What happened to Dr. Boynton?

[Shychick]

1. What happened to Boynton? I heard somewere that he dies. Is this true? If so, when and how? Did Astro know?

2. Does Astro even remember his former "dad" and creator? I guess he lost his previous memories after the firts time his energy ran out (The Birth of AB/Robot Circus), but I don't know for sure.

3. Does Astro and Boynton ever see each other again? That'd be cool, I guess. If so, what ep?


I'm curious, because the end of the first ep, where they get seperated, seemed like a real cliff-hanger.

Mind you, I only own the first 3 volumes, so forgive my igorance.

[jeffbert]

I assume you refer to the 80s series.

1. Boynton/Tenma simply is written out of the script. I have seen the first 26 episodes in the Japanese language on DVD, & the 51 on VHS dubbed in English. I have not seen him since the ocean liner. I cannot say whether or not the Japanese version features him after the the 2nd episode.

2. I do not think dead batteries would cause loss of memory, because in this series, this happens a few times, but no memory loss follows. Old memories simply fade away.

3. See #1.

[Shychick]

Originally posted by jeffbert@Aug 31 2004, 11:14 AM

2. I do not think dead batteries would cause loss of memory, because in this series, this happens a few times, but no memory loss follows. Old memories simply fade away.

Yeah, but that was his very first time losing energy.

Besides, he told Kathy he couldn't remember where he came from.

[wicked fierce]

Since he's like a real boy, maybe he blocked the memories. =P

[jeffbert]

Originally posted by wicked fierce@Sep 15 2004, 02:49 AM
Since he's like a real boy, maybe he blocked the memories. =P

Who can say? Looking at it from a psychological perspective, I would say that he willfully supressed his unpleasant memories. What could be more saddening than his own papa rejecting him. He knew the Dr. as none other than his papa, as this was Tenma's intent. Tenma did not want a robot that thought of itself as a robot, nor thought of him as its creator, but rather as his son, and he as his papa.

In the 60s version, Atom is shown atop the globe running as it spins under his feet, depicting days and years passing. In that case, Tenma rejected him because he did not grow. Nevertheless, he had lived as his son for a few years, and one would think that he had therefore formed a greater bond with him than in the 80s, when he lived only a few days or weeks as his son, before being rejected. In the manga, there are several versions of his origin, and in one more than 1 story, Tenma emerges from the shadows to help him. In the story (Astroboy Chronicles) that ranin volumes 6-8, he abducts the robot parents that Ochanomizu is preparing for Atom. However, he does this to train the mama to be just like his late wife, whom Atom knew as his mama, even going so far as to name her Hoshie Tenma. Returning to the 60s anime, there are only 36 episodes available legally. I understand that some guy has more, but even then, only about 1/2 of the total 192 episodes were translated. There is a page that gives the synopses of all episodes, but those omit subplot elements. Who can say whether Tenma appears again in that series?