Hey I'm brand new here and I'd like to get into Astro Boy

[Lord Dio]

The names Dio :d evil:


Well let me get down to the nitty gritty. Astroboy has always been an anime/manga that has interest me. It looks very heart warming, and I hear that it is a timeless classic.

My biggest problem is, what exactly do I watch/read and where can I?

I'm not going to lie. I'm pretty poor. I would like to check out Astro Boy for free before buying merchandise. So I have these questions

- What is better, the manga or anime?

- What is the best version of the anime/manga (60s version, 80s version, 2003 version etc)

- Where can I find this stuff?

- Are there subs (fan subs are fine) of stuff like the 2003 edition? I downloaded the dub of 2003 Astroboy, but the way things were edited made everything seem awkward.


Thanks for the help/opinions.

[KazumixJapan]

Hello!
Welcome to Astroboy.
Best of manga is Osamu Tazuka's Original Astroboy,but this has a lot of pages and there is few pages on web as free.
Best of Anime, I think 60 series.(B/W) You can get some of it on Youtube.

[dannavy85]

Welcome!

The manga is more interesting, the orriginal 1950's series offers more ont he character.

I like the 2003 anime though, visually cool and funny.

Poor? Join the club.

[DrFrag]

Generally people will recommend the series/medium they grew up with.

My preference is for the 1980s anime. I find the original manga and 1960s anime visually dated to the point of distraction, and I find the 2003 series somewhat trite and lacking emotional depth.

I believe the whole 1980s series is officially available online for streaming. I'm not sure of the site, but Youtube has tons of copies.

The only subs available are on the Manga release of the 1980s series, fansubs of the first 6 episodes of the 2003 series, half the 2003 series on Korean DVDs, and a couple of episodes on the 1963 series DVDs. The 2003 bootlegs have subtitles, but are so poorly translated they're practically unwatchable (and they're more expensive than the legit version). There are really no good subtitled releases of the full 2003 series.

[KazumixJapan]

In Japan 80 series is here. 1st episode is Free.

http://dl.rakuten.co.jp/prod/800381980.html

Rest of episodes needs 105 yen per episode.

[Wolf]

For myself personally, I prefer the 80's series over the other animated series. Although the Americanized version of the 2003 series has quality animation, I think it doesn't really capture the heart and spirit of Astro Boy. Its not surprising since Osamu Tezuka was not around to supervise this incarnation.

All the episode for the 80's series is available for free on youtube so you can try checking that out.

[Lord Dio]

Ah thanks for the in depth replies guys. I figured that people would go with the version they saw first, but I also assumed there was a "critically acclaimed" best.

I suppose I'll watch the 80s version since it is easiest to get a hold of. Dang Dr.Frag even the 80s version isn't fan subbed? Guess this show gets no fan fare . You know where I can find the subbed manga?


Also isn't there a Darkhorse version as well? Anyone inform me on the deal with that?

[Fauna]

Welcome to the forum! The Astro Boy world is immense, but there's generally something for everyone...check Youtube for the 1960's series (user: WingedMushroomOfDoom) and 1980's series (user: Yxuz), and Veoh.com (user: Luti) for the 2003 series.

The manga is usually rather dark, but with a lot of goofy moments. Tezuka's early style is a little gritty and dated to modern eyes.

1963: Very comical and cartoony. The english voices are great, but the animation may look a little bizarre.

1980: Has a recurring, underlying storyline featuring Astro's sort-of brother Atlas. It is sometimes dark and there is a lot of character development, but the english voice cast might require getting used to. My personal favorite.

2003: Visually-stunning, but the storyline is drastically different and the cast has had a massive makeover. The english version corrupted the entire series. I have more than a dozen Japanese episodes on tape, and I'm in the process of trying to get them online.

[Meeshell]

there are a lot of episodes on Youtube
1980's is one of the best
however I think the 2003 remake was made very very well

welcome, I'm new here too

[Lord Dio]

So no subs of the 1980s version?