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Astro Boy (2003)
Encyclopedia
is a remake of the 1960s anime
series of the same name created by Osamu Tezuka
, which was produced by his company, Tezuka Productions
, and the anime television network, Animax
, who have broadcast the series across its respective networks worldwide, including Japan
, Southeast Asia
, South Asia
, East Asia
, and other regions. It was created to celebrate the birth date of Astro Boy
(as well as the 40th anniversary of the 1963 series). Under the original English name (instead of Tetsuwan Atom), it kept the same classic art style as the original Astro Boy manga
and anime
, but was revisioned and modernized with more lush, high-quality, near-theatrical animation and visuals. It combined the playfulness of the early anime with the darker, more serious and dramatic Science Fiction themes of the manga and the '80s anime. The anime broadcast in Japan on the same date as Astro's birth in the manga (April 7, 2003) across Animax and Fuji Television
. It was directed by Kazuya Konaka and written by Chiaki J. Konaka
.
s, the 2003 series can be regarded as having a well-defined beginning, middle and end. Although the series appears to initially have two main plotlines- Doctor Tenma
's eventual plans for Astro to evolve and another plotline about robot rights -these two story arcs dovetail toward the end of the series.
The show is set in 2043, where robot
s are common part of humanity's lives. In Metro City, the renowned Doctor Tenma disappears after trying to construct an AI robot using a new technology called Kokoro (which is Japanese for "mind, heart and spirit"). Dr. O'Shay
replaces Tenma as head of the Ministry of Science and discovers a boy-like robot and brings it to life and names him Astro. Astro soon discovers he can fly via rocket boosters in his hands and feet, and has superhuman strength and other such abilities, and must deal with robots and villainous robot-hating humans who threaten his friends, fellow robots and Metro City, becoming a hero in the process. Astro quickly learns he is a robotic duplicate of Dr. Tenma's dead son Tobio, and was shut down after seeing how discarded robots were dealt with by his father, something similar that Tobio experienced before dying.
A new arc occurs with the introduction of the Blue Knight, a gallant robot who starts a campaign to free all robots from mankind. Another recurring character, Mr. Drake, goes slowly paranoid about the destruction of all robots and becomes a major antagonist of the series. In the final episodes, the Blue Knight declares a new nation for robots, Robotonia, located on Antarctica. Drake deceives the public into believing a house robot pushed a young girl down a flight of stairs (when he did not), and the girl's father, General Red, declares war on Robotonia. Most of the core cast becomes involved in the goal to stop the war between man and machine, until Astro convinces the Blue Knight that humans and robots can be friends. The Blue Knight departs Earth on Robotonia, which is revealed to be a spacecraft. However, Drake, who is still paranoid (despite the fact the robots have stopped their crusade against humanity), tries to destroy the spacecraft with a missile, but Astro blocks the attack and is seemingly taken offline.
Dr. Tenma manages to restore him, but erases his memories as Astro (so that he can remain "Tobio" forever). Eventually, his memories are restored by his friends from school and his sister, Zoran. In one final attempt to reclaim his lost son, Dr. Tenma goes to a laboratory in the Ministry and tries to convince Astro to join him in ruling the world but the latter refuses. Dr. Tenma tries to kill himself to end his suffering, but Astro embraces and forgives him, causing Dr. Tenma to break down and embrace his son. Dr. O'Shay and the robotic police come to the rescue, and Dr. Tenma is willingly arrested and sent to prison. At the end of the series, Astro and Tenma and humans and robots start happily fresh and moving on. Humans and robots come closer together, and Astro appears to shed tears at the conclusion of the series.
In 2005, an IMAX
film was made titled Astro Boy/Tetsuwan Atomu Visits the person IGZA - 100,000 Light Years Away! that is based strongly on this series. It was distributed by Sarai Inc. and was never made into English. There was also a short film titled The Secret of Atom's Birth, shown only in Japan
.
Ending
, receiving a grade of A+ in every category and comments of "It's perfect."
