Tetsuwan Atom

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Mighty Atom, Captain Atom, Atom Taishi, Atom Konjaku Monogatari, Once Upon a Time Astro Boy Tales, Astro Boy Chronicles

Japanese: 鉄腕アトム

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 21

Chapters: 85

Status: Finished

Published: Apr 1951 to Feb 1969

Genres: Adventure, Sci-Fi

Theme: Mecha

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen

Authors: Tezuka, Osamu (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.29¹ (scored by 2,817 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #5234²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #2210

Members: 10,819

Favorites: 147

Resources

Wikipedia

7.29

Ranked #5234Popularity #2210Members 10,819

MangaShounenTezuka, Osamu (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /21

Chapters: /85

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Synopsis

In the distant year 2003, Japan is a technological utopia, and robots are everywhere. One such robot, Tobio, was built by the brilliant Dr. Tenma to replace his dead son. But when it soon becomes apparent that Tobio is an imperfect copy of his departed child, Dr. Tenma throws him out. He is rescued from the scrap heap by the benevolent Professor Ochanomizu, a crusader for robot civil rights. Now the little robot, renamed Astro Boy, is given a mission to defend Japan and the world from all manner of sinister threats. Using his seven super-abilities and 100,000 horsepower worth of strength to battle evil, Astro hopes to set an example to the world of the good which all robots are capable of.

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BackgroundTetsuwan Atom was published in English as Astro Boy by Dark Horse based on the 23-volume bunkoban reprint from March 27, 2002 to January 28, 2004 and was published in omnibus volumes from September 23, 2015 to April 5, 2017.

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Characters

Atom

Main

Dr. Ochanomizu

Main

Holmes, Rock

Supporting

Tenma, Umatarou

Supporting

Pluto

Supporting

Uran

Supporting

Atlas

Supporting

Hige Oyaji

Supporting

Ham Egg

Supporting

Shikishima, Kenichi

Supporting

Reviews

Feb 25, 2023

IMortaI

Recommended

Astro boy Review.

Strengths:

Historical significance: Astro Boy is considered one of the most important works in the history of manga and anime. It was one of the first popular Japanese comic books to feature a robot protagonist and is credited with popularizing the genre of science fiction in Japan.
Creative storytelling: Osamu Tezuka was known for his innovative storytelling techniques, and Astro Boy is no exception. The series explores themes of humanity, identity, and social justice through its characters and storylines.
Enduring popularity: Even decades after its original publication, Astro Boy remains a beloved and influential series in Japan and around the world. Its characters and concepts have ...

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Feb 22, 2023

lncignlto

Recommended

Astro boy story take place in a futuristic world whereby mankind and robots all lived together.
Astro boy manga for the most parts consist of episodic stories, in which our protagonist fights evil robots and aliens. As the story progress, Astro realized that robots are discriminated and abused by humans. One of the recurrent themes of the manga is robot rights. Should robots have rights, should they be equal to humans, what should they be able to do and what aren’t they allowed to do. And throughout the manga we going to see how the relationship between human and robot progress.
As for the art style it ...

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Jul 9, 2025

grubmaiden

Mixed Feelings

When Astro Boy is good, it is amazing. Some of its arcs are quite wonderful, contemplative and with clear direction over when it believes and is trying to say about the future, the present, and the ways we see the past. How we ought to shape a future with robots in it and how we ought to be living. Astro is a vehicle of idealism.

When Astro Boy is bad, it can be crushingly so. Stories which undermine those amazing arcs and moments. Ridiculous novelty nonsense and one dimensional characters. Racist caricatures against middle eastern, black, pacific islander, and southeast asians, hasbara for Israel, and ... a few cases of some dangerously strange anti-trans conflations, mostly concentrated in the volumes 18 and 19.

I highly suggest you stick around up until the arc wraps up around the point where Astro's timeline goes in something of a circle, without spoiling you'll know exactly what I mean as it exhausts most of its best work and begins dumping the really mediocre 1950s works on you.

The characters are always the highlight when Astro Boy is at its peak. Astro himself is a wonderful character, and I always found the cuteness of his sister Uran really endearing. She even gets some of her own shining moments which I reflect back on fondly. He has a brother and a grand total of four father figures. One, the teacher who's integrating him into human society who's passionate and hot tempered. The head of the ministry of science who tries to direct Astro on the path of nonviolence and peace above all. His original father and creator who occupies a deeply interesting and morally grey position, always interesting when he shows up. Lastly, a robot dad who was built for him and technically is in a lower school grade because he was made after Astro and less spectacularly. These characters all stick around pretty much most of the manga and I think they're all pretty great, all things considered.

Another character who constantly appears is Osamu Tezuka himself, reflecting on events in the story, his process and creation, that is if you're reading the Dark Horse edition. I couldn't for the life of me find anything that wasn't the Dark Horse comics. Of all the one off characters that deserve special mention, I do have to mention Pluto and Epsilon, which both appear in the spinoff adaptation written by the mangaka of Monster. They were so perfect to be chosen for a reinterpretation of Astro Boy's stories in a more serious context, because they were very three dimensional and sympathetic. Read it for them.

The art, the paneling, it has very mixed qualities. When it's not doing something racist and made in the 60s, it will have some of the best action flow and paneling you'll see for its era. Not so much with the 50s stories. Way too much explaining in those, they get so very dull. When it leans too much on dialogue without any depth of character, it can feel like a complete waste of time. Trust your gut and know when to skim here.

Overall, I'd say it's worth the read if you're really curious about retro manga or speculative robot sci fi.

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so confused which chapters are included in this entry icedodin - Jan 5, 2025	7 replies	by Lucifrost »» May 15, 2025 6:53 PM
Poll: Tetsuwan Atom Chapter 74 Discussion UnknownGhost5 - Jul 11, 2024	0 replies	by UnknownGhost5 »» Jul 11, 2024 5:10 AM
Poll: Tetsuwan Atom Chapter 1 Discussion valoon - Mar 1, 2016	6 replies	by MSimm »» Feb 7, 2024 9:22 PM
Poll: Tetsuwan Atom Chapter 68 Discussion Terrestrious - Dec 14, 2020	1 replies	by UnknownGhost5 »» Jan 13, 2024 11:25 AM
Poll: Tetsuwan Atom Chapter 67 Discussion Terrestrious - Dec 14, 2020	1 replies	by UnknownGhost5 »» Jan 13, 2024 11:01 AM

Tetsuwan Atom
Astro Boy
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