Pluto
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka

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Pluto – Spoiler Free – Recommended

TLDR
Story – 8/10 – 8 x 0.275 = 2,2
Art – 9/10 – 9 x 0.2 = 1,8
Characters – 8/10 – 8 x 0.225 = 1,8
Enjoyment – 8/10 – 8 x 0.3 = 2,4
Total: 8,2 -> 8

Story – 8/10
... Pluto’s story is special: it is the mixture of two genius mangaka – Osamu Tezuka and Naoki Urasawa – that resulted in an adaptation of one of Astroboy’s Arc – The Greatest Robot on Earth – by the pen of Urasawa’s impeccable story-telling abilities.
The story, designed to be a reinterpretation of Tezuka’s arc, follows a detective’s story through the suspenseful and thrilleresque webs of the world of the most advanced robots. It is a reimagining of a world where robots coexist and form an integral part of society, be it as pets, detectives, or regular citizens.
We are introduced to Gesicht, an Europol robot and one of the most advanced robot in the world, as he investigates the murder of Mont Blanc, another very advanced robot in Switzerland.
One is quickly immersed in the plot and Urasawa doesn’t lose time in gripping the reader with a succession of cliffhangers and suspense ridden moments. It is a very engaging story and quite entertaining to read – especially if you are already a fan of his previous works, such as Monster. If you are, you will quickly detect his touch in the story, based with realism and a sense of stakes. Like in Monster, Urasawa is able to maintain the sense of tension throughout the entirety of the manga – without a doubt, a feat. Moreover, the story is robust enough to sustain itself even without its main character – Gesicht. He shows, once more, why he is one of the most influential mangaka of his generation.
One of the main topics of Pluto is definitely the relationship between humans and robots, as well as Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics – that are here elevated as rule of law. More than just a quick reflection, what Urasawa proposes is a deep questioning about emotions in robots, how emotions can create the perfect robot, how can robots love one another, how can they detect emotions, the mimicking of humanity as a way of integrating in human society, what is, in fact, being human, and, naturally, the role of memory in shaping the robots as individuals. Robot rights are, thus, discussed and are a central part of Pluto.
Robots don’t fit the story as enemies of humanity, nor as diametrical opposed to them. Instead, Pluto takes a step further and blurs the line between human and robot, friend and foe, good and evil – in the sense that evil requires a will, a intention, and an emotion.
One of the strong points of Pluto is the worldbuilding: from a federated Europe, where Germany takes a role, to a futuristic society, Pluto has it all. One also notes Urasawa’s tendency towards some Germanophilia – as is seen in some of his other stories – or, at least, his tendency towards putting German names and German cities in his stories.

Art – 9/10
Urasawa’s artstyle is always impeccable. The art that sustains the worldbuilding is stellar, full of movement, details and a great shadowing. Character design is rich and expressive; emotions are used with great proficiency. It is also quite balanced – i.e., it fits the world perfectly, with no over-the-top elements. There are almost no awe-inspiring panels, although base art is great.

Characters – 8/10
The cast is of great quality. Robots play a major role in the development of the story, although they bear emotions, complicating everything further. The bluring of the line between robots and humans – emotionless machines and creatures with emotions – is very relevant to development of the characters, and form part of several individual character arcs. Moreover, as already mentioned, and without going into spoilers the cast is able to sustain the story even without this main character.
There is also an element of playing God, where characters aim to create, through robotics, the perfect sentient being. This adds a degree of complexity to the pride and ego of the human characters.

Enjoyment – 8/10
The enjoyment of Pluto can only be high. The union of Tezuka and Urasawa is a perfect blend that keeps the reader hooked for hours. The story is filled with cliffhangers, being a thriller of great quality. Moreover, it makes us questions our relationships with robots, what makes us humans, and how emotions play a role in defining everything. For all these reasons, it can only receive a recommendation.

Pluto is a mystery manga series written by Naoki Urasawa and illustrated by Takashi Nagasaki. It is a reimagining of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy, focusing on the story of Gesicht, a robot detective who investigates the mysterious deaths of seven other robots.

The manga is set in a future where robots are commonplace and have been granted equal rights to humans. However, when a series of robot murders rocks the world, Gesicht is tasked with finding the culprit. As he investigates, Gesicht uncovers a dark conspiracy that threatens to ignite a war between humans and robots.

Pluto is a masterfully crafted manga that combines elements of mystery, ... science fiction, and philosophy. Urasawa's writing is intelligent and thought-provoking, exploring themes such as the nature of humanity, the role of robots in society, and the dangers of artificial intelligence.

The manga also features stunning artwork by Nagasaki. The characters are expressive and well-designed, and the action scenes are dynamic and exciting.

Overall, Pluto is a must-read for fans of manga, mystery, and science fiction. It is a well-written and beautifully illustrated story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Here are some of the things that I loved about Pluto:

The complex and well-developed characters. Gesicht is a particularly fascinating protagonist, and his relationship with the other characters is complex and nuanced.
The suspenseful and thrilling plot. Urasawa does a great job of keeping the reader guessing until the very end.
The thought-provoking themes. Pluto explores a number of complex themes in a way that is both intelligent and engaging.
The stunning artwork. Nagasaki's artwork is simply beautiful. The characters are expressive and well-designed, and the action scenes are dynamic and exciting.
Overall, I give Pluto a 9/10. It is a masterfully crafted manga that I highly recommend to all fans of mystery, science fiction, and philosophy.

I used to think classic works were not so generic, perhaps my perception was wrong. As I came across Pluto’s ending it sure felt generic.

Anyway, to start, the first 2 volumes were really great, I was so invested in it but after that somewhere along the way I couldn’t find the same enjoyment & wanted to finish it as soon as possible. The anti robot religious group had potential but wasted it very hilariously. And what happened to Adolf and his family afterwards? They just left him alone or what?
Why did Gesicht have so much hatred? Why was his memory erased? So many ... questions left untold.

Being the greatest of Robots except Gesicht and Atom all the others were lackluster! What was the point of being called the advanced destruction weapons when you can’t even behave like a robot, like they were literally more human than humans themselves. Don’t even talk about feats, except Gesicht and Atom all the other robots were feat less fodder man how can they be called the greatest of robots when they acted kinda pathetic or should I a even a human could have done better for the story with a Iron man suit than those robots.

Gesicht was charismatic and as a character entertaining but the moment he died This manga lost its charm and I lost my will. Gesicht could have finished the story,It was his duty, responsibility but no the author had to revive Atom.
Antagonist of this Manga was also a disappointment. I don't know how the robots lost to that piece of crap! “God of war” what a pathetic joke!

The art was good and in some panels great, no complaints in that part, It was detailed enough for my taste.

I don’t really think this work should be considered a masterpiece as it seems a lot of people think that way. But there were some good parts too. Certainly this is not a bad manga or perhaps I expected a little more.