The entire series is currently available on DVD in one single boxset. This DVD set also has a short feature about the show's development that heavily hints at pressure put on the anime developers by Sony to make Astro more of a hero than a boy. This is reflected in the dub as scenes where Astro has emotional moments or where he is acting childlike are cut or the script is changed to Astro acting with a "cooler" or more heroic attitude. That said, the later episodes of the dub do follow along the same lines as the Japanese script. The series is also available on iTunes
.
The series has been received with mix reviews by most of the large fan-base community of Tezuka. Despite the largely darker tones in the second arc and the overall changes made to the Western dub it has been criticized for not having the same optimistic tone of the color 80s version of the series and eliminating several or changing the personalities of several major characters.
The show did not meet with commercial success on ether KidsWB or CartoonNetwork's Toonami
block, a fact that is hinted at during the review for the tie-in game Astro Boy: Omega Factor
with comments such as "Astro Boy [didn't receive any] love here in the states". This has been largely attributed to the quality of the Dub and the constant moving of the show between the two stations. Its been suggested the show was done in by removing the original's comical co-stars, particularly Mr. Pompous and Astro Boy's robot parents. That, plus the general switch of the show's visuals from childish simplistic to near 3-D complexity, and the name changes for so many of the main characters (Uran
=Zoran, Dr. Elefun
=Dr. O'Shay) were deemed by the older fans to be unnecessary for a formerly plot-driven show.
The series, however, had more success in the UK where it was picked up by the BBC
for its children's block and digital only Children's channel from 2003 to 2006. The show's first run lasted about as long as the US one (up to the 2-part episode featuring Pluto) after which the BBC stopped airing new episodes. This may be because (as one presenter commented after an episode) Astro was a darker show compared to the other cartoons CBBC aired (even in its edited state). The western dub has never been aired fully on TV in the US. Despite how well Astro may have fared in the UK airing and DVDs being advertised, the series has not been released on DVD in the UK. Interestingly enough, CBBC finished airing recently unaired episodes of Astro Boy, thus completing the entire series in the UK, making Astro Boy one of the rare anime that airs in the UK in its entirety while not doing so in the United States.
The series was also a success with Arabic speaking viewers when it aired on MBC 3
several times along another anime remake that faced the same fate in America, Cyborg 009
.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series of the same name created by Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
, which was produced by his company, Tezuka Productions
Tezuka Productions
Tezuka Productions is a company created by Osamu Tezuka. His son, Makoto Tezuka has the goal to extend Tezuka's manga series with new issues and publish posthumous works...
, and the anime television network, Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, who have broadcast the series across its respective networks worldwide, including Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, and other regions. It was created to celebrate the birth date of Astro Boy
Astro Boy (character)
is a fictional character, and the main protagonist of the Astro Boy franchise. Created by Osamu Tezuka, the character was introduced in the 1951 Captain Atom manga...
(as well as the 40th anniversary of the 1963 series). Under the original English name (instead of Tetsuwan Atom), it kept the same classic art style as the original Astro Boy manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, but was revisioned and modernized with more lush, high-quality, near-theatrical animation and visuals. It combined the playfulness of the early anime with the darker, more serious and dramatic Science Fiction themes of the manga and the '80s anime. The anime broadcast in Japan on the same date as Astro's birth in the manga (April 7, 2003) across Animax and Fuji Television
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
. It was directed by Kazuya Konaka and written by Chiaki J. Konaka
Chiaki J. Konaka
, born April 4, 1961) is a Japanese writer and scenarist best known for Serial Experiments Lain, and later for the Digimon season, Digimon Tamers....
.
Synopsis
The series consisted of fifty episodes. Though many episodes of the series can be regarded as "free-standing" in as much as they do not have anything to do with the series major story arcStory arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
s, the 2003 series can be regarded as having a well-defined beginning, middle and end. Although the series appears to initially have two main plotlines- Doctor Tenma
Doctor Tenma
, whose real name is and is also known as Dr. Nagamiya Tenma, Dr. Boynton, and Dr. Balthus, is the father/creator of Astro Boy in the anime and manga series of the same name created and animated by Osamu Tezuka....
