Pluto is written and illustrated by award-winning manga artist Naoki Urasawa, based on the 1960s manga “Astroboy” by the legendary Osamu Tezuka. In particular it follows the “Greatest Robot in the World” story arc but presents it in a darker tone and explores many of the themes in the original series in greater detail. The story follows the famous robot detective Gesicht investigating the case where a mysterious creature (human or machine) is destroying the strongest robots in the world.
Ideas of robots co-existing with humans, the difficulties these artificial intelligences are faced with, and their search for their own identities are explored in the manga. Some of the common questions concerning robots in sci-fi fiction also appear here: Are robots capable of emotions? Should they be treated as humans? Urasawa creates a story full of suspense, twists and turns, and develops each of the robots extremely well.
For those who already know the story, reading it will have you looking at each situation and each character from a different angle. For those who are new to the Astroboy universe, you'll find an extremely interesting futuristic world to discover, while being surprisingly philosophical. I highly recommend this series, it's definitely among the best manga ever released (from two of the best storytellers of the manga world).
