Summary
Netflix’s Pluto is a reboot of Naoki Urasawa’s popular manga and has proven itself to be an adaptation that matches the quality of the original. Based on the plot from Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, Naoki Urasawa expanded the perspective of the original story and added an element of mystery, making the story more interesting and engaging. The anime adaptation of Pluto enhanced the story with impressive art, a powerful soundtrack, and thought-provoking discussions about the relationship between humans and robots.
One of the main sources for anime is manga, which is the case Netflixnew series of The Pluto. However, Pluto’s adaptation is a bit different from other anime, as it is a reboot of the popular manga series of the same name, i.e. a one-chapter reboot of the original Astro Boy manga. Relatively speaking, Netflix’s Pluto is the best of the three versions.
Pluto is written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. This is a reinterpretation of Osamu Tezuka’s story, “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” which can be found in Astro Boy volume 3, chapter 7, and was first published in March 1964. Story which follows Astro Boy as he sets out to defeat Pluto, a super robot who systematically challenges and destroys the world’s seven greatest robots.
The story is a classic Astro Boy tale of good and evil, including a healthy serving of Tezuka’s influential perspective on the real world. There’s a clear anti-war message woven throughout as well as Tezuka’s long-held hope that violence and hatred could be overcome if the world’s people could communicate with each other more effectively.
Pluto: Robot terminator or killer?
Pluto by Naoki Urasawa (2003-2009)
While remaining true to the setting and setting of the original Astro Boy chapter, Urasawa improved the story’s perspective. He does this by expanding the original’s primary third-person perspective to include the first-person perspective of various characters, especially that of the super robot and detective EuroPol Gesicht. In the original, Gesicht attempted to capture Pluto before he was smashed to pieces. In Pluto, Gesicht’s perspective becomes even more interesting thanks to another edit by Urasawa – making the story mysterious and including murder as a connection to the death of the great robots. In the original, Pluto never hides who he is or what he’s trying to do. In fact, he’s been completely open about his plans. However, he never harms humans in his duties.
Netflix’s version of Pluto takes Urasawa’s masterful work and turns it into an animated masterpiece. While the changes are less drastic than those made by Urasawa to Tezuka’s original, they still refine specific aspects of the story to take it to the next level. First, it’s art. While neither Astro Boy nor Pluto are particularly famous for their art, the Netflix cartoon is, and they spared no expense in creating a dazzlingly excellent story.
The soundtrack and the energy behind the animation create heart-pounding tension that is difficult to accurately visualize in the manga. What matters most, however, is what the anime adaptation chooses to focus on in the story. It goes deeper into the “joys and sorrows” of having robots living alongside humans. It asks the questions: “Should robots live among us and how integrated do robots need to be to be accepted by society?” Thanks to that, in addition to the sci-fi action and thrilling mysteries, there are also fascinating discussions related to real life.
Pluto asks tough questions about humanity’s dependence on technology
Pluto (2023)
In the opening of the original Astro Boy chapter, Tezuka talks about how he wrote the story when the Astro Boy television series was at the peak of its popularity. So, this is one of the highest rated chapters in the manga due to the battle between robots. Urasawa’s edits made a good story even better. Tezuka applauded Urasawa’s efforts and even helped him gain a deeper understanding of Astro Boy. However, it’s not hard to think that Tezuka might consider it Netflix‘s Pluto is the closest version to what he meant in the story. Good battles and enthralling mystery aside, the real story is about The Pluto is about people and their machines.
Watch on Netflix