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A review by miguel
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 4 by Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa
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.
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.