{"id":138,"date":"2013-12-08T15:34:29","date_gmt":"2013-12-08T15:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/?page_id=138"},"modified":"2023-02-15T19:53:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T19:53:07","slug":"astro-boy-manga","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/?page_id=138","title":{"rendered":"Astro Boy [Mighty Atom] (Manga)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Also known as \u9244\u8155\u30a2\u30c8\u30e0 (Tetsuwan Atomu)<\/h5>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
English Title:<\/strong><\/td>\nAstro Boy<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In English?<\/strong><\/td>\nYes<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Japanese Title:<\/strong><\/td>\n\u9244\u8155\u30a2\u30c8\u30e0
\nTetsuwan Atomu<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Type:<\/strong><\/td>\nChapter Serial<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Original run:<\/strong><\/td>\n1952\/04 – 1968\/03<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Published in:<\/strong><\/td>\nShonen\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u5c11\u5e74<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Published by:<\/strong><\/td>\nKobunsha<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Volumes:<\/strong><\/td>\n23
\nMT-221<\/a> | MT-222<\/a> |\u00a0MT-223<\/a>
\nMT-224<\/a> |\u00a0MT-225<\/a> |\u00a0MT-226<\/a>
\nMT-227<\/a> |\u00a0MT-228<\/a> |\u00a0MT-229<\/a>
\nMT-230<\/a> |\u00a0MT-231<\/a> |\u00a0MT-232<\/a>
\nMT-233<\/a> | MT-234<\/a> |\u00a0MT-235<\/a>
\nMT-236<\/a> |\u00a0MT-237<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0MT-238<\/a>
\nMT-240<\/a> | MT-241<\/a> |\u00a0MT-242<\/a>
\nMT-251<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0MT-252<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Astro Boy<\/em> (1952-68), also known as Mighty Atom<\/em>, is Osamu Tezuka’s beloved story of the boy-robot with 100,000 horsepower. Although the original, long-running, manga series was published in\u00a0Shonen<\/a><\/em> between April 1952 and March 1968, the manga has also\u00a0been serialized in\u00a0the\u00a0Sankei Newspaper<\/a><\/em>, and published in\u00a0Mighty Atom Club<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Second-Grader<\/a><\/em>, as well as several\u00a0one-shots and other specials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The series has also spawned a number of\u00a0animated television series<\/a>,\u00a0feature films, and several\u00a0video games and other associated works.<\/p>\n

What it’s about<\/h2>\n

Astro Boy<\/em> (1952-68) is set in the near future, where robotic technology has become so advanced that it is threatening to radically transform human culture. Not only has the loss of many human jobs to robots led to social upheaval, but the robots themselves have become so sophisticated that mankind must begin to recognize them as another sentient species. In Astro Boy<\/em> (1952-68), Tezuka uses robots as an allegory to explore issues of prejudice and racial intolerance. The robots (and the humans who support them) often face a fierce political and social struggle to secure robot rights against humans who, fearful of change, often offer violent resistance. However, possessing the world’s most sophisticated and human-like computer brain, Astro Boy<\/a>\u00a0serves as a bridge between humans and robots, fighting to defend both races and establish peace and friendship between them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Astro as\u00a0Ambassador Atom<\/em>
(a.k.a. Captain Atom<\/em>)<\/p><\/div>\n

The stories vary in length, and are, for the most part, episodic and self-contained. Many of Astro Boy<\/a>‘s adventures are simple science-fiction stories; including an expedition to Mars, encounters with aliens, and saving humans from all sorts of dangers. However, amongst these adventures, there are also stories with political overtones, including; Astro Boy<\/a> protecting the first robot who tries to register to vote, serving as the bodyguard for for world’s first legally elected robot president, or negotiating with robot revolutionaries who are trying to stage a revolt against their human oppressors.<\/p>\n

What you should know<\/h2>\n

Astro Boy<\/em> (1952-68) is, without a doubt, Tezuka’s most well-known creation. It is also one of the finest examples of Tezuka’s ability to write literature which introduces children to important and serious life issues – with a hero so noble that even those who prefer anti-heroes and charismatic villains find themselves, for once, rooting for the good guy.<\/p>\n

