Astro Cat

Week ten: manga and the Japanese comics tradition

Astro Cat (1986) 

by Osamu Tezuka

This manga focuses on a young boy named Tsugio and a small cat that he found, who looks remarkably like the popular manga character, Astro Boy. This inspired the name Astro for the cat. Very early in the story, Tsugio and Astro get hit by a car, which turned out to be driven by aliens who used their otherworldly technology to revive the two (as well as his bicycle) and return them as if nothing had happened. The aliens referenced Tsugio's memory when reviving Astro, causing them to give Astro all the powers of Astro Boy by mistake. I thoroughly enjoyed this whimsical origin story, as well as the following adventures that Tsugio and Astro encounter as the story progresses. 

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