Toki no Sei

Since his first appearance in the Captain Atom series in Shonen in 1951 Atom the 100000hp jetpropelled robot boy has boasted overwhelming popularity in magazines on television and on the big screen as the star of the major series Astro Boy. His character could even be said to be synonymous with Tezuka Osamu. Nonetheless although he is usually thought of as being a scientific allrounder the robot product of an atomic fusion system who has 100000hp that is later boosted up to 1 millionhp and who is generally energetic in the fight for justice in giving Atom his role the message Tezuka Osamu wanted to portray was: Can science and humanity really coexist? Atom had seven powers with which to defeat his enemies but he was also a tragic figure a robot who suffered persecution at the hands of humans. This is the source of Atoms androgynous character what gives him his bilateral nature. The prototype for Atoms character was the girl robot who flew through the skies in Metropolis and Perry the 100000hp jetpropelled robot created by Yokoi Fukujiro. In other words since his conception Atom has been a character with both boyish and girlish characteristics. This fuzziness is linked to the cross that Atom has to bear the fact that he has a heart that is more human than the human heart but is also discriminated against because he is a robot. Incidentally the hint for Atoms pointy hair came from Tezuka Osamus own hair which was always standing on end when he woke up in the morning. Atom shaved off his trademark hair to appear in The Man Who Destroyed The World portraying the sufferings of the closecropped pilot of the fighter plane. Source: tezukaosamu.net