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THE DEATH(?) OF COBALT AKA JETTO

Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 2:07 pm
by ASTROBUDDY
The following is not for the faint of heart. As some of you may know the character, Cobalt (aka Jetto) was originally killed off at the end of the manga story, "Midoro Swamp". After Cobalt (or Jetto, if you prefer) was reintroduced in the classic 1960s anime and Tezuka's manga were reprinted, the "Midoro Swamp" ending was redrawn and Cobalt was no longer dead.
Below you will see the original ending along side the English translation of the revised ending. As has been said, "No one in Science Fiction ever stays dead for long."
(Remember in the Japanese version the panels must be read from right to left.)

I :heart: :astro: :)

Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 3:50 pm
by AprilSeven
Oh, I'm glad they decided to keep the "Cobalt option" open! Too bad none of the subsequent series called on him, because he's the most "human" of Astro's sibling (I've heard a few babies who could challenge Ti-tan! XD

Thanks Astrobuddy!

Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 4:07 pm
by BlueCore
Thanks for this!!! It was interesting. Very interesting!

Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 9:32 pm
by Astro Forever
Thanks, ASTROBUDDY! :)

They made a grave/gravestone for Cobalt? :o hmy:

(I love Higeoyaji's head in the second line to the right in the English manga! :p )

"AprilSeven" wrote:Oh, I'm glad they decided to keep the "Cobalt option" open! Too bad none of the subsequent series called on him, because he's the most "human" of Astro's sibling (I've heard a few babies who could challenge Ti-tan! XD

I still don't know Cobalt too well myself, but I like your idea. It makes me think that if they didn't want to include him as a full time brother, perhaps it could have been interesting if they had found him a role or another in at least an episode.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 12:50 am
by ASTROBUDDY
"Astro Forever" wrote:Thanks, ASTROBUDDY! :)

They made a grave/gravestone for Cobalt? :o hmy:

(I love Higeoyaji's head in the second line to the right in the English manga! :p )

[QUOTE=AprilSeven;199214]Oh, I'm glad they decided to keep the "Cobalt option" open! Too bad none of the subsequent series called on him, because he's the most "human" of Astro's sibling (I've heard a few babies who could challenge Ti-tan! XD

I still don't know Cobalt too well myself, but I like your idea. It makes me think that if they didn't want to include him as a full time brother, perhaps it could have been interesting if they had found him a role or another in at least an episode.[/QUOTE]

Yes, as you surmise, a headstone was made for "Cobalt"!
I think since the later series were more serious in their presentations, Cobalt/Jetto would have seemed out of place.
Also since the role of Atom's "brother" was taken over by Atlas, most of the comic relief was then handled by other characters, as Atlas was Atom's doppelganger/"evil twin". But I do agree that given the right circumstances, Cobalt might have been an interesting quest star.

I :heart: :astro: :)

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 1:13 am
by Gemstone2474
In the 2003 cartoon the Blue Knight's name was Cobalt
Which REALLY annoyed me because i HATE :mad: The Blue Knight and LOVE :wub: Cobalt!!!!!!!

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 6:10 pm
by jeffbert
I had known of this for some time, but thought that only the collectors' items in the UNIT series would have these images. But the unit 2 sets are out of print & those sold via Amazon.jp.co ship domestic only (by the seller's choice). How did you get this page?


Cobalt sacrificed himself before Uran made her debut, & when she pooped out of the box, so did a remade Cobalt, Here is the very last page from INVISIBLE GIANT:
A PRESENT FOR ATOM (UNIT-3-07_34-1-1).jpg
A PRESENT FOR ATOM (UNIT-3-07_34-1-1).jpg (59.77 KiB) Viewed 7532 times

The Akita Shonen (& hence, DH) version, places Uran's origin in the very next story URAN-CHAN.

I am only guessing, but I think it is apparent that Ochanomizu built a new Cobalt for this occasion.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 8:46 pm
by ASTROBUDDY
"Gemstone2474" wrote:In the 2003 cartoon the Blue Knight's name was Cobalt
Which REALLY annoyed me because i HATE :mad: The Blue Knight and LOVE :wub: Cobalt!!!!!!!


Yes, you are right! Apparently the folks behind the "Astro Boy/TetsuWan Atom" series of 2003-4 wanted to pay tribute to Cobalt, so rather use the name "Blue Bon" as had been the original name of the original Blue Knight, they used the name of Atom's brother from the original manga and anime series instead. This kind of makes sense since the Atlas of the 1980s series incorporated many of the characteristics of the Blue Knight; so one might say Atlas was the Blue Knight of the 1980s, so the Blue Knight of 2004, could be a brother of Atom. (Sort of!)
I understand your annoyance. I felt the same way when I saw "Tezuka's Metropolis" and saw that they had made a villain out of Tezuka's boy detective, Rock. But not to worry, they may have the same name, but they are not the same character.

I :heart: :astro: :)

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 8:54 pm
by ASTROBUDDY
"jeffbert" wrote:I had known of this for some time, but thought that only the collectors' items in the UNIT series would have these images. But the unit 2 sets are out of print & those sold via Amazon.jp.co ship domestic only (by the seller's choice). How did you get this page?


Cobalt sacrificed himself before Uran made her debut, & when she pooped out of the box, so did a remade Cobalt, Here is the very last page from INVISIBLE GIANT:
[attachment=]1564[/attachment]
The Akita Shonen (& hence, DH) version, places Uran's origin in the very next story URAN-CHAN.

I am only guessing, but I think it is apparent that Ochanomizu built a new Cobalt for this occasion.


I got the picture of Cobalt's funeral from the same book that featured the pages of Ti-tan's "birth". It also has the same panel of Uranium's first appearance, but I had thought that it may not have been the first appearance due the appearance of Cobalt. Maybe Tezuka had just forgotten about Cobalt's demise and included him in error. But it would mean little as he was to be reborn for the anime any way.

I :heart: :astro: :)

Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 7:30 pm
by jeffbert
What book, ASTROBUDDY? what is its title, would you care to further detail its contents? Where can I get one?