Netflix anime Pluto is Astro Boy reimagined as a murder msytery, and it’s a must-watch
Pluto may not be getting much attention, but this new anime is easily one of the best this year!
Pluto is a new Netflix anime, and while it’s flying under the radar, it’s easily a must-watch thanks to its incredible story and top-notch animation.
In case you missed it, Pluto is the first anime from Studio M2, the anime studio founded by Masao Maruyama, an industry veteran who co-founded Madhouse (the studio behind Trigun and Death Note) and founded MAPPA (of Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man fame).
Maruyama spearheaded the creation of this new anime, and it is based on the manga of the same name by Naoki Urasawa — a manga artist known for works like 20th Century Boys and Monster. Fun fact, Madhouse made an anime adaptation of Monster that was produced by Maruyama.
Pluto isn’t exactly an original story. Instead, it’s a reimagining of the “Greatest Robot on Earth” arc of Astro Boy, the iconic anime/manga series by Osamu Tezuka. To give you a better idea of what to expect, you can check out the trailer here:
Instead of being a fun and lighthearted adventure like Astro Boy, Pluto is a murder mystery that follows Gesicht, a Europol robot detective. Astro Boy (or Atom as he’s known in Japan) is in this series, though his appearance is far from what you’d expect.
If you haven’t seen or read Astro Boy, don’t worry as that’s not a prerequisite to enjoy this anime. Pluto stands alone, and it’s definitely a must-watch for any anime fan looking for something different from your typical shonen or rom-com fare.
That’s because Pluto’s crime thriller sci-fi story is incredibly compelling thanks to an impressive cast of characters. It also helps that it has impressive animation that shows its staff members put a lot of time and effort into it.
What’s more, Pluto is not like your typical anime series with 20-minute episodes. Instead, this anime is 8 episodes long, but each episode has a runtime of around an hour, making it seem more like a prestige TV series than a standard anime show.
It’s tough to fully explain why Pluto is so good without getting into spoiler territory, but this new anime definitely gets top marks for us because of its gripping story and top-notch animation. Fingers crossed, then, that more people get to watch this show.
Best of all, this is a complete work as the anime covered all the chapters of Urasawa’s manga. This makes it a satisfying watch as there’s no need to wonder if it’ll end on a cliffhanger.
All eight episodes of Pluto are now streaming worldwide, exclusively on Netflix.