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LP1: Humanity Within Astro Boy


In Osamu Tezuka’s manga, Astro Boy, the reader is brought into the future where humanity lives side-by-side with robots. Tezuka’s manga comes after WWII after Japan had to suffer from the hands of technology from the atomic bomb. Instead of representing the effects of technology as dangerous, or destructive, instead, Tezuka chooses to emphasize humanity in technology in the manga. The effects of technology are represented positively. Through different artistic techniques, Tezuka not only humanizes Astro Boy in his story but also humanizes all robots that live in human society.
In the first opening pages, the readers are shown the society in which humans and robots coexist together. As robots continue to become more intertwined with them, they become more human in order to fit into society. For example, on page 14 on the first panel, the scientists put skin on the robots in order for them to further emulate people. The robot is drawn with a human-like face and body. In comparison with the scientists that are beside it, the robot is nearly indistinguishable. The robot is humanized through its nearly-identical human-like appearance. 
In the next few panels on page 14, the readers are shown the gradual integration of robots into society. “Robots became more and more like humans every day. They could talk, get mad, and even laugh just like humans,” Here again, the robots are drawn to be almost exactly similar to the humans in appearance and now in emotions, too (Tezuka 14). They blend in perfectly with the day-to-day human lives. And, they each all have their unique expressions and emotions, as we can see in the second to last panel, the robot is drawn laughing with a big grin. The robots are drawn in a cartoonish, simplistic manner. As mentioned in Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, readers can empathize more with characters that are drawn in a more simplistic art style than a realistic one (McCloud 36). As the readers see themselves more with robots, they see them more like humans. This normalization of robots in society helps to bring the foundation for Astro Boy. 
Tezuka chooses to humanize Astro Boy the most out of all of the robots in his manga. To begin with, the character is drawn with a simplistic design and very large eyes. The large eyes emphasize his “self-consciousness” and draw the reader's attention to the character and his interiority (Fusanosuke 91). Likewise, the simplistic design of Astro Boy helps readers to identify with him and empathize (McCloud 36). Tezuka continues to humanize Astro Boy by focusing a lot of attention on his face and emotions. Like a human, he feels happiness and joy as well as pain and abandonment. On the bottom page 28, Astro Boy is presented in full view and takes up most of the frame. The readers can see his emotions clearly and the shadows onto his face help to emphasize his sadness. This helps to create an attachment for the reader between Astro Boy. Thus, on pages 28 and 29, it is easier to feel sympathetic for the character when he gets abandoned.
Even the characters within the manga remark how human Astro Boy is, “... No matter how humanlike he is, he’s too cute.” (Tezuka 28). The seller has a moral conflict with selling him because of how much he resembles a human. Even Astro Boy perceives himself as a human as he asks to wear some clothes until he is shot down by the robot seller, “Are you crazy?! Since when do robots wear clothes?!” (Tezuka 28). The humanization of Astro Boy is felt both by the characters in the manga and by the readers reading the manga.
Tezuka humanizes both Astro Boy and the robots in his society through appearance and emotions, creating a more positive outlook on the effects of technology on society. As robots become more and more human, they gain emotions and appearances that are more human-like. This humanization helps for the reader to empathize with the robots in the story and perceive them in a positive manner. 

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