From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Astro Boy (1980 TV series)
Astro Boy (1980 TV series)
Astro Boy installed. After seeing Skunk thrown out, Tenma’s nine-
year-old son Tobio tries to console his father by suggest-
鉄腕アトム ing he make a robot shaped like a child.
(Tetsuwan Atomu)
Atomu)
Inspired, Tenma sets the Ministry of Science to work,
Genre Action, Adventure, Science fiction accidentally infringing on his promise to take Tobio to
an amusement park. Upset, Tobio drives an aerocar home
Manga
and crashes into an oncoming truck. On his deathbed, To-
TV anime bio makes his father promise to name his boy robot "To-
Studio Tezuka Productions bio", make it the strongest robot in the world, and love it
like a son. Tenma does so, making a 100,000 horsepower
Network NTV (75,000 kW) robot capable of flight, equipped with lasers
English Radio Philippines Network (1984), RJTV and machine guns. Soon after, Skunk duplicates the blue-
network (1995), Southern Broadcasting Network (1998), prints and takes them to Count Walpurgis, who aspires
Hero TV (2006), GMA (2009) to put the Omega Factor into a robot and use it for world
Syndication (1986), WTGI (1986) domination.
Syndication (English, 1985-1995), Radio- Afraid of the potential threat Tenma’s robot could
Canada (French, 1985-1990), TV Land pose to humanity, the Prime Minister of Japan ordered
(2000-2007)
the robot dismantled by the next night. Tenma secretly
ABC (1983), Nickelodeon (1990s),
Boomerang (2008-2009) finishes the robot that night, only showing his two as-
sistants that "Tobio" exists, and takes him home to raise
Original 1 October 1980 – 23 December 1981 him. After various mishaps with raising the robot, Tobio’s
run
mind goes blank and his eyes start blinking red, and he is
Episodes 52 summoned to wait in the middle of town. Atlas, Walpur-
gis’ new super robot, has just been activated and was con-
Related works
necting to Tobio. When the connection process fails, To-
• Astro Boy bio regained his senses, only to be struck down by a robot
• Astro Boy (2003 TV series) disposal tank piloted by Tenma, Honda, and Ushiyama.
The disposal tank malfunctions and goes berserk. Tobio
Astro Boy (鉄腕アトム, Tetsuwan Atomu, lit. "Mighty recovers and saves everyone in the vicinity of the mal-
Atom") is a remake of the 1960s anime series of the same function. Recovering in hospital, Tenma realizes the pub-
name; both series are adapted from the manga by Osamu lic will discover that Tobio exists, and decides to take To-
Tezuka. bio on an ocean cruise to America.
This series, which first aired during the 1980s, placed Tobio struggles to control his strength. After a disas-
more focus on Astro’s robotic skills and a somewhat dark- trous meal on the cruise, Tenma disowns the robot as his
er storyline than the previous incarnation of the series. son. Tobio hides on deck and is tricked into signing him-
While mostly light-hearted, the series could be quite self into a contract of slavery to the ringmaster Hamegg,
sombre and sad at times. It was not uncommon in the se- who runs the Robot Circus. Tobio later discovers Atlas
ries for robots or human characters to suffer for their ac- nearby and fights him, loses most of his energy, and is
tions or the misdeeds of others. taken away. However, Temna begins resenting disowning
The series ran for 52 episodes (edited down to 51 for disowning Tobio while searching for him, not know-
episodes for the English versions). ing he is put away in Hamegg’s suitcase. At the circus,
Tobio is renamed "Astro Boy" and is treated badly by
Initial plot Hamegg, but taught and cared for by a worker named
Kathy. Dr. Ochanomizu, a local scientist, discovers Ten-
The first episode set in future Tokyo, the year 2030.[1].
ma’s lost robot at the circus, and with Kathy’s help, gets
The Minister of Science, Dr. Tenma, is attempting to cre-
Astro out of the circus. Dr. Ochanomizu becomes the new
ate a robot capable of expressing human emotions. After
head of the Ministry of Science. From there, Astro Boy
his fourth failed attempt, Tenma is approached by a
learns more about the world and becomes the defender
shady man named Skunk Kusai, who offers him an
of Tokyo and beyond.
