Astro Boy | |
English dub title screen
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鉄腕アトム (Tetsuwan Atomu) |
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Genre | Action, Adventure, Science fiction |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Noboru Ishiguro |
Studio | Tezuka Productions |
Licensed by | |
Original network | NTV |
English network | |
Original run | October 1, 1980 – December 23, 1981 |
Episodes | 52 |
Related works | |
Astro Boy (鉄腕アトム Tetsuwan Atomu?, lit. "Mighty Atom"), sometimes referred to as New Mighty Atom (新・鉄腕アトム Shin Tetsuwan Atomu?), is a remake of the 1960s anime series of the same name(s); both series are adapted from the manga series by Osamu Tezuka.
This series places more focus on Astro's robotic abilities and has a darker story line than previous incarnations of the series.
The series ran for 52 episodes (edited down to 51 episodes for the English versions).
The first episode takes place in the year 2030 in Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Tenma, the Minister of Science, is attempting to create a robot capable of expressing human emotions. After his fourth failed attempt, Tenma is approached by Skunk Kusai, a man who offers him an "Omega Factor" circuit which, when installed, will humanize a robot. After rejecting Skunk's offer and throwing him out, Tenma's nine-year-old son, Tobio, suggests his father make a robot shaped like a child.
Inspired by his son, Tenma sets off to the Ministry of Science to work, forgetting his promise to take Tobio to an amusement park. Upset by his father's neglect, Tobio drives an aerocar home but crashes into an oncoming truck, dying in the process. Just before he dies, Tobio makes his father promise to name his boy robot "Tobio" and make it the strongest robot in the world, while still loving it like a son. Tenma then creates a 100,000 horsepower (75,000 kW) robot capable of flight, equipped with lasers and machine guns. However, Skunk obtains the blueprints, duplicates them, and takes them to the evil Count Walpurgis, who aspires to put the Omega Factor into a super robot and use it for world domination.