Customer Reviews

Astro Boy Collection Box Set

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Way to go!!100,000 horse power!!!Here comes the amazing ASTRO BOY!!The orginal ASTRO BOY!! The BEST ASTRO BOY!!

After being terribly disapointed for the previous 2003 released of the new Astro boy, I was surprised to find out this new released of the orginal 1980 series to become a must-have for all those astro fans. This is the real Astro boy, Tetsuwan Atom!!

Above all the best treat from this set was: IT CONTAINS THE ORGINAL SOUNDTRACK!! not only in English, but in JAPANESE also!!!! Not only dose it contain it, and also the sound quality was amazingly well-preserved!! Even though on the cover it says 51 half hour episodes in English. I fell deeply soul-stirring while listening to the orginal theme song, of which was the one song that was never left out from my childhood memory!! The picture quality was excellent too. Followed by the artworks, performances, and the outstanding script all created by Osamu Tezuka himself, have all made this collection to be priceless!! This boxset also contains an exquisite booklet, and with all other special features I have not yet seen, including the delected scenes from the orginal show, story board sequence, Character profiles and the gallery of the orginal manga cover.

When the enthusiastic scientist Doctor Tenma lost his only son Toby in a car crash, the ingenious robot engineer was determined to construct a boy robot in a hope to make up the lost of his only son, only to find out that the robot he created could never replace what he lost. Overcame by despair Astro left Tenma on a cruised, and was later on kidnaped by a evil manager of a robot circus, thus begins our excting adventures of Astro Boy!! In these adventures we discovered the everlasting strugles about human natures, industrial evolutions, environmental crisis and many other things.

Osamu Tezuka is the god of manga. In his life he created over 400 comic books, 60 different titles of animation. Astro was 1 of the earilest charcter he created. His masterpieces also include Jungle Emperor( the orginal Lion King ), Black Jack, Fire-bird the phoenix, Princess knight, Buddha, History of birdman, Ahundred tales, Metropilos and many other amazing creations. He said that the idear through his works is just a simple message, love all creatures, love everything that has life.

If only Osamu Tezuka was still alive today, he will be happy to witness his Astro Boy has been passed on to the younger generations. This DVD collection is a must-have for all people. Highly recomended for all ages, you will be surprised how much you are gonna enjoy this masterpiece!!

I suppose that children growing up in the 1980's have a certain nostagia for the English dubbed version, just as I still have a crush 40 years later on the voice talents of Billie Lou Watt and the other members of the cast who brought such comic, touching and manic fun to the 1960's version. So I could argue with someone who grew up on the 1983 series until next Sunday and I would never get them to agree with me about how childish, poor and pathetic the voice talents are in the English dubbed version of the 1980's version. Initially, I was so sorry that I bought this DVD set when I heard an Astro Boy who sounded like my next door neighbor's 6 year old kid. Or Dr. Boynton who sounded like a jock. BUT...it suddenly occurred to me that there must be a reason why Tezuka was so driven to make this update series, and I found out the reason why it is in reality a masterpiece! I did this by going into the language control of the DVD's and changing the settings to Japanese with English Subtitles. What I watched then was nothing short of genius. All of the sentiment, tenderness, depth and nuance came through as well as Astro Boy's brave, spirited, uncompromising and unstoppable fight for justice...all lost in the dubbing into English. Take my word for it. Buy this set and watch it in its original Japanese version with subtitles.
Stephen Borisoff

to reduce confusion of Astro Boy DVD series, please note that there have been 3 series so far: the Black and White 1963 series, the 1980 First Color version, and the 2003 Color version with different stories.

The black and white 1963 version has 193 episodes.

The 1980 version has 52 episodes for the Japanese version, with the first and second episodes merged and cut into 1 episode as the US version. The birth of the character Atlas is removed in the US version. As a result, the US version only has 51 episodes.

The 2003 version has 50 episodes. This version once again has one more episode in the Japanese version. The US version has 1 episode less, which is replaced by a "clip show episode". (probably meaning frame by frame). Personally, I think the 1980 version is slightly cuter than the 2003 version. The 2003 version is more lavish.

More information can be found on Wikipedia: use the keyword Astro Boy, and then try Astro Boy 1980 and Astro Boy 2003

Now, this "red box" edition is the 1980 series. When you think about it, for 30 something dollars, and you get 51 episodes, which is like 60 cents per episode, it is really a very good deal.

Early anime on USA tv can be counted on one hand: Starblazers, Speed Racer, Gigantor, and Astro Boy. When I searched for Astro Boy some time back, the videos hadn't made it to DVD. I finally got a Japanese edition with English and Chinese audio tracks from Japanimation.com.

