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If you were a robot created in memory of a tragically deceased boy and had all of his memories uploaded, how long do you think it would take for you to figure out that you are not, in fact, this tragically deceased boy, but rather a mechanical copy? How much time would pass before you realize you never have to go to the bathroom? When would you think to yourself "hey, I went to bed last night and I forgot to take off my red boots"!

I'm just wondering, is all. That part of the movie drove me nuts!

I totally agree with your point, and if you notice, Astro DOESN'T have Toby's memories until after Dr. Tezuka passed away. I'm not sure he would have handled that the way they did in the movie.

I know. It would be weird if you suddenly relized that one day you found out you were a robot and the real you was dead.

wether or not you notice would depend on how therow the reprograming was

OMG, I think I'm dead! I haven't peed all day but it doesn't matter since my underwear doesn't come off!

With the original series, Astro had always known that he was a replacement. And at first he doesn't really mind this fact. But I guess he does come to more of a realization of this in the 'Tragedy of Bailey' chapter in volume 7, where he discovers a framed picture of Tobio.

Either way, to learn such a thing about oneself, would be hard on one's mental health, perhaps more so for others. I would certainly feel devastated if I were a replacement and found out about it.

Do robots have "mental health"?
Can you send one to see a shrink then?
Astro: "doctor, I just found out I'm dead!" hmy:
Shrink: "here's a prozac".

Perhaps 'mental health' isn't the right word, however Atom is most certainly the most human-like robot around. He is able to think for himself, feel emotions and be empowered by them, and more.

That said, he can most certainly be affected by such a discovery about himself.

"Dr. Jerk" wrote:Perhaps 'mental health' isn't the right word, however Atom is most certainly the most human-like robot around. He is able to think for himself, feel emotions and be empowered by them, and more.

That said, he can most certainly be affected by such a discovery about himself.

I knew what you meant and you're right. He could most certainly be affected by such a discovery. Sometimes I wonder how Astro stays so nice. I know I couldn't. That's what attracts me to him I think.

In the 1980 episode Outer Spaceport R-45, which was also in the manga and in the 1963 series I believe, there is the story of a man who created a robot son. To simulate the son getting older, he throws away one body after another, replacing it with a slightly more aged one. The son realized he was a robot only as an adult and has a hard time coming to terms with that, which is where the story is interesting.

I can't even imagine how he never realized he was a robot. He couldn't have hurt himself like a human would have, nor could he have caught a cold? Perhaps if he followed the human development, he could have thought everything was normal until age 3 or 4, but after?