Pluto

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.

First of all, I have to say that I'm an anime only and I haven't read the manga. I've only seen one other series by Naoki Urasawa and that is the anime of Monster.

So going into this blindly, I expected something similar like a realistic psychological crime story. But what I got was something completely different and it's honestly hard to believe that these are two mangas written by the same author. It's a science fiction that takes place in the future with a lot of fantasy elements, such as extremely advanced technology like robots and artificial intelligence on the level of or even more developed than humans. That was definitely a nice change and just proves that Urasawa is a genius of a mangaka who can write very diverse stories. The only thing halfway similar is the murder mystery aspect of the story, but I definitely loved that.

This anime had some interesting themes like the never-ending cycle of hatred. It's also very emotional with hard hitting deaths that almost made me cry for literal robots. Every episode is interesting and has some nice moments, but no episode is even close to the level of the masterpiece that is the last one.

That final episode is one of the greatest TV episodes I've ever seen. It has a plot twist on the same level of Attack on Titan, which absolutely shocked me. And that final fight had me on the edge of my seat the whole time as it's just pure craziness and emotion. It's genuinely the greatest finale that I've ever seen in any anime and this is not an exaggeration. I'm just so glad to finally see another very well executed ending. Most endings that I've seen felt kind of unsatisfying.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fairly short show and it was an incredible experience. The only thing I disliked was the animation of environmental elements like tornados and explosions. The studio used too realistic CGI for this that just looks a bit odd compared to the 2D animation.

This show is slow paced, yes but it rewards your patience with a climax that hits harder emotionally than any of the anime punches we are used to.

I had high expectations of this since I loved Monster, another anime by the Pluto's author and just like Monster, this show truly embodies human kindness and empathy.

The world is messed up and this show draws parallel to some of the darkest events of the latest millennium but throughout those moments of bleak and violent incidents, there's a ray of hope that this show never loses sight of.

Seinen anime are few in number but the recent adaptation of Vinland Saga and now this gives me hope that there's an audience that wants to see more mature themes in anime.

In short, Pluto is a masterpiece if you're patient and willing to pay attention.

I am only writing this review to put shame on the guy who gave it 2. How could you possibly go into this anime thinking it was going to be straight action scenes and that's it. That isnt the authors style what so ever. This show is a masterpiece of storytelling and emotions. The first episode left me in tears and the build up to the finale was beautifully done along with the finale itself. Pluto and monster which are both written by the same author are not meant to be action animes but more a story that slowly unravels and tears at your heart strings. I believe if you give this anime anything under an 8 you have to be a young kid or someone with a short attention span just eager for fight loaded episodes.

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.