PLUTO

I wrote about this show for the Ignyte-winning, Hugo-winning blog Nerds of a Feather:
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2023/11/in-pluto-quest-for-humanlike-ai-reveals.html

Such an amazing adaptation that you can tell gives attention and care to the source material and animation. This was such a great watch considering I binged the entire thing, and it truly was a rollercoaster with the amount of twists and turns. Highly recommend this to anyone, even people who may not be fans of animation because this is really a classic.

The source material for this must’ve been incredible. The plot, the allegory, the characters, and everything about the story was so perfectly orchestrated. Even when I could predict certain plot twists, it still felt as if the release was good. I started to truly empathize with the characters and the aftershock of each death or character development in the series felt truly important. Gesicht was incredible throughout, and I really loved Epsilon’s character too, although I would’ve loved more development for his character.

The animation and music here just tied the whole package together. There was a lot of slow burn and tension building throughout the series.

Great show, one of the best as long as you actually understand the themes and the goals of the characters, it’s a show that requires you to really pay attention to the details, I read the manga and watching it come to life in its animation made it so much more thrilling.

A Humanizing Look at Artificial Intelligence

This anime centers around Robot Detective Gesicht, who investigates a series of murders involving the world's most powerful robots and officials linked to a specific investigative squad.

The plot sets up an engaging sci-fi thriller, largely due to one of the writers being Naoki Urasawa, known for the manga "Monster" (which was also adapted into an anime). The futuristic world depicted in the series grants robots equal rights to humans, allowing them to have families and raise children, while also imposing that they cannot kill humans. As the story unfolds, Gesicht investigates and interrogates various characters, each of whom plays a vital role in the narrative.

The anime effectively explores the PTSD experienced by the robots from the war and their personal journeys to overcome it, highlighting their unique contributions to society. Gesicht's forgotten memories, Uran's empathy, and the experiences of Epsilon and Brandon as they raise children post-war are all well-developed. The mysteries surrounding Pluto and Bora are also intriguingly crafted. There are emotional moments throughout the story, even in the portrayal of villains who are depicted through a lens of tragedy. The only drawback I noted was the slow pacing.

The voice acting, particularly in the English dub, was commendable. The overall storyline is captivating, and credit goes to the writers for adapting it into an anime format. The animation is visually appealing, and the music complements the series well.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this anime and would say it surpasses "Monster." I highly recommend it to everyone, though it may be a bit dark for some viewers.

I will say that, like Naoki Urasawa's other masterpiece (which is also just one of many), Monster, the show does tend to hit you over the head with some of the mysteries. But, outside of that, it's an incredibly well-written and evocative show that explores personhood. And like with Attack on Titan, it tackles grief, the impact of war, and radicalization in a way that I found to be particularly prescient right now (for obvious reasons). And I find that the way that Pluto references very obvious real-world events without much subtlety to be very effective here, since the perspective it offers is potentially charged and controversial in the West. Again, very relevant due to what is currently happening, and I think the show handles the geopolitical analogs fairly well without getting bogged into some of the fuziness. The animation is striking overall, with some scenes being downright breathtaking. Some of the CGI was a bit noticeable, but damn, it hits so often that it's easy to overlook. I also really loved the music and the opening sequence.

I knew while I was watching I could have sworn I was watching a direct adaptation of some work by Isaac Asimov, with everyone asking questions about robots and artificial intelligence.
But after I realized that the actor was the star boy, I ended up watching the anime, even though it still looked like a work by Asimov

Amazing story telling, sometimes too slow, but easily could be a 5 máximum 6 episodes, no more. This Is an example of how the things without woke cáncer works.

It's definitely not Urasawa's best work.

The original material is very weak and the adaptation is also weak. Astro Boy's story of peace is far from bringing peace or resolution to the problems of World War II. And placing Japan as a victim or protagonist is problematic to say the least.

The story does manage to bring suspense and intimacy to the problems of war based on the needs of family. It's a smart and challenging choice. As it encourages people to watch, it also creates a dramatic charge. However, I couldn't identify with the characters except for the detective (who was probably Urasawa's initial character).
It seems to me that there was a business intention here between the Tezuka association and the Urasawa publishers. I speculate that Urasawa already had a science fiction story and that it was sold to the association.

Anyway, the production manages to maintain a high level of quality except for the 3D. The soundtrack is good and the voice actors are exceptional. In my opinion, the weakest points are in the story and mainly in the direction that fails to improve the narrative and makes it more rigid.

It was okay. Gripping at times, but found the plot quite simplistic and ultimately boring.