Genre Science Fiction
Age Rating For Older Teen
Price $12.99
For me, Pluto is a good example of how to retell a series—any series—for a modern audience. First comes the source material, in this case “The Greatest Robot on Earth” story arc from Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy. I first encountered this through the English anime and it was a tear-jerker when I was a kid. The trick here is to recapture that emotion as an adult.
There’s a lot of things which Naoki Urusawa fiddles with. There’s the initial focus. Whereas you might expect Atom to be the hero of an Astro Boy story, it is Gesicht, another robot—a supporting character in the original story arc—who is the focus of this particular narrative.
What amazes me however is how purposeful Urusawa is when it comes to the illustrations and the text. The opening features a few colored pages illustrating the death of a powerful robot. This robot is purposeful drawn like a robot so no surprises there. As we move into the actual story however, we soon find out that our very human protagonist and some of the characters he meets are robots too. It’s a great juxtaposition between the robots that appear human and those that don’t, surprising not only the reader but making it believable why such a futuristic society distrusts robots (a common theme in the Astro Boy series that’s honestly a bit hard to swallow). Of course what’s interesting here is that no matter what their appearances may be, human-like or otherwise, the robots are share our emotions and our passions, making little actual distinction between humans and robots aside from the biases of the former.
Urusawa isn’t entirely original and there are some scenes which he borrows from other sources. There’s a Silence of the Lambs homage of sorts for example, this time dressed in mechanized clothing. Another aspect that Urusawa hints at is the protagonist’s darker past, a recurring vision which we won’t get answers for in this volume.
The secret of Urusawa’s success here is the fact that he focuses on characterization. For those that were familiar with the original story arc, it’s that element that brings you back to Pluto. We all know how the plot is going to turn out as far as the bigger picture is concerned but it’s the details and how Urusawa manages to move us that keeps us coming back. New fans on the other hand can appreciate this self-contained series as it is and I pity them because they’re in for an emotional wringer. Pluto is that powerful and moving.
Let’s not forget the artwork. It certainly doesn’t have that iconic Tezuka style but Urusawa is attempting to tell a more serious story and his art is in the service of that. The background looks like a futuristic setting. The character’s faces are semi-realistic and you can spot the details that betray their thoughts and feelings. Also, since this is meant to be a drama rather than an action manga, the actual violence is hinted at rather than show and there’s little kinetic movement here. That’s not to say there aren’t any impressive scenes to be found. North No. 2’s unveiling of his arsenal, just a single panel, is breathtaking. But perhaps my favorite is the last page wherein we are treated to a splash page of a familiar character.
When it comes to bonuses, this manga includes an interview with both Urusawa and Macoto Tezuka, the son of Osamu Tezuka. There’s also an endnote from the president of Tezuka Productions, Inc.
What do I think of Pluto? It’s brilliant and sophisticated and as usual, Urusawa creates an excellent first volume of a series. This is easily my favorite Urusawa title and makes an old manga appropriate for a new reading audience.
10