week ten: manga and the japanese comics tradition

This week I read the Astroboy. The story is very interesting and attractive since it is very rare to choose a child as the protagonist for a superhero story. Astroboy is a very old manga. I can still remember that I was sitting in front of the TV and waiting for the Astroboy anime. When I was a kid, I could barely understand the meaning of the story. I thought this is a superhero story about how a robot kid helps humans defeat evil enemies. I never realize this story has very deep meanings such as the relationship between human and their creations.
I still remember the miserable story about Atom and his father, Dr. Tenma. Dr. Tenma created Atom after his real son's death. He tried to treat this robot boy who looks exactly like his son as his son. But he soon realized Atom will never be his son. His son is not someone can be replaced. And Atom has his own personality, he wants his own life. This story talks about how people react after their relatives' death and how they should continue their life after that. The story also talks about if robots should be considered human. Atom thinks his servant robot is his friend, which Dr. Tenma doesn't agree with. Their argument is very interesting and meaningful.