Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Naoki Urasawa (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 2009 | Series: Pluto (Book 1)

R to L (Japanese Style)

In a distant future where sentient humanoid robots pass for human, someone or some thing is out to destroy the seven great robots of the world. Europol’s top detective Gesicht is assigned to investigate these mysterious robot serial murders—the only catch is that he himself is one of the seven targets.

In a distant future where sentient humanoid robots pass for human, someone or some thing is out to destroy the seven great robots of the world. Europol’s top detective Gesicht is assigned to investigate these mysterious robot serial murders—the only catch is that he himself is one of the seven targets.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Any pairing of two masterminds can elicit murmurs of approval—or of apprehension. But all readers can rest assured that in this case, the pairing of seinen manga suspense master Urasawa and legendary cartoonist Tezuka is a very, very good thing. In Pluto, Urasawa takes Tezuka's Pinocchio-inspired Astroboy and reimagines it as a futuristic thriller. Touching on many of the themes in Tezuka's story of a robot boy—the overlap of man and machine, the capacity for artificial intelligence to feel emotion, the true meaning of humanity—Pluto offers adult graphic novel readers (and fans of Urasawa's Monster) classic, all-ages Tezuka themes in a mature package. Volume one opens with the death (or murder) of the beloved robot hero, Mont Blanc. Merging current-day life with futuristic projections, Urasawa and longtime editor/producer Nagasaki develop a world where robots live among humans, sometimes living as humans—marrying, having children, taking jobs. Hardworking Detective Gesicht is one of those robots. As he slowly unravels the mystery of the death of Mont Blanc—and subsequent, related murders—he uncovers the disturbing news that he will be next. The creators subtly and seamlessly set up Gesicht's world, while digging deep to reveal the strange dichotomy of life and living among artificial beings. For anyone who doesn't believe that there's any good mature manga in the U.S., Pluto is required reading. (Feb.)
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About the Author

URASAWA Preeminent manga artist Naoki Urasawa, collaborating with editor, producer and manga writer Takashi Nagasaki, creates a daring revisionist take on Osamu Tezuka’s timeless classic Astro Boy. Conceived under the auspices of Tezuka’s son Macoto Tezka, a visual artist in his own right, Pluto: Urasawa × Tezuka is more than just an homage piece — Urasawa takes Tezuka’s masterwork and transforms it into a new groundbreaking series of his own. Pluto: Urasawa × Tezuka will surely delight loyal Tezuka fans, but it will also capture the imagination of anyone who loves a compelling work of great science fiction. × TEZUKA The legendary Osamu Tezuka is arguably the most influential person to shape the landscape of the narrative art form known as manga. In 1964, Tezuka created a revolutionary story arc in his Astro Boy series called “The Greatest Robot on Earth.” Tezuka’s engaging tale struck a chord with the children of that time to become the most popular story line of the series. It would also prove to profoundly influence and inspire a generation of manga artists to come.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (February 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421519186
• ISBN-13: 978-1421519180
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful reimagining of Atom Boy and an Urasawa series that is captivating! Can't wait for volume 2! April 7, 2009

By Dennis A. Amith (kndy) TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

In a world where robots and humans work together and robots are treated (by most) like sentient beings comes a world where the planet has robotic heroes and even police squadrons of human and robot partners.

Of course, it's not an all perfect world as there are humans who rather not co-exist with the robots. And someone makes their agenda known when someone has decided to disrupt that peaceful coexistence by destroying the great robots and possibly murdering those who protect the rights for robots.

With only several of the great robots left, one of the great robots from Interpol must protect the other living great robots from destruction from a mysterious murderer/destroyer who may be human or robot.

This is the basis of the story "PLUTO", a reimagining of "Astro Boy - The Greatest Robot on Earth" written by manga great Naoki Urasawa ("Yawara", "Monster", "20th Century Boys" and many more titles) and co-authored by Takashi Nagasaki. The Astro Boy or Tetsuwan Atom stories are based on the popular works of Osamu Tezuka and with cooperation from Tezuka Productions, this manga project is managed by Makoto Tezuka.

The ongoing award winning manga series debuted in Japan back in 2003 and has captivated readers but now the popular manga arrives in the US courtesy of VIZ Media.

The first volume of "PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka" features the first seven acts and ends with a several-page discussion between Naoki Urasawa and Makoto Tezuka plus a postscript by Takayuki Matsutani, Presiden of Tezuka Productions, Inc.

"PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka" vol. 01 was definitely an enjoyable first volume. One of the biggest differences from Osamu Tezuka's artwork and Urasawa's is the fact that Urasawa tends to go for a more realistic approach and also adding quite a bit of detail from surrounding objects or shadows.

There is a side of darkness that Urasawa has with his work. From "Monster" to "20th Century Boys", you get a good balance of innocence and purity but also a side of darkness which makes his works so appealing.

In this case, for "PLUTO", the storyline is so unique. Sure, we have seen robots become problems for humanity in anime and manga series such as "AD Police" but to find a storyline where robots are revered for helping humanity and living lives like humans and almost be treated like equals was quite intriguing.

So, far the pacing of the series in the first seven acts were well done and captivating.

With great storytelling by Urasawa and Nagasaki, it makes you wonder what will happen with the remaining five great robots. I'm definitely hooked and I know you will be hooked once you finish the first volume. "PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka" is highly recommended!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reminds me of the books "iRobot" and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" July 1, 2009

By lovelyduckie

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This manga heavily reminds me of the books "iRobot" and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" but in a good way. I love tales where technology has advanced to the point where there is a fine line between between cyborgs and humans in terms of their abilities to feel emotions. This manga has a few interesting small stories in just the first volume and I LOVE manga series that string along a lot of relevant smaller stories to make one grand story. I have no idea if this series will continue at this pace but I'm already hooked, volumes 2 and 3 arrived on my doorstep yesterday and I plan on reading them as soon as I can!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best manga I've ever read January 1, 2012

By J. Seipel

Format:Paperback

Isaac Asimov invented the three laws of robotics, which have come to be accepted as a given in most stories that deal with robots. The first and most important law being that a robot may not cause harm to a human through action or inaction. This is often an important point in robot stories, including Pluto.

Based upon Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy, Pluto reinterprets the story "The Greatest Robot on Earth," expanding it into a futuristic murder-mystery. The action centers around Gesicht, a humanoid detective robot in a future world where robots live alongside humans and some are even national heroes. At the beginning of volume one, we learn that the Swiss mountain guide, forest protector, and war veteran robot, Mont Blanc, has been completely destroyed while battling a forest fire. The next day a robot rights defender is found dead in his apartment, and his body has been set up so that he appears to have huge horns on his head. Confusingly, only another robot could have killed the extremely powerful Mont Blanc, but a robot could not have killed the human (because of the first law). Gesicht is assigned to the case by Interpol and he tries to make sense of the strangely connected murders. A pattern emerges as more robot deaths occur: someone is killing the seven greatest robots in the world, of which Gesicht is one.

Pluto is award winning for a reason: it's an excellent comic series even without it's connection to Astro Boy (also awesome!). Naoki Urasawa's art is complex but not confusing. It's also much more realistic than most Japanese comics, making it a perfect introduction to manga. I love his style - the big noses especially (no idea why, I guess because so often people in comics are too perfectly proportioned). I loved this entire series, and I'm sad that it's ended, but very happy that it introduced me to Urasawa.