646f9e108c This show is about a robot boy who fights crime and other robots not mega man I've never really been a fan of AstroBoy, but I often had an interest in the flying robot boy who buzzed around in a pair of black and green Speedo's beating up aliens and nasty bad guys. The first series of AstroBoy I decided to watch was this one, the 1963 original animated version and to be honest, it wasn't the best start to this show, my main gripe being the animation itself. For some reason in the 1960s, animated shows were really really low budget, which meant that they either had animation that was reused or they cut corners by missing out every other frame, resulting in very unsmooth animation or it would just be individual still frames one after the other. To me, that's a real copp out. Another reason why I wasn't a fan of this show was because it seemed rather perverse to be honest. Let me break it down for you.<br/><br/>In the future, the son of a brilliant scientist named Tobio Tenma is killed in a traffic accident and his father (Dr Tenma) vows to rebuild him as a robot in order to fill the hole left in his life. However, instead of just building an innocent robot, he built his robot with machine guns that fire out of it's butt-cheeks, an arm that turns into a cannon and legs that turn into jets so he can fly. By now you'd probably be asking yourself… Why? What possible reason could you have for rebuilding your son with guns and jets when his sole purpose in life is just to be his son? Does he hope for him to be a home defence system as well? There's no reason for it!<br/><br/>Anyway, Tenma soon becomes exasperated with Tobio as he is unable to grow like the other children so he has him sent to a circus. The brutal and malicious circus ringleader has Tobio do all kinds of dangerous stunts and even has him fight and destroy other robots in the ring. Enter Dr Elephant, a man from the Ministry of Science who is disgusted at the fact that these robots are being forced to fight to the death. The Ringleader does not listen to his complaints and continues regardless. However, a fire breaks out at the circus and Tobio saves the Ringleader from a crispy, deep-fried death. The next day they find that a bill is passed to allow robots to be free like normal citizens and thereby live their lives all well and good. Tobio is freed and given the name AstroBoy. His mission is thereby to go out and save the World over and over and over and over again.<br/><br/>In some aspects, this show is OK as it tries to tap into the various problems that the Robot Astro feels, such as not being able to determine the beauty of fireworks, or be able to understand the concept of maternal love, which for me seems quite a touching part of his story and one that's rather in-depth. But the problem is, the way the story is told unfortunately drags it down, i.e. The Half-Baked Animation. Also, there seems to be an emphasis on butt related things with robots, such as robots are charged through their butts, and Astroboy has cannons that fire out of his butt. Is there some kind of Boy Robot Related Butt Fetish going on here? I really don't want to find out to be honest. If you're looking for a good bit of nostalgia, this show is the place to visit, but if it's not your cup of tea, then by all means give it a miss… Osamu Tezuka's original Astro Boy manga was an overnight sensation, and by the mid-50s had inspired a live-action television show (very low budget, from what I can tell from the trailer for it I've seen). Then in 1962, Tezuka himself developed this animated cartoon series for television – writing, drawing, even participating in the animation with his staff of six (some of whom went on to become notable figures in the anime industry). Due to budget constraints, the series uses what is known as 'limited animation' with stock backgrounds, stock shots, very limited figure movement, etc. But I admit this actually increases the charm of the series for me; it has a quirky surrealistically mechanical aura in many of the visuals.<br/><br/>It should be noted that animation had been a fascination for Tezuka long before he initiated this series. His father owning a movie projector, Tezuka was, from quite an early age, fascinated with American animated films, primarily those by Walt Disney, although the main influence discernible in the Astro Boy series is that of the Fleischer Brothers. The Astro Boy series could not duplicate the slickness or gloss of the better-budgeted American animated television shows or films of the time, but it does evidence a sophisticated humor and a visual inventiveness well in advance of them. (It should be noted that Tezuka's manga were also always in advance of work being done in American comics of the same era.) Astro Boy was originally designed for Japanese males in their early teens – hence his physical appearance as a twelve-year old boy. The aesthetic psychology at work here is fairly plain. Astro looked like many of the members of his audience, but without physical blemish. However, he still represented the sense of alienation that young people often feel when entering the 'awkward years' of early puberty – he looked human, but he was 'different' – he was a robot.<br/><br/>Nonetheless, there were compensations for this alienation – he was extremely smart, had amazing powers, and always demonstrated a conscience superior to many of the adult humans around him. So he wasn't just different, but his difference marked him as superior. Fortunately for the world, he had no vanity, so never exhibited smug satisfaction with himself. On the contrary, he was always trying to find his way through the world, trying to be both robot and boy in a world where many could accept him as neither.<br/><br/>So there's the initial hook for his young audience, the process of identifying with a like, though superior (in some way) hero.<br/><br/>But that's not the case for adults, is it? well, certainly many of us still secretly long for our childhood after all.<br/><br/>But I think the appeal runs deeper. For one thing, there are those big innocent eyes of his, staring out in wonder at the brave new world of the future. He can express a number of emotions, even negative ones, but the two primary expressions we see in his face (certainly the most memorable) are a fierce determination when in action, and a winning, unambiguous smile – unambiguous because there is not the slightest hint of duplicity or of pretension in it. So Astro Boy is all of a piece – he never seems temperamental or given over to deep doubt, he never holds a grudge or engages in hidden agendas. He says what he means (and frequently takes what humans say all too literally). And of course he is always willing to help others, frequently at the risk of his own existence: he's a true hero. In many ways an ideal human being.<br/><br/>Except – he's a robot. And that makes all the difference.
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