partly yes, partly not.
Pluto is like an adult reflecting on childhood fantasies and attitudes about their past, thoughtless, irresponsible.
Urasawa's Astro Boy is an adult story, in all senses, not only because it is directed to an older audience. His mentality is not that of a child. Atom in Pluto is not a little boy wanting to be strong. Strength is good, but not always, it does not solve everything. Atom in Pluto is a boy who learned that power has multiple meanings and there are many types of strength, not just brute force. On Pluto we see the boy Atom become a man.
That doesn't make him be better than the original Tezuka, these are other times, just that.
The Tezuka original is part of childhood of manga, and there's no shame in being recognized as a child. The Atom man look at boy Atom not with scorn or reproach, is a look of nostalgia about a time who has spent and never will come back, when he was happy just to dream of winning the strongest guy kicking his asses, when he could fight recklessly without concern for consequences or what was possible and its limits. This is because the two characters are not different persons, they're not different interpretations, both of Tezuka and Urasawa's Atom are the same.
Urasawa does not deny in any way the original, he does not boast of being able to do better because their history only exists because the original existed before. At the end of the Greates Robot on Earth, Atom reflected in everything that happened and all nonsense losses that that battle caused and realize that violence was not the solution, it only worsened the problem and that even though he has grown stronger, much stronger than Pluto or any other robot, he believes that the true hero of the story at the end was Pluto.
The lesson that Pluto gave to him is far much more valuable and powerful than any improvement that his creator Dr. Tenma can do in his cybernetic body. This is the Atom we see on Pluto, it is as if we read a cyclic continuation of the story.
At the same time, at the end of Pluto, Atom reflects about the conclusion of whole story and realize that refuses to act when he MUST act is also wrong - as Episilon bitterly understand by feel so much terror in fight. There are extreme cases in which violence and their destruction is the only solution left to people for example in the case of Sultan, which doesn't want Pluto to regain his pride. In Urasawa's Pluto he is more honest with his feelings and goals just wanting through destroying the national pride of countries who destroyed his beloved country that all die and suffer the most. It's all he had left, pure hate.
Atom understands that the important thing is to stay balanced and not to get lost in one of two ways.
Is not by chance the scenes of Atom being (created and) improved remind us of Frankenstein.
Is being indeed created a monster.
Neither robot nor human..
If we keep this in mind we see that the whole complex story assembled in detail by Urasawa is just a consequence of the original. The moral of the Greatest Robot On Earth is what completely shaped the conception of Pluto.
The answer to the question of whether it is still worth reading a work so old is YES.
By "worse" than they are, their later became possible only thanks to the lessons left by them. The Greatest Robot On Earth and Pluto are a great example of this, the second is a consequence of the first and thanks to the first the second gain relevance.
And I could not fail to mention.
Masters today can only be compared with the masters of yesterday because they had existed before and allowed the challenge to be overcome. Naoki Urasawa learned to draw at 5 years while enjoying copy drawings of Tezuka and defined its goal as manga in junior high when faced with Hi no Tori. The professional goal of him is to "create a manga like that, about people struggling with their stupidity and dirtyness, that draws the human essence."
Does he do it?
Anyone interested in the two manga can buy them in English by the DarkHorse edition in the case of Astro Boy, and the VIZ edition in the case of Pluto.
The two links are from Book Depository, the shop that I recommend, since is from there I import my mangá.
