is a Japanese anime television series, based on Osamu Tezuka's manga series of the same name. Produced by Tezuka Productions in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan and Animax, it was directed by Kazuya Konaka, with Marc Handler as the story editor, Shinji Seya designing the characters, Shinji Aramaki and Takeshi Takakura designing the mechanical elements, Keiichirō Mochizuki serving as chief animation director, and Takashi Yoshimatsu composing the music.
The anime was created to celebrate the birthdate of Atom/Astro Boy, as well as the 40th anniversary of the original TV series. It kept the same classic art style as the original manga and anime, but was renewed and modernized with more lush, high-quality, near-theatrical animation and visuals, combining the playfulness of the early anime with the darker, more serious and dramatic science fiction themes of the manga and the 1980 series. The anime was broadcast in Japan on Animax and Fuji TV from April 6, 2003, to March 28, 2004, every Sunday from 9:30 to 10:00 JST, for a total of 50 episodes, and it was also aired outside of Japan on Kids' WB in the United States and other local broadcasters overseas.
Synopsis
The show is set in the futuristic year of 2003, where a variety of robots have been developed around the world and have begun working at the humans' beck and call, but are nothing more than machines that move on command. In the midst of this, in Metro City, the renowned Dr. Tenma disappears after trying to construct an AI robot with a "heart." Professor Ochanomizu replaces Tenma as head of the Ministry of Science and discovers a boy-like robot and brings it to life and names him Atom (Astro). He soon discovers he can fly via rocket boosters in his hands and feet, and has superhuman strength and other such abilities, and must deal with robots and villainous robot-hating humans who threaten his friends, fellow robots and Metro City, becoming a hero in the process. Atom quickly learns he is a robotic duplicate of Dr. Tenma's dead son Tobio Tenma, and was shut down after seeing how discarded robots were dealt with by his father, an incident similar to what Tobio experienced before dying.
A new arc occurs with the introduction of the Blue Knight, a gallant robot who starts a campaign to free all robots from mankind. Another recurring character, Acetylene Lamp, goes slowly paranoid about the destruction of all robots and becomes a major antagonist of the series. In the final episodes, the Blue Knight declares a new nation for robots, Robotania, located on Antarctica. Lamp deceives the public into believing a house robot pushed a young girl down a flight of stairs, and the girl's father, Duke Red, declares war on Robotania. Most of the core cast becomes involved in the goal to stop the war between man and machine, until Atom convinces the Blue Knight that humans and robots can be friends. The Blue Knight departs Earth on Robotania, which is revealed to be a spacecraft. However, Lamp, who is still paranoid (despite the fact the robots have stopped their crusade against humanity), tries to destroy the spacecraft with a missile, but Atom blocks the attack and is seemingly taken offline.
Dr. Tenma manages to restore Atom, but erases his memories as Atom so that he can remain "Tobio" forever. Eventually, his memories are restored by his friends from school and his sister, Uran. In one final attempt to reclaim his lost son, Dr. Tenma goes to a laboratory in the Ministry of Science and tries to convince Atom to join him in ruling the world but the latter refuses. Dr. Tenma tries to kill himself to end his suffering, but Atom embraces and forgives him, causing Dr. Tenma to break down and embrace his son. Dr. Ochanomizu and the robotic police come to the rescue, and Dr. Tenma is willingly arrested and sent to prison. In the end, humans and robots start happily fresh and come closer together, and Atom appears to shed tears at the conclusion of the series.
Characters Astro's Family
A robot with the world's best artificial brain and human-like mind. He was developed by the combined efforts of the Ministry of Science, with a huge budget and all the latest technology, and is modeled after Tobio Tenma, the deceased son of Dr. Tenma, his birth father. He lives with Dr. Ochanomizu in his house. Pure, kind-hearted, and with a great sense of justice, he aims to create a world where robots and humans can be friends. In this series, he makes use of a lot of nimble actions such as flight and speed rather than his 100K horsepower strength, and often gets into predicaments due to being outmatched.
A robot scientist and director of the Ministry of Science. He is the first to sense the "budding of the mind" in the evolving robots, and begins to think that robots need human rights and be friends with humans. He is portrayed as being a bit clumsy and quick to anger, but he is very intelligent and compassionate.
Atom's younger sister robot created by Dr. Ochanomizu. She has 50K horsepower strength, but does not have the ability to fly or use weapons like Atom. She is spoiled and selfish, which sometimes annoys Atom, but she also has a kind heart. She loves Atom as her older brother and is proud of him, but she hates being compared to him. In this series, she has the ability to communicate with animals.
Original character from the anime. As secretary of the Ministry of Science, she manages Dr. Ochanomizu's schedule, from work to rest. With Momo by her side, she gallantly rides around in a hovercar (modeled after the Mitsubishi Grandis, which was also used in the Atom Charity tie-in project with the real car) and does her job well. She is easily moved to tears.