"Omega Factor" circuit which will humanize a robot if
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Astro Boy (1980 TV series)
Characters getting his promise to take Tobio to the amusement park.
As a result, Tobio decides to go on his own and crashes
the robot car, dying from the accident.
Astro Boy Dr. Tenma continues to work on the boy robot, and
Main article: Astro Boy (character) when the project finally reaches completion calls the ro-
Astro has a strong sense of morality and is always gentle bot Tobio, after his son. However, Tobio’s (Astro) inabili-
and kind towards others. Astro is a super powered robot, ty to control his own strength begins to infuriate Dr. Ten-
with seven secret super powers[2] designed to look exact- ma, and while on a cruise, Dr. Tenma angrily disowns
ly like Tobio, the son of his creator. Dr. Tenma initially Tobio. Dr. Tenma is last seen mournfully calling out for
treated Astro like a real boy as a replacement for his son Tobio, and is not seen through the remainder of the se-
who died in a car accident. However, Astro Boy was clum- ries.[4] He is voiced by Tamio Ōki, and Del Lewis (Ameri-
sy from an inability to control his strength. After being can version).
rejected by Dr. Tenma, Astro joins Hamegg’s Robot Cir-
cus, where he learns to control his powers, and meets Dr. Professor Ochanomizu
Ochanomizu. He is unsure of his destiny in the beginning, Main article: Professor Ochanomizu
but gains confidence as the story unfolds. • Dr. Elefun (American dub), Dr. Cole Green, later Professor
Throughout the series, Atlas attempts to persuade Peabody (Canadian Dub), Professor Caudrine (French dub)
Astro to help Atlas conquer the world. By design, both Succeeding Dr. Tenma as Minister of Science, Dr. Ochan-
Astro and Atlas were created from the same blueprints, omizu rescues Astro Boy from Hamegg’s Robot Circus.
and so are considered to be brothers. However, Astro re- Dr. Ochanomizu is a robot rights advocate and creates
fuses to help Atlas in his quest for world domination. the "Robot Bill of Rights", which allows robots to be of
He is voiced by Mari Shimizu, Patricia Kugler Whitely equal status of humans. He often acts as a surrogate fa-
(American version) and then-12-year-old Steven Bed- ther for Astro Boy, providing him with advice and in-
narski (Canadian version). formation. Early into the series, Dr. Ochanomizu builds
Astro a mother, father, and a little sister named Uran. He
Uran is voiced by Hisashi Katsuta and Brian Parry (American
Main article: Uran (character) version).
• Sarah (Canadian dub), Uranie (French dub)
Uran is Astro’s naive but determined little sister. She was Atlas
"born" on New Years Day, built by Dr. Ochanomizu as a Astro’s half-brother and arch enemy, he was created by
gift to Astro. She has half the power of her brother (with Walpurgis and Skunk who copied Astro’s original design
50,000 horsepower) but is quite powerful. Uran is depict- plans. Atlas was designed with a similar child-like look,
ed as a cute, tomboyish little girl. and was planned to be used in theft, but Atlas turned
Despite this, Uran is generally a good-hearted girl and out to be too naive and unprepared for criminal use.
is shown to be rather attached to Astro and generally After this, Walpurgis installed an Omega Factor into At-
looks up to him. (this is shown after Astro saves her from las, which allowed him to defy the robot laws. After at-
becoming a slave in episode 14.) tacking Walpurgis and Skunk for destroying Livian and
In contrast to the 1960s series, Uran occupied a less being heavily damaged himself, he rebuilt his own body
prominent position in the general storyline, and her ap- and Livian’s, along with a horse and an electric sword.
pearance was revised to make her softer and rounder, The new Atlas believed robots are superior to human be-
possibly to appeal to female viewers. Many times, she ings, and repeatedly asked Astro to join him in taking
was the star of a few episodes, all of which had a special over the world. Atlas and Astro share many of the same
ending theme with pictures of Uran in costumes. Uran is powers and abilities.
voiced by Masako Sugaya and Becke Wilenski (American The new Atlas and Livian are adult in appearance.
version).[3] Over the course of the series, Atlas gained a floating crys-
tal castle and dealt with Walpurgis and Skunk again.
