▪	RELEASED BY:		VIZ MEDIA
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		URASAWA NAOKI
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		200
		▪	RATING:		OT
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		02/17/2009
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		04/02/2009
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

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 “murderer” has destroyed the powerful Swiss robot Mont Blanc. Elsewhere a key figure in a robot rights group is murdered. The two incidents appear to be unrelated… except for one very conspicuous clue – the bodies of both victims have been fashioned into some sort of bizarre collage complete with makeshift horns placed by the victim’s heads. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to his most strange and complex case – and even he eventually discovers that he too, as one of the seven great robots of the world, is one of the targets.

Pluto is actually a story based off another already created “universe” – that universe is the one that “Astro Boy” comes from. Most manga readers will already know who Astro Boy is in one sense or another, but it is important to illiterate on the subject because of Pluto’s ties to it. Osamu Tezuka’s iconic Astro Boy series was a truly groundbreaking work about a lovable boy robot that would pave the way for all manga and anime to follow. Tezuka created the manga in 1951 and in January of 1963 adapted it to become the first weekly animated TV series ever to be broadcast in Japan. In September of that same year, it became the first animated TV series from Japan to hit the airwaves in the United States. The series and its title character were originally known in Japan as Tetsuwan Atom, which translates to “mighty Atom” – or for the more literally minded, “iron-arm Atom” – but was released in the U.S. as Astro Boy. Decades later, in 2000, Dark Horse Comics brought the manga for the first time to English readers, also under the title Astro Boy. Within the context of the story for this English edition of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, the precocious boy robot is referred to as “Atom” in the manner in which he has been known and loved in Japan for over fifty years. Naoki Urasawa, the creator and artist for Pluto, had this to say of Osamu Tezuka, the man behind the original inspiration of Astro Boy: “The late Osamu Tezuka, a manga artist for whom I have the upmost respect, created the series Astro Boy. This timeless classic has been read by countless numbers of fans from when it was first created in the fifties to now. As a child, “The Greatest Robot on Earth” story arc from Astro Boy was the first manga I ever read that really moved me and inspired me to become a manga artist. With Pluto I’ve attempted to infuse that story with a fresh new spirit.”

Now, this is Naoki Urasawa we are talking about here, so you know the art is amazing already. His imagination and sense of style combined are something that any mature reader should be able to eye-over a bit and know to be something special. It is often hard to be truly unique in a sea of competing manga, many offering art with extremely similar style – but Urasawa does it again with Pluto, and puts his unique stamp on yet another fine piece of reading material. Everything from the human characters, to the vast cityscapes are drawn with a maturity that says: “Hey, if you’re an adult and you still enjoy comics and manga, this is another series made just for you.” Adult readers should not pass this one up, and younger readers are welcome to it if they have the inner maturity to enjoy what is being said and shown to them with each panel of this fine work. Sometimes manga is more “art” than it is “comic”, and this is one of those manga. If the art wasn’t enough just as is, you’ll be pleased (and likely unsurprised) to hear that the story is engrossing from the get go, much like any of Urasawa’s other works. It grabs you and pulls you into a mystery that you get to see unfold as the characters involved get to see it unfold – it’s an experience you share together in a way, so it’s no wonder the story is so involving. This manga is great – it’s a large size format, has amazing art, and a fast-paced story of high intelligence. What more could you ask for?

IN SUMMARY:
Pluto, without a doubt, is a manga with a higher calling when it comes to artistic detail and good writing. This is the kind of manga that others follow by example if they are smart, and try to create something that could be seen as even half as good. This is the series to be reading if you are a mature reader looking for an intelligent piece – even the action is good!