.png)
2 weeks ago
13
Ever since the manga industry was created, there have been quite a few manga creators who have managed to leave a legendary impact on the community. One of them is Naoki Urasawa, the creator of widely successful projects like Monster, 20th Century Boys, Master Keaton, Billy Bat, etc. Urasawa has been deemed by many as the best storyteller in the industry.
Monster by Naoki Urasawa | Credit: Studio MadhouseHowever, one of his biggest works is Pluto, the dark interpretation of Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka. Astro Boy follows the story of a young android boy with human emotions who goes through different aspects of life and tries to make a place for himself in society. The story was a big influence on Japanese television and ultimately earned global fame.
After being influenced by Astro Boy, Urasawa decided to make it in his own tone and called it Pluto. The series was much darker but it became even more famous than Astro Boy. But Urasawa a few years ago decided that he is no longer going to interpret other works and might focus on creating a fresh story from the beginning.
Naoki Urasawa’s Thoughts About Osamu Tezuka’s Work
In 2019, Urasawa was interviewed by Crunchyroll during the “This is Manga – the Art of Naoki Urasawa” exhibition at Japan House Los Angeles. During the interview, Urasawa was asked about Pluto and what his thoughts were about Tezuka’s work, which majorly focused on children’s manga. Urasawa made a startling revelation about Tezuka’s different series.
Urasawa stated:
I think that the idea of Tezuka’s work being lighthearted is a common misconception–his stories are actually very, very dark. I think when it’s been animated and adapted into many different formats, the general consensus about Tezuka’s work is that it is “pure” and “family friendly.”
Astro Boy even aired on primetime TV in Japan. In this way, his work has sort of been reimagined as very wholesome and safe content, but if you really look at Tezuka’s work on a deeper level, it’s very dark.
Although Tezuka’s work feels light-hearted and easy to read, it has a deeper meaning behind it that many fans ignore.
Pluto by Naoki Urasawa | Credit: Viz MediaUrasawa was able to understand the dark themes behind his stories because he wanted to adapt them into something different and a little darker.
Naoki Urasawa Felt Pain After Recreating Pluto
While talking about Tezuka’s themes in his works, Naoki Urasawa also revealed that although he earned a lot of recognition for recreating Pluto from Astro Boy, he won’t interpret any other work of his or any other manga creator. This is because he felt immensely pressured by the weight of the fans’ expectations.
Pluto | Credit: Viz MediaUrasawa pointed out:
I’m a very big fan of Tezuka’s work, so I think that sheer amount of respect really affected me as I was working on Pluto. That enormous amount of pressure that I felt both from outside and within myself began to affect my health, and that’s a big reason I don’t want to do that again.
Urasawa had a lot of physical problems while dealing with the pressure of working on someone else’s work. Thus, it is understandable that he no longer wants to interpret others and make something of his own.
Ursawa’s experience and his fame as one of the greatest manga creators in the industry is a pressure in itself and hopefully, the creator will soon come up with a new project soon that will once again make him shine in the industry.
Pluto manga is available to read on Viz Media.
Bengali (BD) · 
English (US) ·