Astro Boy

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Astro Boy
鉄腕アトム (Tetsuwan Atomu)
Genre	Adventure, Mecha, Science Fiction, Shounen, Kodomo
Manga
Authored by	Osamu Tezuka
Publisher	Kobunsha
Serialized in	Shonen
Original run	April 1952 – March 1968
No. of volumes	23[1]
TV anime
Directed by	Osamu Tezuka
Studio	Mushi Productions
Network	Fuji TV
Original run	1 January 1963 – 31 December 1966
No. of episodes	193[2]
Related works
Astro Boy (1980s) Astro Boy (2003)

Astro Boy is the English title for the Japanese animated series Tetsuwan Atom (鉄腕アトム, Tetsuwan Atomu^?, which roughly translates to "Mighty Atom" and literally to "Iron-arm Atom") first broadcast on Japanese television from 1963 to 1966.

Astro Boy is the first Japanese television series that embodied the aesthetic that later became known as anime. It originated as a manga comic series started in 1951 by Osamu Tezuka, who is known as the "god of manga". After enjoying success abroad, Astro Boy was remade in the 1980s as Shin Tetsuwan Atomu (Astroboy in the US and other Western countries) and again in 2003. For a time Astro Boy enjoyed a level of popularity in Japan equivalent to Disney's Mickey Mouse. Astro Boy bears some similarities with the Italian boy-puppet Pinocchio [1].

The animated Astro Boy series was produced by Mushi Productions, a studio established and headed by Tezuka.

The original Tetsuwan Atomu manga stories are now available in English, published by Dark Horse Comics in a translation by Frederik L. Schodt. They follow the television series in using "Astro Boy", the name most familiar to English-speaking audiences, instead of "Tetsuwan Atomu." Names of the other characters, such as Dr. Tenma and Professor Ochanomizu, are those of the original Japanese.

Chuang Yi published a more recent English language manga version of Astro Boy/Tetsuwan Atom in Singapore (also available in Australia).

The 2003 Japanese television series acknowledges the "Astro Boy" name. Although the character is still named "Atomu" ("Atom" in English), the series' onscreen title is Astro Boy Tetsuwan Atomu, with the latter part written in Japanese characters; the scene in which the newly-activated robot is named has been written to support either character name. In the English-language version the character, and the show, is of course once more called Astro Boy.

In the original story, Astro Boy was created in Takadanobaba on April 7, 2003. On the same day in the real world, a city in Japan (Niiza of Saitama prefecture) granted Astro Boy a special citizenship. This is in contrast to the hardship Astro Boy went through in the fiction to be a part of human society, including obtaining a citizenship.

In 2004, the character Astro Boy was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame. The series of graphic albums was nominated for the Harvey Award for Best Presentation of Foreign Material in 2003.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Trivia 3 The original Astro Boy (1960s) series 4 English version 5 Episode summaries 6 Manga Episodes 7 Places around the World in Astro Boy 8 Characters 9 Deleted Scenes 10 Other 11 References 12 External links 12.1 English 12.2 Japanese 12.3 Chinese

[edit] Plot summary

Astro Boy is a science fiction series set in a future where androids co-exist with humans. Its focus is on the adventures of the titular "Astro Boy", a powerful robot created by the head of the Ministry of Science Dr. Tenma (Dr. Boyton in the first series English anime, Dr. Balfus in the Canadian dub of the second series) to replace his son Tobio (or Astor Boyton III in the first series English anime, Toby in the remake of the first series English anime). After Tobio died in a car accident, Dr. Tenma built Astro in Tobio's image and treated him as lovingly as if he were the real Tobio, but soon realized that the little android could not fill the void of his lost son, especially since Astro couldn't grow or express human aesthetics (in one set of panels, Astro is shown preferring the mechanical shapes of cubes over the organic shapes of flowers). In the original 1960 edition, Tenma rejected Astro and sold him to a cruel circus owner, Hamegg (also known as Cachatore), who abused the performers. In the 1980 edition, Astro naïvely signed himself away to the circus owner.

While Astro languished in Hamegg's circus, Professor Ochanomizu (Dr. Packadermus J. Elefun in the first series, Prof. Peabody in the Canadian dub of the second series, and Dr. O'Shay in the third series), the new head of the Ministry of Science, noticed Astro Boy performing in the circus. He managed to make Hamegg turn Astro over to him. He brought Astro along and treated him gently and warmly, becoming his legal guardian. He soon realized that Astro was gifted with superior powers and skills, as well as the ability to experience human emotions.

