What if Atom and Uran became more human like?

[AprilSeven]

By the way, I'd preffer them to not grow up, because it's a robot nature to not grow up.

That's not necessarily true - right now it's also not in a robots nature to have kokoro or fly or act convincingly human.

If Atom is supposed to keep "growing" intellectually, and bond with people his same age, he will also presumably (based on the kokoro nature of his personality) naturally "mature" with them, even if he physically doesn't grow. That would become bizarre and highly unnatural. I mean . . . if he's 20 years old (and Tomao, etc. are that age too) - chances are his friends will be in college, driving cars, be in romantic relationships -and have more adult lifestyles.

Sorry, it just . . .doesn't . . . follow logic. Probably to kids it would. But Atom is NOT a "Peter Pan" in any other part of his personality. So if 21 year old Reno and the gang wanted to go to a ball game and get a beer afterwards . . . what happens to 9-year-old looking Atom?

Hey, Atom is a hit as a "child super-hero" but the problem with children is . . . THEY GROW UP. Yup, he's cute and lovable . . . but I wouldn't wish eternal childhood on ANYONE, least of all, Atom.

I know we're gonna disagree about this, but DARN that's too bad, because Toshio, I'll bet you could write great fiction about Atom as an adult!

[Toshio]

AprilSeven, I really hate ideas of robots growing up, because it's ilogic.

Do you know that there are children who cannot grow up physically due a certain sickness and other factors, right?

They may not grow up physically, but they still develop and get old, so what's the point of people look down at them due the fact they could not grow up and being small?

"Look it's a dwarf who stopped growing up at early age, heh, heh, heh!"

Don't it sound awfull?

If a robot cannot grow up, then he'll deal with that, he wasn't meant to develop physically and get aged like humans.
Though they can grow up mentally...

A good message of the series is about acceptance, we need to accept others who are different and cannot or could not grow up physically for example.

If Atom grow up, he'll be no longer the "child of science" anymore.

What Atom wishes is a world which robots and humans can live peacefully NO matter if robots cannot grow up.

That's the message from the episode "Eternal Boy".
If a friend reject Atom, just because he cannot grow up, then he'll be heartless.

Do you remember the episode Robotania which several robots lived together without caring about each other shapes and nature?
Robots enjoy the idea of having feelings, but they do not care about their different shapes and neither the fact they're not human in appearance.
So why they had to care about growing up or not?

If Atom is able to keep that peace in check while living among humans, then the children of his old friends may not follow wrong ways.

Another awfull factor for robots growing up, it's the budget for such technology, if the nano machines were used even like a magical way, then a fortune of investiment would be used for a robot to grow up.

There must be a lot of budget involved in repairs and stuff alike, then imagine a technology for robots growing up?
The repairs would be so troublesome, since robots would still not able to regenerate lost limbs, even nano machines would not be enough for both growing up and repairs.

I thought in a story which Atom and Uran visits an orphanage where the children lives with a boy robot and learn early on about how to live with child robots who cannot grow up like themselves.
So, when they get adopted, they'll be able to accept the differences in the future.

But anyway, we don't need to go into stories which there is a very quick time skip, they don't always work quite well.
You'll end up having to think about a lot of possibilities about human characters getting old, getting families and others dying of old age...

Back about food, if Atom and Uran were fully able to taste food, then they would be able to feel pity for older robot models who can only depend of energy to keep themselves working.

[dannavy85]

After 2003, I think Astro's been "up-gunned" "pimped out" and "X-hibited" way too much, all the arming I think has actually taken away what made Astro so interesting at the beginning and there should be more attention to his abilities of reasoning and solving problems without all the rockem sockem smackem super-mouse tricks that Osamu Tezuka grew tired of.

[AprilSeven]

I do agree with Dannavy . . . it's his "humaness" that makes him so compelling to me more than his superpowers.

When I look at the covers of my anime box sets, the two from the 60's and one from the 80's show a smiling Astro. The 2003 version shows him scowling.

And even though he's physically powerful, he's always thoughtful about what's happened, and what it all means.

[Toshio]

The american version wanted to show a different concept of the character which might had missleaded a lot of people in the DVD covers of the american 2003 series.

But, looking back, the idea of refueling himself from his back was quite awfull...

Even for a robot, it's quite a unconfortable area to be refueled.
If both Atom and Uran are at least able to eat and enjoy food, then it would be nice to see.

Also, I like the idea of them being more human like, so children would not notice the difference and be respectful with them.

And some extremists could feel remorse, believing that killing a robot child would be the same as killing real children and in special if they're innocent.

I'm not saying that Katari would feel remorse, after all he is lost O_o

[dannavy85]

The refueling from behind was obviously a typical Tezuka gag as was the many times Astro's head sprung out. Actually a telescoping head wouldn't be a bad idea.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

The '63 anime was fairly true to the manga description of Atom, except for never showing his arm jets (probably to keep the animation simple and the cells reusable). The US adaption rarely showed his hip guns but they did sneak into one or two episodes despite the censors. The 1980's version had his arm jets and added the finger tip lasers (which were not AFAIK in the manga). Then the 2003 series added the particle beam guns to his hands (that's what they look like to me) and the movie transformed those into 'Cannons'.

He had to be 'refueled' in the manga and the '63 series, the '80s series had him using 'energy cassettes', I don't think he often ran out of power in the 2003 series or the movie. In both the manga and the anime there was quite a bit of variance on just how long a 'recharge' would last him, from less than a day, to several years in fact!

[Toshio]

The energy-in from the butt was a bad gag and now is used as hentai appeal O_o
Better not disable safe search on google O_O

I think it would better for both Atom and Uran eat, so they could go in a grocery store with their friends without anyone feeling pity for them only able to see the friends eating.

But, for discarding the food, they could had used the trick of excess of energy being turned into particles of light.

Atom had ran out of power in the 2003 series at a couple of times, he have a refuel device which is shown in Uran's debut.

Though, I would not be happy to see Uran opening her chest like he does in the 2003 series O_O

And I do know she did in both 1963 and 1980s.

If Uran had a more human like skin, then we would not see her joints, though the 2003 series they never shown.

So, in a beach episode she would not like a moving doll of sorts.

Though we saw her modest swim wear which is pretty cute in the 2003 series and again, no joints appearing^^

[racoonangel]

yes it's true if he were more human like he would eat, not only that wouldn't he run out of energy quicker depending on how much battle he was in. Another thing that would make him more human like is if he could take off his boots in the 2003 series. In a sense it looks like his feet are not the rockets but his boots. He could where more clothes besides the underwear and boots. Besides the fact of making him more human by taking his powers away then instead of recharging his energy by opening his chest he could just recharge it by sleep. You Know how he always recharges in the morning it makes no sense then why did he sleep it was a little pointless for him wasn't it? Speaking in which of recharging energy if he has the capability to eat then that could also be more human like if it recharged her energy cells, it would make more sense for her to eat instead of just for the fun of it. Wait a sec if they're robots how will they dispose of the food or will they just turn it into energy?

[racoonangel]

Another just thought of another thing that would make him more human like if his hair was not so rounded and was actually hair so he could spike it himself but still keeping it the color black