Summary
The Missing Astro Boy episodes from 1963 first aired, but only 2 of the 3 episodes aired. Tezuka Productions has not explained how to restore the missing episodes. Uncertainty surrounding the overseas release of missing episodes due to Funimation's closure and Crunchyroll's acquisition of the library.
Missing the venerable 1963 word collection Astro Boy The anime first aired earlier this month. The news was first revealed by Tezuka Productions itself, in an announcement announcing the launch of a new free channel for the streaming service. Only one two of the three episodes of Astro Boy Lost have aired to datetechnically making the series incomplete, although the reveal of episodes 125 and 127 are still shocking for their randomness.
At this time, Tezuka Productions has not yet explained when and how they recovered the episodes, which were considered “lost” in the decades since the anime originally aired. No overseas release has been announced yet, although Astro Boy is available on global streaming services.
However, Funimation's impending closure and Crunchyroll's takeover of its library only adds to the uncertainty when it comes to watching these missing episodes.
Astro Boy's history is filled with long lost episodes
The series was created by Osamu Tezuka. The first anime created by Mushi Production.
As reported by Anime News Network, the Astro Boy episodes in question – 125, “Find Bacteria” and 127, “Test Robot” – have been considered lost, because The original film prints and negatives have been missing all this time. Presumably, such documents were recovered, but there has been no confirmation, with Tezuka being mostly casual about the disclosure, given the way it was folded along with the reveal of his TV channel. Currently, episode 139 “Atom Stolen” is the last lost episode. Previous DVD releases of anime had to rely on limited reproductions, using still images and timed storyboards for the remaining audio files.
Astro Boy is streaming in Japan on the new “Tezuka Productions TV” available on Japan's free Channel R. It is available alongside other classic Tezuka anime, such as Black Jack and Phoenix. Tezuka's announcement did not say if or when the restored episodes would be made available overseas. While 109 episodes of Astro Boy are available on Funimation, the service's impending merger with Crunchyroll has caused much confusion as to how the service's library will survive the transition to hardcore anime streaming. It is currently unclear whether Astro Boy will appear in the future or not.
Astro Boy is now more relevant than ever
Between Pluto and the restored episodes, Atom remains one of Japan's icons
Legal issues aside, securing access to Tezuka's anime was a no-brainer. Astro Boy is a half-hour Japanese animated film and one of the most important shows in this genre. Its inclusion on a streaming service both preserves and enhances its reputation. The anime is even more relevant today thanks to Netflix's well-received adaptation of Pluto, Naoki Urasawa's noir reinterpretation of one of the series' storylines. All this proves that Astro Boy is not just a historical novelty – it is also a culturally important piece of media, made even more important with the restored episodes.
Source: Tezuka Productions (official website), Anime News Network