Atom The Beginning Vol 9 Review

 

Original Story: Osamu Tezuka

Concept: Masami Yuuki

Artist: Tetsuro Kasahara

Supervision: Macoto Tezka

Collaborators: Tezuka Productions

Publisher: Titan Manga

Price: $12.99

Release Date: October 23, 2024

 

Hiroshi Ochano-Mizu and Umataro Tenma have connected Dian with A106. But now, neither the medical robot nor "Six" functions. Can the inventors diagnose Dian's malfunctions and separate the robots without damaging them? Let’s leap into Atom The Beginning Vol 9 and find out!

 

Story

Hiroshi and Umataro became friends while pursuing Masters degrees. Umataro Tenma speeded through the education system to enter the program at age 19. Hiroshi obsessed over developing an artificial intelligence code that would give robots a heart, missing classes, and repeating subjects until finally entering the program at age 26. Despite their age difference, Hiroshi and Umataro like each other and care about their creations. So, when they realize Six has fused with Dian, and they can’t disconnect the robot without erasing its identity, Hiroshi and Umataro are heartbroken.

 

Having traveled from Japan to Vietnam with Hiroshi’s grandfather, the three men stay with their friends Pink and Dr Tam in Atom The Beginning Vol 9. Director Nghiêm of the Ho Chi Minh Central Hospital has been harassing Dr Tam for conducting surgery on people who cannot afford care in his hospital. The police were on the trail of drug smugglers and reluctant to investigate her claims. So, Dr Tam made sure she was on their radar. The next time Director Nghiêm arrives with his armed guards, the police are watching.

 

The situation escalates after Dr Tam reattaches a poor patient’s severed arm. Nghiêm’s guards start trashing her clinic. When Pink arrives with Hiroshi and Umataro, his guards shoot Pink in the leg. Director Nghiêm dislikes the Japanese. So when Hiroshi complains, Nghiêm shoots him in the head. The police arrest Nghiêm and his thugs, but that doesn’t help Pink and Hiroshi. Thankfully, the bullet passed through Pink’s leg but caused minor damage. Hiroshi's situation proves more dire in Atom The Beginning Vol 9.

 

Despite Dr Tam’s expertise, she hesitates to dig into Hiroshi’s skull. With the clock ticking on Hiroshi’s life, Umataro orders Pink to disconnect the robots and restart Dion. What happens next is surprising, heartbreaking, and miraculous. It repays Hiroshi's years of sacrifice and hard work while building on Umataro’s genius and a programming language developed by Hiroshi’s lighthearted grandfather.

 

Art

Hiroshi has a large nose and eyes filled with wonder. His friend Umataro cloaks his feelings behind a mask of indifference. Pink and Dr Tam are young and lean. Dr Tam resembles a beanstalk as she sweeps the wooden planks before her clinic on the riverside pier. Director Nghiêm is a well-fed man sandwiched between two suited guards. A thug named Lizard throws a bucket of muck on Dr Tam's doorstep. His face protrudes to a point like a carnivorous dinosaur, and his wide mouth sports sharp teeth. Bald Kong's muscle shirt displays his fleshy arms and ample midsection. Dian rumbles along on treads and a pillar and claims the cover of Atom The Beginning Vol 9. The surgical robot’s appearance changes with the situation. Six evokes C-3PO without “skin” and radiates humanity like a sun emits light.

 

Generously sized uppercase letters inhabit dialogue balloons. Sound effects enhance fights, gunfire, surgery, a submarine surfacing in the Mekong River, an insect-like robot flying over Ho Chi Minh City, Six activating rockets, and a ferocious battle with a samurai-like robot that graces the cover of Atom The Beginning Vol 10. The English sound effects appear beside their Japanese counterparts, heightening the drama and heart-stopping action in Osamu Tezuka, Masami Yuuki, and Tetsuro Kasahara’s story. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a copy for review. 

 

Final Thoughts

Hiroshi, Umataro, Pink, and Dr Tam sacrifice for their friends and others regardless of the cost. As they risk injury and death to combat government corruption, they create a robot with a heart. A106 may not be the Astro Boy we know and love, but Six yearns for a friend, rescues A.I.s in distress, and awakens a consciousness in other robots in Atom The Beginning Vol 9.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To learn more about this manga and look inside see my preview at The Dragon's Cache.