Character Expansion- Dr. Ochanomizu

[Prettywitchiusaka]

As a franchise series, Astro Boy is always open to re-interpretation. Newer writers can come in and expand upon characters, or simply do a new take on characters who have been previously been explored. BUt what about those charactrs who never get expanded upon? The characters that we love, but would like to see more done with? That's what I want to look at today. And who better to start this off with than Dr. Ochanomizu?

Dr. Ocahnomizu is defeniely one of the series most beloved characters, though I find it interesting that he never really gets any stories devoted to just him.

Though I can see the problem in that; not only is Ocahnomizu suppose to be the good father-figure, but he's also suppose to be the antithisis to Tenma. In fact, to quote April; "he's about as saintly as Astro". Therefore, how do you give character development to someone who's already in a good spot?

My own personal solution is not to try and expand upon his character in the present, but to look back to the past. To see where he began, and to see how that shaped him.

I wasn't going to reveal this until much later, but I have been slowly but surely working on an outline for an Astro Boy film series. In it, I have an idea to try and give Ochanomizu a backstory that won't come up until the third film.

My idea behind this is that during his youth, Ochanomizu began working as an apprentice for what eventually becomes Hamegg, wanting to learn about robotics. He is fairly kind as a youngster, but is a bit more brash and selfish than he would be at his current age. He is very intersted in robots at this point in his life, but really only sees them as machines, and is only intent on making money. As his time at the facility continues, he can't seem to ignore that the robots he thinks of as mere machines seem just as alive as humans. This ultimately makes him realize that he has to make a grave decision; the robots, or his future. He keeps his apprenticeship for awhile, uncertain of what to do. Eventually though, he can't watch them suffer anymore, and proceeds to let the robots escape. As a result, he looses the apprenticeship, but feels more comfortable knowing that he has changed for the better.

Since Ocahnomizu's relationship with Astro is core to the film series, he is actually quite worried to tell Astro. This is simply due to one thing; he doesn't how the little guy will perceive him afterwards. Eventually, Astro does find out. And while he is surprised, it doesn't take him long to accept that that's who Ochanomizu was, not who he is now.

What do you guys think?

[Skymouth]

Since I was first introduced to Astro Boy, Dr Ochannomizu has always been my favorite character and I was always disappointed in the fact that he didn't get as much screen time as I felt he deserved. He's a genuinely caring father-figure and a great source of moral code for Astro to follow. I'd like to see how he grew into the character we know and love and I think your idea is wonderful! I'd also like to maybe see more Ochan/Tenma interactions before and after Astro's creation in your story. There seemed to be quite a bit of back story between them that didn't really get touched on to my satisfaction in any of the three series, manga, or movie. And I'm sure Astro must be torn to some degree between his actual creator and his current guardian/father figure who loves him.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Guess we're on opposite ends of teh spectrum then Skymouth, for my favorite Astro Boy character is Tenma. That being said though, I do enjoy Ochanomizu myself. If not solely because he's such a relentless, awesome old man.

That being said though, I do wish I could develop more between the two, as I do feel that there is some form of relationship there, even if it's a one-sided thing.

I actually wouldn't mind knowing what you think would work between their relationship.

Also, thank you. It only makes sense in my mind that Ochanomizu start in a position similar to Tenma, but then slowly show his gradual rise to being the character we know. After all, you need a diverging point to show just how different the two really are. So that even if Ocahnomizu does have to make a difficult decision in teh future, it can least be shown to be more justified because we know what kind of person h e is, and what teh circumstances are.

[Takiko]

My own personal solution is not to try and expand upon his character in the present, but to look back to the past. To see where he began, and to see how that shaped him.

I wasn't going to reveal this until much later, but I have been slowly but surely working on an outline for an Astro Boy film series. In it, I have an idea to try and give Ochanomizu a backstory that won't come up until the third film.

You're planning for 3 films? I find it's funny how much people do for planning for things they are not paid to do, such as fanfiction, fanart and non-fandom creations. That would be my own take on about money and "work".

Anyhow, with me having looked at your thread regarding Hoshi, it's a surprise to me that you don't end up doing fanfic at this point, Prettywitchiusaka. I'd read it even though I'm weary of fanfiction (wahh, the writers with no boundaries and going crazy playing in their fantasy land of someone else's making... :w00t but occasionally drawn in, especially when the draw is too strong. hmy: But hey, having even great fanfiction might only give a set percentage of a finished product such as anime or manga since that's the original format of Astroboy.

