ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 5), from Titan Comics on 7/18/23, gives Six the most important job of his robotic life – to train and mentor his new little sister.
The Details
- Written by: Osamu Tezuka
- Art by: Tetsuro Kasahara
- Letters by: Jonathan Stevenson
- Cover art by: Tetsuro Kasahara
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $12.99
- Release date: July 18, 2023
Is It Good?
ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 5) begins a new era in Tenma, Hiroshi, and Six’s legacy when they receive a directive from the faculty to participate in the new World Robot Battling (WRB) competition. Sounds great!? But Tenma has other ideas. Osamu Tezuka’s story delivers action, fun, drama, emotion, and anticipation in copious amounts.
When last we left Hiroshi, Tenma, and Six, they escaped a kidnapping attempt, then spent the majority of Vol. 4 discussing the nature of programmatic theory, along with the possibility that Six’s A.I. might have an infectious effect on other robots. Now, the university faculty orders Lab 7 to represent the school in the first-ever World Robot Battling (WRB) competition to decide who has the toughest and most innovative fighting robots around. Given Six’s reputation, the faculty want Six to lead the charge, but Tenma believes the competition is the perfect opportunity to unveil A107, aka U-Ran.
What’s great about this volume? Thankfully, Tezuka doesn’t waste any time getting U-Ran built. Instead, Tezuka focuses on Six’s little sister learning the ropes, acting bratty and immature, making (big) messes, and eventually coming into her own as Six’s sibling. By focusing almost entirely on U-Ran’s development and Six’s assigned role as mentor and brother, you get action, heart, and philosophical ideas worth exploring as U-Ran is forced to mature at an accelerated rate. Plus, you get a building sense of excitement as the competition approaches.
What’s not so great about this volume? Tezuka’s focus on U-Ran is a great choice, but some of the kidnapping shenanigans from the last volume aren’t even mentioned, let alone followed up, so it seems odd that lives would be put in danger and nobody cares.
How’s the art? If you’re going to read a Manga about fighting robots, you want robot fighting action. When U-Ran matures enough to act out, you get surprisingly brutal robot fights and destruction. Tetsuro Kasahara gives nearly-expressionless robots a shocking amount of emotional range through subtle gestures and nuanced movements to give Six and U-Ran personality and presence. The character designs are consistent with the source material (Astro Boy), which may seem a little silly and dated, but Tetsuro Kasahara’s character movements are modern and mature.
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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 #4 review to witness the beginnings of U-Ran’s design.
We begin with a meeting in the faculty office. Tenma and Hiroshi are ordered to represent the school in the forthcoming, first-ever, World Robot Battling championship. Tenma agrees, but only if he can get Tsutsumi (Moriya’s sister) to join Lab 7 for her programming genius and if Lab 7 can get more funding. The faculty agrees.
Tenma believes the time is right to launch the next generation robot, A107, codenamed U-Ran. Unfortunately, the competition is fast approaching, and U-Ran’s learning CPU needs constant training to come up to speed, so Tenma assigns Six to mentor U-Ran around the clock.
Soon, U-Ran begins showing signs of surpassing Six and learning about likes and dislikes. When U-Ran learns about the concept of liking or disliking something, she seeks out the robots in Lab 1 and begins to destroy them because they are considered more valuable. Six eventually stops U-Ran’s rampage, leading to a thoughtful development about handling dislikes, regret, and forgiveness.
We conclude the volume with spoken words, bonding, and a sales pitch.
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Final Thoughts
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ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 5) swells with robot action, heart, charm, and excitement. The introduction of U-Ran as Six’s little sister challenges both characters in new and exciting ways, resulting in a thoroughly entertaining and sometimes thought-provoking volume.
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