Pluto

Pluto is a mature adaption of one of the most iconic arcs of Astro Boy. The manga, by the same name, is widely considered a masterpiece and is a deep passion project for the writer. I want to keep this mostly spoiler-free.

Every single character from the original arc in Astro Boy has been given justice in this remake. Atom (Astro Boy Himself) and Gesicht are the main leads of this show and both of them never fail to keep me engaged. The suspense is all very well done and the conclusion to it all is personally among my favorite endings in fiction.

I would highly recommend going into this blind, and if you love Seinen anime/manga, you will have an absolute blast here. Pluto comprises some of the most well-written and heartfelt characters whose story reaches a perfect end. Pluto isn't just another humans & robots centred story, it is THE humans and robots centred story.

Going into Pluto I knew we would get a brilliant adaption because the project was led by Masao Maruyama. He founded Madhouse and MAPPA, who specifically founded this new studio to adapt extremely well-deserving and overlooked mangas akin to Pluto.

Moreover, some of the other masterpieces he produced are Monster, Perfect Blue, Death Note, Hunter x Hunter (2011), Nana, Trigun, Hellsing Ultimate, Paprika, Kids on the Slope, and Tokyo Godfathers, among many others, the guy has been the driving force for masterpieces left and right. Also, the music composition is being done by Yuugo Kanno, who is well known for his extremely popular JoJo opening themes.

The Mangaka Naoki Urasawa is well known for his genius in developing murder mysteries or suspenseful tales that get increasingly interesting as you read. He has genuinely created some of the most masterful stuff in modern entertainment, and to finally see this manga by him get such a phenomenal and passionate adaption feels so good; I waited for so long to get one. I hope that Pluto is successful enough that we get an adaption of 20th Century Boys, which is another manga by Urasawa.

Pluto takes place in a future where humans and AI robots live together. It starts off as a mystery when one of the world's seven greatest AI robots is murdered. Shortly after, a leading AI rights human advocate is murdered. An AI detective robot, one of the seven world's greatest AI robot called Gesicht investigates. Is the murderer human or AI robot? If the latter, then one of the cardinal robot laws may be violated, since robots are not supposed to harm humans.

What unfolds is a multilayered story.

• One layer explores a world of humans and AI robots: the discrimination, the rights of sentient beings...

• One layer explores the complexity of emotions that develop within AI... and that the more advanced the AI complex brain, the more human (hence emotionally imbalanced even) AI may become... even considering murder or even suicide.

• One layer parallels the unjust pre-emptive attack of the world on a country that didn't have the weapons of mass destruction it was accused of having.

• For many fans, Naoki Urasawa's tribute to Osamu Tezuka's Atom Boy as one of the seven greatest AI robots on the killer's murder list is exhilarating. Dr Tenma, Dr Ochanomizu and Uran all make worthwhile appearances.

Naoki Urasawa has another of my favorite stories... Monster and 20th Century Boys. All told with masterful suspense.

Finally, I have to note that there are some pacing problems in the anime version, especially to drive home the point at the end. And the AI robot emotions do not come across as poignant as in the comics. Still, it is a good ride, and a good think throughout this viewing journey.

This is a great sci-fi mystery series. It's a true sci-fi series in that it takes current conflicting situations (AI, war conflicts) and extrapolates the good and bad possibilities into the future based on the current issues they're facing. The story telling is very good, humanizing robots who develop emotions and hopes and dreams, just as much as humans do. Character development is equally as good, especially learning the ups and downs that Gesicht faces in his job as a detective and in his personal relationships. I only noticed a couple of small plot bandaids to smooth things over, but otherwise, it's a really well told story and warning of the consequences of the greed that causes war and the ensuing escalation that develops from the pain and hatred of wars.

As soon as Netflix releases a new celebrated anime I'm a sceptic. The reviews look bought, the reviewers dumb. But still, I had my eyes on Pluto and it didn't disappoint.

Other reviews will tell you what the story is about. For me the anime is fascinating due to its in-depth analysis of AI and the meaning of being alive, to feel and being a person.

I loved the characters, the twists and turns of the plot, the dialogue, the score, the style. It's excellent, like a mix between Monster and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

This is what anime can give you that other video formats lack. The ability to explore ideas within a story, in the same way literature can.

A must-watch.

Thank you Netflix, for adapting this story and that too so perfectly. I've missed this feeling. There are only a few anime I was able to binge non-stop (like Steins Gate or AOT). Pluto is no different. It's right up there with some of the best mystery/suspense anime.

There are many reasons why Pluto might be one of the best anime we've gotten in years. Let me explore those reasons one by one.

The storytelling and pacing is just perfect. A mystery is told perfectly, when a viewer is curious, but never confused. That's what this anime did. The story is shown to be complex, but still doesn't seem that way. The pace is never too fast. I never struggled to keep track of the information given so far. It's also never too slow. I just don't know where those 8 hours went. I was so involved in the story. It gave brief amounts of information, at perfect intervals in the story in order to complete the puzzle in our brain.

This isn't just a thriller. It's a story about humanity, about emotions, hatred in particular. Because of how concise the story is, every plot point leads to this theme. Each character plays a huge role in communicating the story's message. And I cared for each of them. The second half brought me to tears. The conclusion is very emotionally satisfying too.

I love how this story used AI in order to explore humanity, and to enhance its emotions as well as its theme. It's just brilliant writing. Such a story, seems impactful now more than ever.

The character that stole the show, was Gesicht. A flawlessly written character, with a very emotional arc. He deserved being the protagonist of this wonderful story.

Another thing I loved was that this was sort of a mix of a futuristic sci-fi mystery, a dark psychological mystery, as well as a detective story.

There's just one tiny problem I had. During the final episodes, they introduced some new plot points, that felt a bit out of place to me.

But overall, this is an emotionally heavy story, memorable mystery and it's brilliantly told. Please, watch it on Netflix. We need more anime like these.