PLUTO is a rare treat, indeed. That it’s finally being adapted to anime should make many fans of the classics celebrate. PLUTO features a murder mystery where the victims are both humans and robots. At the center is a horned robot, the likes of which few could imagine. It’s up to a comparatively human-sized robot detective to get to the bottom of things. The trailer for this original net animation is being released before its estimated 2023 premiere date.
Genco and Studio M2, the brilliant minds behind this adaptation, helpfully set up a home page and an official Twitter account for potential viewers to look at. Netflix will be streaming PLUTO to the West and has provided its own US trailer. The key visual below sets the tone for the adventure viewers will go on.
The PLUTO Twitter account also posted comments from members of the original manga. Naoki Urasawa is one of the two writers and the artist who first worked on the PLUTO manga series.
Comments from the original creators of the PLUTO manga
Message from #NaokiUrasawa #PLUTO pic.twitter.com/vjnb2XPOob
— PLUTO(プルートゥ) Anime Official (@pluto_anime_) February 14, 2023
Takashi Nagasaki worked with Naoki Urasawa as the second writer.
Comments from the original creators of the PLUTO manga
Message from #TakashiNagasaki #PLUTO pic.twitter.com/qzBSRLyp92
— PLUTO(プルートゥ) Anime Official (@pluto_anime_) February 14, 2023
Macoto Tezka (Makoto Tezuka) is Osamu Tezuka’s eldest son, a partial owner of Tezuka Productions, and a supervisor on the production of the manga.
Comments from the original creators of the PLUTO manga
Message from #MacotoTezka#PLUTO pic.twitter.com/C9RUldkQlc
— PLUTO(プルートゥ) Anime Official (@pluto_anime_) February 14, 2023
The Greatest Robot on Earth
PLUTO is a darker and more realistic take on the Astro Boy (Tetsuwan-Atomu or Mighty Atom) story arc titled The Greatest Robot on Earth (Chijō Saidai no Robotto). Naoki Urasawa argued that Osamu Tezuka’s work already had a sense of darkness. So perhaps his version only keeps that same sense of foreboding, just without the titular cute robot mascot to liven things up.
PLUTO follows Europol robot detective Gesicht (German: “face”) as he investigates a series of robot and human murders. The victims, discovered in various countries around the world, are moved in such a way as to present horns on their heads. As the case progresses, it becomes apparent that the targets are the seven most powerful robots in the world, the victims are related to the 39th Central Asian War, and they are connected to preserving the International Robot Laws, which grant robots equal rights. A more startling discovery is the possibility that the killer was a robot when it had been eight years since a robot had ever taken another life.
PLUTO Origins
PLUTO isn’t quite as old as the original story. But it’s a reinterpretation of a classic story arc from Astro Boy, written by Osamu Tezuka. Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki authored this story, but the building blocks came from Osamu Tezuka.
PLUTO takes its name from the central antagonist of The Greatest Robot on Earth story arc. It was a two-episode arc that aired in the original series from 1963. The manga series ran from September 5th, 2003, to April 4th, 2009, in eight volumes. Shogakukan published the series in Japan, and Viz Media will localize it to the West.
Are you excited to see PLUTO finally adapted to anime form? Did you read the original manga series or watch the original Astro Boy arc? Do you think Astro could take Pluto in a one-on-one fight? Let us know in the comments below.
