![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_15.31_[2016.04.25_17.38.24].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/MNIK96n.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_15.31_[2016.04.25_17.38.24].jpg")
I just watched the 2003 version of The Greatest Robot on Earth that a lot of fans of the older adaptations or the manga say is garbage and awful and ruined everything etc
It wasactually pretty good. Not an adaptation as much as a re-imagining; they didn't try to be perfectly adapt Tezuka because that would be impossible, but the anime staff's version was fun to watch and that's all that matters.
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_17_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_20.48_[2016.04.25_16.40.36].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Kdhtw9w.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_17_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_20.48_[2016.04.25_16.40.36].jpg")
First of all the production values for this show are great; like holy shit, it is FILLED with scenes like this. And animated on traditional cels to boot (outside of the OP) https://sakuga.yshi.org/post/show/22413/animated-artist_unknown-effects-explosions-mecha-m
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_17_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_18.46_[2016.04.25_16.28.18].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/g4zM1wY.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_17_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_18.46_[2016.04.25_16.28.18].jpg")
They used the "SOMETHING TO PROTECT" cliche which I guess really pissed off some, but whatever. It was pretty well-directed; the way the story beats were delivered always worked in its favor. The way the reporters act like insensitive sensationalistic assholes over something horrible wasn't in the Tezuka story, but it felt like a very Tezuka thing to add.
The 80s version, meanwhile, that many praise the shit out of, is just bad. It's mostly a straight adaptation of the manga with uglier designs and bad animation, but then they completely screw up the ending for more action (Pluto's suicide-attack doesn't take out Bora, Astro does in an extended fight scene) and there's an entire scene at the end where a narrator explains the moral of the story. Fucking stupid.
Meanwhile, I can compare this to the OVA version of Jotaro vs. Dio in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Different, but a good kind of different.
The Tezuka story is pretty awesome and recommended and I totally understand why it's Urusawa's favorite Astro Boy story. There are others that hit closer to home in terms of social commentary as far as racial conflict goes and whatnot, but this one story is so universal and summarizes the core of Astro Boy's message so well that you could translate it to pretty much any insular, far-away culture and they would understand what it's trying to say and possibly even be moved by it.
I dunno what the 60s version is like but I assume it's like the rest: unwatchably cheap most of the time with occasional "money shot" moments of proper animation and art.
Talk about Tezuka stuff in general I guess.
>>140669846
I'm gonna post some good panels from this arc
>>140669876
I love how Tezuka used squash & stretch on Atom, it's so fucking lively
>>140669927
>>140669965
good shit
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_18.56_[2016.04.25_18.09.48].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/cIO5B5c.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_18.56_[2016.04.25_18.09.48].jpg")
Oh and the anime also did the whole 'WE ALL BELIEVE IN YOU theme song power up' thing which I guess is another anime cliche people didn't like.
But whatever; it wasn't perfect, but it was entertaining and well-executed for what it was. This show is pretty fucking underrated and so's the manga; the 60s and 80s anime shows get too much attention away from the better versions.
Also fuck the 3DCG film and the upcoming live action one
I have no feelings for the French thing one way or the other
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_18.25_[2016.04.25_17.44.13].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/aJ8dSHw.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_18.25_[2016.04.25_17.44.13].jpg")
I also hated Pluto's 2003 design at first. Too detailed and robotic, not human and expressive enough.
But now that I watched it, it's a good design. They went for a "normally robotic, occasional subtle hints of emotion" thing that worked pretty well as you can see here and here >>140669526
This is the version Toonami aired right?
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_16.04_[2016.04.25_18.18.33].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Cj6hf0K.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_16.04_[2016.04.25_18.18.33].jpg")
>>140670437
No, that's the garbage dub version with removed episodes (for not being actiony enough) and horrible disgusting synth music. Avoid the dub at all costs, get the original from Bakabt.
Seriously, compare these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPTVXTP_L8Q
There's no fucking contest.
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_02.35_[2016.04.25_18.21.03].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Dms47h5.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_02.35_[2016.04.25_18.21.03].jpg")
>>140670528
https://bakabt.me/torrent/176878/tetsuwan-atom-astro-boy-2003-dvd-400p Here you go, the non-butchered version
https://bakabt.me/description.php?id=156129 and the manga
If you want to start off with the Pluto arc it's in V2, but V1 and V2 also have some really good stories in them; the dog cyborg one and the robot president one respectively (and a really shit one at the end of V1, but that's the only BAD Astro Boy story I read so far)
>>140670612
>it's in V2
I mean V3. Almost all of V3 is taken up by all the Pluto arc's chapters, then a really short extra story at the end.
The manga, the 2003 show and the Urasawa version seem to be the best way to enjoy this franchise. Do it and spread the word before the live-action movie ruins everything. They literally hyped it saying it will be "like live-action Iron Man" so you already know they'll get everything wrong.
