Why do 1980 Astro's "arm joints" show?

[AprilSeven]

This just occurred to me . . . in the very first episode of the 1980's anime we see Dr. Tenma pulling a stretchy "skin" over Astro's body which made him appear "human" (including his speedo, skin and "hair").

And yet . . . throughout the 80's anime, the artists draw in "joint marks" at his wrists, elbows, shoulders and sometimes at his neck (but not at his knees or ankles - even if he isn't wearing boots).

What adds to this oddity is that other robots - Livian for instance - do not display the tell-tale "joint marks."

In the original manga, Astro was indeed "jointed" - so maybe this is a nod to his original design, but it seems a little incongruous!

Anybody else notice this?

[Astragirl]

I kk

[BlueCore]

i agree! this is very strange. I also didnt notice that in the series he doesnt have finger nail until "astros first love"..... thats something that a human would have, so why did tenma not give him any???

[Satus]

I liked the joints on the 1980's Astro Boy. Although now that you mention it, it is weird that they appear. Maybe his "skin" eventually got a permanent crease of some kind from his actual joints?

[Nora]

Perhaps other people didn't have the money for a fitted body suit and had there bodies painted? I mean come on Tenma was loaded

[Astro Forever]

Yes, I had noticed this too. It didn't seem odd that Astro's joints would show throughout the "skin" (for the reason mentioned by Satus), but I did notice that not all robots were displaying them. I would think this would serve as a reminder that Astro is still a robot and must deal with his "difference" when among humans. However, conveniently for the scenarios, some humans at times still do not seem to notice he's a robot right away (such as the hijacker in "The Hijacked Airship").

I suppose the joints would make a robot such as Livian perhaps less "feminine" in the anime creator's view, while on other robots, they accentuate how powerful the robot is.

[AprilSeven]

Can you imagine an Astro Fan getting "joint marks" tattooed on their arms/wrists/shoulders? Maybe I should post that under "You know you're an Astro Boy Fan"...

[jeffbert]

Robots have exoskeletons, humans do not. Thus, the visible joints. Though I admit, sometimes it seems inconsistent as to when they are visible. When in the factory, mama & papa's joints were visible because their artificial skins had not yet been applied. Likewise, when at the robot disposal camp in BLUE KNIGHT, had the humans taken away their skins?

[Androids101]

Can you imagine an Astro Fan getting "joint marks" tattooed on their arms/wrists/shoulders? Maybe I should post that under "You know you're an Astro Boy Fan"...

YOU SHOULD

[Bender the Sniper]

They were probably trying to throw more detail into how the characters looked.