Is Pluto an Astro Boy prequel?

The anime adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto launched on Netflix this week. Many of the characters and plot lines strike similarities to Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy series, but are they connected?

The answer is technically yes, Astro Boy and Pluto are connected. However, Pluto is not a prequel to Astro Boy but a retelling of Tezuka’s work.

The Greatest Robot on Earth

For context, Astro Boy is a manga by writer/illustrator Osamu Tezuka (Black Jack, Kimba the White Lion) that lasted from 1952 to 1968. It tells the story of Mighty Atom/Astro Boy, a robot child, who fights evil robots that threaten his human/robot world. The popularity of its concept rocketed and led to many animes, films, and even an American CG film in 2009. It’s one of the best-selling manga franchises of all time.

Pluto, meanwhile, comes from writer/illustrator Naoki Urasawa, famous for 20th Century Boys and Monster. The manga, lasting from 2003 to 2009, follows robot detective Gesicht as he solves a murder mystery involving robots and humans. Taking multiple twists and turns in the narrative, the manga was lauded for its storytelling and commentary on life and war.

So how does Pluto connect with Astro Boy? Well, to start, Urasawa got to use the rights to Astro Boy on behalf of Tezuka’s son Makoto and Tezuka Productions. They supervised the production and made sure it would honor the series as well as tell its own story. Urasawa was inspired by the first arc of the manga “The Greatest Robot on Earth” but added the murder mystery and seriousness to enrich the narrative. Atom, Uran, Prof. Tenma, and Prof. Ochanomizu all appear in the manga as characters.

The anime adaptation of Pluto keeps all of Urasawa’s content from the manga. Since its release, many critics praised it for its retelling of the work and retention of its themes. Many are even calling it one of the best shows on Netflix, which is a bold claim. Regardless, Pluto‘s spin on Astro Boy‘s story is a daring feat and one that paid off.