's eventual plans for Astro to evolve and another plotline about robot rights -these two story arcs dovetail toward the end of the series.
The show is set in 2043, where robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s are common part of humanity's lives. In Metro City, the renowned Doctor Tenma disappears after trying to construct an AI robot using a new technology called Kokoro (which is Japanese for "mind, heart and spirit"). Dr. O'Shay
Professor Ochanomizu
is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Astro Boy, as well as all of its many adaptions, including the 1980s series, 2003 series, and the film. Created by Osamu Tezuka, the character has since appeared in many of his other works. He serves as a guardian to Astro, and sometimes also a...
replaces Tenma as head of the Ministry of Science and discovers a boy-like robot and brings it to life and names him Astro. Astro soon discovers he can fly via rocket boosters in his hands and feet, and has superhuman strength and other such abilities, and must deal with robots and villainous robot-hating humans who threaten his friends, fellow robots and Metro City, becoming a hero in the process. Astro quickly learns he is a robotic duplicate of Dr. Tenma's dead son Tobio, and was shut down after seeing how discarded robots were dealt with by his father, something similar that Tobio experienced before dying.
A new arc occurs with the introduction of the Blue Knight, a gallant robot who starts a campaign to free all robots from mankind. Another recurring character, Mr. Drake, goes slowly paranoid about the destruction of all robots and becomes a major antagonist of the series. In the final episodes, the Blue Knight declares a new nation for robots, Robotonia, located on Antarctica. Drake deceives the public into believing a house robot pushed a young girl down a flight of stairs (when he did not), and the girl's father, General Red, declares war on Robotonia. Most of the core cast becomes involved in the goal to stop the war between man and machine, until Astro convinces the Blue Knight that humans and robots can be friends. The Blue Knight departs Earth on Robotonia, which is revealed to be a spacecraft. However, Drake, who is still paranoid (despite the fact the robots have stopped their crusade against humanity), tries to destroy the spacecraft with a missile, but Astro blocks the attack and is seemingly taken offline.
Dr. Tenma manages to restore him, but erases his memories as Astro (so that he can remain "Tobio" forever). Eventually, his memories are restored by his friends from school and his sister, Zoran. In one final attempt to reclaim his lost son, Dr. Tenma goes to a laboratory in the Ministry and tries to convince Astro to join him in ruling the world but the latter refuses. Dr. Tenma tries to kill himself to end his suffering, but Astro embraces and forgives him, causing Dr. Tenma to break down and embrace his son. Dr. O'Shay and the robotic police come to the rescue, and Dr. Tenma is willingly arrested and sent to prison. At the end of the series, Astro and Tenma and humans and robots start happily fresh and moving on. Humans and robots come closer together, and Astro appears to shed tears at the conclusion of the series.
Short films
A trailer from 2001 made for this series when it was in development presented several major differences from the final series: different designs for characters such as Atlas, the characters speaking in English (with voices completely different from the voices that would eventually end up in the US dub) and animation not found in the final series.In 2005, an IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
film was made titled Astro Boy/Tetsuwan Atomu Visits the person IGZA - 100,000 Light Years Away! that is based strongly on this series. It was distributed by Sarai Inc. and was never made into English. There was also a short film titled The Secret of Atom's Birth, shown only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Main characters
- AstroAstro Boy (character)is a fictional character, and the main protagonist of the Astro Boy franchise. Created by Osamu Tezuka, the character was introduced in the 1951 Captain Atom manga...
: A robot built with "Kokoro", an advanced form of artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. Astro appears as a young boy who works as a superhero of sorts for Metro City. He continuously tries to stop the collapsing relationship between mankind and robots, despite numerous attempts to destroy him by various parties. He can fly using rocket boosters concealed in his limbs and possesses great strength. Astro was originally constructed by Doctor Tenma to recreate his deceased son Tobio, but Astro rebelled against Tenma when he saw how robots were brutally destroyed in an area of the Ministry of Science and was shut down by his "father". (Note: "Kokoro" is actually Japanese for "heart".)
