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Atom is probably the first robot created as a 'replacement' for a deceased loved one, but I have seen about half a dozen others. The only other males, though, were Atlas (2003) the reluctant lever (Tommy) from the Robot Rocket, both in Astroboy.

The females:

Eimi-chan (Nukunuku) created in the image of a granddaughter.
R. Dorothy Wayneright (Big O)
Honey? (Cutey Honey)
Fuzzy (Nadia The Secret of Blue Water - The Motion Picture)
Yuzuki (Chobits)

I am not certain that Honey was created for that purpose.
Of these, only Yuzuki was based upon an elder sister, rather than a descendant.

If anyone can add to this list, please do.

Oh, I think there was a grandmother in a TZ story, but I am not sure that she was modelled on the children's deceased grandmother.

There was also a movie in the late 1970's called The Electric Grandmother. Actor Ed Hermon orders her to be a sort of comfort Nanny to his 3 children after their mother has passed away. wonderful story.

..

In the Astroboy episode Speeding Through The Storm, Suzie had a robot grandfather. I'm not sure why though, he was built decades before she was born.

DrFrag wrote:In the Astroboy episode Speeding Through The Storm, Suzie had a robot grandfather. I'm not sure why though, he was built decades before she was born.

I think her parents were killed in an accident, perhaps involving the D-51, whose electronic brian was then put into 'Grandpa.'

Oh, that's right. I knew he was 30 years old, so I couldn't figure out why he was made to look after her so many years before she was born.

Her parents were killed in a plane crash, but the D-51 crash would have made an interesting twist.
I suppose he wasn't actually a replacement for a human.

Was the boy in AI a replacement?

Also, Inspector Randolph Holmes from The Man-Made Solar Sphere (Astroboy, 1980) went from human to cyborg to totally robot.

DrFrag wrote:Was the boy in AI a replacement?

I didn't watch AI for years, but I think I remember the boy was a replacement for a lost (or maybe in coma) child, though he was a completely new being (ie: like an adopted child).

fafner wrote:I didn't watch AI for years, but I think I remember the boy was a replacement for a lost (or maybe in coma) child, though he was a completely new being (ie: like an adopted child).

I could answer this better tonight after I watch the film, but I did see a documentary on Kuberick, & as I recall, AI was a story based upon Astroboy. I will update this after watching the film tonight.

Edited:

I just viewed the first 45 minutes of AI. Here is the scoop:

In the future parents are limited to 1 child each. However, the robo-children are not affected by this limit. Martin was in cryogenic storage pending a cure for his disease. Papa's employer was seeking a beta tester for the new product, papa was selected.

Mama was at first avoiding eye contact with the robot David, she apparently feared that she might come to love him. But everywhere she turned, there he was.

There was an imprinting process, that was irreversable, and made the robot non-returnable, except for destruction. Mama knew of this, and as mentioned, avoided contact with David. She cherished the memoriy of Martin, clinging to the hope for a cure. However, eventually, she warmed to David, and began to regard him not as an object, but as a boy. She then performed the imprinting process, & he addressed her as 'mommy' for the first time. Wouldn't you know it, two days later, Martin was on the road to recovery, & was soon home. Mama loved both M & D, but papa's love now was reserved for M. M was jealous of D, & was soon trying to manipulate D into actions that should turn Mama's love from D.


Summary: Papa was initially eager to distract mama from her grief, so he brought D home. However, it was not made clear whether or not papa had any affection for D. Mama was cold toward D, but soon began to love him. When things became hot, papa wanted to send D back for destruction, but, Mama loved him. I need to watch the rest before I can add more.

If this seems familiar to the fans of Astroboy manga, it should, it is very similar to the Chronicles version of Atom's creation & rejection. Tenma Umataro created him, presented him to Hoshie as their son. Hoshie initially rejected him, but soon cherished him, while Umataro eventually hated him.

I had seen AI a few years ago.