Doctor Tenma Later, Atlas sacrifices himself and Livian to save Earth
Main article: Dr. Tenma from alien invaders. He is voiced by Katsuji Mori and Paul
• Doctor Boynton (American dub), Professor Balfus Nelson (American version).
(Canadian dub)
After several robot design failures, Dr. Tenma created Higeoyaji
Astro Boy from a suggestion from his son, Tobio. Dr. Ten- • Victor (later Percival) Pompous (American dub, first
ma zealously worked on creating a robot that would be animated series) Daddy Walrus (American dub, second
able to act and behave like a real human. In his zealous animated series), Max McNugget (Canadian dub),
search to obtain his goal, Dr. Tenma neglected Tobio, for- Monsieur Morse (French dub)
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Astro Boy (1980 TV series)
Real name Shunsaku Ban (Albert Duncan in the American Skunk went to Tokyo and started up a gang, whom
dub), Daddy Walrus is Astro’s teacher. Throughout the briefly used the adult Atlas to commit several robberies
series, Mr. Pompous/Daddy Walrus is portrayed as a judo when Atlas returned. Throughout the rest of the series,
expert, an efficient private eye, and a keen flower Skunk utilizes various robots for his own doings, most fa-
arranger. As a trained martial artist, a recurring joke mously in the episode "The Light Ray Robot". He devel-
is Pompous reacting in terror when confronted, but in- ops a strong hate for Astro because of the boy’s constant
stantly rallying courage and "polishing off" an adversary interference with Skunk’s work. At times, the latter tries
twice his size. A sharp advocate for Robotic rights, he is to destroy or taunt him. He is voiced by Seizō Katō and
one of Astro’s strongest supporters, and frequently en- Jay Rath (American version).
gages in vitriolic arguments with the formidale Inspector
Gumshoe. While loud, brash and comically short-tem- Tobio Tenma
pered, Pompous/Daddy Walrus regards Astro and Uran • Toby Boynton (American dub)
with genuine affection and would willingly risk his life An 9 year old boy who is the son of Doctor Tenma who
on their behalf. He is voiced by Kazuo Kumakura, Gilbert was fatally wounded in a car accident; after being ne-
Mack (first animated American dub) and Bob Gonzalez glected by his father he goes in his car alone and crashes
(second animated American dub). into an oncoming truck. Whilst on his deathbed at the
Tokyo hospital he tells his father to create a robot who
Livian looks liked him. After his final words spoken to his father
• Selene (Canadian dub), Vivian (French dub) he dies in his father’s arms. He is voiced by Mari Shimizu,
Livian was formerly Walpurgis’s robot maid, who be- Patricia Kugler Whitely (American version) and Steven
friended the young Atlas and took care of him. She was Bednarski (Canadian version). And he appears in episode
destroyed for accidentally breaking a decorative gar- 1 and 2
goyle, and as a result, Atlas went hysterical and attacked
Walpurgis. Atlas rebuilt Livian and himself as adult ro- Others
bots, making Livian look like a princess. She is the only • - Voiced by Takeshi Kuwabara
person to show compassion to Atlas, and in turn, he nev- • - Voiced by Misako Hibino
er harms her. Livian once leaves his crystal castle to warn • - Voiced by Ichirō Nagai
Astro about Atlas’s plans, and later tells Astro that he and • - Voiced by Yūsaku Yara
Atlas are brothers. She is voiced by Keiko Yokozawa and • - One of Astro’s classmates. Voiced by Kumiko
Becky Wilenski (American version). Takizawa
• - One of Astro’s classmates. Voiced by Kazuya
Jump Tatekabe
• Blip (Canadian dub), Plume (French dub) • - One of Astro’s classmates. Voiced by Yōko
Jump is a yellow dog with brown patches, and the pet Matsuoka
dog of Tobio. Jump was loyal to his master and rushed • - One of Astro’s classmates. Voiced by Saeko Shimazu
to the scene after Tobio crashed the car and died. When • - Voiced by Shōzō Iizuka
Astro was first introduced to Jump, Jump was afraid and • - Voiced by Ichirō Nagai
didn’t like him. It is unknown how Dr. Ochanomizu found • - Voiced by Nachi Nozawa
him, but when Astro visits his new home and parents • - Voiced by Junko Hori
for the first time, Jump is also with them. Jump grows to • - Voiced by Yū Mizushima
like Astro and his family, though Uran does not have the
same amount of respect for Jump that Astro has.