Soon, Astro Boy became an android super-hero with a variety of special powers. These included:

• Ability to translate more than 60 languages
• Strength equivalent to 100,000 horsepower (75 MW), letting him lift many times his own weight
• The ability to fly using jets in his legs (the manga also featured jets in his arms but they were not featured in the '60s anime)
• Magnification of his hearing up to one thousand times
• Laser guns deployed at his posterior (updated from machine-guns depicted in the original manga) (see image; right)
• An electro-heart that can discern people's criminal intentions
• Bright eye-lamps to assist his vision

In the more recent series, Astro Boy was also given an arm cannon, lasers in his fingers, and additional jets in his arms.

Astro then fought crime, evil and injustice. Most of his enemies were robot-hating humans, robots gone berserk, or alien invaders. Each story almost always included a big robot battle involving Astro.

The series explored issues of morality, responsibility, racism, prejudice, true heroism, and loss.

[edit] Trivia

Astro Boy
Astro Boy
Publisher NOW Comics, Dark Horse Comics First appearance Astro Boy anime Created by Osamu Tezuka
Characteristics Alter ego Astro Boy Affiliations Dr. Tenma Notable aliases Tetsuwan Atomu, Mighty Atom Abilities Strength equivalent to 100,000 horsepower (75 MW), allowing him to lift many times his own weight, Flies using jets in his legs, Amplify his hearing up to 1000 times, Laser guns deployed at his posterior (updated from machine-guns depicted in the original manga), An electro-heart that can discern people's criminal intentions, Bright eye-lamps to improve night vision. Ability to translate every foreign language.

• In the original black-and-white series, Astro's cry was "Let's go -- go -- go!!
• In the 2003 series Astro's cry was "Let's rocket!" It is also the morphing call yelled by the Space Rangers in Power Rangers in Space.
• In the opening of The Simpsons episode 'Tis The Fifteenth Season all the members of the family are dressed up as Japanese superheroes. Bart is dressed up as Astro Boy, wearing red boots and slicked back black hair.
• American Idol 4 finalist Constantine Maroulis voices a Mechanic in an episode.
• Astro Boy had two video games for the Famicom and Super Famicom that were only released in Japan. The Famicom version was published by Konami (although developed by Home Data).
• In 2004 Sega released Astro Boy: Omega Factor for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, an earlier version of which had been released in Japan about six months previously. The U.S. version received great reviews [2], as had the earlier Japanese release, though the American version incorporates a number of changes and improvements. Interestingly, a number of other characters created by Osamu Tezuka have cameo appearances in the game, including Ambassador Magma, Amazing 3, Black Jack (manga), Big X, Rainbow Parakeet, Kimba the White Lion, and Unico.
• A PS2 version of Astro Boy was also released by Sonic Team and published by Sega which brings the Astro Boy universe to the third dimension. Unfortunately the PS2 version received a poor two star rating from GameSpy [3] compared to 4.5 stars [4] for the Game Boy Advance game.
• In commemoration of Astro Boy's "birth" in Takadanobaba on April 7, 2003, the JR platform in Takadanobaba has used the theme music from the TV series to signal that a train is about to leave.
• Naoki Urasawa's manga Pluto is a retelling of a story arc in Tetsuwan Atomu called "The World's Strongest Robot."
• Hamegg (Cacciatore in the American version) appears as a villain in the Kimba the White Lion anime.
• Stanley Kubrick who saw Astro Boy asked the creator, Osamu Tezuka, to be a production designer on 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• In 1977, Toei Animation was given permission by Tezuka to make an anime that was inspired by Astro Boy. It was called Jetter Mars, in which the main character has emotions and grows up like a child. He is torn between a loving heart and crime-fighting.
• In the DC comics Elseworld Kingdom Come Astro Boy's face can be seen on a billboard during the League's battle on the rogue Meta-humens of Japan.
• In the animated television series Freakazoid!, the titular character enjoys watching a show that happens to be a parody of Astro Boy, called "Hero Boy".
• In a Calvin and Hobbes comic, Calvin wants to put Crisco in his hair for school picture day but his mother redoes it, so Hobbes makes Calvin look like Astro Boy.
• The punk supergroup Osaka Popstar has a song dedicated to Astro Boy on their 2006 album called, obviously enough, Astro Boy.
• Astro Boy has its own sushi restaurant in Gushikawa, Okinawa, Japan called Atom Boy.
• Keiji Inafune, the creator of the Mega Man series, said that Astro Boy was a big source of inspiration.
• Jonny Greenwood from the band Radiohead has an Astro Boy sticker on his Fender Telecaster.
• The theme music was used in the video game Mr. Do!
• Andy Milonakis wrote a play starring Astroboy, where he tries to help Rooster headed Chicken get the Sloomeramy beasts out of the Galacta-corn. The play starred Andy Milonakis and an old lady named Rivka.
• In one episode of Astro Boy there is a sign on a door of the interior of Astro's family. The sign reads "Atom". This is either a direct copy of the original Japanese series or a tribute to it.
• In the Columbia-Tristar cartoon Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, Rusty is depicted as a near identical copy of Astroboy, down to the hairstyle (in red instead of black), some of the powers, and the ability to feel and learn.

