Astro Boy (character)

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Astro Boy
Astro Boy character
Astro Boy-08.jpg
Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka
First appearance Captain Atom (April 1951)
Created by Osamu Tezuka
Voiced by Billie Lou Watt /Mari Shimizu (1963)
Patricia Kugler Whitely / Mari Shimizu (1982/1980)
Candi Milo /Makoto Tsumura (2004/2003)
Freddie Highmore /Aya Ueto (2009 Film)
Profile
Nicknames Astro
Aliases Atom
Gender Male
Species Robot
Date of birth 7 April 2003
Occupation Hero
Known relatives Doctor Tenma (Creator), Doctor Ochanomizu (Foster Father)

Astro Boy (アトム Atomu?, or "Atom") 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. Astro Boy has appeared in animated television shows and feature film adaptations of its eponymous manga, as well as other works by Tezuka.

On 7 April 2003, the City of Niiza registered the character as an actual resident.[1] He was also inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2004.

Contents

[edit] Creation and conception

Astro Boy originally appeared as a side character in the comic Atom Taishi (Ambassador Atom, sometimes referred to as Captain Atom), which appeared in Shonen, a monthly magazine for boys, in April 1951. Tezuka then created a comic series in which Astro Boy was the main character.[2]

Osamu Tezuka created Astro Boy to be, in the words of Frederik L. Schodt (creator of the English-language version of the Astro Boy manga), a "21st-century reverse-Pinnochio, a nearly perfect robot who strove to become more human and emotive and to serve as an interface between man and machine."[3] As Tezuka's art style advanced, Astro Boy "became more modern and "cute"" to appeal to the audience of boys in elementary school.[4]

[edit] Overview

Astro Boy was created by Doctor Tenma, and was meant to be a replacement for his deceased son named Tobio. However, because Astro was not able to grow and age like a normal human child, Doctor Tenma abandoned him to a Robot Circus led by the cruel Ham Egg. At the circus, Astro Boy was found by Professor Ochanomizu and adopted. Professor Ochanomizu gave Astro a family with a robotic mother, father, sister (Uran) and brother (Cobalt). As head of the Ministry of Science, Professor Ochanomizu often calls on Astro to help resolve situations involving humans, robots and (on occasion) extraterrestrials.

Astro Boy has several capabilities to aid him in his adventures:

  • The ability to translate more than 60 languages
  • Strength equivalent to 100,000 horsepower (75 MW)
  • The ability to fly using jets in his legs and arms
  • Magnification of his hearing up to one thousand times
  • Guns deployed from his posterior
  • An electro-heart that can discern people's criminal intentions
  • Bright eye-lamps to assist his vision
  • Laser guns in his finger tips
  • Laser cannons in his arms
  • An extremely accurate electronic brain

Despite his abilities and work for good, Astro is often ostracized by the human race for being a robot. Since he is not officially considered a citizen, he often has to deal with the prejudice of humans against robots. Ultimately, Astro has to find a way to bring peace between humans and robots.

[edit] Appearances

As part of the Osamu Tezuka's Star System, Astro has appeared in several of the artist's works (although he is not always identified as "Astro Boy").

[edit] List of Astro Boy's appearances

[edit] Reception

Astro was listed on Empire magazine's 50 Greatest Comic Characters list ranking forty third on the list.[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Astro Boy: A Japanese Citizen?". Anime News Network. 2003-03-20. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-03-20/astro-boy-a-japanese-citizen. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 
  2. ^ Schodt, Frederik L. "Introduction." Astro Boy Volume 1 (Comic by Osamu Tezuka). Dark Horse Comics and Studio Proteus. Page 1 of 3 (The introduction section has 3 pages). ISBN 1-56971-676-5.
  3. ^ Schodt, Frederik L. "Introduction." Astro Boy Volume 1 (Comic by Osamu Tezuka). Dark Horse Comics and Studio Proteus. Page 3 of 3 (The introduction section has 3 pages). ISBN 1-56971-676-5.
  4. ^ Schodt, Frederik L. "Introduction." Astro Boy Volume 1 (Comic by Osamu Tezuka). Dark Horse Comics and Studio Proteus. Page 2 of 3 (The introduction section has 3 pages). ISBN 1-56971-676-5.
  5. ^ "Empire". www.empireonline.com. http://www.empireonline.com/50greatestcomiccharacters/default.asp?c=43. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
v • d • e
Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka
Franchise
Chapters • Episodes • Astro Boy (1980 TV series) • Astro Boy (Now Comics) • Astro Boy (2003 TV series) • Film
Video games
Tetsuwan Atom (Family Computer) • Tetsuwan Atom (Super Famicom) • Omega Factor • Astro Boy (PlayStation 2) • Astro Boy: The Video Game
Characters
Astro Boy • Doctor Tenma • Professor Ochanomizu • Ham Egg • Lord Deadcross • Pluto • Shunsaku Ban • Uran
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_Boy_(character)"