TAKARAZUKA, Hyogo Prefecture--Longtime fans of “Astro Boy,” one of Japan’s most popular manga and anime series, regularly take their children or grandchildren to the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum here.
TAKARAZUKA, Hyogo Prefecture--Longtime fans of “Astro Boy,” one of Japan’s most popular manga and anime series, regularly take their children or grandchildren to the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum here.
But the series is facing new criticism by some for its role in promoting the use of nuclear energy, marring what should have been a celebratory year for the character.
Created by Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) over half a century ago, the famous robot character uses nuclear power as his energy. “Atom,” as he is called in Japanese, was born on April 7, 2003, according to the original story. So the boy would have just turned 10 years old.
But since the nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture two years ago, claims have been made on the Internet that “Astro Boy” is partly responsible for spreading an optimistic and safe image of nuclear power.
Rumiko Tezuka, Tezuka’s oldest daughter, objects to such criticism of her father’s work.
“He showed in ‘Astro Boy’ that the humans aren’t wise enough to make full use of science, nor do they even recognize the potential threat posed by science,” she said.
Rumiko, 48, a planning producer who lives in Tokyo, also added that the entire aspect of “Astro Boy” reflected “the 1950s when nuclear energy was new and society believed that use of it would make people happy.” This is also apparent in the names of Atom’s siblings, Cobalt (his older brother), and Uranium (his younger sister), she said.