ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 3), from Titan Comics on February 21, 2023, deepens the mystery behind Dr. Lolo’s research and a catastrophic event from 5 years ago that changed the direction of Tenma’s life.
The Details
- Written by: Osamu Tezuka, Masami Yuuki
- Art by: Tetsuro Kasahara
- Letters by: Jessica Burton, Caleb Ward
- Cover art by: Tetsuro Kasahara
- Comic Rating: All Ages
- Cover price: $12.99
- Release date: February 21, 2023
Is It Good?
ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 3) continues Titan’s foray into translating Shonen Jump-style manga for Western audiences, and this volume is very good. It’s not as good as the previous volumes (more on that in a minute), but it’s still very good.
The highlight of this volume is the all-out robot fighting action when Tenma and Hiroshi are attacked by kidnappers, presumably working for Dr. Lolo. Balts, cloned version of Mars that Six fought in the robot wrestling tournament, are fast, agile, and extremely strong. The Balts immediately amp up the stakes from the previous volumes, giving Six a reason to evolve and rise to the occasion as this story’s hero.
Second to the killer robot fights is the growing mystery surrounding Dr. Lolo and the island with no name containing files and data related to a disaster that struck Japan years ago. Tezuka and Yuuki pepper tidbits of information throughout the volume to deepen and widen the mystery surrounding the disaster, while linking the Tenma’s tragic past to the present. Indirectly, Tenma’s character is fleshed out with hidden motivations that clarify why he is the way he is and why he’s so keen on perfecting his AI experiments.
The minor down point of the volume is the pacing in the middle section. The middle chapters spend too much time on Tenma and Hiroshi bickering with each other over the value proposition of AI and what robots should and shouldn’t do. It’s clear Tezuka and Yuuki are using the conversations to demonstrate Tenma and Hiroshi’s deep understanding of AI from both a technical and philosophical perspective, but the conversations last much longer than necessary and drag down the pace of the volume through the middle.
Despite the inconsistent pacing, Tetsuro Kasahara’s art is top-notch from start to finish. Again, the highlight of the volume is the robot fights, and Tetsuro Kasahara has a gift for whip-fast, energetic action scenes. Six is a hydraulic marvel, and you can feel the boom when he leaps into action or punches an attacker. The figure work is very typical for high-end Manga artists, and it suits this material to a tee.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 2) review to find out how the gang wound up on an island with no name.
We begin with Tenma, Hiroshi, and Six learning the island’s command center may contain information about a series of explosions that rocked Japan five years ago; explosions that killed Tenma’s parents. Hiroshi notices an alarm going off while they search the files, and they see their search triggered the island’s self-destruct failsafe.
After a daring escape and a return to the university, Tenma and Hiroshi receive an unexpected lab inspection from the professors. Professor Saruta, the senior inspector, recognizes one of the robot components retrieved from the island, and he secretly orders Tenma and Hiroshi to meet him later. When the young geniuses reach the rendezvous point, they’re attacked by kidnappers.
We conclude the volume with an unlikely savior, a debate about AI and the ethics of robot evolution, and a strange invitation to chat.
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Final Thoughts
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ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 3) delivers another rock ’em, sock ’em action fest with robot fights, kidnappers, car chases, and exploding islands. That said, the pacing drags through the middle with overlong debates about AI, but once the action kicks in, the issue ends on a high note.
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