by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu TezukaI first saw Pluto while checking out a local comic book store. Specialized comic retailers that carry manga often stock edgy, lesser known series (well, I think so). Though the cover was intriguing, I figured it would be weird, intense, and that I wouldn't like it. I was wrong.
Background: Pluto is a rehash by Urasawa of a particular story in Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy series entilted, The Greatest Robot On Earth. With prodding from Tezuka's son, Macoto, Urasawa has not simply rehashed the story, but made it something all his own. For starters, the central character is now Gesicht, who in the original was part of the supporting cast. Atom (Astro Boy) is only introduced by the end of Vol. 1.
The story: In an unestablished point in Earth's future, man and robot coexist. As technology is advancing robots are becoming almost impossible to distinguish from humans, both in physical appearance and mannerisms. The most advanced robots, which most of the cast are, have highly developed AI and are beginning to vaguely understand concepts such as hate, love, and fear. In recent history, the world has adopted a set of "robot laws" to recognize and protect the rights of robots. Gesicht, as a member of Europol, is called in on the cases of serial murders of pro-robot humans, and prominent, powerful robots.
Themes: Besides the thrill of a good mystery, Pluto manages to open up discussions on relevant issues. There is some political intrigue coupled with a recent war, which, to me, resembled the recent conflict between Iraq and the U.S.A. Urasawa uses the cast of robots to present different attitudes and responses to the horrors and moral challenges of warfare in a way that is gratifyingly simple.
The "robot laws" pose basic civil rights questions of what makes a person valuable. In my experience, robots are often used to bring up this discussion, and lend well toward it. In the particular case of Pluto, Urasawa has perhaps made it a little more realistic. At one point I thought, "this reminds me of the Black Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s." He has even gone as far as to dress the anti-robots group in a manner very reminiscent of the KKK. In fact, I believe a character says at one point that they are sort of like the KKK. The best stories usually open up these avenues for us to remember and ponder the relevant issues of our time, and yet without screaming it through a megaphone at us.
The art style is far different and more modern than Tezuka. The character designs in Pluto are delightful subdued. The art is more realistic than the average manga (*gasp* real noses) and the characters are all distinct without resorting to outlandishness.
The first few pages are color, and almost everything is well rendered by Urasawa's practiced hand. Really my only complaint would be the facial expressions. Most characters have a constant furrowed brow, which sometimes forces the emotional weight to be carried by the text.The pacing was good (usually true of a page turner), and Urasawa manages well the fundamental rule of mystery/suspense: don't give too much away. The withholding of information can at times even be frustrating, which poses the question of whether or not he is being a little too stingy.
Recommended? very much so.
P.S. Something that I enjoyed immensely with Pluto was that so far (through volume 3) Urasawa has avoided the tendency in Manga toward the "wtf?" The characters aren't grossly over the top sadists or masochists. Even the murders are shown briefly and without the usual load of gruesomeness. Seriously, sometimes I wonder what happened to the Japanese to make them so out of whack (...maybe fire bombing, atomic weapons, and disillusioning materialism?). Admittedly, the villian(s) haven't been but barely revealed by the end of Vol. 3, and there is still plenty of time for him to go that route.