The original manga series<\/a> was one of the big leaps in Tezuka\u2019s overall popularity, and Astro Boy<\/a> remains to this day, an iconic hero of the Japanese people. Astro Boy<\/a>\u2019s influence over later manga and anime, both robot stories and science-fiction in general, is immeasurable, and much has been written on his significance as a personification of post-war Japan. Almost single-handedly, he transformed the terrifying force of atomic power into something useful and progressive, helping people to move on from the damage done during the Second World War by getting them to embrace modern technology and look to the future with hope.<\/p>\n

However, for one of Osamu Tezuka’s longest-running manga serials,\u00a0Astro Boy<\/em>\u00a0(1952-68) had somewhat humble beginnings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Astro getting charged up<\/p><\/div>\n

In October 1950, Osamu Tezuka received a request from the editorial staff at\u00a0Shonen<\/a><\/em> for a new manga serial which would be titled after the story’s main character. Although Tezuka didn’t yet have a character or a story, he eventually decided on the title “Ambassador Atom” in an attempt to capture the Japanese public’s fascination with then then new science of atomic energy. By February 1951, Shonen<\/a><\/em>\u00a0was running in-house ads for the new series along with his\u00a0home address and, after receiving a mountain of fan-mail, Tezuka got to work.<\/p>\n

And so,\u00a0Ambassador Atom<\/em> (1951-52) (sometimes mistranslated as\u00a0Captain Atom<\/em>) was serialized in\u00a0Shonen<\/a><\/em>\u00a0between April 1951 and March 1952\u00a0– featuring a new, but relatively minor,\u00a0character known as\u00a0Astro Boy<\/a>. Not yet the hero loved by millions, in this story Astro Boy<\/a> played a supporting role to Tezuka’s regular boy hero, Kenichi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The basic plot revolves around human beings from Earth coming into contact (and conflict) with look-alike aliens who have been wandering the cosmos in their spaceships after their own earth-like planet exploded. When the two races begin to do battle over scarce natural resources, it’s up to the neutral little robot to mediate the situation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Astro Boy in action!<\/p><\/div>\n

Although\u00a0Ambassador Atom<\/em> (1951-52) wasn’t as successful as Tezuka hoped, the robot\u00a0Astro Boy<\/a> seemed to have touched a nerve with his readership. As such, Shonen<\/a><\/em>‘s editor-in-chief, Mr. Takeshi Kanai, explaining that while long-form manga publications might be all about the plot, manga serialized in magazines was driven by the story’s hero, suggested Tezuka make the little robot the star of the story. At Kanai’s urging, Tezuka reworked the robot character, giving him a warmer, more human, personality and turned him into a hero fighting for justice. Astro Boy<\/em> (1952-68) began serialization in Shonen<\/a><\/em> in April 1952 and would continue for the next 16 years, until March 1968.<\/p>\n

While Shonen<\/a><\/em> was the primary home of the\u00a0Astro Boy <\/em>manga, from August 1964 to November 1966 stories also began appearing in Mighty Atom Club<\/a><\/em> and from January 1967 until February 1969, in the Sankei Newspaper<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0Shonen<\/a><\/em>\u00a0suddenly and unexpectedly folded in early 1968, the newspaper serial became the main source of\u00a0Astro Boy<\/em>\u00a0manga – with these adventures sometimes referred to as the\u00a0Astro Boy Chronicles<\/em>\u00a0(1967-69).\u00a0 Although these “second” and “third”\u00a0Astro Boy<\/em>\u00a0manga series were also written by Osamu Tezuka, rather than just continuing the story from the original\u00a0Shonen<\/a><\/em> serial, they picked up in unusual places – sometimes setting the narrative forward or backward in time by several decades, to explore different moments in the history of human-robot relations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Astro Boy for younger readers<\/p><\/div>\n

When the Sankei Newspaper<\/a><\/em> run, too, came to an end almost a year later,\u00a0Astro Boy<\/em> chapters began to be published only intermittently<\/a> through much of the 1970’s – appearing in such publications as\u00a0Big Comic<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Monthly Shonen Magazine<\/em>, and\u00a0Monthly Sh\u014dnen Jump<\/em>, among others.<\/p>\n