Broadcast
Skunk Kusai There are two different English language dubs: the ver-
• Slippery (Canadian dub), Sirius (French dub) sion coordinated by Tezuka Productions and NTV and
An enigmatic thief and mob leader in Tokyo, known for dubbed in the USA. in 1982, which aired in Australia be-
his blue skin and bloodhound eyes. In the beginning of ginning in 1983. The same version of the series had a
the series, he is working with Walpurgis in order to copy very limited release in the U.S.[5](Broadcasts in the U.S.
Astro’s design blueprints. Skunk was assigned to teach were limited to syndication in a few markets, like the
Atlas, but after becoming frustrated with him, the major- Philadelphia-Wilmington area where it aired at 10:30am
ity of the teaching was done by Livian. After Skunk set weekdays in 1986 on what was then WTGI—channel
up Astro and Atlas’s first battle, Walpurgis destroyed Li- 61.[6])
vian, and Skunk just barely got away from Atlas’s hyster- The other version was heavily-edited and redubbed
ical backlash. in Canada in 1985, solely for broadcast there. In the Cana-
dian version, most of the characters had different names
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Astro Boy (1980 TV series)
from their American counterparts. Due to laws which re- List of episodes
quired a specific amount of Canadian content, the Cana-
dian version featured a pre-title sequence which re-
capped Astro’s origin, and an epilogue where Astro References
would give a brief report about each episode’s adventure [1] "Astro Boy Collection Box Set". DVD Talk.
to a computer named Geronimo. Astro’s report would al- http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/19177/astro-
ways contain a minor error about the story, and a narra- boy-collection-box-set/. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
tor would encourage the viewers to find Astro’s mistake, [2] Astro Boy: The Greatest Robot in the World - Part 1
and compare answers with their friends. [3] http://www.rebeccaortese.com/about.html
The US-dubbed version of the 1980 series has since [4] Astro Boy: The Birth of Astro Boy
been released on DVD by Madman Entertainment and [5] "Astro Boy: The Complete Box Set Review".
Manga Entertainment, although there are differences be- TVShowsOnDVD.com.
tween the Madman and Manga Entertainment sets. Mad- http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/reviews/
man’s set contains more deleted scenes, as well as the Astroboy-Complete-Series/5266. Retrieved
first two episodes, unedited (in Japanese with English 2008-09-28.
subtitles). The Manga Entertainment set has a newly- [6] TV Guide Vol. 34 No. 37/ September 13, 1986/ Issue
edited Japanese language track to go with the U.S. ver- # 1746 (Philadelphia Edition) Pages A-22, A-86,
sion of the first episode.[7] The 1980s series of Astro Boy A-114, A-137, A-159, A-180 Triangle Publications,
is also available on iTunes and can be streamed on hu- Inc. (1986) ISSN 0039-8543
lu.com. [7] Frederick Patten (2002-05-31). "New from Japan:
Anime Film Reviews". Animation World Magazine.
Episodes AWN Inc.. http://mag.awn.com/
index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=1408&page=1.