The first thing I realized was that although I'd always loved what I'd seen of Astro Boy, the series was far better than I'd remembered. Tezuka eeked a lot of emotion and character out of his manga, as the recent reprint series by Dark Horse shows, but these qualities survived intact the jump to TV.

As with Gigantor, some modern viewers are allergic to anything in black and white (while retro fans eagerly track those copies down). This is the color series but it's not to be confused with the recent remake (in the black box) shown on Cartoon Network. Being both in color and fondly remembered by many viewers from the '80s, this box set will be welcomed by the many fans of Tezuka's best-loved creation.

I bought Kimba for my kids, since I wanted cartoons that taught values and I didn't want the vacant all flashes and lights cartoons. I also wanted short 20 minute cartoons so that they wouldn't see too much TV a one time. They saw all 52 episodes multiple times, what a bargain.
When I needed more material, I checked out material from Osamu Tezuka the creator of Kimba and found Astro boy box set Astro Boy Collection Box Set (1980) . This is the collection to buy there's another (black cover 2003 edition) that has converted Astro Boy in an all Flashes, music cartoon.
I believe that Astro boy for young kids is absolutely wonderful. It contain a great story line, great quality (colour version), and it delivers a message! The music is catchy.

If you like Kimba, buy this collection for your kids, and for you, if you one of those parents that convert seeing TV in a family activity.

Box that I recommend and that I purchased:

Astro boy
Astro Boy Collection Box Set (1980)

Kimba
Kimba The White Lion Ultra DVD Box Set (Limited Edition)

Sincerely,

Will DC-Madrid

I'm not old enough to have watched the original 1950's Astro Boy, so I can't comment on that. I also haven't watched the 2003 version, so I can't comment on that either. (If I have extra money in the future, I'll probably give those 2 series a try...)

I can comment on this version (the 1980's version), because this is the one I grew up with and watched when I was a kid! After receiving this in the mail, and watching it immediately, it is as good as I remember it!

You know how sometimes you feel nostalgic about something, and then when you can actually "re-live" that moment, it's not as good as you remember it? Well, that doesn't apply here! After watching this DVD set, I enjoyed watching it as much as I did when I was a kid!

If you grew up on the 1980's Astro Boy and loved it, you will still love it this time around!

This Astro Boy set is good - but just remember that it is not the original series from the 60s - however - it is a great addition to your Astro Boy collection.

This set is missing one episode of the 80's Astro Boy series. Everything else is great, sound, picture, design, book, everything. Every episode even has the option of watching it in japanese with english subtitles, but episode 2 'Astro VS Atlas' is missin. This is apparent in the booklet that shows the japanese broadcast order which contains 52 episodes, and the English broadcats order which shows 51. 51 is the amount on the set. It shouldn't put you off buying it, but it's very frustrating since I don't know how to go about finding that one ep, and I can't find a download or anything. If you know anywhere where I can obtain episode 2, please leave a review and mention it.

Thanks.

"Flying high in the sky, he may be small but only in size. Astroboy!"

I have to admit, I am probably not your typical manga fan. However, our family watched about half of this series on the instant view option on Netflix before it was removed, and my kids were so upset that they couldn't see any more if it online, I decided to buy them a set of their own DVDs. Now they can watch whenever they want!

I have read that the creator of this series is pretty highly regarded in the world of manga. I'm not really part of that demographic, but I have seen my fair share of animated films and series. I know that truly engaging animation is hard to find, and our family fell in love with this robot boy and just couldn't stop watching.

All in all, I would rate this series five stars for its wholesome fun and positive messages, conflict without unnecessary gore and violence, and cool robots. THIS is definitely the right version of Astroboy to buy if you are looking for a great series. Be warned, though, you might not ever be able to get the theme song out of your head!

I'm glad I bought this:

1) Over 1500 minutes of episodes, not to mention the little booklet and special features--all for about $20--amazing bargain!

2) This robot hero (Astro Boy) wants to be human, and every episode he learns something about the Golden Rule, such as kindness. Family-friendly and someone that most children will love instantly.

3) Astro Boy fights the good fight for justice and peace, always trying to right every wrong. For all his strength and powers, he's a gentle 6- or 7-year boy at heart.

The theme song is catchy. Animation can seem ridiculous to some people, but honestly, if you just let the episode speak for itself, it comes to life in your imagination.

My younger siblings get a kick out of watching this; I enjoy seeing the same episodes over and over, though I haven't watch all of them yet.

Beyond Astro Boy, I never saw any of Tezuka's work, but if you're curious about it all, I recommend starting with the 80s Astro Boy.