>>140670680
I kinda ignored Atom and focused on "darker" stuff like Black Jack for far too long. But really, it manages to be just as dark as his more overtly 'edgy' shonens; it might not be as bloody as Black Jack, but there's still plenty of death and dark stuff and social commentary without being try-hard. Including cops shooting down innocent robots (minorities) and robots (minorities) going on violent riots and the effect it has on human-robot (racial) relations.
It's good shit that aged well in most regards except writing. By "writing" I don't mean plot and characterization which are great; but that the way it's written is often too redundant and monologuey. But it's not nearly as bad as the 80s anime in that regard and it's easy to forgive when the rest is so good.
>>140670854
Also here's where they stole Yellow Devil from
>>140670528
Yeah it just seems like Astro Boy is a series that can just coast on name recognition overseas, I remember seeing the posters for the 2010 movie when I saw Ponyo.
>>140670886
Also this motherfucker is where Kikaider got its design cues from
>>140671045
Yeah but the versions that are well-known in the west are just... not that good. The 60s one has some good moments where Tezuka obviously had more hands-on involvement to pick good animators that understood his style the same way he hand-picked assistants (pic related) but most of it is just ugly as shit.
The 80s one is just... a really boring adaptation with worse designs and ugly animation and art and also makes awful story changes.
The 2003 show had a shit dub and most anime fans dismiss the original as "kiddy shit", and it's not the same experience as the manga, but it's good as "a modern anime staff's vision of Astro Boy" and feels very respectful to Tezuka.
The manga's good; some stories/arcs are more just "fun adventure of the day" while others are big dramatic emotional epics but it's very rarely genuienly bad.
>>140671433
>(pic related)
WRONG PIC
Yeah these are keyframes from the 60s show. The scene with Astro's birth is wonderfully executed but most of it just looks too awkward to watch by modern TV animation standards (and I'm saying this as someone who thinks Ashita no Joe looks fantastic)
>>140670886
The weird thing about the Pluto fight is that it totally seems like something that could take place in Megaman. Reminds me of that cancelled Maverick Hunter game and how it wanted to take the philosophical stylings of the X series more seriously.
>>140671631
X and Zero were pretty fucking serious as-is, and they practically took their themes straight from Astro Boy. But I like Astro way more than X, his childish attitude makes him more likable. The dumb ANN review of the manga criticizes Astro for having "inconsistent personality" in that sometimes he's competitive and likes fighting and sometimes he's pacifistic, but that's... kind of how a kid would act, really. Getting caught up in the moment (at one point in V1 he literally thinks "maybe I got carried away and treated this guy too violently" after a fight). I like Zero more if only for his cool speech and the end of Zero 4.
Though in the end, Astro Boy Omega Factor is arguably better in terms of plot and atmosphere than any Megaman. It's not even an Astro Boy game so much as a general Tezuka tribute that perfectly nails the atmosphere of the guy's work. This sort of sometimes happy but sometimes really melancholic feeling that's fully acknowledging all the horrible things in the world while still never letting go of a child-like hope that humans will one day smarten up and make the world better.
From what I gather it feels like Tezuka took that worldview to his death-bed, while Miyazaki lost it and just became a misanthropic jerk.
>>140671863
I mean, Tezuka did not beat around the bush at all even in his shonen work. And he wasn't hypocritical in only criticizing other cultures like America (which he admittedly poops on a lot as far as politics go); his narration in Phoenix volume 1 at one point basically says "Japan as a nation was founded upon a series of unjustifiable bloody massacres".
And he also admits in MW that specific American states treat gay people better than all of Japan, so there's that too.
>>140671863
I stopped taking the X seriously by the time the 3rd game rolled around and the plots abandoned X's inner conflicts for "Sigma's fashion show of the month", but it isn't like the Classic series avoided that problem either. 5 trying to make you think Blues was a villain was tenuous at best, but fucking nobody fell for the Mr. X ruse in 6. The Classic series took stuff from Astro Boy and tried to be more lighthearted and was the better for it, the serious tone of X just doesn't work at all.Excuse the shitty file upload, I saved this in like 2012 when I barely knew anything about anime and manga
>>140671863
Actually, Astro's "inconsistent" characterization can reflect Tezuka himself. On one hand he wanted mankind to be peaceful, on the other hand he was extremely competitive in his shonen protagonist-like drive to be the "BEST MANGA AUTHOR" to the point of being a dick to his peers.
This can be contrasted to Atom going on a pacifist speech in one chapter, then in a later chapter readily accepting Pluto's violent challenge to show he's not a little pussy.
X5 was often pretty dramatic, but maybe I'm overstating it since I played it when I was really young and that was one of my initial introductions to anime drama. I remember the ending in particular being pretty dark and serious, whether from X or Zero's perspective.
