The First Official Teaser for ‘Pluto’ Reveals What Could Be the Best Anime of the Year

Osamu Tezuka is often mentioned along with the title of “Father of Manga” and in many ways, he is, thanks to the prolific nature of his works and the fact that he managed to walk the perfect line between entertainment for kids and profound storytelling that took the medium of manga to an entirely new era. Characters like Astro Boy, Kimba, the White Lion, and Black Jack are still present in the audience’s minds even after so long, and thus the influence of Tezuka cannot be understated. Pluto is a new anime series based on the Astro Boy Universe, and Netflix has released the first official teaser for it.

Pluto is based on a manga of the same name written and illustrated not by Tezuka, who sadly passed away at the age of 60 in 1989, but by Naoki Urasawa, a more contemporary manga artist that has acquired an amazing reputation after having created some authentic manga masterpieces, such as Monster, 20th Century Boys, Billy Bat, and others.

Urasawa wrote and illustrated this manga as a reinterpretation of one of Astro Boy’s story arcs, named “The Greatest Robot on Earth.” Urasawa takes the story’s premise and transforms it into a detective story that ends up having much more in common with something like Blade Runner than with Astro Boy itself.

Nevertheless, the manga became a success both in sales and with the critics, winning numerous prizes and being considered by the critics and the audience as a must-read, even if you don’t usually read the manga. Although Urasawa’s reputation as a master storyteller is unshakable, his stories don’t often get translated into anime adaptations.

We got the adaptations of both Monster and Master Keaton in the late 1990s and early 2000s while Yawara! Got one in the late 1980s. It is great to see that more of Urasawa’s works are finding their way to the anime realm, as they are stories that everyone should experience at least once.

The anime adaptation is being produced by Studio M2, which has spent more than six years producing the series. The trailer shows that the wait was worth it, as the visuals, sound, and aesthetics are just some of the best we have seen this year and probably for the next couple of years to come.

The series is being directed by Toshio Kawaguchi, with character designs by Shigeru Fujita, following the manga template, of course, and the music is composed by Yugo Kanno, known for his work in Psycho-Pass and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Pluto tells the story of Detective Gesitch, who will start an investigation involving the deaths of several humans and robots. The mystery of the case will take him into a rabbit hole of conspiracies, betrayals, dangerous shootouts, and even question his own existence. This will certainly be one of the year’s best anime, so do not miss it.

Pluto will be released exclusively on Netflix on October 26, 2023