Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 8

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

“Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 008” by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki is the last book in an eight-book science fiction manga series Pluto. The whole series is based on “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” the most popular story arc in Astro Boy series written by a legendary manga master Osamu Tezuka.

Thanks to Gesicht’s memory chip, Atom, a.k.a. Astro Boy, wakes up. However, he is different: provided with the memories and emotions of the other six great robots of the world, Atom has learned to hate. Bu will his hatred and anger be enough to finally stop Pluto, the murderous robot controlled by his villainous creator, and to save the Earth from the impending apocalypse?

THUMBS UP:

1) Great ending to a great show more story.
The last volume, just like the whole series, is action-packed, thrilling and suspenseful but at the same time extremely thought-provoking and touching with complex and relatable characters. As before, the illustrations are very detailed, realistic and simply gorgeous. However, “Pluto, Volume 006” still remains my absolute favorite with the fifth book as a close runner-up (check out my previous reviews to see why). Moreover, detective Gesicht is BY FAR my favorite character. I still cannot believe that, after reading the very first volume, I dared to call this robot passive and boring. Ha!

2) Important takeaway.
Although every single volume is thought-provoking and touching in its own way, the main message - “nothing comes of hatred” - and its gravity become clear just at the very end. As a bonus feature, in the eight volume’s postscript, co-author Takashi Nagasaki beautifully summarizes the takeaway of Pluto series and also builds a very convincing case speculating on what Osamu Tezuka meant by his famous story’s title “The Greatest Robot on Earth.”

COULD BE BETTER:

1) Rushed wrap-up.
Comparing to the excellent story building in the earlier volumes, the last two volumes seem a little bit rushed as some revelations are way too convenient, not very logical and thus less realistic. Also, it feels like the authors were just too eager to wrap things up and did’t bother to tie some loose ends. For example, I might be missing something, but how exactly is the evil teddy bear involved in the assassinations of the seven great robots of the world?

2) Lack of color.
Throughout the whole series, my only constant complaint is the black and white illustrations. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t look bad at all, but at the beginning of every single volume there are six to ten colorful pages which just look SO MUCH better. I understand that it might be too expensive to color the whole book, but even the black and white illustrations with additional shades (like the first eight pages in Act 63) are so much more appealing than the rest of the artwork.

VERDICT: 3.5 out of 5

Although a little bit rushed, “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 008” by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki is a great ending to a great story with a powerful takeaway. However, just as I predicted in the very beginning, you really need to read ALL eight volumes to truly understand and appreciate Pluto series.

POST SCRIPTUM:

Check out my reviews of the previous seven volumes:
1) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 001;”
2) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 002;”
3) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 003;”
4) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 004;”
5) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 005;”
6) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 006;”
7) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 007.” show less

This is a review of the entire series as a whole and not just this one volume.

I thought this was an interesting premise and I was pulled in from the very beginning. I'm still iffy on the actual series rating because I was sold on it immediately and I sped through the actual volumes, I guess I just still have some questions, which means I need to reread the series.

My favorite part was the obvious parallel between the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Central Asian War, I think Urasawa did a phenomenal job on that. I will say that if you are a younger reader, and have never learned about the Iraq War and the lead up to it this might be kind of confusing and you wouldn't get the connections. Still the anti-war message is obviously still show more there and very much a present part of the story, and George Bush Jr. is always the villian. show less

The reviews led me to expect a lot from this series. I may be missing some relevant cultural background (such as prior knowledge of Astro Boy) needed to appreciate it - it was enjoyable, but nonsensical elements in the plot and setting detracted.

One of the best series I have ever read. Fantastic story, excellent art. Highest of recommendations.

DAMN, that ending.

Una sèrie molt recomenable.
M'agrada com arrenca la història i com anem coneixent la personalitat de cadascun dels robots. El ritme de la narració es correspon amb el guió: prou lent per desenvolupar bé els protagonistes, però no tant com per perdre els elements d'intriga de la colecció.
No és que sigui molt determinant però el final no m'acaba de convencer crec que hi ha aspectes que merexerien una explicació més acurada.
La valoració global dels vuit volum seria de cinc estrelletes.