Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka Vol. 8

by Naoki Urasawa, with Takashi Nagasaki, after Osamu Tezuka

It's taken me a little while, but I've finally worked my way through Naoki Urasawa's classic manga series Pluto, which he modeled on an Atom (in America, Astro Boy) story by Osamu Tezuka.  Urasawa has expanded on, and I imagine, improved upon the original story.

This final volume is all about wrapping up the action that has carried the various characters through the series, and about revealing some of the secrets that have been hinted at since the beginning.

When this book opens, things don't look so good for the good guys.  Bora and Pluto, two enormously powerful robots with evil intentions (and very complicated senses of themselves) are poised to destroy the Earth, and it looks like Atom may be the only robot left who can stop them.  The problem is, Atom is filled with hate and anger.

There is a lot of stuff here about the ability of robots to feel, and it gets a little heavy-handed in places, but when read within the context of the entire series, it's necessary in order to complete the character arc that Urasawa intended for them.  The story wraps up very neatly (it's really hard to talk about this without spoiling things), and there are lots of examples of how great an artist Urasawa is.

This series is highly recommended, even to people who are not fans of manga.  I feel like this is my gateway series, and now I'm interested in checking out Urasawa's 20th Century Boys...

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka Vol. 7

by Naoki Urasawa, after Osamu Tezuka, with Takashi Nagasaki

This is the penultimate volume of Naoki Urasawa's modern classic Pluto, which reworks and reimagines a classic Osamu Tezuka Atom/Astro Boy story into a much longer manga series, which is really quite excellent.

In this volume, the focus is very much on Epsilon, the incredibly powerful robot pacifist who refused to fight in the Central Asian War, and instead has been spending his time raising and caring for many of the orphans of that conflict.  Epsilon is pretty much the only powerful robot left after the gigantic robot Pluto has been rampaging around the world destroying them all.  Now it's Epsilon's turn to face Pluto (twice), and the consequences for this story are pretty huge, especially when it starts to become clear that Pluto is a reluctant player in this drama.

Urasawa has done a very good job of humanizing these strange characters, and making it easy to care about them.  As is often the case, he introduces a new character into the story - an orphan named Wassily who, ever since the war, only speaks one word - Bora - which is tied in with the other victims of Pluto's campaign of terror.

I'm very excited to see how this story ends in the next volume.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka Vol. 6

by Naoki Urasawa after Osamu Tezuka, with Takashi Nagasaki

Reading this installment of Urasawa's reinterpretation of a classic Osamu Tezuka Astro Boy story, I kept glancing back over to my shelf of books that I haven't read yet to be sure that I hadn't picked up the last chapter by mistake.  It's true - there are still two volumes to go.

A lot happens in this volume that normally would only happen closer to the end of a North American comic.  The identities of the people or robots that have been systematically destroying the world's most powerful robots, and murdering the members of the Bora Survey Group, an organization kind of like the weapons inspectors that were constantly being kicked out of Iraq in the months leading to the war there.

Gesicht, the robot Interpol inspector who has been the main character of this series all along confronts Pluto, the gigantic robot killer under a tulip field in Amsterdam while Gesicht's creator is the victim of an attempted kidnapping in Dusseldorf.

This volume moves at a very quick pace, and while providing some thrilling moments, continues to ask questions about the ability of artificial life to develop emotion, and what the place of robots in human society should be.  It's an exciting and at times, touching, comic.  It's also highly recommended.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka Vol. 5

by Naoki Urasawa after Osamu Tezuka, with Takashi Nagasaki

It's getting difficult to find new things to say about this series by this point.  With each new volume, there are a few less of the world's most powerful robots left alive (another one buys it in this volume, after fighting Pluto over an ocean), and we get to know our main character, Gesicht, a little better.

In this volume, Gesicht remembers what happens when he killed Adolf's brother, and has to protect Adolf and his family from an attack by the KR, the anti-robot group modeled on the KKK (if they'd had cluster cannons and flying tanks that look like the heads of Star Wars Snow Walkers).  We also get to learn more about the creation of Atom, when his creator attempts to revive him, and has a few pop psychology theories about why he's not waking up.

This is easily the best manga series I've ever read (out of a very limited pool), and I like the way that Urasawa continues to build on his characters throughout the series.  Each volume I read leaves me excited to learn what will happen in the next one.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka Vol. 4

by Naoki Urasawa after Osamu Tezuka, with Takashi Nagasaki

I'm glad that I made good use of Boxing Day sales to track down the remaining volumes in this series, because I find that each new volume I read ramps up the level of tension and my interest in this series.

Pluto is a re-make of a classic Osamu Tezuka Astro Boy story (which I've never read), although told in a longer, much more complex way.  In this fourth volume, we get a few more hints as to the identity of the person or robot who has been killing the world's most powerful robots, and any humans involved in the Bora Survey Group.  The Survey Group had examined the country of Persia for Robots of Mass Destruction, and while they didn't find any, the United States of Thracia had used them as a smokescreen for starting the 39th Central Asian War. 

I think what I admire most about this series is the political backdrop that Urasawa sets it against.  There is an easy comparison between the 39th War and the American invasion of Iraq, except for the fact that WMDs didn't later begin to advocate for their own rights and a place of equality within human society as robots have.  That aspect of the story is explored a little more here, as the anti-robot organization that businessman Adolf Haas is a part of has decided they don't need him anymore, and he ends up with main character Gesicht protecting him (despite the fact that Gesicht is dealing with the Pluto case - a weak story device, or proof of conspiracy?).

