Astro Boy

Astro Boy is the American title for the Japanese animated series Tetsuwan Atomu (鉄腕アトム), which roughly translates to "Mighty Atom" (literally "Iron-arm Atom"); first broadcast on Japanese television from 1963 to 1966.

Related Topics:
American - Japan - Animated series - Iron - Television - 1963 - 1966

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Astro Boy is the first Japanese television series to display the aesthetic that later became known as anime. It originated as a manga comic series started in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka, the so-called "god-king of manga". After enjoying success abroad, Astro Boy was remade in the 1980s and again in 2003. For a while, Astro Boy achieved a similar level of popularity in Japan as Disney's Mickey Mouse.

Related Topics:
Anime - Manga - 1952 - Osamu Tezuka - 1980s - 2003 - Mickey Mouse

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The animated series was produced by Mushi Productions, a studio established and headed by Tezuka.

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The original Tetsuwan Atomu manga stories are now also available in English, published by Dark Horse Comics in a translation by Frederik L. Schodt. They follow the television series in using "Astro Boy" instead of "Tetsuwan Atomu", as that is the name most familiar to English-speaking audiences. However the names of the other characters, such as Dr. Tenma and Professor Ochanomizu, are those of the original Japanese.

Related Topics:
English - Dark Horse Comics - Frederik L. Schodt - Dr. Tenma - Professor Ochanomizu

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Chuang Yi plans to publish a more recent manga version of Astro Boy in Singapore.

Related Topics:
Chuang Yi - Singapore

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The 2003 television series acknowledges the "Astro Boy" name. Although the character is still named "Atomu" ("Atom in English"), the series' onscreen title is Astro Robot Tetsuwan Atomu (with the latter part written in Japanese characters) and the scene in which the newly-activated robot is named has been written so it can support either character name.

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(In the English-language version of the series, the character is of course once more called Astro Boy.)

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In the original story, Astro Boy was created in Takadanobaba on April 7, 2003. On the same day in the real world, a city in Japan (Niiza of Saitama prefecture) granted Astro Boy a special citizenship. This is in contrast to the hardship Astro Boy went through in the fiction to be a part of human society, including obtaining a citizenship.

Related Topics:
Takadanobaba - April 7 - Niiza - Saitama prefecture - Citizenship

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In 2004, the character Astro Boy was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame.

Related Topics:
2004 - Robot Hall of Fame

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A feature film is due out sometime in the undetermined future, with motion capture being the basis for this Columbia Pictures and Jim Henson production.

Related Topics:
Columbia Pictures - Jim Henson

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