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Pluto, 03 (2009)

by Naoki Urasawa(Favorite Author)

4.41 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

9792334394 (ISBN13: 9789792334395)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

M&C

series

Pluto

review 1: Stuff I Read – Pluto Vol 3Well Pluto keeps on rolling along, and with the third volume we are introduced a bit more to Atom’s sister, who has extreme senses, apparently, as she is able to sense fear in people or animals from very far away. In that side the story, we see her befriend a strange robot who likes art and who can make flowers grow, while in the rest of the manga we see the plot grow more complicated as other factions are added into the fray. With Gesicht we see the introduction of a group of anti-robot weirdos who have been made to resemble the KKK. Among them is one man, hilariously named Adolf, whose brother was killed and it seems like it might have been by a robot, and perhaps even by Gesicht. Whether that is true or not is still to be seen, but it is in... moreteresting. At the same time, Gesicht and the robot in Greece are visited by Epsilon, a very powerful robot who did not participate in the war that this manga seems to be about. If the war is the common element that binds these attacks, though, I wonder what Epsilon’s role will be, as he might then be left out because he was not present for the war.In any event, this volume has dispelled my fears that this series might not be complicated enough to warrant twelve volumes. Because here is also when we see who will probably turn out to be the main villain of the series, a mostly robotic man from Persia, the nation that had been torn apart by the war all these robots seem to have been involved in. That he is mostly robot and yet human links back to a clue Gesicht got about the killings, and so it seems at least likely that this man is responsible for the deaths so far. I mean, it might also be Pluto himself, who is finally shown at the very end of the volume, but it seems more likely that it is this other character who is killing the humans while Pluto is taking out the robots. My theory, at least. But the new developments with that character seem like they are going to be the most telling, and as the story seems to be revolving around the war in Persia, it makes sense that a Persian would be the main villain, to complicate that role because he would have been on the side that was attacked and devastated without much cause. If he turns out to be fairly innocent, then how he is ultimately treated will impact what this series, ultimately, has to say.But really the volume does a good job complicating all of the would-be villains, including Adolf and Pluto. While the organization that Adolf is a part of might be played as just bad people, racists and liars, Adolf himself is honestly conflicted, and has had reason for everything that he has done. It’s not that everything he has done has been forgivable, but rather that yes, he had a reason for it that we can understand. The conclusions he comes to as a result are where he runs into problems, and where the tragedy of his situation is most easily felt. This is an angry man whose life has been hard, in large part due to industrialization. But his turning that into blame of robots is unreasonable and wrong, as he should be angry at the system instead of the robots. It was capitalism that betrayed him, and he is projecting his hatred of a system where that can happen into hatred of robots for being the tools used hurt him.How the volume complicates Pluto is a little less clear, as the entity seems to jump into an uninhabited body for a while. Meeting Atom’s sister, he becomes a bit on an artist, and learns that he has the power to make plants grow. For a while then it seems as though he wants his mission to be to make flowers grow, but this is set against the growing certainty that he is the odd robot who has been responsible for the attacks. It sets up that it might not be entirely Pluto’s idea to be doing what he is doing, that perhaps what he wants is just to make plants grow, but at the same time it seems like he has been responsible for a lot of death, and by the end he seems full of hatred for Atom, something that is not really explained. Assuming that it has something to do with the war in Persia, perhaps it will help to explain what Atom’s role there was.In any event, this volume definitely gets the ball rolling on a number of plots, and I like that so much is going on here. The plot is going on at a rather meandering pace, but that works quite well, as we still have a lot to learn and see. The tension is slowly being ratcheted up, and more mysteries are being layered upon the old ones, so I’m really hoping that the payoff is going to be worth it. I am optimistic in that regard, as these opening volumes have been very good. As for this volume, I think that it does its job quite well, and I give it an 8.5/10.
review 2: This volume is more of a commentary on 'how human are humans' when interacting with robots. The series has started exploring the nature of the dividing line between robots and humans, and the impact of high functioning AIs (like Gesicht) on human society, and the introduction of a group not unlike the Ku Klux Klan that's sole purpose is to destroy and eradicate robots' existense. Vol. 03, unlike the first two volumes focuses on character development, and of the newly introduced sister of Atom, Uran. In this volume we get a clear picture certain people who are against the peaceful co-existence between man and robot.Overall, it is another enjoyable volume that definitely is setting up for a major showdown between man and robot, or is it? Can Gesicht get to the bottom of things before something crazy happens? less

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