why do you love astro???????

Talk about all things Astro Boy!
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diehard67
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why do you love astro???????

Postby diehard67 » 14 years ago

I just want to know why everybody here loves Astro, or whatever charictor

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Postby Laughing Dragon » 14 years ago

I've always respected the creations of Osamu Tezuka - I admire him very much for his industry, his art and his integrity. But I didn't begin to really love Astro until I saw the 2009 film. The Astro in that film is, in my opinion, the fully realized Astro. He was innocent, he was a victim, but he was also a fighter - unafraid to defend himself or fight evil if he had to. And I really loved that scene where he's having so much fun zipping through the sky and punching clouds - "Bam!" - he was such a...guy. For the first time, he wasn't just childlike - he was a real boy. He was Pinocchio with a little grit, and I loved it.

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Postby Astro Forever » 14 years ago

Hello and welcome, diehard67! :) Fellow Canadian here! ;)

I love Astro because he moved me. He went through many hardships but overcame them. Sometimes he was hurt by people but he proved his worth. He was a child, but he also had all these cool powers, being able to fly and being so powerful! Him being a child made me feel close to him (he went to school just like me!) but he also had these fantastic adventures and had a great impact on people, things I could only dream of! At the same time he wouldn't use his powers for no reason. He was basically a weapon himself but his spirit was the complete opposite.

It's funny because as I think of it, he led somewhat of a double life, just like Spiderman or Batman! :lol:

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Postby cybotron » 14 years ago

Orders are orders
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Postby MegaAstroFan75 » 14 years ago

His similarity, and being a precursor, to Mega Man. I got into Astro via Mega Man and like the blue bomber, I like Astro because he's a child android and I love child heroes. They're more striking to me because people don't expect a child to shoot lasers from their fingers or turn their arm into an energy cannon that can copy the abilities of any machine on the planet.

Astro and Mega Man are endearing, cute, and adorable, yet admirable and strong. They have to deal with similar superhero-like dilemmas, being a normal kid, but also have incredible bravery. Not only do they have a huge weight on their shoulders, but they're also public superheroes and so also have to deal with being celebrities.

Now granted Mega Man never really delves into his out of battle life (yet), by virtue of being a video game. However Astro provides a template for what Mega Man probably has to go through.

My favourite version of Astro Boy is the 2003 version. He was not the first version I saw, but the one that I found most interesting. Although some of his childish aspects were cut from the dub, the later episodes around the introduction of Zoran begin to follow the scripts. However the superhero tone is not what draws me to this version. What I liked, was the racism-based themes present in the series and Astro having to deal with basically being half-human and half-robot (having a true human soul) in a world where robots aren't entirely accepted as a good thing.

The 2009 and 80's versions are lighter, which I respect as well. Especially the former, you don't want to introduce a very tentative new audience to a dark story considering everything involved. However the 2003 version has an aspect that is much more interesting and much stronger, as robots fight to ensure they have their rights set in stone and not change based on owner. It's a richer and darker theme that has strong bearing in real life considering the number of times prejudice has won out over justice for decades.

He's a cute, endearing character, a child hero, and a pacifist, those are the basic reasons I like him.

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Postby Dragonrider1227 » 14 years ago

I loved the character because he was so cute, and caring, and heroic, and is quite possibly the very definition of Woobie. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWoobie
I like the story because it surprised me. I knew really nothing about the character when I first opened the Manga other than that it was a silly little cartoon my dad watched. I didn't know it got so dark or complicated. These things are what hooked me

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Postby dannavy85 » 14 years ago

Astro's just an old fashion hero.
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Postby Nora » 14 years ago

because he's cute, and can kick butt all rolled into one little fun sized burrito.

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Postby sgupta » 14 years ago

I love Astro for a lot of reasons, but my top reasons are:

- He's a robot, and I've always *loved* robots ever since I was a little kid. I'm especially fascinated by Artificial Intelligence.

