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|network = ] (1980-1981) |network = ] (1980-1981)
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|first = October 1, 1980 |first = October 1, 1980
|last = December 23, 1981 |last = December 23, 1981

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Astro Boy
English dub title screen
鉄腕アトム
(Tetsuwan Atomu)
GenreAction, Adventure, Science fiction
Anime television series
Directed byNoburo Ishiguro
StudioTezuka Productions
Original networkFuji TV (1980-1981)
English network
Original run October 1, 1980 – December 23, 1981
Episodes52 (List of episodes)
Related works

Tetsuwan Atom (鉄腕アトム, Tetsuwan Atomu, "Mighty Atom"), sometimes referred to as New Mighty Atom (新・鉄腕アトム, Shin Tetsuwan Atomu) is a remake of the 1960s anime series of the same name; both series are adapted from the Astro Boy manga by Osamu Tezuka.

This series, which first aired during the 1980s, placed more focus on Atom's robotic skills and a somewhat darker storyline than the previous incarnation of the series. While mostly light-hearted, the series could be quite sombre and sad at times. It was not uncommon in the series for robots or human characters to suffer for their actions or the misdeeds of others.

The series ran for 52 episodes (edited down to 51 episodes for the English versions).

Initial plot

The first episode is set in future Tokyo, in the year 2030. The Minister of Science, Dr. Tenma, is attempting to create a robot capable of expressing human emotions. After his fourth failed attempt, Tenma is approached by a shady man named Skunk Kusai, who offers him an "Omega Factor" circuit which will humanize a robot if installed. After seeing Skunk thrown out, Tenma's nine-year-old son Tobio tries to console his father by suggesting he make a robot shaped like a child.

Inspired, Tenma sets off to the Ministry of Science to work, forgetting his promise to take Tobio to an amusement park. Upset, Tobio drives an aerocar home but crashes into an oncoming truck and is killed, but just before he dies, Tobio makes his father promise to name his boy robot "Tobio", make it the strongest robot in the world, and love it like a son. Tenma does so, making a 100,000 horsepower (75,000 kW) robot capable of flight, equipped with lasers and machine guns. However, Skunk obtains the blueprints and duplicates them and takes them to Count Walpurgis, who aspires to put the Omega Factor into a super robot and use it for world domination.

Afraid of the potential threat Tenma's robot son could pose to humanity, the Prime Minister of Japan orders the robot dismantled by the next night. Tenma, however, secretly finishes constructing the robot that night, only showing his two assistants that "Tobio" exists, and takes him home to raise him. After various mishaps with raising the robot, Tobio's mind suddenly goes blank and his eyes start blinking red, and he is summoned to wait in the middle of town. Atlas, Walpurgis' new super robot, had been activated and was connecting to Tobio. When the connection process fails, Tobio regains his senses, only to come under attack from a robot disposal tank piloted by Tenma, Honda, and Ushiyama, but something goes wrong and the tank malfunctions and goes berserk. Tobio recovers and saves everyone in the vicinity. Recovering in hospital, Tenma realizes the public will discover that Tobio exists, and decides to take Tobio on an ocean cruise to America.

Tobio struggles to control his strength. After a disastrous meal on the cruise, Tenma disowns Tobio. Tobio hides on deck and is tricked into signing himself into a contract of slavery to the ringmaster Hamegg, who runs the Robot Circus. Tobio spots Atlas nearby and tries to attack him, but loses most of his energy in the process. Hamegg shuts him in his suitcase. Tenma soon resents his actions and begins searching for Tobio. At the circus, Tobio is renamed "Mighty Atom" and is cruelly treated by Hamegg, but taught and cared for by a worker named Kathy. Professor Ochanomizu, a local scientist, discovers Tenma's lost robot at the circus, and with Kathy's help, Atom escapes. Professor Ochanomizu becomes the new head of the Ministry of Science. From there, Atom learns more about the world and becomes the defender of Tokyo and beyond.

Characters

Atom/Astro Boy

Main article: Astro Boy (character)

Atom has a strong sense of morality and is always gentle and kind towards others. Atom is a super powered robot, with seven secret super powers designed to look exactly like Tobio, the son of his creator. Dr. Tenma initially treated Atom like a real boy as a replacement for his son who died in a car accident. However, Atom was clumsy from an inability to control his strength. After being separated from Dr. Tenma, Atom is kidnapped by Ham Egg and forced to join Hamegg's Robot Circus, where he learns to control his powers, and meets Dr. Ochanomizu. He is unsure of his destiny in the beginning, but gains confidence as the story unfolds.

Throughout the series, Atlas attempts to persuade Atom to help Atlas conquer the world. By design, both Atom and Atlas were created from the same blueprints, and so are considered to be brothers. However, Atom refuses to help Atlas in his quest for world domination. He is voiced by Mari Shimizu (it's incorrect to claim that Mari is "Astro Boy's original voice actress", considering that is not even the japanese name), Patricia Kugler Whitely (American version) and then-12-year-old Steven Bednarski (Canadian version).