Or maybe the beauty lies in that the way you lay out points is because it's like reading a summary and plot bunnies burst out of a hat and our--or at least my--imagination can go wild!

My idea behind this is that during his youth, Ochanomizu began working as an apprentice for what eventually becomes Hamegg, wanting to learn about robotics. He is fairly kind as a youngster, but is a bit more brash and selfish than he would be at his current age. He is very intersted in robots at this point in his life, but really only sees them as machines, and is only intent on making money. As his time at the facility continues, he can't seem to ignore that the robots he thinks of as mere machines seem just as alive as humans. This ultimately makes him realize that he has to make a grave decision; the robots, or his future. He keeps his apprenticeship for awhile, uncertain of what to do. Eventually though, he can't watch them suffer anymore, and proceeds to let the robots escape. As a result, he looses the apprenticeship, but feels more comfortable knowing that he has changed for the better.

Since Ocahnomizu's relationship with Astro is core to the film series, he is actually quite worried to tell Astro. This is simply due to one thing; he doesn't how the little guy will perceive him afterwards. Eventually, Astro does find out. And while he is surprised, it doesn't take him long to accept that that's who Ochanomizu was, not who he is now.

What do you guys think?

So I guess that would be a little like in Astro Chronicles (the manga story in Dark Horse vols 6-8, I think), when Ochanomizu is in the 1970s and Astro meets him? But this Ochanomizu would change his mind on how robots are to function in the world from thinking they are to be "used" by humans to "useful" to humans but not seen as inferior, rather than his idealist mindset from the start. But then the area between Ochanomizu vs Tenma gets a little blurred. Tenma would try to draw in Ochanomizu to his side, the part of Tenma that "uses" robots, including Astro.

It was in the past though. If Ochanomizu is set in his ways from age and time and deciding he never wants to be that way again, he won't move more than an inch on the issue. Or be tempted for a short or slightly lengthier time, and then go back to his original position on the matter.

I guess I added at little to the conversation.

[Skymouth]

I think probably at one time Ochan and Tenma were eye to eye on some things. But when his son died, I think that was probably the straw that broke Tenma's back and could possibly be the point where the two skewed away from each other. Though it's hard to say. Tenma was always so heavily into his work that Tobio was rather neglected. I can't see Ochan being the same way. We don't really see much of either Tenma or Ochan before Tobio's death so it's hard to say exactly how they worked together.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

[QUOTE=Prettywitchiusaka;197021]
My own personal solution is not to try and expand upon his character in the present, but to look back to the past. To see where he began, and to see how that shaped him.

I wasn't going to reveal this until much later, but I have been slowly but surely working on an outline for an Astro Boy film series. In it, I have an idea to try and give Ochanomizu a backstory that won't come up until the third film.

You're planning for 3 films? I find it's funny how much people do for planning for things they are not paid to do, such as fanfiction, fanart and non-fandom creations. That would be my own take on about money and "work".

Anyhow, with me having looked at your thread regarding Hoshi, it's a surprise to me that you don't end up doing fanfic at this point, Prettywitchiusaka. I'd read it even though I'm weary of fanfiction (wahh, the writers with no boundaries and going crazy playing in their fantasy land of someone else's making... :w00t but occasionally drawn in, especially when the draw is too strong. hmy: But hey, having even great fanfiction might only give a set percentage of a finished product such as anime or manga since that's the original format of Astroboy.

Or maybe the beauty lies in that the way you lay out points is because it's like reading a summary and plot bunnies burst out of a hat and our--or at least my--imagination can go wild!

My idea behind this is that during his youth, Ochanomizu began working as an apprentice for what eventually becomes Hamegg, wanting to learn about robotics. He is fairly kind as a youngster, but is a bit more brash and selfish than he would be at his current age. He is very intersted in robots at this point in his life, but really only sees them as machines, and is only intent on making money. As his time at the facility continues, he can't seem to ignore that the robots he thinks of as mere machines seem just as alive as humans. This ultimately makes him realize that he has to make a grave decision; the robots, or his future. He keeps his apprenticeship for awhile, uncertain of what to do. Eventually though, he can't watch them suffer anymore, and proceeds to let the robots escape. As a result, he looses the apprenticeship, but feels more comfortable knowing that he has changed for the better.

Since Ocahnomizu's relationship with Astro is core to the film series, he is actually quite worried to tell Astro. This is simply due to one thing; he doesn't how the little guy will perceive him afterwards. Eventually, Astro does find out. And while he is surprised, it doesn't take him long to accept that that's who Ochanomizu was, not who he is now.

What do you guys think?

