Can robots cry?
 

Overview

Pluto is a retelling of the Astro Boy from the minds of Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka. It features a utopian society where robots and human coexist for the greater good. When Atom is implanted with a memory chip from Gesicht, he discovers the emotions anger and hatred for the first time.  With this new vision he provides the formula for an anti-proton bomb that could mean the destruction of the entire world.  When details of the bomb’s creation and use arrive, Atom must race to stop its explosion and Earth’s certain annihilation.

Highlights

The artwork in Pluto is fantastic. Character models are solid and all the robot models have a unique look and feel to them and their expressions are believable.  The look of the “old friend” robot with the same artificial intelligence as Atom looks especially cool.  In fact, I think he is the best character this volume showcases.  He’s much more complex than Atom and his dialogue with the other characters is dark and witty.  His devious side reveals itself at the end of the volume and it wraps up things very nicely.

The idea that artificial intelligence could acquire feelings isn’t new, but I feel like it was really forced here.  The whole volume seems to focus on how terrible it is that Atom has gained the ability to hate, but it doesn’t show us any effects of it.  During the fight between Atom and Pluto, they stop mid fight to stare at each other and cry.  In the very next scene they’re no longer fighting, but looking up at the stars together.  How robots can cry in the first place is beyond me and how the memories of Gesicht would inspire both of them to do it at that moment baffles me. 

This volume also presents flashbacks of Gesicht that don’t really fit in to the story here.  If he is supposed to be the one that provides Atom with such hatred, why am I not shown flashbacks of how he died and what caused it?  Instead we’re shown bits with him and his robot wife and their newly acquired robot child.  There are several of these throughout this volume and they don’t do anything but slow down the pace of the story.

Overall

I wanted to like this volume, but I just couldn’t get past the forced emotion present throughout.  Telling me that Atom is full of hatred without explaining how or showcasing it only made the story less engaging for me.  The artwork and character design are incredible and make this otherwise frustrating read more enjoyable.

ComicsOnline gives Pluto Volume 8 2.5 out of 5 robot tears.

Buy Pluto Vol 8 at Amazon.com now.

Keep it here at ComicsOnline.com for more Manga Reviews news and everything geek pop culture.