- Dr. O'Shay: Head of the Ministry of Science, Dr. O'Shay is an elderly man with a distinguishable large nose. He led the project to revive Astro and is his guardian and protector. O'Shay, like Astro, is very defensive of the relationship between mankind and robots, often defending Astro when he is accused of being dangerous to Metro City. He is portrayed as being a bit clumsy and quick to anger, but is very intelligent and compassionate.
- Dr. Tenma: The main antagonist of the series and Astro's creator. Dr. Tenma was a former scientist working at the Ministry of Science, but lost his beloved son Tobio after showing him how discarded robots were scrapped. He built Astro to replace Tobio but found Astro was more powerful than he thought and shut him down. Dr. Tenma becomes somewhat insane and believes robots are superior to humans, and Astro should be their leader. In the final episodes, he tries to coax Astro to his side but fails, only to be forgiven by Astro and willingly surrenders himself to the authorities. In this series, at the start it didn't show him creating Astro.
- ZoranUran (manga character)Uran is Astro's cybernetic sister in the manga and anime series Astro Boy, was well as its many adaptions. She is a superhuman robot with a naive, tomboyish personality.-1980 series:...
: Astro's younger sister, constructed by Dr. O'Shay with the same AI technology seen in Astro. She shows the ability to talk to animals and understand their languages, befriending a bird who she names Houdini. She has a rather excitable personality, but at times envies Astro for the amount of attention he receives and is overemotional at times too, but she also looks up to and protects her brother. She claims herself to be the largest fan of the rocket ball player robot Harley.
- Yuko: Doctor O'Shay's assistant. She often fuses over him and repeatedly reminds him of schedules he must keep to. She is assisted by a flamingoFlamingoFlamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
-like robot named Momo.
- Detective Tawashi: A police inspector who has a large nose resembling a shoe brush. While at first he shows a distrust towards robots in general, he grows to trust those closest to him, including his own robotic partner Delta, and Astro. He often banters with Dr. O'Shay in arguments.
- EpsilonEpsilonEpsilon is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a close-mid front unrounded vowel . In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 5. It was derived from the Phoenician letter He...
: A female robot (hinted to be AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n) that protects Metro City's wildlife, most notable the marine animals. Also she can alter the weather however only uses her abilities for peaceful purposes.
- Delta: A robot policeman that serves as the leader of the "Anti-Robot Robot Squad", a division of the police force.
- Reno: A close human friend of Astro. He originally started off in a robot circus where he disguised himself as a robot to avoid being separated from the other robotic performers whom he saw as his family. He becomes a student of Dr. O'Shay's and becomes quite skilled around robotics, but still maintains his acrobatic skills from the circus.
- The Blue Knight: A gallant anti-hero of sorts who was badly treated by humans and was rebuilt by Dr. Tenma and Shadow to act as a catalyst to boost Astro's power. He instead decided to wage war against mankind to bring freedom to robots. He dresses in blue armour and rides a white horse, his main weapon being a laser-based lance of sorts. He ultimately builds a robotic empire towards the end of the series.
- Shadow: A highly intelligent robot created by Dr. Tenma to help him make Astro stronger. He wore a mask over his face for most of the season, eventually revealing his face after some reconstruction to be based on Dr. Tenma's.
- Mr. DrakeAcetylene LampFor the lighting device, see Acetylene lamp, also known as Drake, is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka who recurrently appears in his works, usually in a villainous role.-Description:...
: The secondary antagonist of the series. Drake is a politician who deeply hates robots, particularly robots with AI. He grows more paranoid over the course of the series, haunted by memories of a robot he knew in the past whom he considered his friend but drove him to his hatred for machines.
- Skunk: A recurring villain who uses robots to commit various crimes, showing no concern and care for the robots he uses. Before his final capture, the police told Astro that he was one of Metro City's most dangerous criminals. He acts as a secondary antagonist throughout the series.