Uran

Main article: Uran (character)
  • Sarah (Canadian dub), Uranie (French dub)

Uran is Atom's/Astro's naive but determined little sister. She was "born" on New Years Day, built by Dr. Ochanomizu as a gift to Atom. She has half the power of her brother (with 50,000 horsepower) but is quite powerful. Uran is depicted as a cute, tomboyish little girl.

Despite this, Uran is generally a good-hearted girl and is shown to be rather attached to Atom and generally looks up to him. (this is shown after he saves her from becoming a slave in episode 14.)

In contrast to the 1960s series, Uran occupied a less prominent position in the general storyline, and her appearance was revised to make her softer and rounder, possibly to appeal to female viewers. Many times, she was the star of a few episodes, all of which had a special ending theme with pictures of Uran in costumes. Uran is voiced by Masako Sugaya and Becke Wilenski (American version).

Doctor Tenma

Main article: Dr. Tenma
  • Doctor Boynton (American dub), Professor Balfus (Canadian dub)

After several robot design failures, Dr. Tenma created Astro Boy from a suggestion from his son, Tobio. Dr. Tenma zealously worked on creating a robot that would be able to act and behave like a real human. In his zealous search to obtain his goal, Dr. Tenma neglected Tobio, forgetting his promise to take Tobio to the amusement park. As a result, Tobio decides to go on his own and crashes the robot car, dying from the accident.

Dr. Tenma continues to work on the boy robot, and when the project finally reaches completion calls the robot Tobio, after his son. However, Tobio's (Atom) inability to control his own strength begins to infuriate Dr. Tenma, and while on a cruise, Dr. Tenma angrily disowns Tobio. Dr. Tenma is last seen mournfully calling out for Tobio, and is not seen through the remainder of the series. He is voiced by Tamio Ōki, and Del Lewis (American version).

Professor Ochanomizu

Main article: Professor Ochanomizu
  • Dr. Elefun (American dub), Dr. Cole Green, later Professor Peabody (Canadian Dub), Professor Caudrine (French dub)

Succeeding Dr. Tenma as Minister of Science, Dr. Ochanomizu rescues Atom from Hamegg's Robot Circus. Dr. Ochanomizu is a robot rights advocate and creates the "Robot Bill of Rights", which allows robots to be of equal status of humans. He often acts as a surrogate father for Atom, providing him with advice and information. Early into the series, Dr. Ochanomizu builds Atom a mother, father, and a little sister named Uran. He is voiced by Hisashi Katsuta and Brian Parry (American version).

Atlas

Atom's half-brother and arch enemy, he was created by Walpurgis and Skunk who copied Astro's original design plans. Atlas was designed with a similar childlike look, and was planned to be used in theft, but Atlas turned out to be too naive and unprepared for criminal use. After this, Walpurgis installed an Omega Factor into Atlas, which allowed him to defy the robot laws. After attacking Walpurgis and Skunk for destroying Livian and being heavily damaged himself, he rebuilt his own body and Livian's, along with a horse and an electric sword. The new Atlas believed robots are superior to human beings, and repeatedly asked Astro to join him in taking over the world. Atlas and Atom share many of the same powers and abilities.

The new Atlas and Livian are adult in appearance. Over the course of the series, Atlas gained a floating crystal castle and dealt with Skunk and then Walpurgis who he killed off for good after his creator blackmailed him to use a powerful destructive cannon by planting a bomb in Livian's body which Walpurgis would detonate should Atlas refused to do his job, however Livian escaped from Walpurgis' grasp and Atlas pulverised him alongside his Castle after retrieving Livian. Later, Atlas sacrifices himself and Livian to save Earth from alien invaders. He is voiced by Katsuji Mori and Paul Nelson (American version).

Higeoyaji

  • Victor (later Percival) Pompous (American dub, first animated series) Daddy Walrus (American dub, second animated series), Max McNugget (Canadian dub), Monsieur Morse (French dub)

Real name Shunsaku Ban (Albert Duncan in the American dub), Daddy Walrus is Atom's teacher. Throughout the series, Mr. Pompous/Daddy Walrus is portrayed as a judo expert, an efficient private eye, and a keen flower arranger. As a trained martial artist, a recurring joke is Pompous reacting in terror when confronted, but instantly rallying courage and "polishing off" an adversary twice his size. A sharp advocate for Robotic rights, he is one of Atom's strongest supporters, and frequently engages in vitriolic arguments with the formidale Inspector Gumshoe. While loud, brash and comically short-tempered, Pompous/Daddy Walrus regards Atom and Uran with genuine affection and would willingly risk his life on their behalf. He is voiced by Kazuo Kumakura and Bob Gonzalez (American dub).