[edit] The original Astro Boy (1960s) series

This version originally premiered on Fuji TV, on New Year's Day 1963, but was eventually moved to the NHK network. It was the first anime to be broadcast outside Japan. It lasted for three seasons, with a total of 193 episodes. At its height it was watched by 40% of the Japanese population that had access to a TV. In 1964 there was a feature-length animated movie called Hero of Space released in Japan. It was an anthology of three episodes; The Robot Spaceship, Last Day on Earth and Earth Defense Squadron. The latter two were a special treat for Japanese fans since the theatrical versions were filmed in color.

[edit] English version

For the English version, the producers, NBC Enterprises, were forced to abandon a literal translation of the name "Mighty Atom" due to potential legal threats from DC Comics, who already had a superhero comic by that name. They settled ultimately on "Astro Boy." Of the 193 episodes created in the series, 104 were adapted into the English version by Fred Ladd. The manga was not translated into English until Dark Horse Comics published it in the 2000s, although Gold Key Comics published an unauthorized version in the United States.[5]

• Billie Lou Watt — Astro Boy/Astro Girl/Mother
• Ray Owens — Dr. Elefun/Dr. Boynton
• Gilbert Mack — Mr. Pompus/Father

The English version included an opening theme song with the words: "Astro Boy bombs away, on your mission today! What can I do to be like you, and to sing your song Astro Boy?" * The English show's original producer Fred Ladd, claims that the Japanese producers were so impressed by the adding of lyrics to the ( until then ) instrumental song that they then added words to the Japanese version, starting the "anime music" trend.(* Fred Ladd speech, Anime North 2001 )

The Right Stuf International has released 2 11-disc DVD collections of the series' entire American run. The video and audio quality varies widely since the company was forced to make do with the best available sources they could find. This is due to the fact that the original masters were destroyed in 1975. According to Ladd, the masters were destroyed by NBC after the network had attempted to return them to Mushi Productions. Mushi, going through bankruptcy at the time, pleaded inability to take them, and so they were burned by NBC. Due to this, the show as currently seen consists of the English version (even in Japan, where it is shown with Japanese subtitles) supplemented with copies of some episodes taken from the masters, including the first episode, found in private archival collections.

[edit] Episode summaries

Main article: List of Astro Boy episodes

[edit] Manga Episodes

The manga series were first created from 1951 to 1981. The first episode was Ambassador Atom, the last episode was Showdown on Mt. Fuji. Some anime episodes weren't made in the manga. Some episodes were adapted from the manga.

Volume 1: Birth of Astro Boy, The Hot Dog Corps, Plant People

Volume 2: His Highness: Deadcross, The Three Magicians, White Planet

Volume 3: Greatest Robot in The World, Mad Machine,

Volume 4: Robot Land, Ivan the Fool, A day to Remember, Ghost Manufacturing Machine

Volume 5: Crucifix Island, The atificial Sun, Snow Leopard

Volume 6: "Once Upon a Time": Astro's Stories: Part one, Beginning of Contractdition, Living Earth, 101, Neva 2#'s Birthday, Baro, The disappearance of Scara, Energy Tube, Vietnam's Angel

Volume 7: "Once Upon a Time": part two: The summer of 1993, ChiruChiru's in Danger!!!, Zero percent energy, My dad Dr. Tenma, Bailey's Tragedy, Sold to the circus?!

Volume 8: Final part of the "Once Upon a Time" trilogy: Live dirt in Space, Robots got rights too!, Astro's first day of School!, Gone with the Snow

Volume 9: Cleopatra, The 3d ghost, Cobalt

Volume 10: Yellow Horse, Astro v.s. Galon, Astro's Gone!!!, The 100 million felony

Volume 11: Subterranean Tank, The Furnace Mystery, Last Day on Earth, An Unmerry Christmas present from Mars

Volume 12: Young man's gas, Six men and a robot, Androids from Underground, We interrupt this broadcast from Space

Volume 13: Solomon's Treasure, Liar Liar Pants on Fire, Showdown in the Alps

Volume 14: My sister Uran, The Space Horses, Gernica, The white robot: X

Volume 15: Gas people from Space, Ambassador Atom, Black Lux, The invisible robot

Volume 16: Red Cat, Midoro Mystery, Robio and Robiette, Attack of the Astro Balloons!

