The Fall 2022 Manga Guide

ATOM: The Beginning

What's It About? 

ATOM: The Beginning is an original manga based on the God of Manga Osamu Tezuka's world-famous series Astro Boy. It works both as a prequel to the original series, telling the stories of the developers of the artificial intelligence that would eventually give birth to the iconic Atom, and as a stand-alone sci-fi manga about the turbulent lives of two robotic engineering students and their latest revolutionary project: the unassuming yet insanely strong A106, or “Six.”

ATOM: The Beginning is based on Osamu Tezuka's original idea and conceptualized by Masami Yuuki. Tetsuro Kasahara drew the manga's art with supervision by Makoto Tezuka. English translation is provided by Jonathan Clements, with lettering by Jessica Burton. Titan Comics will release the first volume on October 11.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Christopher Farris

Rating:

The appeal of ATOM: The Beginning seems to lie in the gimmick of its central premise: A prequel to the formative legend that is Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy. And that element is present to be sure. There's an inherent amusement in seeing a procession of Young And Hot versions of classic Tezuka stars like Hiroshi Ochanomizu, Umataro Tenma, and Shunsaku Ban. And the framing feeds into analyzing the main characters' work with artificial intelligence, robotics, and interactions with others that might shape their roles in Astro's life much later on. Combine that with overall world-building, and artist Tetsuro Kasahara's efforts in threading the needle between Tezuka's distinctive, iconic designs and more modern sensibilities, and you have a recipe for a particularly unique production of hybrid nostalgia.

That said, you don't actually need to have any specific attachment or even familiarity with Astro Boy to enjoy ATOM: The Beginning. The actual story that's here functions perfectly fine on its own, prequel or no. It definitely helps that the franchise's foundational concepts of robot/human integration and advancements have always been extremely fertile science fiction ground, and this manga's focus on the professors behind such a monumental future advancement allows for some interesting angles of exploration. Current primary prototype robot Six is a major component of the story, yes, but much more of the framing is about Hiroshi and Umataro, and how their goals and desires for their A.I. project intersect with their efforts to secure funding and sway other members of their scientific community on the validity of their approach. As well, the dynamic between the two of them comes across well, being effectively predicated on a mutual understanding and reassurance of their place in the story as the resident eccentric geniuses. It's nice.

That aforementioned art by Kasahara also lends ATOM: The Beginning enough of its distinctive flair that anyone could get into it. A lot of the mechanical details are based around being dense and complex, but still made up of believable, recognizable components apart from just being generic greebles. That kind of practiced effort comes through in things like the action scenes as well, which look very direct and readable even when presenting all this otherwise complicated, centrally-appealing robot action. I love the sketchy borders on some of the integrated sound effects. So did publisher Titan Manga, apparently, since they included a page where they opted not to replace the stylized Japanese text in some word bubbles and simply provide translation text next to them. Plus I did spot a couple of typos in the dialogue in places. Apart from those issues though, this makes for a solid intro for a series like this, one you might give a look to even absent any prior investment in its forebear.

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Jean-Karlo Lemus

Rating:

An alleged prequel to a beloved work is always a tricky, contentious thing. That you'd try to make a prequel to Osamu Tezuka's manga is another matter. Atom has a tall challenge ahead of it... and yet, somehow, manages to clear the hurdle. I'm definitely thrown off by this prequel-series being set in a mostly modern-seeming era with cell phones, especially since the original Astro Boy has so much of a raygun-gothic aesthetic (even in its modern adaptations). But I appreciate that some effort is put into giving characters wardrobes that do seem evocative of the 60s. While the art and character designs are never going to be as great as Tezuka's, I am wowed and charmed by the interpretations of all the classic designs: the young Ochanomizu still has his round head and bulbous nose, the young Tenma still has his bangs. The young Shunsaku Ban is handsome in his youth, but his father bears the common round head and long mustache that his son will age into in his future. While Atom isn't even a twinkle in Tenma's eyes, he still speaks greatly of the potential of robots—and his and Ochanomizu's creation, A106, is titled as having “six great superpowers” (even though he's just a prototype, and has none).

Far from a deep story exploring the origins of the Astro Boy universe, ATOM: The Beginning chooses a much more humerous approach: focusing on the logistics of the lead duo being able to construct robots. We end with the pair pursuing robot wrestling, where they encounter the super-prototype Mars (a reference to Jetter Mars, perhaps?). Up until then, A106's capacity for not only great strength but also Kokoro (heart) is displayed.

While much of the appeal comes from seeing reinventions of classic Tezuka characters, it's thankfully a cute science-fiction story outside of that, focusing on two inspired underdogs who are just slaving away to get the funds to continue their research project. The art is lavish when focusing on robotics; it's sadly functional when it focuses on humans. There is also something to be said for the female cast and how little they so far achieve in this story—Ran doesn't even have any speaking lines, and we don't know how Doctor Lolo factors into things (she's just an enigmatic figure). Motoko also just seems to be there to vamp on Ochanomizu. Nevertheless, this is a fantastic read; it's a must if you love Astro Boy, and nevertheless strongly recommended for everyone else.