After a strong first outing, the true test of Pluto’s chops will be its ability to keep up the quality during its interim episodes. I don’t mean to sound hyperbolic but if this was them trying to step down, this show is going to top my shows of the year.
Spoilers ahead.
1. Robots of Mass Analogy
While “Episode 2” doesn’t open on its bleak peak into Mont Blanc’s time as a soldier, the war does loom large over the rest of the episode. The trauma of war, the questions of how it shapes a person, and the added sci-fi twist of what all that means for sentient robots permeates nearly every conversation and scene. To talk about that, I must ask the same question Lynzee Loveridge asks in her review over at ANN: Are you mentally prepared to discuss the Iraq War?
Some context. “Pluto” was originally serialized between 2003 and 2009 aka the height of the US’s invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s no surprise the (fictional) 39th Central Asian War was materially influenced by the (very real) war and the world’s reactions to it, though the original’s proximity made the commentary more general than specific. It’s been nearly a decade since I read the manga, so I can’t say whether “Episode 2” is, in fact, more specific with its parallels and commentary. However, with the added benefit of an extra decade and a half, I’m inclined to believe it does, even as the broad strokes remain the same.
Wars are, after all, too disastrously similar in what they do to people.
In this case, the use of the Iraq war as a touchstone helps convey not only the brutality and one-sided nature of the war, even as we “only” see the destruction of robot forces, but also the disconnect between public perception and the realities on the ground. That image of Mont Blanc sitting in the desert, surrounded by yellow, looking out over a field of robot corpses, stayed with me long after the episode ended.
The 39th Central Asian War is not something anyone who fought in it is proud of. Propagandically, it is sold as a great victory.
They thought they were doing a great thing, toppling a dictator, a threat to the world that needed destroying at all costs. They soon realized it was a convenient lie, a justification for death and destruction. Damn the human collateral. Damn the peace doves. Damn the truth.
2. Do Robots Dream of Tasty Treats?
In a show full of strong aspects, my personal favorite is the way Pluto interrogates artificiality. It is assumed within the world of Pluto that robots are creatures without feeling. Anything seen is simulated for the benefit of humans rather than internalized emotion. They go through the motions to make humans feel more comfortable.
We saw this in “Episode 1” with Robbie’s wife going through the motions of preparing tea even though neither of them could drink it – no mouths, after all. We’re reminded of it again when Atom & Gesicht are at the cafe, when Brando’s introducing us to his family over dinner, and more derogatorily at the start of the episode when the inspector is talking to the other constable bots. This was even the central conflict of North No. 2’s story.
Yet as we saw with North No. 2 and as we see with Atom, the line between simulation and reality is fuzzy and porous. Robbie’s wife mourns his loss, Atom weeps for Gesicht, and Mont Blanc is deeply traumatized by the destruction he is forced to participate in. He speaks one line the entire episode and it is a lamentation. Even if it were an “artificial” feeling, that does not change its impact and meaning.
Even in a world without robots like Pluto, we can apply the lessons of the show. For when we dehumanize others, when we ascribe their actions and emotions artificiality, we reduce them. In reducing them, it becomes easy to see suffering and say it is not real. It is put upon. And thus we are just in dismissing them, in treating them poorly, in advocating for their unilateral destruction. For they’re not like us. They are artificial.
Continued below3. Paging Dr. Packidermus J. Elefun
I’m three thoughts in and I haven’t even started to give you the actual shape of the episode, haven’t I? That’s kind of the beauty of Pluto and the hour long episodes. A lot happens in each and they’re given the proper room to breathe and act as a cohesive whole. The first episode ended with Gesicht meeting Atom in Japan and this one picks up that conversation, though not right away. First we have to further the murder mystery with another human death and provide the plot backbone for the episode before allowing the character drama to continue playing out.
It’s a real joy to see how Urasawa reinterprets the various “Astro Boy” characters and integrates them into this noir-tinged world of Gesicht’s. First is Atom who is both the child he appears to be, joyful and optimistic, and also the more mature robot he actually is. He’s seen war, even as a “peace ambassador,” and understands far more about the world than others think he does. Just look at how he handles himself during the crime scene investigation, a sequence I LOVED from top to bottom.
It would have been easy to make Atom jaded or cynical, and this is certainly how an American reimagining might have gone. Instead, this is a mature version of the character, recognizable in ways well beyond his look yet distinctly influenced by the world of Pluto.
The same is true of Dr. Ochanomizu. The scientist is still idealistic yet far more world weary and subdued. He still loves Atom as his son but also treats him as more of an equal since Atom is a far cry from the impetuous original. Why else tell him, and therefore us, the story of the robot ossuary he found during the war? That shit’s DARK for a kid.
4. Brando’s Strongest There Is
You know what’s not dark? The name of the tournament Brando’s participating in when he’s reintroduced in his very cool fighting suit. EsKkkr. That’s not typo. There are 3 ks in the middle there and it is almost certainly pronounced phonetically as asskicker. That kind of sneaky, goofy joke sums up Brando’s whole schtick pretty well. He’s not really a clown type character but he’s certainly the most jovial and goofy of all the people we’ve met so far. He makes a great foil for both Gesicht and his other war buddy, Hercules, who is also a robot who gets inside another, bigger robot to fight in tournaments.
Now it wouldn’t be an Urasawa joint without giving him a nice gooey center so he’s also got a big family. Five human children! They’re precious and all the scenes at his apartment are heartwarming. Even though we’re introduced to Brando in the same episode he meets his end, the writing is so strong I feel like I’ve been with him through his whole career, so when he decides to fight Pluto on his own, lying to his kids, it makes complete sense. It is a tragic choice, but a consistent one, and it made me weep ugly tears during his conference call with Atom, Hercules and Gesicht.
5. That Storm
There are a lot of breadcrumbs for the mystery to come in this episode. What does Atom know that Gesicht has forgotten? Did he possibly kill a human like Brau? What was with the robot mass grave Dr. Ochanimizu found during the war? Who is Pluto and why is he killing both the world’s strongest robots and the people from that mission? There are also a lot of standout visuals and moments and I honestly would rather gush about those than speculate on the other questions. Why? Shut up, that’s why.
I already talked about the beautiful horror of the war desert. The other standout scene for me was the fight between Brando and Pluto. More accurately I should say the fucking gnarly storm and those horrifying eyes that came out of it. Chills, y’all. The unnaturality of the tornado and the intensity of the eyes cements the danger Pluto poses and his status as a larger-than-life figure, something key to the serial killer genre.
I don’t know about you but I am sufficiently afraid of this mysterious god of death. Hercules is going to have a tough time avenging his fallen comrade. But that leaves the question: who is next? Is it Hercules? Is it Ochanomizu? Is it another robot we’ve yet to meet? Three are down. How many more will fall before Pluto can be taken down?
Continued belowNext time, we move a little closer to that answer.
Best Line of the Night:
Atom: “The more I do it, the more I figure it out.”
Gesicht: “Figure what out?”
Atom: “The meaning of tasty.”
