The main conflict of the story begins when an unknown serial killer (later revealed to be the eponymous Pluto) starts killing them off one-by-one, with the peaceful Mont Blanc being the unfortunate first victim. 2., and Brando, they’re all known as advanced robots with powerful weapons and fighting abilities, as well as for their uncanny human appearance. Along with Atom (also known as Astro Boy), Mont Blanc, Epsilon, Hercules, North No. Gesicht - a German inspector for Interpol and our central character - is known as one of the seven great robots in the world. The central plot of the story in the first volume takes place in the aftermath of what is called the 39th Central Asian War. Osamu Tezuka’s son, Macoto Tezka, served as supervisor for the series while Takashi Nagasaki helped Urasawa write the story. The first volume of the series was released on Septemin Japan and in English on February 17, 2009. The series was first published in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Original magazine on September 5, 2003. Although nothing could ever replace Tezuka’s original stories and ideas, Urasawa went on to create a work that stood out for being its own thing: his own tribute to a “Manga God.” There could not have been a more perfect story for him to remake in a modern context. Urasawa was one of many manga artists to commemorate the anniversary by drawing their own tributes, illustrations, and reimagined works of the Astro Boy series, and this is where Pluto enters the picture.

The idea to then create a more serious reimagining of the story arc began as part of a homage to the fictional Astro Boy’s real birthday on April 7, 2003. With Tezuka creating manga in the aftermath of Japan’s loss in WWII, his anti-war sentiments were present throughout his original Astro Boy series. “The Greatest Robot on Earth” arc was not about a righteous robot hero taking down a bad one, but about the emptiness of war and how it can negatively affect everyone involved. One of the most famous and popular arcs from Osamu Tezuka’s original Astro Boy manga is “The World’s Strongest.” In a 2019 Crunchyroll interview, artist Naoki Urasawa said that while Astro Boy appeared to be a lighthearted Tezuka work, on a deeper level, it told a very dark story.

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