Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)

Another reviewer has beaten me to pointing out that this has an Alan Moore feel to it. Based on an Astroboy story about a robot sent to kill the seven most powerful robots on Earth, Pluto proves to be more than that.Urasawa takes the opportunity, as all science fiction writers must, to use the robots to look at what it means to be human. The events of the original story take place off-camera or at a distance, never moving away from the close and personal stories being told.Gesicht is a depressed main character not out of place in a Moore story or a Philip K. Dick tale (there are distinct hints of Do Androids Dream and Blade Runner in the narrative too). A robot and a detective searching for the killer of Mont Blanc, he is married to another robot in a touchingly normal relationship.There may be more to the mystery though. Not just robots are being killed, humans are too, and the deaths appear linked.References to a Central Asian war seems to have something to do with the story too.The story is very well written and Urasawa knows how to use panels to convey emotion. All the hype this series has gotten seems to be well-deserved.Anyone who likes a bit of cyberpunk and well-drawn characters is in for a treat.

I read Astro Boy and it is an interesting Japanese comic. Setting the tone for the more childish end of the Manga world. This retelling is a masterpiece.The art work in incomparable, like Akira with a bit of Lone Wolf, the two manga titles which made me fall in love with Manga in the first place.The story is a bit confused in places, I wish I could read the Japanese edition to see if it is a translation issue, but it does not detract from a truly epic masterpiece.

One of the best things I've ever read. Characterisation is just fantastic, and the art style suits the story perfectly. Some of the deepest storytelling in one of the shortest formats - colour me impressed. Can't wait to read the next volume!

Incredible work. Almost immediately had to know what happened next. Mixes the style of retro futuristic robots with Noir investigation work with a lot of heart and emotion that goes places I really didn't expect.

Taking an early Astro Boy story by the great Osamu Tezuka, writer-artist Naoki Urasawa reimagines it in a way that echoes Alan Moore's reinvention of Marvelman/Miracleman back in the 1980's.The premise is the same as the original -a near-future world where humanity is assisted by robots that look like robots and also robots which are indistinguishable from human beings: Gesicht, our detective hero hunting what may or may not be a killer robot, is one of the latter. Stylistically, Urasawa draws in a distinctively low-key realistic manner as opposed to the wild cartoonish manner of Tezuka's original. Neither is Urasawa the writer in any hurry to rush his story, rather it is told sedately, lingering over character, drawing out and focussing in on emotional details which resonate with the reader and it isn't until the end of this first volume that we, and our somber hero Gesicht, finally meet the protagonist of the original story.This is an extremely impressive opening to this series and if succeeding volumes match it then I'll certainly be around until the end.I would also recommend this, because of its clear, accessible and unfussy style, as an excellent start for anyone who hasn't tried manga before, though it isn't suitable for, and neither is it aimed at, children.

just buy it

I am totally new to manga and bought this book to see what all the fuss was about. I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed Pluto Vol. 1. Amongst other things it has a very adult feel to it, perhaps due to the (often) minimal dialogue which added rather than detracted from the story. The plot is basically a detective one and is elegantly paced - steady and gripping without being either slow or dull.The illustrations are finely detailed without being fussy. Some people may prefer colour but, although there is a hint of it in parts, the black and white look matches perfectly with the story. I think this is a beautifully crafted book and look forward to reading the others in the series.

A big shipping label was stuck to the back of the book, unable to remove the residue so now the book is all sticky. Shame as it was supposed to be a gift. Overall the manga is good tho.