Plastic Skin

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8-Bit Star
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Plastic Skin

Postby 8-Bit Star » 17 years ago

I've been watching my 80s DVDs again, and something kinda bugs me.

Okay, its revealed in "The Birth of Astroboy" that his "skin" is a plastic suit that Dr. Tenma put on him after completing him. I assume this is true of all the other robots as well.

What I don't get is, if this is the case, then why is it that his chest simply flips open whenever he needs a new capsule? Wouldn't he have to actually take the skin off first?

This goes for other robots too--in fact its taken to the next level in "Uran the Tomboy" in which Uran's shirt itself opens up to reveal her energy compartment, which is doubly odd since its obvious she can change her clothes and thus her shirt is, presumeably, a normal shirt that she could've got at Wal-Mart (in fact, "Uran's Twin" shows that her skin doesn't have any default clothing attached to it--it's just skin-colored plastic).

So, anyone care to venture a hypothetical explanation? Maybe in AB's world they have some sort of super-advanced plastic that can break from the rest and reform as needed without leaving a smear or mark?

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Postby DrFrag » 17 years ago

I put it in the same category as Cathy's circus boots, which can survive volcanos when Astro wears them. :D
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Anapan
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Postby Anapan » 17 years ago

Isn't Astro's chest compartment always visible? Like the door is skinned, but there's a visible seem where the door opens, just like all his joints. I kinda remember something being written on the first or second page of the original B&W manga about a scientist inventing advanced systhetic skin for robots that felt real too. I'm not at home now so I can't verify any of this. Maybe someone who has the manga handy could check if astro's skin is actually plastic even.
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CommanderEVE
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Postby CommanderEVE » 17 years ago

good qustion ;) i think the skin is like a coat, it fits perfictly, baybe there's a square in the skin that allows astro to open his chest part and the square pice of skin on the astro's chest panle is guled or something.

well it is just a cartoon, maybe the people who made astro boy didn't think like that :)

i just thought of some thing if astro has a skin that he can take off, that means he dosn't need showers or baths becuase he can just change his skin like a snake :D

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fafner
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Postby fafner » 17 years ago

The whole skin/clothes topic is bogus in Astroboy :D
How do you explain the working of the eyes? Of the mouth? Why are the joints visible while Astro is supposed to have a rubber skin? The problem with the chest door is another one.
If I remember correctly, Astro loses his head in Pelligro Island. This again is inconsistent with a 1-piece rubber skin. Maybe it was ripped appart, but his new head had a skin too.
I think there are countless other examples :D Obviously, this wasn't a concern at all in the anime :p
The real sign that someone has become a fanatic is that he completely loses his sense of humor about some important facet of his life. When humor goes, it means he's lost his perspective.

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CommanderEVE
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Postby CommanderEVE » 17 years ago

what's all true

but i is just a cartoon :p

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Astro Forever
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Postby Astro Forever » 17 years ago

There is also the question of his retractable feet.

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Spike
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Postby Spike » 17 years ago

It all boils down to.........it's a cartoon, please forgive them for not being 100% technically and biologically correct, over look the little nitpicking tiddly bits and enjoy it, the more you nitpick the more fake it is, sit back and jus watch it not pick it to bits for it's technicallity and then you can trick your brain into not caring about the small shiat and let you enjoy the big picture.
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DrFrag
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Postby DrFrag » 17 years ago

Anapan wrote:Isn't Astro's chest compartment always visible? Like the door is skinned, but there's a visible seem where the door opens, just like all his joints. I kinda remember something being written on the first or second page of the original B&W manga about a scientist inventing advanced systhetic skin for robots that felt real too. I'm not at home now so I can't verify any of this. Maybe someone who has the manga handy could check if astro's skin is actually plastic even.

Yes, it's from volume 1, page 13. It does say it was made from plastic. Aside from the one-piece suit problem, there's no reason why it couldn't be a plastic. Vinyl, polystyrene foam and acrylic wool are all plastics and they have vary different textures and properties. Starlite plastic can weather nuclear flashes.

In The Transformation Robot, Professor Terrapin looks at Buck's skin and describes it as perfect. So I guess it's pretty advanced. Theoretically it could have special "break" seams in its construction so Astro's chest and eyes could open. Nissan have already developed a self-repairing paint for cars. I'm not sure how it works, but it sounds like it has a gradual bleed back effect. So many things have been invented that used to be hard to even imagine.
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fafner
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Postby fafner » 17 years ago

Spike wrote:It all boils down to.........it's a cartoon, please forgive them for not being 100% technically and biologically correct, over look the little nitpicking tiddly bits and enjoy it, the more you nitpick the more fake it is, sit back and jus watch it not pick it to bits for it's technicallity and then you can trick your brain into not caring about the small ***** and let you enjoy the big picture.

Picking inconsistencies is our pleasure :D and it doesn't spoil our pleasure to watch episodes ;)

I have always imagined that his skin would be more some kind of layer added on the metal, like some plastic tightly glued.
Last edited by fafner on Sat Nov 04, 2006 11:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The real sign that someone has become a fanatic is that he completely loses his sense of humor about some important facet of his life. When humor goes, it means he's lost his perspective.



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