‘PLUTO’ Anime Review- A Darker Astro Boy
This anime streamed in 2023.
The streaming service Netflix, animation companies Genco and Studio M2 teamed up to produce PLUTO, a six-episode series. It is based on the manga by artist Naoki Urasawa and author Takashi Nagasaki.
Deep into the future, when robots and humans live together, Europol robot detective Gesicht (Jason Vande Brake) is called in to investigate the death of Mont Blanc (Keythe Farley), who was a robot veteran of a war who had become a beloved Swiss mountain guide.
Observing the decorative way his horns are arranged, he finds them at a second crime scene, again at the death of a human lawyer, and a robot butler, North No. 2 (Patrick Seitz). Gesicht connects the deaths to a war that happened years ago and realizes the horns are reminiscent of Pluto, the Roman deity of death. He meets with Atom (Laura Stahl), who is connected to the deaths, and the two realize that a powerful AI could be involved.
I found the animation to be sublime. It has incredible action sequences, character designs, and scenery. Everyone involved did an incredible job and truly brought out the talent behind it. I applaud them and their work.
The story was very compelling. While it stayed on track with Geischt, it was very interesting as he tried to solve the mystery of the deaths. He was a decent guide through the plot, and I thought that his character’s arc came to a conclusion too early in the show.
That being said, Pluto falls into a trap that many Western shows are falling into. The message was too heavy-handed. It dives into international politics, war vs. peace, the dangers of AI, what makes a soul, and the power of hate or love. All of these were thrown into a mixed bag, and the messaging within was not rendered through subtext, but often in long, droning monologues from various, sometimes random, characters, and it got burdensome at times.
When I heard that this was based on Astro Boy, albeit in a darker form, I was intrigued. I watched Astro Boy before I knew what anime was, and I was excited for it. However, I was not impressed with it. I never got bored, to be fair, but I just wanted to see Atom and Geischt work together to take on Pluto, not get lectured about truth and beauty from a robot.
Check out the trailer below:
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Frightening images, Violence, Some foul language
This review is based on the dub from Iyuno-SDI Group.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, anime, or novel you would like me to review.