“PLUTO” is a spin-off series of what is considered the first modern manga series, “Astro Boy,” written and illustrated by the mystery master Urasawa Naoki (famous for Monster and 20th Century Boys).
The whole anime series is about to air on Netflix in a few hours. This anime will definitely be one of the spotlight series of Fall Season 2023.
“PLUTO” will be animated by “Studio M2.” This studio is a relatively new one, inaugurated in 2016, so they do not have any famous titles to their name yet.
PLUTO Synopsis
“PLUTO” occurs in modern times, where robots are used for household work and some niche jobs. The anime is centered around the story of “Gesicht,” a detective robot solving a mysterious murder case.
The sudden murder of the chivalrous robot Montblanc puts the world at unease as someone brutally finishes him off. After finishing him off, the robot shoved two metal wires into Montblanc’s head, representing horns.
So, Gesicht takes this as his case and names this mysterious murderer “Pluto.” He later learns about the plans of Pluto to shut down eight of the most robust robots in the world, thus causing an imbalance in the world.
So, Gesicht is now racing against time to capture Pluto while uncovering dark truths about the history of humans and robots. Will he be able to stay sane until he finds this mystery man running amok in society?
Anticipation Around “PLUTO”
“PLUTO” is adapted from the manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by “Urasawa Naoki.” The original concept for “Pluto” was given by “Osamu Tezuka,” in the form of “Astro Boy.”
The “Astro Boy” story arc that was adapted in “Pluto” is “The Greatest Robot on Earth” (“Chijō Saidai no Robotto” in Japanese). This arc is also known as the “Robot World Cup Arc” or the “Strongest Robot in the World Arc.”
Naoki Urasawa’s “Pluto” reimagines this story arc, providing a more complex and mature narrative.
Urasawa Naoki is the king of mystery-thrillers in the manga industry. His masterclass manga series, like “Monster” and “20th Century Boys,” has always been a hit among manga fans.
Urawsawa received help from some talented people while preparing this manga series. Tatsuki Nagatsuki helped him write “PLUTO,” Macoto Tezuka, the son of the late Osamu Tezuka, supervised this series, ensuring his father’s legacy was in good hands.
The series completed its serialization on April 4, 2009, with eight volumes. All of which have been translated into English.
Fans haven’t received an excellent mystery-thriller series in a while, so the anticipation for this series is expected.
Production Team
Some talented members of the production team are:
- Director: Toshio Kawaguchi (worked as a director for “Hi no Tori”)
- Producer: Masao Maruyama (worked as a producer for “Death Note,” and “Monster”)
- Music: Yuuho Kanno (famous for music given in “Psycho-Pass.”)
- Character Design: Shigeru Fujita (worked as a character designer for “Monster”)
Voice Casting
The talented voice actors taking part in this anime series include:
- Atom: Youko Hikasa (“Cattleya” from The Great Cleric)
- Gesicht: Shishuu Fuji (“Nero” from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures)
- Brau-1589: Hideyuki Tanaka (“Doflamingo” from One Piece)
- Epilson: Mamoru Miyano (“Lupin” from Undead Girl Murder Farce)
- Pluto: Toshihiko Seki (“Muzan” from Demon Slayer)
Release date and Episode Count
Pluto will have a total of 8 episodes, a little less than a single course series, which usually has 12 or 13 episodes. But as it is a “web” series (ONA series) whose all episodes will be released on the same day, the episode count makes more sense.
The usual episode count for a web series revolves around 8-10 episodes, which generally release on the same day.
“PLUTO” anime release date is October 26, 2023, worldwide. It will be released at 12:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time in the U.S.
Where to Stream “PLUTO”?
Netflix is the only platform streaming this anime series this season.
Unfortunately, Crunchyroll will not be streaming “PLUTO,” as well as Muse Asia, Hulu, HiDive, and Amazon Prime Video.
