Common Name: Atom: The Beginning
Score: 7/10, 3/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Action, Mecha
Summary: Long before Tenma Umatarou created Atom (better known as Astro Boy), there had to be a series of innovations and exploration in the world of robots before Atom was even conceptually feasible. This is the story of Tenma and Ochanomizu's college days, working as an outcast science team working to build what they call "a robot with a heart." The closest they've gotten yet is their humanoid robot, A106, a robotic AI built to serve a variety of purposes but, most importantly, has a solid shot at being the next Robo-Wrestling champion.
Review: While I appreciate the challenge the anime industry is presenting me with, I fail to understand why they keep throwing me curveballs. First, they give me shows that are spiritual successors to older classics that don't really add anything to the formula. Then they give me remakes of shows that aired several decades ago. Now I'm left to contend with a kind of prequel that has little to nothing to do with the original series. Clearly, I can't try to make a claim that it's a faithful prequel, if there even is such a thing, since the shows were made for two entirely different audiences--with the original Tetsuwan Atom (aka Astro Boy) being a children's show and Atom: The Beginning being geared more toward a teen or young adult audience. Even if I wanted to make that claim though, I'll admit I'm not even remotely qualified to do so. While it might be blasphemous to say so, Astro Boy has never really interested me. To be fair though, my lack of interest is likely just a result of the fact that I somehow missed every attempt to jump on that bandwagon, since all three iterations of Tetsuwan Atom came out either before my time or after the point where I would have been the intended audience. That being said, I fail to see what choice I have with this show than to analyze it as its own property--a decision that unfortunately doesn't do this "prequel" any favors.
That said, I guess it's time to get to work.
To give something of an introduction to people new to this world and the characters that carry over from the original series, Atom: The Beginning centers mainly on the two people responsible for the creation of Astro Boy, Tenma Umatarou and Ochanomizu Hiroshi. Generally unimpressed with the personality of in the robots of their world, in that they don't really have any personality, these two scientists put their heads together to create the first "robot with a heart" that can act both independently and with its own concept of right and wrong. As most people know, that concept is essentially identical to the design philosophy of Astro. Rather than being a fully realized idea in Astro's case though, Tenma and Ochanomizu are still in the middle of developing the technology and intellectual framework necessary to reach that goal at the start of this series. That being said, it is worth noting that their latest creation, the humanoid robot A106 (pronounced A-10-6), is a solid candidate to being the direct predecessor to Astro. There is, however, one significant roadblock for A106's rise to being the first fully-functional and independent robot with a heart and soul: his creators.
Yeah, calling these two geniuses might be giving them more credit than they deserve.
I prefer the title "idiot savants."
More specifically, the troubles and limitations that A106 suffers are born mainly from the fact that its creators are two entirely different people. Portrayed as something of a chuunibyou, Tenma Umatarou wants nothing more than to create a robot that will simultaneously fulfill his juvenile fantasies and one-up his contemporaries and critics. This concept is mainly realized through his portion of A106's design in that it's built to possess superhuman speed and be powerful enough to crush anything that gets in its way. So, to put it simply, the father of the world's greatest robot is revealed to be nothing more than a petulant man-child who can't stand the idea of being anything less than #1. This is, of course, a pretty big shift in Tenma's character as a cold and enigmatic scientist in the Tetsuwan Atom series. The character of Ochanomizu Hiroshi, on the other hand, seems to align perfectly with his later self in that he is just as much a supportive motherly figure to A106 as he is to Astro in the later series. Not only that, but it is revealed in this show that Ochanomizu is the founder of the technology behind the heart of both A106 and Astro: the Bewußtsein System. This means that Ochanomizu's contribution to the creation of A106 is the AI programming that gives the robot its emotion-capable mind and kind heart. Thus, we are presented with the two halves of the whole genius that birthed the combat-capable and heroically kind robot known as A106.
Not much of a looker is he? Here's the question though: which character am I talking about?
While their combined research and efforts gave birth to a truly amazing robot, one that was not only capable of being a hero but also wanted to do good, there is an inherent issue with their design philosophy. Namely, they have two totally different design philosophies and goals for A106. Where Tenma wants little more than turn A106 into the king of fighting robots, Umatarou simply wants a robot that is capable of caring for itself and others. While both of their dreams are realized during A106's more heroic moments, there is still a massive rift in their ideologies. It's this rift that leads to the main conflict of the show, i.e. the petty (and vaguely homosexual) infighting between A106's "parent's" and a lack of any solid progress on A106's design.
What this lack of agreement between the main characters also does, however, is create a story that has lacks a consistent tone or plot. While it may be appropriate for there to be an odd mix of episodes that show off either A106's power or its kind heart, this format doesn't do the show's pace and its underlying drama any good. There's just nothing particularly engaging or sensible about a show where the hero spends an entire episode saving a dog and then spends another episode judo chopping arms off other robots in a robotic bloodsport. This lack of tonal consistency is then ruined by the fact that the show fails to solidly decide whether it wants to live in a past independent of or directly connected to the Tetsuwan Atom series. To elaborate, the show spends a lot of time distracting from its lack of any meaningful plot by throwing lots of characters at the audience--characters that are both references to the original series and totally new ones who are surprisingly absent from that same series. This strange menagerie of characters presents a huge problem though for this series, though, in that it creates a glaring disconnect between this show and its...future predecessor.
My thoughts exactly.
While I have no issue believing that the girl who is, for whatever reason, romantically interested in Ochanomizu might grow bored of him and fade into the ether, I find it egregiously difficult to believe that his sister, Ran, wouldn't be a figure in Astro's life considering how big an impact she has on A106. Yet it's just a fact that Ochanomizu Ran doesn't exist in the Tetsuwan Atom canon Osamu Tezuka created. Now, if Atom: The Beginning was filled with Tezuka's pre-established characters (of which there are literally hundreds to choose from) this problem wouldn't exist. I'd be able to watch this show and revel in the cameos and references to the shows I do recognize. Heck, it would have also been fine if it was populated with original but totally unimportant characters like Ochanumizu's not-girlfriend since letting them fade into the background would have done the show no harm. Yet, just like the design philosophy regarding A106, the show tries to make sense of a rift between the old and new that doesn't do this show any favors. To be blunt, it's something of a massive problem if you want to take this show seriously as a prequel to Tezuka's classic series.
So, as I said at the beginning, I'm forced to look at this show as its own separate story. Unfortunately, that story amounts to little more than Astro Boy fan fiction. While I'll admit it might be interesting fan fiction, it also suffers from the same issues typical of the genre. It features poor characterization, little to no meaningful plot, and is tonally inconsistent from start to finish. Yet, in spite of all those flaws, I can't help but feel like this fan fiction story also accomplishes its primary goal--telling a story filled with love for the show that started the whole affair. The amount of attention to detail and the overall quality of the art, animation, and music are proof enough to me that the team working on it cared about what they were doing. While it certainly won't win any awards for storytelling or be acknowledged for its use of transhumanism themes, it told a story about Tezuka's characters we haven't seen until now. So, would I recommend this title? I'm gonna leave it at a solid maybe. While I'm not a massive Tezuka fan, I can see how fans of his work would love or hate this show. After all, I was able to do both at the same time. If you aren't familiar with the original Tetsuwan Atom (aka Astro Boy) though, I don't see any reason not to give it a watch. I'll admit I'll be confused as to why you bothered though since doing so would be equivalent to reading a Pokemon fanfic without having seen the show.