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I´m from Brazil and this is poorly translated, but I think it can be interesting for Astro Boy fans too. It´s a article by myself:

When it comes to Shotaro Ishinomori the first thing that comes to mind is Kamen Rider and other famous series of costumed heroes who became a real phenomenon in Japan of the 70s. But Ishinomori is an author of many faces and his productivity has reached such extraordinary levels that many believe that if there was no Osamu Tezuka, the title "God of Manga" inexorably fall upon Ishinomori. Today he is a Guinness Book record holder, as the author of comics with a larger number of published works, a total of 770 different titles, all due to the digital restoration and reprinted in his collection of complete works, which, overall, has five hundred volumes. He worked with probably all known genres, from science fiction manga for boys, such as Cyborg 009 and the aforementioned Kamen Rider, even adults Sandarabocchi, and Sabu to Ichi Hotel Torimono Hikae.

At this point, Jinzo Ningen Kikaider (Android Kikaider), published in the almanac for kids weekly Shonen Sunday, by Shogakukan in 1972, is a watershed. First, because the formula does not escape the reluctant hero who turns to face creatures of a criminal organization, and according to this formula because it adds a strong argument that deals with existential dilemmas of the work remaining "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, who has nothing to do with the movie, where Boris Karloff shines in the role of the monster. Therefore, Kikaider is the very antithesis of Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) by Osamu Tezuka, which Ishinomori pays a fitting tribute, worth mentioning that, before following his own career, Ishinomori was an assistant of Tezuka in one of the first stories of the boy robot.

The wide divergence between the two heroes is that robot Astro Boy is a perfect champion of justice, infallible and omnipotent, while Kikaider is susceptible to manipulation and bad influences, which makes it closer to humans. This became not only one of the strongest elements in Kikaider, but also one of the most memorable. Beginning with its "conscience circuit" called "Jiminy," which is a reference to Jiminy Cricket, from Italian classic Pinocchio tale by Carlo Collodi. Ishinomori makes his character a sort of android version of Pinocchio. Just as the wooden puppet was often manipulated by malicious characters who cross his path, the circuit of consciousness incomplete of Kikaider made ​​him vulnerable to the cataleptic electronic sound of the flute of his main enemy, Professor Gill. That makes Kikaider more a victim than a superhero, which oscillates between good and evil, a robot closer to a man of flesh and blood than any other.

The symbolism is everywhere, starting with the glossy look created by Shotaro Ishinomori for the main character - it is clear that we are dealing with a very seventies aesthetic and can not work as well today - which, though grotesque, imperfect and asymmetric, goes well with the plot, functioning as a metaphor for the protagonist's inner conflict. Blue represents his humanity, moral character, red is the monster within, his anguish, oscillating between being too human, but still a machine, as suggested by the parts of its internal mechanism to show. Hakaider The villain is a special case: it looks inspired George Lucas in the subsequent creation of the iconic Darth Vader, Star Wars Trilogy (Lucas visited Japan in the 70s looking for a studio to produce the special effects of Star Wars, when he discovered the existence of series inspired by Kikaider. This fact was documented by Lucas himself and producer Hirayama Tohru). There is also some relationship between the names of main characters: the alter ego of Kikaider is called Jiro (which means second son) before is built the prototype called Kikaider 01, named after the late son of the scientist who created it, Ichiro (first child), and finally we have Saburo (third child), the human form of Hakaider.

The rest you can read in this link: http://www.interney.net/blogs/maximumcosmo/2010/02/26/jinzou_ningen_kikaider_shotaro_ishinomor/

Use Google Translator for this, it´s in portuguese, the translation is not perfect, but effective. I think anyone can understand, at least 80%.

You can read Kikaider original manga in getyourcomics, but just for Iphone, Ipad and Ipod Touch users: http://getyourcomic.com/2011/04/20/kikaider/

Interesting essay, felipeonodera; though I must add that the cricket was short-lived in the Collodi original. Thus, both Atom & Jinzo Ningen Kikaider are indebted to Disney for his versions of the characters, the unnamed puppeteer became STROMBOLI & cricket, Jiminy. Their characters also changed, or at least the puppeteer's did. It has been years since I read PINOCCHIO, so I cannot recall much about the cricket, though, as I am very interested in the puppeteer, I know that Fred Ladd & Co. rightly dubbed Hamegg's character CACCIATORE, as it was obvious Tezuka based his character on STROMBOLI.

"jeffbert" wrote:Interesting essay, felipeonodera; though I must add that the cricket was short-lived in the Collodi original. Thus, both Atom & Jinzo Ningen Kikaider are indebted to Disney for his versions of the characters, the unnamed puppeteer became STROMBOLI & cricket, Jiminy. Their characters also changed, or at least the puppeteer's did. It has been years since I read PINOCCHIO, so I cannot recall much about the cricket, though, as I am very interested in the puppeteer, I know that Fred Ladd & Co. rightly dubbed Hamegg's character CACCIATORE, as it was obvious Tezuka based his character on STROMBOLI.

Yeah, I know about it. I read the book and it´s very weird, the whale is a giant shark, if I remember well. Pinocchio is really a special case, few people actually read the book. But with Frankenstein occurs the same, everyone thinks that the book and the 1931 movie is the same thing, but is totally different.

I do not blame Ishinomori or Tezuka for it, there are several adaptations of the book that actually follow the Disney version.

hmy: There may be a language problem here, as I think you misunderstood my post. I was not saying that either Ishinomori or Tezuka were blamed for anything, only that they based their own works on the Disney version; but given that Tezuka adored Disney's animated films, and watched them many times, even if he had read the Collodi original, he would have been more than likely more influenced by the film than the book.

Yes, every time I compare Atom with Frankenstein's monster, I am attacked mercilessly. But, Atom has definite similarities to the book version of the monster, just as well as to Pinocchio. The scientist for his own selfish reasons creates a being, then says, he no longer cares about him.

"jeffbert" wrote: hmy: There may be a language problem here, as I think you misunderstood my post. I was not saying that either Ishinomori or Tezuka were blamed for anything, only that they based their own works on the Disney version; but given that Tezuka adored Disney's animated films, and watched them many times, even if he had read the Collodi original, he would have been more than likely more influenced by the film than the book.

Yes, every time I compare Atom with Frankenstein's monster, I am attacked mercilessly. But, Atom has definite similarities to the book version of the monster, just as well as to Pinocchio. The scientist for his own selfish reasons creates a being, then says, he no longer cares about him.

In Ishinomori´s manga, a book named Carlo Collodi´s Pinocchio is actually the introduction of the story, but the Jiminy Cricket it´s very like the Disney version, with the Blue Fairy telling him to be Pinocchio´s conscience.

I agree that both Astro and Kikaider have great similarities with the Frankenstein monster, it inspired Mitsuteru Yokoyama´s Tetsujin 28th/Gigantor too. But Kikaider is a tragic hero, like the monster, especially at the ending. Astro rarely shows this characteristic, except in his darker arcs like Blue Knight, where he actually harms human beings.