However, in 1980, to coincide with the release of the\u00a0new animated television show<\/a>, a new\u00a0Astro Boy<\/em>\u00a0(1980-81)\u00a0manga series began appearing in Second-Grader<\/a><\/em>, a magazine targeted at young students learning to read.\u00a0 As such, the stories are much simpler, usually short morality tales aimed at a much younger audience than most\u00a0Astro Boy<\/em>\u00a0stories.<\/p>\n

In 1986, when Osamu Tezuka decided to return to his most famous manga one more time, he decided to do it as a parody.\u00a0 As such,\u00a0Atom Cat<\/em>\u00a0(1986-87)<\/a> was published in\u00a0Smile Comics<\/em> from July 1986 to February 1987, with the original Astro Boy<\/a>\u00a0making several subtle appearances as part of the framing sequences.<\/p>\n

Where you can get it<\/h2>\n

Of course, as Tezuka’s most well-known creation, Astro Boy<\/em> (1952-68) also happens to also be the one of the longest Tezuka series released in English.\u00a0 Between 2002 and 2004, Dark Horse Comics<\/a> released a comprehensive 23 volume set<\/a>, based on the Japanese language Akita Shoten collection – with the stories assembled in Tezuka’s preferred order rather than strictly chronologically. From 2015-17, Dark Horse Comics re-released the series<\/a> as a 7 volume omnibus edition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What else you should check out<\/h2>\n

Check out these pages\u00a0to find out more details about the original publication dates as well as a short chapter synopsis for the various Astro Boy<\/em> publications.<\/p>\n

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\"Astro<\/a><\/div>

Astro Boy (Shonen)<\/a><\/h3>
One of Osamu Tezuka\u2019s longest-running manga serials, Astro Boy (1952-68) followed directly on the heels of the moderately successful Ambassador Atom (1951-52) in the pages of Shonen, published by Kobunsha. It began monthly serialization in April 1952 a...<\/div><\/div>\n
\"Astro<\/a><\/div>

Astro Boy (Mighty Atom Club)<\/a><\/h3>
Published from August 1964 to November 1966, Astro Boy Fan Club members received a monthly publication known as Mighty Atom Club [\u9244\u8155\u30a2\u30c8\u30e0\u30af\u30e9\u30d6] featuring exclusive \"members only\" Astro Boy stories and other Mushi-related content that weren't available to th...<\/div><\/div>\n
\"Astro<\/a><\/div>

Astro Boy (Sankei Newspaper)<\/a><\/h3>
After Mushi Productions' monthly Mighty Atom Club ceased publication altogether in 1966 and the primary serialization in Shonen [\u5c11\u5e74] finally concluded in 1968, The Astro Boy Chronicles (1967-69), being published in the Sankei Newspaper were the sole sou...<\/div><\/div>\n
\"Astro<\/a><\/div>

Astro Boy (One Shots)<\/a><\/h3>
After all the regularly serialized manga series featuring Astro Boy came to a close, Astro was featured in a series of \"one-shots\" and other special editions.<\/div><\/div>\n
\"Astro<\/a><\/div>

Astro Boy (Second Grader)<\/a><\/h3>
Astro Boy's final regularly serialized series began 1980, to coincide with the release of the new animated television show. This new Astro Boy (1980-81) manga series began appearing in Second-Grader [\u5c0f\u5b66\u4e8c\u5e74\u751f], a monthly magazine targeted at young students ...<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Astro Boy (1952-68), also known as “Mighty Atom”, Osamu Tezuka’s beloved story about the boy-robot with 100,000 horsepower and a heart of gold is, without a doubt, Tezuka’s most well-known creation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5982,"parent":9225,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,23,157,295,165,166,50,300,339],"class_list":["post-138","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manga","tag-adventure","tag-astro-boy","tag-available-in-english","tag-chapter-serials","tag-early-works","tag-mid-career-works","tag-sci-fi","tag-shonen","tag-shonen-manga","has-thumbnail"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6vZWu-2e","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":73,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13323,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138\/revisions\/13323"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}