"Astro Boy tetsuwan atomu" (2003) TV series

Creator:

Osamu Tezuka

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Astro Boy tells the story of a youthful robot boy - Astro - modeled after the deceased son of a research scientist...

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Manga | Android | Artificial Intelligence | Remake

Cast

Tabitha St. Germain	...	Additional Voices / ... (7 episodes, 2003-2004)
Olivia Hack	...	Various (2 episodes, 2003-2004)

Also Known As:

Astro Boy (USA)

Runtime:

USA:30 min | Japan:30 min (50 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Animax

Movie Connections:

Spin off Astro Boy: Tetsuwan atomu (2003) (VG)

Good update, unsure about English version

Having good memories of the Astroboy series that aired in the 80's, I was excited to hear about a remake. Overall I'd say the new crew has done a fine job. There are some changes in the story line (Astro working at a circus, getting his trademark red boots, etc) but these may be revealed later. It doesn't seem to have as clear allegories for racism and segregation either, but again, there is still time for this to show up. The show retains a similar look to the original Astroboy with great visuals. The music captures the style of the show very well.

I'm not too keen on some of the voices, though. I have only seen the English-language dub so I don't have the original Japanese for comparison, but I find Astro's voice to be somewhat out of place. Another character, Dr. Tenma, is a slender Asian man and has a voice that sounds like James Earl Jones! Those two aside, the other voices are pretty good. I also especially like that Astro's rockets still have the same sound as the 80's show!

As for editing, a real problem with anime aired in the United States, I can't give definite comment, having never seen the original Japanese series. I did notice that Astro was told he was based on a real boy without mentioning what happened to that boy (he was killed in a car accident before the series takes place). A couple characters' names have been changed as well, Dr. Ocha-no-mizu (whom I knew as Prof. Peabody, others, Dr. Elefun in the last series) is now called Dr. O'Shay. I'm not sure why. If they wanted to shorten it, they could've just called him "Dr. Ocha" ("tea" in Japanese). Astro's sister, Uran (Sarah, Astrogirl), is now called Zoran. Once again, I'm not sure why. Also note, it's now called "Astro Boy" (2 words) instead of Astroboy (1 word). Maybe to distinguish between the old and new series?

Another thing I've noticed is that at least some of the episodes are being aired out of order. E.g. Astro's first day of school after we'd already seen him there, his sister appearing with no explanation as to where she came from, only to vanish again until her proper introduction several weeks later. I've learned that this is the distributor's doing and not that of the network that airs the show. I wonder why companies do this. Do they think the viewers won't notice?

Overall, "Astro Boy" seems to be a decent update of the classic show. I look forward to the new movie (slated for 2005).