So I guess that would be a little like in Astro Chronicles (the manga story in Dark Horse vols 6-8, I think), when Ochanomizu is in the 1970s and Astro meets him? But this Ochanomizu would change his mind on how robots are to function in the world from thinking they are to be "used" by humans to "useful" to humans but not seen as inferior, rather than his idealist mindset from the start. But then the area between Ochanomizu vs Tenma gets a little blurred. Tenma would try to draw in Ochanomizu to his side, the part of Tenma that "uses" robots, including Astro.

It was in the past though. If Ochanomizu is set in his ways from age and time and deciding he never wants to be that way again, he won't move more than an inch on the issue. Or be tempted for a short or slightly lengthier time, and then go back to his original position on the matter.

I guess I added at little to the conversation.[/QUOTE]

(laughs) To be honest, I'm actually planning five. It was suppose to be four, but I simply have too many ideas for the first four parts, and figure it would be better paced at five. I'm just doing it simply because I want to see if I can do my own take on Astro Boy, even if I can't do better than anyone who's come before me.

As far as my Hoshie ideas are concerned, thank you very much. Believe me though, I'd love to boil all of that down into a fanfic. Heck, I'm even contomplating turning a small flashback to a small bonding moment between Tenma and Hoshie into a one-shot. The problem comes from the fact having been a University student for two years, I need to start figuring out where I'm going. I have a faint idea of what I want to do with a writing career, but since I don't like living a life of too much pressure (and because I'm always developing new ideas I can't get off teh ground right away), nows the time for me to start working simultaniously on both original and fan-works. I do however, intend to at least take some of my ideas for Hoshie, and turn them into a RPG for the games thread ocne I get more time.

As far as the issues with Ocahnomizu is concerned, I actually hadn't thought of that. My inital thinking was that by showing that kind of backstory progressively throughout the film, it would essentially give reason to explain why Ochanomizu is Tenma's polar opposite. Because he would have been in that position of loss at one time, but choose to do the slefless thing and grew from that experience. Whereas Tenma grew from his experiences, but those experiences affected his growth negatively rather than positively. Not that I'm saying Ocahnomizu should never have to make tough decisions. In fact, I'm maybe wondering if there should be a side-plot involving teh Ministry testing out new robots, and makig him question if this kind of testing is okay or not, because he still remembers that time rather vividly.

Skymouth

I see, so you see them as being more friendly with each other, and that Tobio's death is what set them on different thought processes. I can defenitely buy that. My own personal beleif is that Tenma isn't really sure of how to perceive or to feel about Ochanomizu, even before he snaps. But as you said, we don't really know much about them before the events of the manga begin, so it could really go anywhere.

[Skymouth]

For all we know, Ochan could have been working with Tenma at some capacity and maybe thought they were both on the same wave length as far as robots were concerned. I can see maybe Ochan being somewhat disillusioned with Tenma's fall from grace and then disappointed with Tenma both professionally and personally as a result of the man's borderline insane obsession and then mistreatment of Astro.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Yeah, I can buy that too. In fact, with the way Ochanomizu feels towards Astro in the 2003 series, I wouldn't be surprised if he slowly grew to despise Tenma for abusing his "child". As a result, it would make it somewhat harder for him to trust his old colleague once he reforms and becomes "The Atoner" of sorts. After all, he wouldn't know what to expect from Tenma on a personal level, and the numerous trials he put Astro through would be enough for him to question just how mentally sane he (Tenma) really is now.

[Skymouth]

Nods. The 2003 series was really my first series after being introduced to Astro via the 2009 movie. Tenma and Ochan were so polar opposite of each other. Ochan made a better father for Astro then Tenma ever had in Tobio's life and after death. In the 2003 series Astro had been horrified at Temna's wasteful treatment of robots in the factory... from what I recall. I've been rewatching that series for the 4th time and haven't come upon that part yet. And again, Ochan is Tenma's polar opposite even there. Tenma's views are so radical and exactly the opposite of what Ochan teaches Astro but Astro has such a capacity for forgiveness that he surpasses the teacher commendably. I agree that I think Ochan would find it very hard to trust Tenma again despite his turn around. Astro is a willing forgiver and maybe through him, both Tenma and Ochan can eventually work together again. That would be a good story in of itself, I think.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

You took the words right out of my mouth. If anything, I think that should be one of the first ideas to continue on with the 03 series.

PLus, wouldn't it be awesome to see them arguing with each other. I swear, I'd turn it into a Mortal Combat melee.

Let the verbal pwnage begin!