For anyone who's seen the new series

[wildpegasus]

Curiousity just got the better of me and I was wondering what people thought of the new series compared to the 80s which I loved. So, some questions. Thanks for your time.

1)How do the stories compare to the 80s? Are they individual stories or is there a story throughout the whole series interlinking the episodes? Both? Do they use the same themes throughout? Oh, and are there any similar stories to the ones in the 80s such as how the leopard was in the 60s and 80s? A yes or no will suffice here.

2)I know the animation quality is higher but do you like the style better? How are the charactor/robot designs?

3)How is the charactor development?

4)Is a lot of this series tragic like the 80s series? Or does it have more of a happy feeling to it?

[Fobok]

Oops, I forgot to put the rest of the questions into quotes. Oh well...

[jeffbert]

All three series make some use of stories first appearing in the Manga. Thus, The greatest robot on earth appears in both the 80s and the current series, I do not know if it was depicted in the 60s. Likewise the characters Atlas and the Blue Knight, whose appearances are mainly in episodes that are about them, have been in both the current and the manga. I do not recall the B K in the 80s, though. Then, there is Astrogirl, Uran, or Zoran as she will be known in the dubbed version of the current series. She is always presented to Atom as a gift, but she is one little girl whose heart is set upon mischief. In the 60s, the 80s and the current series, She always gets into trouble from the very start. I do not believe I have seen her origin in the manga, though, but I am still awaiting vols 21-23. I must say that the 80s Uran was more like Shirley Temple in that she had a few song and dance scenes, both of which were very amusing, but only one of which made it past the English editors.

Dr. Ochanamizu is going to be Irish this time around, bearing the name O'Shay. See New English dubbed names thread for more on the names.

Regarding character development, Atom's past is shrouded in mystery, and only gradually revealled as events trigger his memories. But most of that occurs in the first ten episodes.

[Haruka-chan]

Have seen all of the 80s dubbed, first two eps raw and first 6 eps subbed of the new series. But as for my opinion:

1)How do the stories compare to the 80s?

There has been an individual aspect to many of the episodes but they all feel tied together in some way. This i think is mainly the greater character development and the revealing of the mystery around Atom's past. The themes are simillar and consistent with both 80s series and 60s/manga. And yes there are reused stories ^_^

2)I know the animation quality is higher but do you like the style better? How are the charactor/robot designs?

I love the style. It takes my favourite aspects from the manga, 60s and 80s series and merges them together. The result is an 80s Atom with a lot more Tezuka style manga influence and some new ideas thrown in there. The robot designs are quite simillar to the 80s and fit in perfectly.

3)How is the charactor development?

A lot more time is put into it. Atom's 'child' stage is a lot longer than it was in the 80s, however he doesn't go thru that clumsy over-powered phase excessively. He has a lot more child-like innocence and trying to learn and understand. We also see more development in less major characters, Ochanomizu and the more secretive DR Tenma.

4)Is a lot of this series tragic like the 80s series? Or does it have more of a happy feeling to it?

Hmmm so far the balance seems to be good. It does have the tragic/sad moments but the overall feel of the show is happy and makes you want to watch again and again to get a good feeling inside of you ^^

[jeffbert]

As for the stories, I believe the current series will suffer the same fate as Jungle King Leo did. Tezuka's intent was to show the sequence of birth, cubhood, adulthood, fatherhood, and death. However, NBC insisted that the episodes be usable in any order, and that the characters did not age, mature, and die, but remain cute. Thus, Kimba T W Lion was most unsatisfactory for Tezuka. The current series introduced Uran in episode 13, but she only gets any screen time if she is somehow involved with the plot.

I have already commented on the reused plots, so I will let those comments suffice.

[b]2)I know the animation quality is higher but do you like the style better? How are the charactor/robot designs?

I love the style. It takes my favourite aspects from the manga, 60s and 80s series and merges them together. The result is an 80s Atom with a lot more Tezuka style manga influence and some new ideas thrown in there. The robot designs are quite simillar to the 80s and fit in perfectly.[/b]

:angry: I disagree about the style being based upon the manga. :angry: The only thing that I can identify as using Tezuka's manga style is the design of the police cars. In the manga and 60s anime, they appeared as puppy shaped bedroom slippers. Now they resemble Warner Brothers classic big bad wolf design. Furthermore, manga is known for its use of exagerated facial expressions. I have seen one episode that had Uran's face so depicted. Moreover, there was one 80s ep in which Insp. Tawashi (Scrub brush) was yelling at Atom via a video phone. His nose came right through the screen. These elements were common in the 60s, less common in the 80s, and just plain absent in the current series.

