What Is That Green Band On Astro?

[Anime Girl]

[QUOTE=Anime Girl 14;99605][QUOTE=The Tawashi Bus Hat;99600]

Yeah, that one never made it across the pond...I haven't even been able to find it online. :C

Then again, I haven't looked very hard...

Across the pond? Is that slang for over seas, or something? If you find it, let me know. I don't care if it's not subbed. Believe it or not, I can understand a bit in Japanese, I just can't speak it fluently.[/QUOTE]

Kinda. It's a phrase I picked up from my dad. xP (I guess it's airforce talk, lol).

If I happen to come across any episodes that were not dubbed, I'll be sure to throw them at you (so you can tell me what's going on in them! HURH.)[/QUOTE]

OK

[racoonangel]

I always thought that was part of his underwear not a belt, because come on who would wear a belt on their underwear and then put clothes over top, in real life I donbt any body would do that, but that's okay it's imagination. Plus without that band, Astro's tushie wouldn't be as cute. It adds more color to him too.

[Strange Wings]

It's a mood ring!

[racoonangel]

really weird

[dannavy85]

"It's my in flight blinker light."

[racoonangel]

okay then

[AprilSeven]

I always thought that was part of his underwear not a belt,

Okay . . . it is a "belt" . . . and although there are plenty of jokes and concerns about just what it is that Astro is wearing, they are supposed to be shorts, NOT UNDERWEAR.

Look at how in most images of him, he is "shiny" which indicates he is made of metal (and therefore, his "outfit" is painted right onto his body).

Yes, there are numerous gags (jokes) over the years - and by Tezuka himself - that implied Astro's shorts WERE removable . . . but the truth is: they are not.

This factoid was also reinforced in the 2009 movie when Tenma "created" Astro's body - the boots and shorts (and belt) materialized along with the rest of him.

The only real deviation from "everything" being painted on was in the 1980's anime where Cathy actually gave Astro her boots to wear. This was (IMHO) a flawed decision, because there is NO WAY those boots could withstand the jetfire and punishment Astro would have put them through (but that's for another thread! )

Hope that helps resolve the confusion . . . I do like the "Mood Ring" answer though!

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Well if they are shorts then as Jeffbert has shown he's going commando. The 'shorts' must have flaps in them to let the barrels of the machine guns stick out. As far as the boots go in both the first and last episodes of the 1983 series (US order) you can see that Atom's feet have TOES on them. BTW in the 1960's series and in the manga he is drawn with and without those boots, sometimes with just soles (sandals?) on his feet. In the 2003 series they clearly show that the jet nozzle retraction machinery is built into the boots. One more thing, in the Atom Cat manga, Astro the cat is given a green belt to wear. Astro's shorts and hair are just the way his fur is colored and his ears are the 'hair spikes'. Atom cat ran for less than 10 episodes, but it was a cute 'remake' on Astro Boy as a cat, and the 'real' Atom appears inside the manga IN a manga that the boy who 'owns' Astro reads. (You don't really own a cat, they own YOU).

[Juanita]

I think it's really just supposed to be a rim on his shorts. Like an elastic waistband without the elastic, just for decoration. It (obviously) doesn't hold his shorts up, so I really just think it's the rim (like on my shorts from when I was little). It just happens to be green because if it was black you wouldn't see it. And green is the beat color ever. That's just my opinion on it. It's very boring, I know.

[It's really there to get the ladies.]

[AprilSeven]

Commando?? I've not heard that expression, so I Googled it and nearly fell of the chair laughing!!

They also show his boots collapsing into jets in the 1960's anime (was in awe of that as a kid! :w00t

boot 1.jpg (80.9 KiB) Viewed 1949 times

boot folded foot.jpg (90.78 KiB) Viewed 1955 times

boot almost in.jpg (69.61 KiB) Viewed 1954 times

Come, y'all - it ain't rocket science (well, I guess it kinda is) - Tezuka was notoriously "loose" with Atom's history and functions - but basically it's pretty obvious he was not build to be "naked" so his body was finished to always be "dressed" as most robots are (how many others are wearing any clothing?).