Naoki Urasawa's Pluto anime adaptation on Netflix explores robot rights and geopolitical nightmares
In 2023, Studio M2 released a Netflix animated series based on Naoki Urasawa's manga Pluto. Originally serialized in Japan's Big Comic Magazine between 2003 and 2009, it was later compiled into eight volumes in English by Viz Media. The narrative reinterprets Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy character, Atom, within a noir framework that explores robot homicides and human rights issues. The story unfolds after the 39th Central Persian War, highlighting tensions among The United States of Thracia, Persia, and the EU, as a robotic Europol agent reveals anti-robot plots. Urasawa's narrative addresses post-9/11 geopolitics and memory manipulation, portraying Atom as a potential weapon of mass destruction, echoing current conflicts in Gaza and Odesa.
Key facts
- Pluto is an animated series adaptation by Studio M2 released on Netflix in 2023
- The manga was originally serialized in Big Comic Magazine from 2003 to 2009
- Viz Media published eight English volumes of the manga
- The story reimagines Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy character Atom from the 1952 series
- Pluto is inspired by Tezuka's The Greatest Robot on Earth serialized in Shōnen magazine 1964-65
- The narrative is set after the fictional 39th Central Persian War involving The United States of Thracia, Persia, and the European Union
- Themes reference the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the 2003 suicide of Dr. David Kelly
- Robot designs include insectoid influences like the osamushi beetle
Entities
Artists
- Naoki Urasawa
- Osamu Tezuka
- Doctor Tenma
- Tobio
- Dr. David Kelly
- Ada Palmer
- Jamie Sutcliffe
Institutions
- Netflix
- Studio M2
- Big Comic Magazine
- Viz Media
- Shōnen magazine
- Europol
- Strange Attractor Press
- Artreview
Locations
- Japan
- The United States of Thracia
- Persia
- European Union
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Middle Eastern
- British
- Gaza
- Odesa
- Hiroshima
- Nagasaki