I dunno, I think Inafune is a dick whose art for Megaman looked like chinese bootleg Astro Boy but I still have some nostalgia I can't deny for the X and Zero games.
I made this picture to ironically-shitpost /v/ by saying Astro Boy copied Megaman but it's relevant here.
>>140672507
meant for >>140672158
I don't know to much about original or 2003, but I liked Pluto a lot, is it closer to original than 2003 is?
>>140670528
>horrible disgusting synth music
They took out Takashi Yoshimatsu's music? Why the fuck would they do that?
>>140672660
Both are re-imaginings. Pluto is more "dark detective manga" with some robot action, 2003 is like a modern (2000s) anime version of the Greatest Robot story complete with a "I FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING TO PROTECT" climax. One's more kid-friendly and the other less, but they're both a different take.
I recommend reading V3 of the manga before the other versions.
>>140672806
Licensing issues I guess. The opening is also some lame-ass techno thing that reminds me of Shadow the Hedgehog's stages from Sonic Adventure 2 (the worst thing to associate with Astro Boy).
Here's an Itano Circus from earlier in that arc in the 2003 anime. The show has so much fluid animation it often looks more like a short well-produced OVA or movie than a TV series.
>>140672941
>(the worst thing to associate with Astro Boy).
how about connecting it through m-flo?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZnOyHiBRBc
>>140673054
Haha what the fuck why
RIP Global Astroliner memories
>>140672941
> Whipping his hand back and forth
great action
>>140672941
Any idea who did this cut? Those explosions are great.
>>140674214
No idea sadly, the problem with identifying staff in 2003 is that its animation is very very consistent. There's not much "hand of the animator" stuff in there, its philosophy is more similar to western cartoons in that regard.
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_09.36_[2016.04.25_20.25.07].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/RIPJFVX.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_09.36_[2016.04.25_20.25.07].jpg")
A problem with the 2003 version is that Epsilon is a really major character in that which they couldn't simply kill off. Therefore the impact of that and the implied "what have I done, I'm a murderer" thinking from Pluto which eventually led to his rebellion isn't as well-done.
But yeah, as I said; flawed, but good.
>>140670886
Astro Boy in general was pretty much Megaman avant la lettre design wise.
>>140672815
that fact that there are three versions is hilarious, it's clears some stuff that confused me for a while though, did he actually restart the story from scratch each time or is it just some edits he did
>>140675190
they're all from different people- the 2003 show was made after he died, the Pluto manga was by an entirely different mangaka (and also after he died), he probably didn't write the 80's show version either
![[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_15.34_[2016.04.25_20.40.52].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/89JOOy5.jpg "[Raw]_Astro_Boy_2003_-_18_(DVD-x264-AAC).mkv_snapshot_15.34_[2016.04.25_20.40.52].jpg")
https://sakuga.yshi.org/post/show/22416/astro_boy_tetsuwan_atom_2003-effects-fighting-fire Here's part of the final Atom vs Pluto fight. Note that this isn't even much of a stand-out; this is the normal animation in this show.
>>140675597
And it's not "fighting is fluid, characters are just mouth-flaps" either. The characters have real acting.
>>140675369
I just found out there are some episodes of the 80s show by Osamu Dezaki. Maybe they're alright? I dunno which they are though.
Oh and here's a new "smug anime girl" reaction for you fuckers
>>140671863
>From what I gather it feels like Tezuka took that worldview to his death-bed, while Miyazaki lost it and just became a misanthropic jerk.
Miyazaki is edgy, like Anno. What a jerk
>>140678264
Tezuka could be pretty 'edgy' too when he was a dick to others. But Anno still seems hopeful to me; Rebuilds might be money grabbing but he used that money to fund a bunch of cool animator-driven shorts. Miyazaki just seems like he's waiting to die and hates everything and everyone around him.
Come to think of it, everyone thought Tezuka was an asshole when he said people should wait two more decades before crowning Otomo as a god. And yet, what noteowrthy, iconic thing has Otomo done since his Akira heyday? Steam...boy?
Okay no, how about... that one 3DCG short?
Mushishi live action????
Okay, Tezuka may have been a dick but he was spot on about this.
>>140679503
Meanwhile two of Tezuka's most popular and beloved creations are Astro Boy and Black Jack, 2 decades apart. And then there's Princess Knight, and Kimba, and Unico, and W3, and-
Don't get me wrong, Otomo kicks ass but he's hardly prolific in terms of creating multiple iconic stories.
>>140679889
most of Tezukas stuff isn't really that interesting to people used to more modern stuff, and I wouldn't say the same about Miyazaki, Takahashi or Tomino, all give or take same generation as Tezuka
