Reviews

Lo de Tenma me hizo dar un bote y todo. De Astroboy no estoy puesta, las cosas como son; pero de Monster si, y yo ahí he visto un guiño que me ha hecho saltar de la ilusión x3

drtlovesbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm an avid comic book fan, graphic novel proponent, and sci-fi reader. When I recently came across a description of the Pluto series, it seemed right up my ally - super-advanced robots trying to find their place in the world, intermixed with a series of whodunit elements. The first several books were pretty good, but at the half-way point of the series, I'm feeling rather meh about it. It's not bad, but it's a bit slow, and it seems to spin its wheels in places. There are seven super-advanced robots in the world, and they're being "hunted" by someone or something. And number seven falls to the hunter. And number six fights the hunter and falls. And number five fights the hunter and falls. And number four fights the hunter and falls. Between each: People are concerned! There are shadowy figures whose intents are unclear!

It's not bad, it just feels rather drawn-out.

I'm going to finish it, because they're pretty quick reads and I'm curious about where it's ultimately headed, but I'm reading more out of obligation than engagement at this point.

loop's review against another edition

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5.0

A proper mid-series climax where all the threads set up until now come together harmoniously. Immaculately paced and well-rounded volume - so far the best one.

gilwen's review against another edition

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4.0

Nouveaux développements, nouveaux coupables, révélations, complots … l'intrigue donne un peu l'impression de partir dans tous les sens. Plus on en découvre, plus on a d'incertitudes. Pourtant, c'est toujours aussi plaisant. Et pour cause, on s'attend à ce que l'ensemble soit grandiose. Rajoutez à cela une tension omniprésente et une belle louche d'émotion et vous serez comblés par cette intrigue principale.

Pendant ce temps-là, Gesicht suit son petit bonhomme de chemin, toujours associé bien malgré lui à ce groupe anti-robot. Heureusement, les recoupements se font peu à peu entre les deux trames. En revanche, les quelques avancées sur son petit problème de rêves/souvenirs amènent toujours plus d'interrogations. Finalement, le grand tour de force de cette série est peut-être de balader dans tous les sens un lecteur qui en redemande pourtant ;)

cosmological's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Only a wrong mind can be perfect.”

—
ATOOOOOOOOOM.................THIS MANGA CONTINUES TO BE HEARTBREAKING

Content Warnings

miguel's review against another edition

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5.0

"Robots have become nearly identical to humans. What happens when they are nearly human?" "They still don't kill humans."

Pluto's fourth volume capitalizes on the foundation laid in the third with forward plot momentum at breakneck speed. Adolf and his organization come into focus as integral parts of the greater plot of the manga, as opposed to a digressive side plot. In addition, readers are treated to a vivid portrayal of two great minds: Dr. Ochanomizu and Dr. Tenma.

Much of this volume explores the tense relationship between Gesicht and Adolf. However, they remain in a philosophical holding pattern. Though they are the hinge along which the plot progresses, the most interesting exchanges are those involving Ochanomizu and Tenma. Ochanomizu's assumptions about the nature of robots and A.I. are challenged. For a robot to be truly "human", must it be able to sin as humans do? Following this reasoning, the killer robots that threaten humanity are the most "human" of all.

Tenma echoes this viewpoint. His belief is that the perfect A.I. is one with a mind as imperfect and unrestricted as that of a human. Tenma also articulates the same viewpoint as Epsilon in the third volume, that the ontological closeness of robots and humans is a danger. Perhaps precisely for the reason that a truly "human" robot must, categorically, be capable of killing. For Ochanomizu's part, he talks about the history of the robot as a labor-saving machine. Is the greatest robot of all the one that labors the most efficiently for the sake of humanity? Or is the greatest robot the one who can think freely, create art, and kill human beings? The fruitful exploration of these questions is the mark that Urasawa leaves on speculative science fiction.

depleti's review against another edition

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4.0

Haha I should probably increase my reading challenge for this year now that I've started including manga.

Also: another good volume, stuff is heating up!

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