Astro Boy : The Complete Series

I had these DVDs pre-ordered a month before its release under the false impression that they were original episodes from the 80's colour Astroboy series. I gushed with pleasure when I received the package (on my birthday, no less!)... and then felt my heart drop when I watched the first episode. This is not the Astroboy I watched each Saturday morning growing up. \ =

Despite the eye candy this faux-Astro series tries to flaunt, anyone looking for a nostalgic dip into their past should beware. This isn't the beloved Astroboy you remember.

Amazon.ca has updated this collection's details to reflect what these DVDs really are but Amazon.com still thinks they are a Billie Lou Watt flashback.

As a fan of the 80's series & Tezuka's original comics, my first impression of this show was not a good one. I bought this for my young son but decided that, despite being less violent, it was too flashy & fast paced for his young mind. This new version doesn't have a fraction of the 'heart' that the older series' had... and they've changed so much it's hard to trace much of what you see in this show back to Tezuka's work. I think the english dub/edit is to blame for most of this and would very much like to get my hands on the original japanese version.

However, this show does have its strenghts, namely some absolutely top notch art, animation, colouring, action, and some interesting storys... this is the only Astro Boy story that actually has a long continuing story (discounting the Atlas vs Astro arc from the 80's version of course), and though I haven't seen all the episodes, I'm eager to see how I'll feel about this series after I've seen how it ends. It's actually quite a good show if you can manage to enjoy it for it's own merits, as opposed to comparing it to the old show.

I would reccomend this for kids around the 11-17 year range... Younger kids would get more out of the 80's series & I think Adults would appreciate it more too. Of course it's a must-have for hardcore Astroboy/Tezuka fans!

Possibly the most annoying thing about the north american version of this show is that they have compleately screwed up the running order. The propper order is as follows...

1. Power Up

2. Rocketball

3. Destination Deimos

4. Into Thin Air

5. Rainbow Canyon

6. Atlas

7. Astro vs. Atlas

8. Neon Express

9. Franken

10. The Venus Robots

11. Robot Circus

12. Reviving Jumbo

13. Little Sister, Big Trouble

14. Micro Adventure

15. Only A Machine

16. Robot Hunters

17. The Rise of Pluto

18. The Fall of Acheron

19. Robot Boy

20. Dawn of the Techno-Revolution

21. Dragon Lake

22. The Legend of Tohron

23. Lost In Outland

24. March of the Micro Bears

25. Deep City

26. The Blue Knight

27. Old Dog, New Tricks

28. Hydra-Jacked

29. The Case of the Phantom Fowl

30. Geo Raider

31. Gideon

32. Secret of the Blue Knight

33. Fairy Tale

34. Shape Shifter

35. Firebird

36. Space Academy

37. Atlas Strikes Back

38. Battle-Bot

39. Time Hunters

40. Escape From Volcano Island

41. Avalanche!

42. Battle of Steel Island

43. Undercover

44. Into the Dragon's Lair

45. Night Before the Revolution

46. Robotonia

47. Showdown in Robotonia

48. Journey To Tomorrow

49. Astro Reborn

50. The Final Battle

This current incarnation stays true to Osamu Tezuka's vision, even though it seem to have had a much bigger budget then the two previous series. Astro Boy is a classic story of racism and class struggle, but instead with robots, and the desire of one robot to find peace between two opposing groups. The animation is one of the best and most original I have seen in a long time, the storie are deep and very emotional. However there are two major draw backs with this series, one has to do with the North American release it appears several episodes were placed in the wrong order. Several episodes deal with characters that are not introduced until later episodes, and a clip episode showing clips from epidsodes that have not been shown yet. Second is the series does seem to be a little long, the episode that deal and tie in with the overall story and plot seem drawn out and get a little boring it feels as if they are repeating themselves over and over again. Which is why I found the stand alone episodes to be my most favourite. Overall still a very well made and presented series. A must have for any true Astro Boy fan