Volume 17: Sphinx, The robot centipede, Leader ZZZ, Robot paracites!, The great earthquake

Volume 18: Atlas, The Ball of Mystery, Count Bat, SOS from the Satellite, The robot spaceship

Volume 19: Blue Knight, Astro Boy reborn

Volume 20: The Melinan Tribe, Meeva

Volume 21: Frakenstein, Sea Serpent Isle, Mission to Mars, Test Pilot, Robot Bombs, Super Cyclone

Volume 22: I am Knowall "A short guest starring Astro" ', Bad-Guy Robots, Time Machine, Heroes and Villains, You're Guilty! "A black Jack episode Guest starring Astro" , Iji, The Train Bomb, Astro II, Astro's Love, Astro's Final Adventure, Astro's Return, A kingdom showdown

Volume 23: Astro Boy's Super Shorts: The Silver Tower, Giant Uran, Space Doll, Franken, The mad robot, Dr. Fooler's return, The magnet robot, Poola, the elephant, Atlas returns, The mad duck, Desert Ghosts, The robot cat, Space Bug, Who's the greatest robot?, The baby rocket, Showdown at Mt. Fuji

Lost Episodes: Chi-Tan, The Jungle Kingdom

[edit] Places around the World in Astro Boy

The Institute of Science- The place that builds robots. Astro Boy was first created by Dr. Boytonn in the Year 2000. The current head man is Dr. Elefun.

Russia- The country of the north. There was a hide out of the Hot Dog Corps.

The underground World- An underground place where the nations of Poi Poi and Terra firma are having a war.

Baal's Temple- A hideout where Novacain and his gang worships Baal. But it's later destroyed by Novacain when Baal happens to be a getaway rocket ship and Astro Boy, Professor Natsu, and the others were able to escape in time.

Halava- The only country with no peace. Dictator Ahmud rules with an iron fist. Astro Boy, Mr. Pompous, Dr. Quad, and Bobka later liberated the country.

Shangri-Le- The country ruled by the dictator Chancellor Rudolph Hatter. He rules the country with an iron fist and is intent on world conquest and in pursuit of immortality. Dr. Elefun is kidnapped and taken there to assist in his ambitions. The country was based on Nazi Germany.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Astro Boy characters

[edit] Deleted Scenes

The following deleted scenes were not shown on TV in the USA, but only on DVD. Here are the following deleted scenes.

Episode 1- When Dr. Elefun told Trickem that lots of things happened while he was sleeping, the doctor turns on the TV. The robots knew that they're free and speeches were all over the world and Dr. Elefun turned the TV off.

Episode 2- After Astro Boy arrived on a ship, Colosso has torture weapons in his eyes and he and Astro Boy begins to battle.

Episode 4- When Ali Baba suspects that Astro Boy's got 1000x hearing, he breaks the fourth wall by telling the viewers to mute the volume of the TV. After the conversation, Ali Baba's men hold a sign saying "You can turn the volume back on." The TV breaks down, and Ali Baba's men were embarrassed by saying "Get a better TV, will you?!"

[edit] Other

In 1977 there was an anime called Jet Mars (in the English version Jetter Mars) done by Toei Animation under commission by Osamu Tezuka. It was loosely based on Astro Boy. This series lasted only 27 episodes. He can be found as a cameo in Astro Boy: Omega Factor as well.

Tezuka met Walt Disney at the 1964 World's Fair, at which time Disney said he hoped to "make something just like" Tezuka's Astro Boy. A feature film was announced in 1999 by Columbia Pictures and Jim Henson production. However, nothing has come of this announcement since then. There were plans for a Japanese-Canadian IMAX coproduction, but it was shelved in 2000 while it was early in production.

There is a reported U.S. live-action feature being planned for release in 2006 or 2007. There is an animated feature that according to IMDB is currently in production; and is a Japan/US co-production.

A new anime of Astro boy was briefly shown on Toonami in North America in 2005 but was put off due to low ratings.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] English

• astroboy-online.com
• Astroboy (TV-Series 1964-1966) at the Internet Movie Database
• Shin Tetsuwan Atomu (TV-Series 1980-1981) at the Internet Movie Database
• Astro Boy tetsuwan atomu (TV-Series 2003) at the Internet Movie Database
• Astroboy (feature film) at the Internet Movie Database
• Comic Book Awards Almanac
• Mangas: Astro Boy and TEZUKA Osamu
• TezukaInEnglish.com: Astro Boy Series Basics

[edit] Japanese

• Official website

[edit] Chinese

• 铁臂阿童木