I will admit that Atlas does have his manga appearance tosome extent, though.

[b]How is the charactor development?

A lot more time is put into it. Atom's 'child' stage is a lot longer than it was in the 80s, however he doesn't go thru that clumsy over-powered phase excessively. He has a lot more child-like innocence and trying to learn and understand. We also see more development in less major characters, Ochanomizu and the more secretive DR Tenma.[/b]

I agree that Atom's so-called child stage is way more amusing than it was in any previous series. I could name more than a few funny or cute incidents in just the first ten episodes, but there seem to be none after these that have any such content. As for Uran, and I realize that very few have actually viewed the pure Japanese episodes as I have, but nevertheless, I prefger the tap-dancing 80s version. Yet, she does do some amusing things, as you shall eventually see.

[b]
Is a lot of this series tragic like the 80s series? Or does it have more of a happy feeling to it?

Hmmm so far the balance seems to be good. It does have the tragic/sad moments but the overall feel of the show is happy and makes you want to watch again and again to get a good feeling inside of you[/b]

I believe that acceptance outside Japan was important to the creators, and although there is sadness, there is no death that comes to mind. Tobio was no more than a vague memory implanted in Atom's brain. The viewer never sees him die, or even have the accident that the other two anome and the manga depict. I belive Bruton is destroyed on screen, but Atlas is not. Clearly, this one is aimed at young children. Or, I should say, by Western standards, this is appropriate for children.

[Haruka-chan]

:angry: I disagree about the style being based upon the manga. :angry: The only thing that I can identify as using Tezuka's manga style is the design of the police cars. In the manga and 60s anime, they appeared as puppy shaped bedroom slippers. Now they resemble Warner Brothers classic big bad wolf design. Furthermore, manga is known for its use of exagerated facial expressions. I have seen one episode that had Uran's face so depicted. Moreover, there was one 80s ep in which Insp. Tawashi (Scrub brush) was yelling at Atom via a video phone. His nose came right through the screen. These elements were common in the 60s, less common in the 80s, and just plain absent in the current series.

I will admit that Atlas does have his manga appearance tosome extent, though.

Don't misunderstand what i mean by style. The new series takes aspects from all previous series/manga. As i was writing too late at night for me i will now explain in greater depth. Yes there have been objects as such, police cars and character designs which are in the style past Atom, but what i was referring to was the actual style of forming the drawings and art. Take a look at the 80s series and a lot of the drawings of Atom are more squared, such as his shoulder shape and feet, also the lines for his joins (elbows and shoulders and knees) are usually shown. His head and eyes are in a slightly different shape and style too and in general his ears are positioned quite high in comparision to manga/60s.

In the current series the style of Atom is more reflective of the manga style in that lines are more rounded, his ears sit much lower on his head and his facial shape is more reminicent of the manga. His legs also flare outwards slightly and his hands and arms have more of a pudgy-ness about them although still not to the same extent of the manga. In essence he is more of a sleek looking version of the 80s with rounded features.

Also reminicent of the 60s series is the adorable squeaking sound of his boots, in terms of moving sound/animation. The number of animation jokes has certainly decreased from the 60s to the 80s to non-existent and it's rather sad these have been removed. In terms of sound the themes don't catch as strongly in my head as the 80s series did (by themes i mean background music and not opening/closing) but it still does pay homeage to the original melody.

Maybe because i am a bit of an artist and have studied the different 'drawing styles' of each series/manga that i pay more attention to these details. And from my observations the current Atom design is a mish-mash of concepts and ideas and styles, all in an artistis sense, from all the series/manga plus with a bit of new life thrown in (eg the shape/size of his ears and the ear inside style).

I hope that cleared up a little what i meant in terms of animation

[jeffbert]

Ok, you speak of the style in which anything is drawn, as opposed to the :huh: manga style, :huh: that I commented upon.

Yes, it seems many of Tezuka's characters suffer from Popeye-itis, that is that their lower legs and fore arms have greater girth than their thighs and upper arms. While none suffer to the same degree as Popeye himself, most do have some degree of the disiese.

[DrFrag]

It makes them look cuter. Hands and feet grow slower, so they start of big and it makes them look younger. Ever noticed how big the paws are on a puppy, especially one that will grow into a very large dog?
Same with head size. Babies heads are big in proportion to their bodies, because heads grow very slowly. And noses never stop growing, so a small nose means a young age (generally).

[jeffbert]

Yeah, but characters of all ages, except women have this characteristic.


Lamune & Kalpis (Tick & Tuck)



Ham Egg

I think this is just Tezuka's style.