- AtlasAtlasAn atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a map of Earth or a region of Earth, but there are atlases of the other planets in the Solar System. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats...
: A robot constructed by Dr. Tenma similarly to Astro, built for a man named Tokogawa. Atlas is a clone of Tokogawa's deceased son Daichi, and has his memories. Atlas is a very destructive robot but maintains Daichi's dream of seeing Earth from space, which he eventually achieves unintentionally with Tokogawa. He floats away into space and returns as a recurring character.
- PlutoPluto (Astro Boy), known as Bruton in the English dubbed 1980 Astro Boy television series, is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka. He was introduced in story arc of the Astro Boy manga....
: A powerful combat-based robot built by Shadow to challenge Astro and other robots including Epsilon, Hercules, Harley and Delta. He gains emotions and befriends Astro and Zoran, and commits suicide to save the two from a clone of him, plunging into a volcano. However, he is rebuilt later on in the series.
- NoraRobitaRobita is a fictional character, a robot who appears in Osamu Tezuka's manga series Phoenix. It is also a character in the modern Astro Boy animated series.-Phoenix:...
: A yellow, cylindrical robot which acts as Dr. O'Shay's housekeeper as well as a nannyNannyA nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
, who takes care of ZoranUran (manga character)Uran is Astro's cybernetic sister in the manga and anime series Astro Boy, was well as its many adaptions. She is a superhuman robot with a naive, tomboyish personality.-1980 series:...
. She appears in most of the episodes, although having a relatively minor role which has little impact on the storyline.
- Duke RedDuke RedDuke Red is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka. His first appearance was in Metropolis, and quickly became one of Osamu Tezuka's most notable villains. While several of Tezuka's characters would reappear in different roles throughout his works, Duke Red was almost always portrayed as a...
: The primary antagonist of the later episodes, Duke Red is a high-ranking officer who thinks of robots as mere tools. His hatred towards them later intensified after his domestic robot supposedly tripped his daughter. In the final war, he is the leader of the human troops.
- Kennedy, Abercrombie and Alejo: Astro's good friends and schoolmates. Kennedy plays soccer for his local team and has somewhat of a short temper. Alejo is portrayed as a science geek that is fascinated by Astro. Abercrombie is a bully that, at first, declines Astro, but soon becomes friends with him. Astro, along with Kennedy, Abercrombie, Alejo and a robot named Denkou, were also the founding members of a club called the "Skyriders".
Cast
- Makoto TsumuraMakoto Tsumurais a Japanese voice actress from Hokkaidō formerly affiliated with Mausu Promotion.-Television animation:*Astro Boy *Dokkiri Doctor *Idaten Jump *Inukami! *Ghost Stories...
: Atom - Shinya Owada: Nagamiya Tenma
- Hisashi Katsuta: Professor Ochanomizu
- Banjou Ginga: Police Inspector Tawashi
- Akiko KawaseAkiko Kawaseis a Japanese voice actor.She was born in Tokyo.-Notable voice roles:*Aoi Mishina in Ryusei Sentai Musumet*July in Coyote Ragtime Show*Mai Moritaka in Dear Boys*Mamapatchi in Tamagotchi: The Movie*Maya Matsumoto in Working!!...
: Yuko Kisaragi - Akio Ōtsuka: Pluto
- Kazuki YaoKazuki Yaois a veteran voice actor and actor currently represented by Mix Max.- Television animation :* Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple * Astro Boy * Beast Wars * Beast Wars Neo...
: Skunk Kusai - Kiku Hiramatsu: Epsilon
- Miki Maruyama Uran
- Miyoko Shoji: Helen
- Motoko KumaiMotoko Kumaiis a Japanese voice actress employed by 81 Produce. Her most notable roles are Takao Kinomiya on Beyblade and Syaoran Li on Cardcaptor Sakura. From December 21, 2006 until October 2007, Motoko left her voice career due to an illness requiring medical treatment....