Though there is a rough story progression throughout Retrieved 3 January 2009.
the series, it need not necessarily be watched in order,
something reflected by the fact that the English broad-
cast order was significantly different from the original External links
Japanese broadcast order. Some scenes were also cut for • Astro-Boy.net
the English version, usually because of violence. The final • Astro Boy (1980s TV series) at YouTube
episode of the original Japanese broadcast, "Astro’s First • Astroboy (anime) at Anime News Network’s
Love", featured an introduction by Osamu Tezuka him- Encyclopedia
self. • Astroboy at the Internet Movie Database
• Astroboy at TV.com
The "lost" episode • Astro Boy 1980 anime at TezukaOsamu@World
The first two episodes of the series were edited into one
episode, completely removing the subplot of Atlas’s ori-
gin. This later caused confusion for many audiences, as
there were many references to Atlas’s childhood in later
episodes. The voice actor Jay Rath (Skunk) once an-
nounced that there had been a complete English dub
for the first two episodes, and that he had no idea the
episodes were edited together, as they were initially
blended together for a 45-minute special pilot episode. In
late 2008, Rath organized a successful search for the com-
plete pilot, although it is not known if the original reel is
in good enough condition or if it will be released.
The two episodes are available in their complete
state, in Japanese-with-subtitles only, on the Madman
Entertainment DVD release.
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Astro Boy (1980 TV series)
Ep Dub Episode title
# #
1 1 The Birth Of Astroboy
2 1 Astro Boy vs. Atlas
3 2 Robot Circus
4 3 Save The Classmate
5 4 Atlas Lives Again
6 5 Robot Land
7 6 Frankenstein
8 7 The Red Cat
9 8 The Crystal Of The Desert
10 9 The White Planet
11 10 A Robot President
12 11 Goliath’s Head
13 12 The Light Ray Robot
14 13 Uran The Tomboy
15 14 Robio And Robiette
16 15 Astro Fights Aliens
17 16 Save The Carolina 3 January 28, 1981 August 20, 1982
18 17 The Rainbow Comet February 4, 1981 August 27, 1982
19 18 The Death Balloon February 11, 1981 September 3, 1982
20 19 The Transformation Robot February 18, 1981 September 10, 1982
21 20 The Wreck Of The Titan February 25, 1981 September 17, 1982
22 21 The Liar Robot March 4, 1981 September 24, 1982
23 22 The Girl From Alsoar March 11, 1981 October 1, 1982
24 23 The Greatest Robot In The World (Part 1) March 18, 1981 October 8, 1982
25 24 The Greatest Robot In The World (Part 2) March 25, 1981 October 15, 1982
26 25 The Robot Vikings April 1, 1981 October 22, 1982
27 26 The Time Machine April 8, 1981 October 29, 1982
28 27 The Robot Stuntman April 29, 1981 November 5, 1982
29 28 The Great Meltdown May 6, 1981 November 12, 1982
30 29 Uran’s Twin May 13, 1981 November 19, 1982
31 30 Speeding Through The Storm June 3, 1981 November 26, 1982
32 31 The Return Of Queen Cleopatra June 17, 1981 December 3, 1982
33 32 The Runaway Subway Train July 1, 1981 December 10, 1982
34 33 The Baby Elephant Pook July 8, 1981 December 17, 1982
35 34 The Secret Of Bee City July 15, 1981 December 24, 1982
36 35 The Monster Of Clarken July 22, 1981 December 31, 1982
37 36 Lilly On Peligro Island August 5, 1981 January 7, 1983
38 37 The Anti-Proton Gun August 19, 1981 January 14, 1983
39 38 The Man-Made Solar Sphere September 2, 1981 January 21, 1983
5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Astro Boy (1980 TV series)
40 39 Blackie Young September 16, 1981 January 28, 1983
41 40 The Genie From Outer Space September 23, 1981 February 4, 1983
42 41 The Robots Nobody Wanted October 14, 1981 February 11, 1983
43 42 Atlas Forever October 21, 1981 February 18, 1983
44 43 The Snow Leopard October 28, 1981 February 25, 1983
45 44 Uran’s Quest November 4, 1981 March 4, 1983
46 45 Outer Spaceport R-45 November 11, 1981 March 11, 1983
47 46 The Hijacked Airship November 18, 1981 March 18, 1983
48 47 The Human-Faced Rock November 25, 1981 March 25, 1983
49 48 Uran Falls In Love December 2, 1981 April 1, 1983
50 49 The World Of Odin December 9, 1981 April 8, 1983
51 50 The Secret Of The Mayas December 16, 1981 April 15, 1983
52 51 Astro’s First Love December 23, 1981 April 22, 1983
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