Stephen Wells

If Tezuka Osamu and Craig McCracken had a baby, that baby would be Robotboy. Laconic introductions aside, this show has a lot going for it. It has excellent animation for a mid-2000s Cartoon Network show and its fighting choreography is on par with The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack. It also has hilarious physical humour, with the sufferings of characters like Gus and Dr. Kamikaze drawing plenty of laughs. I also like the premise: the series is basically an homage to/parody of Tezuka's legendary anime franchise Astro Boy. And, of course, Robotboy himself is an adorable protagonist, providing an enjoyable mix of childish naivety and violent brutality. However, there are some issues that hold the series back. Firstly, although its physical humour is great, the show uses too many fart jokes. I personally have never found fart jokes to be funny, and reliance on that sort of humour is often a sign of comedic block. In addition, the character of Gus can get EXTREMELY obnoxious when he isn't getting beat up (fortunately, he gets beat up a lot). Secondly, the show isn't exactly "original". As I said, the series is clearly parodying Astro Boy, something that other shows had already done, while its art style is so reminiscent of The Powerpuff Girls that I would have thought that Craig McCracken or Genndy Tartakovsky were involved except that the writing isn't up to their standards (one ad even drew attention to the similarity by having Robotboy cosplay as Bubbles). Lastly, I feel that the show overused Robotboy's "super transformation". Having a more powerful form for use against tough opponents is cool and all, but it starts to lose its impact when it is used in nearly every single episode. So, do I recommend it? Well, if you like Cartoon Network's action-comedy shows like The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Kids Next Door, etc., or if you like Nickelodeon's My Life as a Teenage Robot (another Astro Boy parody that aired in the mid-2000s), then you'll probably like Robotboy. However, if you're expecting this show to match the writing quality of Craig McCracken and Genndy Tartakovsky then you're going to be disappointed. And if you expect this series to tackle the premise of a robotic child with the same maturity and depth as Tezuka Osamu, then Robotboy will definitely let you down. I give it a 3.5/5. It's good, but it's no masterpiece. The fact that the whole series is available for free on YouTube definitely makes it worth checking out, however.

The story of Atom (a.k.a. Astro Boy) is Tezuka Osamu's magnum opus, and almost every single Japanese animator for the past sixty years has been influenced by it in some form or another. Even Walt Disney was a fan. The series has been adapted to television three times so far, with the 1980 series being the second incarnation. Of the three Astro Boy adaptations, this series is arguably the best. Its animation is a noticeable improvement over the first series and holds up fairly well compared to other animated TV shows of the early 80s. It also had the advantage of being able to reference properties that didn't exist when the original was made, such as Star Wars or Tezuka's own Black Jack. Meanwhile, it strikes a far better balance of drama and comedy than the 2003 series, managing to be more lighthearted and optimistic while simultaneously having a MUCH higher body count. I have only three issues with this series, none of which are significant. The first is that Dr. Tenma disappears from the series after two episodes and is never seen again outside of the occasional recap. Tenma was a major character in the manga and (especially) the 2003 reboot, and his absence from this series is disappointing. However, it is hardly deal-breaking, and Atom's rivalry with Atlas makes up for it. The second is that the series doesn't have a proper finale, unlike the other two adaptations. Logically, the best point to end the series would be with the resolution of Atom and Atlas' rivalry, but the show continues for nine more episodes following this. Lastly, the English version of the series omits an episode that is fairly important for the plot, so I would recommend watching it in Japanese if possible. When all is said and done, I would consider this a must-see for fans of Japanese animation. Of course, like most of Tezuka's works, Astro Boy is deceptively dark, so you probably shouldn't show it to younger children unless you're ready to explain concepts like murder, parental neglect, racism, child exploitation, terrorism, and abusive relationships.