WEEPS WEEPS WEEPS WEEPS. ( )

The scintillating drama and action continue! Great art depicts an even greater story of loss and pain and humanity. I adore it. ( )

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

“Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 006” by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki is the sixth book in an eight-book science fiction manga series Pluto. The whole series is based on “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” the most popular story arc in Astro Boy series written by a legendary manga master Osamu Tezuka.

Five out of the seven great robots of the world are destroyed, but the mysterious villain and his motive are still unknown. Despite his compromised physical condition and shaken mental state, detective Gesicht is determined to get to the bottom of this case and to face the powerful villain.

THUMBS UP:

1) Story in full swing.
In my previous review, I crowned the fifth volume as my favorite. Well, I think I have a new winner. The story in “Pluto, Volume 006” unfolds in neck-breaking speed but still manages to remain as suspenseful and insightful as ever. This book contains more revelations than any of the previous volumes, but there are still quite a few mysteries left unsolved, and I am dying to know what’s going to happen next.

2) Emotional.
I know I am repeating myself a little, but it never seizes to amaze me how such an action-packed and trilling science fiction manga full of explosions and robot fights can also be so thought-provoking and emotionally powerful with complex and realistic characters. What is more, to call the sixth volume touching would be a huge understatement. In fact, I got so invested in certain characters and their stories that quite a few episodes in this volume were straight down heartbreaking.

3) Realistic artwork.
Urasawa’s illustrations are another consistently good feature of Pluto series. They are realistic, very detailed and simply beautiful to look at. In other words, they are ALMOST perfect (see the following section).

COULD BE BETTER:

1) Lack of color.
I am kind of tired of writing the same thing over and over, but I really wish the illustrations would be colored, just like in the first few pages of each volume. Honestly, the lack of color is the only thing that is preventing me from giving this volume a five-star rating.

VERDICT: 4 out of 5

“Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 006” by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki is action-packed, suspenseful and more than ever emotionally powerful. The storylines unfold and merge at neck-breaking speed, and the artwork is close to perfect.

POST SCRIPTUM:

Check out my reviews of the previous five volumes:
1) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 001;”
2) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 002;”
3) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 003;”
4) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 004;”
5) “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 005.” ( )