: Tamao - Naoki TatsutaNaoki Tatsutais a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Buta Gorilla , Daima Jin , Oolong , Ashibe's Father , and Scoop-kun ....
: Robita - Nobuyuki HiyamaNobuyuki Hiyamais a Japanese voice actor currently affiliated with Arts Vision.-Profile:* Sometimes credited as: Shuji Hiyama , Osamuyuki Hiyama * Year Enrolled into the Voice-Acting Industry: 1987...
: Atlas - Rie KugimiyaRie Kugimiyais a Japanese voice actress affiliated with I'm Enterprise.Kugimiya's most famous roles include Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, Kagura in Gintama, Nagi Sanzenin in Hayate no Gotoku!, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Taiga Aisaka in Toradora!, and...
: Nyanko - Susumu ChibaSusumu Chiba, born September 13, 1970, is a seiyū . He is contracted under the Office Osawa Co. LTD. One of his best known roles is as Fujiwara-no-Sai from the anime Hikaru no Go. Also called as Chibashinpo or PUROGURESU.-Anime:*07-Ghost '*A.D...
: Shibugaki - Yuu Urata: official/clerk
- Yuuko Satou: Kenichi
English Dub Cast
- Candi MiloCandi MiloCandi Milo is an American voice actress and singer. She voiced many different animated characters such as the voice of Jacobo on Disney's The Replacements, Coco, Madame Foster and Cheese on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Irma Lair on Disney's W.I.T.C.H., lead character Maya Santos on Maya &...
: Astro, Kennedy - Dorian HarewoodDorian HarewoodW. Dorian Harewood is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his portrayal of Simon Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.-Career:...
: Dr. Tenma, Shadow - Wally WingertWally WingertWallace E. "Wally" Wingert is an American actor and voice artist. He is originally from Des Moines, Iowa but he currently works and lives in Los Angeles, California. He is the current announcer for the second incarnation of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the current voice of Jon Arbuckle in...
: Dr. O'Shay, Skunk, Blue Knight, Wally Kisagari, Katari, Harley, Kato, Additional Voices - Bill FarmerBill FarmerWilliam "Bill" Farmer is an American voice actor and comedian, best known for being the current voice of the Disney characters Goofy, Pluto and Horace Horsecollar.-Early life:...
: Detective Tawashi - David Rasner: Pluto
- Faith SalieFaith SalieFaith Coley Salie is an American actress, comedian, radio host and television personality. She first became known for her role as Sarina Douglas on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and went on to host the Public Radio International program Fair Game with Faith Salie.-Family:Born in Boston,...
: Yuko - Greg CipesGreg CipesGregory Michael Cipes is an American voice and film actor. He is also a singer, musician, composer, and professional surfer.-Early life:Cipes was born in Coral Springs, Florida, the son of Robin Mrasek and Geoff Cipes.-Career:...
: Daichi/Atlas - Jennifer DarlingJennifer DarlingJennifer Darling is an American actress and voice actress. While her body of work as a voiceover artist greatly eclipses that of her on-stage career, she is, perhaps, nevertheless known best to most people as Peggy Callahan, the secretary to Oscar Goldman in the television series The Six Million...
: Nora/Robita - Jonathan Todd RossJonathan Todd RossJonathan Todd "J.T." Ross is an anime voice actor who works primarily on properties of 4Kids Entertainment.-Anime roles:* Winx Club as Additional voices*One Piece as Koza*Sonic X as Dark Oak, Red Pine...
: Mechanic #2 (eps.9) - Lara Jill MillerLara Jill MillerLara Jill Miller is an American television, stage and voice actress.-Biography:Miller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on April 20, 1967. She graduated from Allentown's William Allen High School...
: Alejo, Mimi - Maile FlanaganMaile FlanaganMaile Flanagan is an American actress known for her role as the protagonist ninja Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto, Geri O'Flanagan in 3Way, and Janet in Yes Man.-Personal life:...
: Matthew - Sandy MartinSandy MartinSandy Martin is an actress who has over 60 film credits and has been an actress, producer, director and writer in professional theater productions....