A lot happens in this volume, particularly to Atom, the boy robot we in the West know as Astro Boy.  Also, Epsilon, the pacifist robot is forced to take action, and Gesicht has to cancel his trip to Japan.

This really is a terrific series, and Urasawa has a lot of balls in the air at any given time.  I look forward to reading the second half of this run.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka Vol. 3

by Naoki Urasawa after Osamu Tezuka, with Takashi Nagasaki

With each volume of this series I read, I find myself ever more drawn in to Naoki Urasawa's remaking of a classic Osamu Tezuka Astro Boy story.

This third volume introduces a few new story elements. Where the first two volumes were primarily concerned with police robot Inspector Gesicht's mission to track down whoever or whatever is attacking the most powerful robots on Earth, and the people who support robot rights, this volume gives the story more sprawl.  We are introduced to Adolf (not so subtle, the choice of name), a man who is part of an anti-robot KKK.

Adolf's brother was killed by a robot, something that is not supposed to happen.  Adolf has proof, in the form of the metal shell that was used - only a handful of robots can use such a device, including the intrepid Gesicht.  KR, the anti-robot group, is making use of a number of media outlets to try to discredit robots, and to further the Jim Crow commentary seen throughout this book.

Meanwhile, Uran, the robotic sister of Atom (Japan's name for Astro Boy), starts to help a homeless and sick robot who paints pictures of flowers on the walls of abandoned buildings.  This nameless character has a connection to Pluto - the villain of the first two volumes.

I like how Urasawa is still building his story almost half way into it.  His characters are rich and nuanced, and I appreciate the amount of time and space he gives to new members of the cast, so they can be properly developed.  This is a great series.

Pluto: Urusawa X Tezuka Vol. 2

by Naoki Urasawa after Osamu Tezuka, with Takashi Nagasaki

I'm starting to think that Naoki Urasawa could very well be my gateway into manga.  My previous forays into that realm have me with mixed success, but I really do love Pluto.

This series is a collaboration between Uraawa and manga master Osamu Tezuka, in the same way that those Frank Sinatra Duet albums can be considered collaborations.  In other words, Urasawa is working with one of Tezuka's most beloved stories - "The Greatest Robot on Earth", from his Astro Boy series, updating it and adjusting it to a more modern, adult sensibility.  I've never read the source material (the extent of my Astro Boy knowledge does not extend past Saturday morning cartoons when I was eight or so), but I can say that this is an incredibly impressive story.

This second volume brings Atom (Astro Boy's Japanese name) into the story. Atom is a robot, but appears to be a boy of about ten or eleven.  Inspector Gesicht is trying to track down just who is killing the most powerful robots on Earth, and warns Atom that he is in danger.  They exchange memory chips, so that Atom can be brought up to speed on the investigation, and we learn that he is more capable of feeling emotion than any robot we've met so far.

Shortly after this, the robot fighter Brando confronts the mysterious force that is destroying his brethren.  This is a pretty exciting scene, with real emotional consequences.  I like how Urusawa allows his mystery to deepen, while casting all sorts of questions about Gesicht's memory, and just who understands what is going on.  There is also a touch of political commentary introduced in this volume, as we learn a little about the 39th Central Asian War, which was apparently sparked by the belief of the President of the United States of Thracia (named Alexander, of course) that Persia was harbouring Robots of Mass Distruction (RMDs?).  Sound a little familiar?

I don't really understand how or why the society portrayed in this comic developed around having independent robots who live their own lives, renting apartments and pretending to eat food, would have developed, or why there would be such prejudice against them.  This aspect of the story needs a little more clarification, but otherwise, this is a beautifully illustrated and very compelling series.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka Vol. 1

by Naoki Urasawa after Osama Tezuka

It's tempting to start writing this review with my usual disclaimer that I don't read a lot of manga, and don't always understand the ones that I do read, but this is one of those books that, while completely steeped in the culture of manga, transcends it in almost every way.

Pluto is the modernization and reworking of Osama Tezuka's classic Astro Boy character, as handled by modern master Naoki Urasawa.  This first volume is mostly used to establish the mood and situation of this series, but it is done in a way that surprised me.

It opens with the death of Mont Blanc, Switzerland's most famous and beloved robot, who was killed mysteriously during a tornado, and found with wooden horns coming from his decapitated head.  Later, a human is killed in a similar way in Dusseldorf.  A crack robot detective from Europol, Gesicht, is assigned to the case.

Gesicht believes that a robot killed this man (robots are very common, and live much as humans do, taking spouses and living in homes and apartments, although it's not clear why), which is against the most basic of the robot's laws, and with one exception, is unheard of.

Strangely, the middle of this volume is devoted to a completely different, yet related, story about an aging musician and his new robot butler, who is trying to escape from his war-torn past.  This part of the book is what captivated me the most.  I began to really care about the old crank and North No. 2, his butler.

The book returns to Gesicht, who has come to realize that someone or something is targeting very special robots, which leads to him seeking out Atom, who I suppose will become the central figure in this comic.  (Atom is, of course, the original Japanese translation of Astro Boy's name).

Urasawa's art is beautiful in this book.  I read the first volume of his Monster, but was not anywhere near as impressed with his pacing and eye to detail.  I have three more volumes of this book to read, but I'm afraid I'm going to find myself completely hooked by this story, and so have to start hunting down the rest.