ART

IS HE THE GOD OF MANGA?

yes, Urasawa Naoki is

By Marshall Hu

Two pictures of God

Many fans and critics consider Osamu Tezuka one of the great figures in the history of manga. Without a doubt, Astro Boy and Black Jack have had a profound impact on manga aesthetics and culture. In order to commemorate Tezuka's outstanding contributions and to encourage subsequent comic talents to take up the mantle of Tezuka’s brilliant innovations and work, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun created the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1997 to recognize new and inspiring achievements in the field. The joking title for the winner is the “God of Manga.”

So many extraordinary works have claimed this honor, each declared a master of their craft (perhaps they should jokingly rework the joke, The Gods of Manga). However, from 1997 to the present, only one man has succeeded in winning the award twice, and that is Urasawa Naoki. Urasawa was born in Tokyo in 1960 and grew up under the care of his grandparents. He began drawing at an early age by copying his older brother's Astro Boy mangas. This was his first step towards entering the world of comics. He initially wanted to become a guitarist and join a band, but instead, he literally copied his hero and began reworking the original Astro Boy into an entirely new work.

Something new from something old

PLUTO is Urasawa's reinterpretation of Tezuka's classic original. It is a science fiction manga set in a future world that explores the complex relationship between robots and humans, as well as the possible consciousness and emotions of robots. It is a mystery, a war story, an adventure filled with moral dilemmas that consider the rights of robots and their humanity.

Urasawa transformed the childlike style of Astro Boy into a mature and realistic style. The story starts after the war comes to an end and the robots face the question of their purpose. Some of them hope to spend their lives protecting animals, some wish to never fight again and learn to play the piano, while others adopt a group of human orphans in the hope of having a real family.

The hope for family

In Tezuka's original story, the narrative begins with the antagonist Dr. Tenma creating a black, horned combat robot named Pluto. Driven by the desire to make Pluto the Robot King and compensate for his failure to become the king of humanity, Pluto effortlessly defeats the eight strongest robots on Earth, including Astro Boy.

In the concluding section, a character named Dr. O'Shay resurrects Astro Boy and he and Pluto have a showdown in a volcano. Just as the duel is about to begin, the volcano conveniently erupts. Astro Boy exhausts his powers saving people, preventing lava from engulfing the surrounding city. This heroic act awakens Pluto's inner robot nature, transforming him from a mere combatant to someone involved in the rescue efforts. This is one of the most incredible moments of selflessness in any art form, a combination of consciousness and humanity rising from a disaster. Whether from programming (coded) or something innate (such as an empathy gene), it’s an astounding insight into what makes us human and how robots might share that humanity.

The question of humanity

Tezuka focuses the manga primarily on Astro Boy and Pluto, with other robot characters quickly passing by without much detail. However, in Urasawa's adaptation, he introduces the perspective of Gesicht, a high-performance robot police officer from Germany who brings a depth of thinking to each battle and expands and connections the emotional ties and family stories of various characters. Urasawa emphasizes that robots have emotions; they experience pain and resentment, transcending their roles as weapons or servants. Tezuka’s interest in AI ethics developed way before our present concerns, and in many ways his thinking in PLUTO is still light years ahead of where the current debate is now.

Some tricky philosophical questions

Furthermore, even as his concerns look to the future, the story is classical in its themes of war and humanity. The involvement of robot soldiers in PLUTO sparks discussions about human nature, peace, and conflict. The eight robots, after participating in tumultuous wars, suffer from PTSD and start adopting human war orphans that in a roundabout way contributes to the purification of the Earth's environment. In portraying and expressing these ideas, Urasawa's adaptation is more intricate and thought-provoking than the original.

In the end, Astro Boy in a familiar fashion depletes his abilities, rescuing and preventing the danger of lava engulfing the surrounding city. This courageous act awakens the inner nature of Pluto, prompting him to realize and change his perception of the role of robots. This underscores a crucial theme – that robots should not harm humans, and they cannot stand idly by when humans are in danger. This reflects the first principle of the Laws of Robotics. The entire conclusion, through the duel between Astro Boy and Pluto, highlights the complexity of robots' emotions and responsibilities, especially when faced with moral choices. And, in a way, it highlights our problems as well.

Urasawa, this twice deified “God of manga,” earns his exalted title not only for his unparalleled artistic impact, but also for the far-reaching ideas he seeks to convey.

©Marshall Hu and the CCA Arts Review