Netflix has announced that an animated series of Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s best-selling manga “Pluto” is now in development.
On Tuesday, Netflix shared a four-minute sneak peek at the upcoming series, which is produced by Genco with animation production by M2 Studio.
“‘Pluto’ inherits the philosophy of Tezuka and does not merely convey a message of anti-war, but reminds us that there is suffering on both sides… but still, the only remaining answer is peace,” Nagasaki added.
The Japanese voice cast for “Pluto” includes Shinshu Fuji as German robot detective Gesicht; Minori Suzuki as Uran, Astro’s younger sister; and Yoko Hikasa as Atom, the series’ version of Astro Boy.
Set in a neo-futuristic world harmoniously cohabitated by humans and high-functioning robots, “Pluto” is based on Osamu Tezuka’s 1964 “Astro Boy” manga arc “The Greatest Robot on Earth.”
“The animated ‘Pluto’ is the real deal, and in addition to this being Urasawa’s latest work, this is also a new Tezuka anime. I can hardly wait to see how this new generation of anime turns out,” Macoto Tezuka, the son of the late legendary mangaka, said.
“Pluto” was first released on Sept. 9, 2003. The manga series ran for eight volumes and 65 chapters before it ended on April 5, 2009.
The series has sold over 8.5 million copies and has been the recipient of several awards, including the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.
An official release date has yet to be announced, but the project will be available for streaming later this year.