: Abercrombie - Susan BluSusan BluSusan Maria Blu , sometimes credited as Sue Blu, is an American voice actress, voice director, and casting director in American and Canadian cinema and television...
: Zoran - Dave WittenbergDave WittenbergDavid Richard Paul "Dave" Wittenberg is a prolific South African-born American video game and anime voice actor with nearly one hundred titles to his credit. While Wittenberg was born in a hospital in South Africa, he was primarily raised in Boston...
- Gregg BergerGregg BergerGreggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
(Japan)
Openings- "True Blue" by ZoneZone (band)Zone was an all-female pop rock band started in Sapporo, Japan in 1999. Although it initially started as a dance group, they turned to an all-female band. Zone has been categorized in a new genre called "bandol"...
- "Now or Never" by ChemistryChemistry (band)is a Japanese Pop/R&B duo, composed of and . They were the winners of the Asayan audition in 2000 organized by Sony Music Entertainment Japan....
meets M-FloM-flois a Japanese hip hop group consisting of producer and DJ Taku Takahashi and emcee Verbal.Former member Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career, and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists for each song over three albums, including the...
Ending
- "Boy's Heart" by Fujii FumiyaFumiya Fujiiis a male Japanese popular music artist. He is a part of Sony Music Japan.After leaving his job in Japanese National Railways, he started his music career in the 1980s as the vocalist of the immensely popular group The Checkers and started on his solo project after they split up.Naoyuki Fujii, his...
- "Tetsuwan Atomu" (A remixed version of the 60s series' theme song.)
Reception
The 2003 version of Astro Boy was extremely well reviewed by Zac Bertschy of Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
, receiving a grade of A+ in every category and comments of "It's perfect."
The entire series is currently available on DVD in one single boxset. This DVD set also has a short feature about the show's development that heavily hints at pressure put on the anime developers by Sony to make Astro more of a hero than a boy. This is reflected in the dub as scenes where Astro has emotional moments or where he is acting childlike are cut or the script is changed to Astro acting with a "cooler" or more heroic attitude. That said, the later episodes of the dub do follow along the same lines as the Japanese script. The series is also available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
The series has been received with mix reviews by most of the large fan-base community of Tezuka. Despite the largely darker tones in the second arc and the overall changes made to the Western dub it has been criticized for not having the same optimistic tone of the color 80s version of the series and eliminating several or changing the personalities of several major characters.
The show did not meet with commercial success on ether KidsWB or CartoonNetwork's Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
block, a fact that is hinted at during the review for the tie-in game Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Astro Boy: Omega Factor
is a beat 'em up video game developed by Treasure Co. Ltd and Hitmaker, and published by Sega. The game was released for the Game Boy Advance console on December 18, 2003 in Japan; August 18, 2004 in North America; and February 18, 2005 in Europe. The game is based on Osamu Tezuka's manga and anime...
with comments such as "Astro Boy [didn't receive any] love here in the states". This has been largely attributed to the quality of the Dub and the constant moving of the show between the two stations. Its been suggested the show was done in by removing the original's comical co-stars, particularly Mr. Pompous and Astro Boy's robot parents. That, plus the general switch of the show's visuals from childish simplistic to near 3-D complexity, and the name changes for so many of the main characters (Uran
Uran
Uran is part of the Navi Mumbai city township lying in the Raigad district near Panvel and Karjat. It is situated east of Mumbai across the Dharamtar Creek, and is primarily a fishing village, which has developed into a special economy zone. Even famous for its salt pans later after the revolt by...
=Zoran, Dr. Elefun
Professor Ochanomizu
is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Astro Boy, as well as all of its many adaptions, including the 1980s series, 2003 series, and the film. Created by Osamu Tezuka, the character has since appeared in many of his other works. He serves as a guardian to Astro, and sometimes also a...
=Dr. O'Shay) were deemed by the older fans to be unnecessary for a formerly plot-driven show.