Livian

  • Selena (Canadian dub), Vivian (French dub)

Livian was formerly Walpurgis's robot maid, who befriended the young Atlas and took care of him. She was destroyed for accidentally breaking a decorative gargoyle, and as a result, Atlas went hysterical and attacked Walpurgis. Atlas rebuilt Livian and himself as adult robots, making Livian look like a princess. She is the only person to show compassion to Atlas, and in turn, he never harms her. Livian once leaves his crystal castle to warn Astro about Atlas's plans, and later tells Atomthat he and Atlas are brothers. She is voiced by Keiko Yokozawa and Becky Wilenski (American version).

Jump

  • Blip (Canadian dub), Plume (French dub)

Jump is a yellow dog with brown patches, and the pet dog of Tobio. Jump was loyal to his master and rushed to the scene after Tobio crashed the car and died. When Atom was first introduced to Jump, Jump was afraid and didn't like him. It is unknown how Dr. Ochanomizu found him, but when Atom visits his new home and parents for the first time, Jump is also with them. Jump grows to like Atom and his family, though Uran does not have the same amount of respect for Jump that Atom has.

Skunk Kusai

  • Slippery (Canadian dub), Sirius (French dub)

An enigmatic thief and mob leader in Tokyo, known for his blue skin and bloodhound eyes. In the beginning of the series, he is working with Walpurgis in order to copy Atom's design blueprints. Skunk was assigned to teach Atlas, but after becoming frustrated with him, the majority of the teaching was done by Livian. After Skunk set up Atom and Atlas's first battle, Walpurgis destroyed Livian, and Skunk just barely got away from Atlas's hysterical backlash.

Skunk went to Tokyo and started up a gang, whom briefly used the adult Atlas to commit several robberies when Atlas returned. Throughout the rest of the series, Skunk utilizes various robots for his own doings, most famously in the episode "The Light Ray Robot". He develops a strong hate for Atom because of the boy's constant interference with Skunk's work. At times, the latter tries to destroy or taunt him. He is voiced by Seizō Katō and Jay Rath (American version).

Tobio Tenma

  • Toby Boynton (American dub)

A nine-year-old boy who is the son of Doctor Tenma who was fatally wounded in a car accident; after being neglected by his father, he goes in his car alone and crashes into an oncoming truck. Whilst on his deathbed at the Tokyo hospital, he tells his father to create a robot who looks like him. After his final words spoken to his father, he dies in his father's arms. He is voiced by Mari Shimizu, Patricia Kugler Whitely (American version) and Steven Bednarski (Canadian version).

Others

Broadcast

There are two different English language dubs. The first was coordinated by Tezuka Productions and Fuji TV and dubbed in 1982, which aired in Australia from 1982 to 1983. It had a very limited release in the U.S., where broadcasts were limited to syndication in a few markets, such as the Philadelphia-Wilmington area where it aired at 10:30am weekdays in 1986 on what was then WTGI—channel 61. This is the version that was later released on DVD in both Australia and the United States (see third paragraph).

The second English dub was heavily-edited and redubbed in Canada in 1985, solely for broadcast there. In the Canadian version, most of the characters had different names from their American counterparts. Due to laws which required a specific amount of Canadian content, the Canadian version also featured a pre-title sequence which recapped Astro's origin, and an epilogue where Astro would give a brief report about each episode's adventure to a computer named Geronimo. Astro's report would always contain a minor error about the story, and a narrator would encourage the viewers to find Astro's mistake, and compare answers with their friends.

The aforementioned first dub of the 1980 series has since been released on DVD by Madman Entertainment and Manga Entertainment, although there are differences between the Madman and Manga Entertainment sets. Madman's set contains more deleted scenes, as well as the first two episodes, unedited (in Japanese with English subtitles). The Manga Entertainment set has a newly-edited Japanese language track to go with the U.S. version of the first episode. As of March 2012, the Manga set is now out of print.

The original version of Shin Tetsuwan Atom was recently broadcast by Viki's anime channel without the cuts and changes from the western release, however the series have the incorrect title "Astro Boy 1980s", despite it all the names follow the original japanese series with few exceptions like Denkou whose name was translated to "Lightning" in the subtitles.

References

  1. "Astro Boy: The Complete Box Set". DVDEmpire.com. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  2. "Astro Boy Collection Box Set". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  3. Astro Boy: The Greatest Robot in the World - Part 1
  4. http://www.rebeccaortese.com/about.html
  5. Astro Boy: The Birth of Astro Boy
  6. "Astro Boy: The Complete Box Set Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-28. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. TV Guide Vol. 34 No. 37/ September 13, 1986/ Issue # 1746 (Philadelphia Edition) Pages A-22, A-86, A-114, A-137, A-159, A-180 Triangle Publications, Inc. (1986) ISSN 0039-8543
  8. Frederick Patten (2002-05-31). "New from Japan: Anime Film Reviews". Animation World Magazine. AWN Inc. Retrieved 3 January 2009.

External links


Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka
Manga and comics
TV series
Films
Video games
Characters
See also
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