Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 1

Starred review from December 8, 2008
Any pairing of two masterminds can elicit murmurs of approval—or of apprehension. But all readers can rest assured that in this case, the pairing of seinen manga suspense master Urasawa and legendary cartoonist Tezuka is a very, very good thing. In Pluto
, Urasawa takes Tezuka's Pinocchio-inspired Astroboy
and reimagines it as a futuristic thriller. Touching on many of the themes in Tezuka's story of a robot boy—the overlap of man and machine, the capacity for artificial intelligence to feel emotion, the true meaning of humanity—Pluto
offers adult graphic novel readers (and fans of Urasawa's Monster
) classic, all-ages Tezuka themes in a mature package. Volume one opens with the death (or murder) of the beloved robot hero, Mont Blanc. Merging current-day life with futuristic projections, Urasawa and longtime editor/producer Nagasaki develop a world where robots live among humans, sometimes living as humans—marrying, having children, taking jobs. Hardworking Detective Gesicht is one of those robots. As he slowly unravels the mystery of the death of Mont Blanc—and subsequent, related murders—he uncovers the disturbing news that he will be next. The creators subtly and seamlessly set up Gesicht's world, while digging deep to reveal the strange dichotomy of life and living among artificial beings. For anyone who doesn't believe that there's any good mature manga in the U.S., Pluto
is required reading.

May 15, 2009
In manga master Tezuka's 196465 "Astro Boy" serial "The Greatest Robot on Earth," a power-hungry sultan sends super-robot Pluto to destroy the world's seven strongest robots in a bid to become Earth's ruler. Here, acclaimed contemporary manga creator Urusawa (known in the United States for "Monster"), supervised by Tezuka's son Makoto Tezka, completely reimagines this classic tale by focusing on one of Pluto's targets, the German robot detective Gesicht. When the much-beloved Swiss robot hero Mont Blanc is destroyed, Gesicht uncovers evidence possibly linking this incident to the murder of a human supporter of robots' rights. Employing artwork much more realistic than Tezuka's, Urusawa downplays the original's action and broadens and deepens the stories of the characters, including ex-soldier robot North #2, attempting to learn piano under a blind human composer. The result recasts the original more in the mold of Tezuka's later, more mature works, spiced by Urusawa's dark suspense, highlighted when Gesicht visits the cell of the only robot ever to kill a human. Accurately rated for older teens and up, this will appeal to fans of both creators.S.R.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.