The Astro Boy Essays

November 15, 2007
Little robot hero Tetsuwan Atomu ("Mighty Atom"), called Astro Boy in the United States, is the best-known creation of revered manga master Tezuka (192889). Schodt not only wrote the first book in English about manga in 1983 ("Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics" but also knew Tezuka personally and has translated several of his works, including Dark Horse's 23-volume edition of "Astro Boy" Here, Schodt describes Astro's history, from his genesis in a 1951 story titled "Ambassador Atom" through the hugely popular black-and-white 196365 "Tetsuwan Atomu"anime (Japan's first full-length animated TV series) and later incarnations. He delves into the influence that Tezuka's editors, societal trends, and the rise of "gekiga"(dramatic, realistic manga) had on Astro's stories; Astro's influence on robotics research in contemporary Japan; and Tezuka's conflicted feelings about his most famous character. Though proud of the series' achievements, Tezuka sometimes referred to it as his "worst work," repeatedly killed off Astro (only to revive him later), and was frustrated when pundits praised the series as forecasting a glorious technological future; Tezuka himself was skeptical of over-reliance on science. This engaging book will be of wide interest to fans and pop-culture students; recommended for all collections.S.R.

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