- For me, any truly great hero has to have some vulnerability and some basis in pain/loss/sacrifice/tragedy. For Astro, it works on multiple levels. He was created out of a father's grief over his dead son. He was abandoned by that father and continues to struggle in that relationship. He is alone in that he really is the only one of his kind, at least at first (you could argue Atlas and his robot family, etc. change that). He experiences prejudice and injustice, etc. And he faces it all with the outlook of a little boy.

- He's adorable - one of the cutest drawn characters I've ever seen. Everything from the "shampoo-style hair spikes" to his red boots and BVD's to the fact that he has butt guns and uses them with attitude, he's just disarmingly kawaii. ^.^ You just want to huggle him up. I never thought I had a paternal bone in my body, but I actually feel that way toward Astro.

- Going along with the above, he's innocent - an innocence that transcends time in a lot of ways. I have a feeling (at least here in the US) if you even proposed the concept of a boy hero today near naked and essentially wearing only undies and boots (even if a robot), there's no way it'd get past the censors. This is a sad thought because there's a certain appealing innocence to this character that's not even remotely sexual, but just...candid and innocent and free. I think it makes him that much cuter and that it's a shame we lost this somewhere and started to sexualize everything.

- He's history! In the literal sense, created in 1951! Gotta respect that, and I think it makes him cooler. I'm finding my favorite heroes end up being quite old.

- He's powerful! Something that resonates for me in anime, etc., is a hereo small and tiny (and in this case cute) being incredibly more powerful than adverseries ORDERS of sizes bigger and meaner looking than the hero is. There's just something that's so much fun and cool about that, whether The Doctor's TARDIS or an anime character 1/100th the size of his opponent blocking a punch with his blade. Astro's the first character I'm aware of that really used this to great effect!

- Most heroes fight for "justice" or even revenge. Astro is different than any other hero in this regard, as he's actually an ambassador of PEACE. He's not on anyone's side per se - he just wants to end the fighting and prejudice and make the world a better place. He's also full of compassion and forgiveness, and unlike a lot of characters, since he's a robot, it doesn't feel as forced. IE, Astro can (or at least has the capacity), in a sense, perfect the better nature of humanitiy in a way humans can't achieve because of their inherently flawed nature (or in a human character feel forced or ingenuine). His little boy outlook only assists in that, as I think we all sometimes feel life is purer and decisions far easier as a child.

So, that's why I love Astro. ^.^ (Now I've procrastinated doing my work long enough - lol).
Last edited by sgupta on Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby MegaAstroFan75 » 14 years ago

"sgupta" wrote:- He's powerful! Something that resonates for me in anime, etc., is a hereo small and tiny (and in this case cute) being incredibly more powerful than adverseries ORDERS of sizes bigger and meaner looking than the hero is. There's just something that's so much fun and cool about that, whether The Doctor's TARDIS or an anime character 1/100th the size of his opponent blocking a punch with his blade. Astro's the first character I'm aware of that really used this to great effect!

- Most heroes fight for "justice" or even revenge. Astro is different than any other hero in this regard, as he's actually an ambassador of PEACE. He's not on anyone's side per se - he just wants to end the fighting and prejudice and make the world a better place. He's also full of compassion and forgiveness, and unlike a lot of characters, since he's a robot, it doesn't feel as forced. IE, Astro can (or at least has the capacity), in a sense, perfect the better nature of humanitiy in a way humans can't achieve because of their inherently flawed nature (or in a human character feel forced or ingenuine). His little boy outlook only assists in that, as I think we all sometimes feel life is purer and decisions far easier as a child.


With the former point, I love that too and again is relates between Astro and Mega Man in that the latter has an incredible capacity for strength and if he could work with Astro the two would be almost unstoppable (Wily might think of something, but most of Astro's enemies would be done).

With the latter point I take issue with you saying justice in quotes, like it's wrong to fight for or unrealistic. Astro fights for justice and peace, that's what all superheroes do. They fight for those they love, for the rights of others to live and be free, and they try to instill the virtues of love, caring and kindness in their foes. Granted Astro is often shown being more successful at this, though that's more of a writing choice.

Point is all superheroes and heroes in general would like nothing more than for the fighting to stop, and that's what they're trying to do. The ones who want revenge would fall more towards anti-hero anyways.


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