A state-of-the-art ostrich-shaped mobile robot, Momo is Yūko's assistant and pet. All of Yūko's work documents are stored in Momo's computer, and when she opens the monitor screen, she can see Dr. Ochanomizu's schedule, health care materials, etc., all at a glance. Momo is often Uran's playmate.
A housekeeping robot that takes care of all the household chores at the Ochanomizu residence. He also serves as a childcare and education robot for Atom and Uran. In addition to taking care of Dr. Ochanomizu, he is extremely hectic.
Allies
Atom's classmate at elementary school who first appears in episode 4. He is a mechanical enthusiast who has converted his air pedalo into a sailing ship. He also loves robots, and is proud to have a friend like Atom. He is a hasty and good-natured person. In this series, he wears modern fashion, but keeps his trademark round glasses.
Atom's classmate at elementary school who first appears in episode 4. He is small in stature, but is very clever and is often the leader of the group. He is not prejudiced against Atom as a robot, and treats him like a human being. He is considerate of Atom's loneliness due to his being a robot, and tries to let him participate in competitions such as sports day, which Atom is not allowed to take part in. His dream is to become a soccer player. In this series, his skin has been updated to be darker, reminiscent of Latin or African descent.
Atom's classmate at elementary school who first appears in episode 4. Because of his father's influence, he thinks of robots as machines that work for humans, and is harsh towards Atom at first, but when Atom tries to help him, he changes his mind and they become close. He is a large man, but surprisingly timid, straightforward and likable. In this series, his face has been drastically redesigned to look white, with blond hair, blue eyes, freckles, and buck teeth. Except for the first time, he doesn't treat Atom badly like in the original work.
Abandoned by his parents, he was raised by members of a robot circus for 11 years, and he considers robots to be like family. After meeting Atom and his friends in an incident, Dr. Ochanomizu approves of his skills in robotics, and he begins studying robotics in Metro City. During the Robotania riots, in order to stop Duke Red from waging an all-out war against the robots, he takes his daughter, Ena, with him to the Antarctic where the battle is fought.
The daughter of Red (voiced by Tarō Ishida), a general in the Earth Federation Forces. In contrast to her father, who is extremely prejudiced against robots, she is a kind-hearted girl who treats robots without discrimination. She loves Kipp, an AI robot who works as her butler, but when she tries to protest against her father's attempt to forcibly remove him, she causes an unexpected accident that puts her in a coma and forces Duke Red to eliminate AI robots and Robotania. After waking up from the coma, she learns about the situation from Reno and heads to Robotania in Antarctica with him to stop Duke Red from running amok.
A teacher at the elementary school that Atom and his friends attend. She first appears in episode 4. She sings to a robot at the robot expo, and is Atom's homeroom teacher, so she has a close relationship with robots.
The uncle of Yūko Kisaragi, an overly old-fashioned private detective who has an office in downtown Metro City. His real name is . He dislikes all things new and modern, and professes to dislike robots as well, but he can get along with both robots and animals if he is comfortable with them, and he has solved cases together with Atom and Uran (he calls Atom in particular an excellent assistant). He is a man of extraordinary insight, and his powers of deduction are quite impressive. He pretends to be a hard-boiled detective, but he is a bit of a screw-up.
Captain of the Metro City Police Department. He sometimes asks for Atom's cooperation in solving crimes, but he has a hard time trusting him because Atom's creator is Dr. Tenma. He is troubled by the increasing number of robot crimes and is concerned about the existence of robots. In order to protect the peace of the city, he fights day and night with a hardened heart, but sometimes he shows a humanistic side.
The captain of the ARRS (Anti-Robot Robot Squad), which is assigned by the Metro City Police Department. He uses the best survival tactics on Earth, can eliminate signs of life depending on the location, and uses a gun specially designed for the ARRS. He is proud to be the captain of his squad, and is not happy about Atom joining their investigation. He is a bit stubborn, but has a straightforward personality.
A robotic environmental observer. She can analyze the behavioral patterns of her opponents to determine their hiding places, and she can also analyze natural conditions with her weather sensors to use her "geographical advantage" in battle. She is a female-type, non-combat robot who does not like to fight, but she has a lot of power and can attack with a photon cannon. In the original work, she is a male robot working at an orphanage in Australia.
A Robot Ball player who represents the Omega Knights. He is the most athletic robot in the world, and his brilliant play is very attractive. He respects the rules and does not like to play rough. He is the team's commander who scans throughout the game, predicting the enemy's actions and looking for passing and riding courses to score points.
Rivals
A combat robot that Tokugawa, a wealthy man, commissioned Dr. Tenma to build in order to revive his son, Daichi, who died in an accident. Controlled by Daichi's lonely memories and hatred of humans, including his father, he begins to repeatedly destroy things behind his parents' back. He is later resurrected as a collaborator of Robotania.