The series, however, had more success in the UK where it was picked up by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for its children's block and digital only Children's channel from 2003 to 2006. The show's first run lasted about as long as the US one (up to the 2-part episode featuring Pluto) after which the BBC stopped airing new episodes. This may be because (as one presenter commented after an episode) Astro was a darker show compared to the other cartoons CBBC aired (even in its edited state). The western dub has never been aired fully on TV in the US. Despite how well Astro may have fared in the UK airing and DVDs being advertised, the series has not been released on DVD in the UK. Interestingly enough, CBBC finished airing recently unaired episodes of Astro Boy, thus completing the entire series in the UK, making Astro Boy one of the rare anime that airs in the UK in its entirety while not doing so in the United States.
The series was also a success with Arabic speaking viewers when it aired on MBC 3
MBC 3
MBC 3 is a free-to-air children channel that hosts by Dania al-Shafii and Hassan al-Mula and belongs to the Middle East Broadcasting Center . It was launched on 8 December 2004...
several times along another anime remake that faced the same fate in America, Cyborg 009
Cyborg 009
is a manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in many different magazines, including Monthly Shōnen King, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Shōnen Big Comic, COM, Shōjo Comic, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Monthly Shōnen Jump and Monthly Comic Nora in Japan...
.
Episodes
Episode titles, following the episode order in the American dvds (notes indicate where the Japanese broadcast order differed, indicated by bold):- 01. Power Up!
- 02. Rocket Ball
- 03. Atlas * Destination Deimos
- 04. Astro vs. Atlas * Into Thin Air
- 05. Destination Deimos * Rainbow Canyon
- 06. Into Thin Air * Atlas
- 07. Rainbow Canyon * Astro vs. Atlas
- 08. Neon Express
- 09. Franken
- 10. Venus Robots
- 11. Reviving Jumbo * Robot Circus
- 12. Robot Hunters * Reviving Jumbo
- 13. The Rise of Pluto * Little Sister, Big Trouble
- 14. The Fall of Acheron * Micro Adventure
- 15. Dragon Lake * Only a Machine
- 16. Lost in Outland * Robot Hunters
- 17. Deep City * The Rise of Pluto
- 18. The Blue Knight * The Fall of Acheron
- 19. Hydra-Jacked * Robot Boy
- 20. Geo Raider * Eternal Boy
- 21. Secret of the Blue Knight * Dragon Lake
- 22. Robot Circus * The Legend of Tohron
- 23. Little Sister, Big Trouble * Lost in Outland
- 24. Micro Adventure * March of the Micro Bears
- 25. Only a Machine * Deep City
- 26. Robot Boy * The Blue Knight
- 27. Dawn of the Techno-Revolution * Old Dog, New Tricks
- 28. The Legend of Tohron * Hydra-Jacked
- 29. March of the Micro Bears * The Case of the Phantom Fowl
- 30. Old Dog, New Tricks * Geo Raider
- 31. The Case of the Phantom Fowl * Gideon
- 32. Gideon * Secret of the Blue Knight
- 33. Fairy Tale
- 34. Shape Shifter
- 35. Phoenix (or Firebird)
- 36. Space Academy
- 37. Atlas Strikes Back
- 38. Battle-Bot
- 39. Time Hunters
- 40. Escape from Volcano Island
- 41. Avalanche
- 42. Battle of Steel Island
- 43. Undercover
- 44. Into the Dragon's Lair
- 45. Night Before the Revolution
- 46. Robotonia
- 47. Showdown in Robotonia
- 48. Journey to Tomorrow
- 49. Astro Reborn
- 50. The Final Battle
"Missing" episode
The US set is not fully complete, with one episode in the set being omitted called "Eternal Boy" and replaced with a clip show episode. The order of episodes on the set is the syndication-released order, which is different from the Japanese order, evidenced by characters such as Astro's sister, Zoran, showing up in episodes before they were introduced.External links
- Astro Boy (2003 TV series) at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Astro Boy 2003 anime page at TezukaOsamu@World
- Animax's official website
- Astroboy at Tv.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...