by Osamu Tezuka Astro Boy, one of the most popular anime characters today, has been brilliantly recreated in a fan’s cosplay. The design was unveiled at the Dragon Con fan event, using elements of a recent figurine as a base for the innards revealed from some ostensible battle. The startlingly realistic appearance just goes to show how effective a little imagination can be in bringing to life the Atom’s cartoonish design.
The cosplay, originally captured by Jen Yates’ Instagram account, was credited to the cosplayer known as “Molotov Baily” / “Doctor Molotov”. Molotov’s Facebook account describes the costume maker as an artist. According to the uploaded image, their other work includes costumes and puppets inspired by other media such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Labyrinth.
Atom’s design in cosplay is an incredible piece of work, highlighting the traditional innocent hero’s ability to look much more fierce. The cosplay is undeniably creepy, revealing the true machinery behind Atom’s normal appearance.
The battle-damaged Atom is a unique look at a classic design
According to Molotov Baily, the design of the Atom cosplay is inspired by the 12-inch tall character produced by the Blitzway company. The figure includes removable panels that reveal the inner workings of the robot boy, including a chest section depicting a hinged panel that reveals the Atom’s mechanical heart. The decision to depict Atom as battle-damaged was a bold one: although he participated in some serious battles, Tezuka’s manga and its various adaptations never dare to show the graphic wounds on their heroes. This false image of him creates a different kind of realism that has never been seen before.
Other adaptations have attempted to take the 1952 manga in new directions: the 2009 American film attempted to create more realistic lighting and shadows when wearing certain clothes, while Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto chose to imagine imagine the progressive nature of the Atom as close to human as possible. Molotov Bailey’s cosplay recalls the classic design while bringing the Atom’s internal mechanics to life, instead of Tezuka’s suggestions for readers. This type of realism – taking a concept at face value and filling in its gaps – is welcome, compared to others, which instead choose to literally gloss over the Atom’s original design .
Cosplaying an original design by a talented artist and rendered in such a unique way just shows how enduringly popular the manga is even if its presence in the public consciousness is minimal. While Netflix’s upcoming Pluto adaptation is Atom’s next big outing, the last full-audience adaptation debuted a decade ago, in 2003. Tezuka’s characters was dropped as part of a mostly overlooked slate of shows aimed at preschoolers, while there were plans for a live-action movie to remain on the air. Even so, Molotov’s stunning costume design shows that despite all that, Astro Boy still unforgettable.
Source: Instagram (epbot) (molotovbaily), Facebook