Netflix has had no trouble bringing noir storytelling to its audiences, often universally craving the next water cooler mystery to sink their teeth into. While this has produced plenty of iconic hits including a Nordic Noir niche, and even cyberpunk thrillers like Altered Carbon fitting the mold, one of its most striking achiements was 2023’s anime stunner, Pluto.

Itself an anime based on a manga adaptation of Astro Boy’s “The Greatest Robot on Earth” story arc, Pluto injected the signature mystery and suspense of Naoki Urasawa (Monster, 20th Century Boys) perfect for a gripping Netflix mystery. Its eight high-end OVA-length installments seized 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, eventually garnering an esteemed 8.44 rating on MyAnimeList.

It’s easy enough to say it’s unsurprising why anime lovers enjoy this. Even newcomers to Astro Boy will frequently resonate with its anti-war, anti-discrimination messaging, infused with Urasawa’s deeply emotional plot, as progressively more noteworthy humans and robots are suddenly found dead, with Europol robot detective Gesicht on the case.

Netflix’s Most Gorgeous 2023 Thriller Shouldn’t Be Slept On

There are only so many superlatives to be heaped onto Pluto before it’s painfully obvious that it’s well-loved, and for good reason. Its gorgeous animation by M2 Studio, and directed by Toshio Kawaguchi of Akira, Angel’s Egg, IGPX, Porco Rosso, and other Studio Ghibli projects among others, is utterly world-class even in its quieter moments.

Pluto’s episodes are each a meaty, cerebral, and potentially emotionally devastating journey as Gesecht investigates the cryptic crime scenes, at which the anime’s eponymous villain mysteriously leaves horns attached to the victims. With every installment being double to triple the normal length of the average installment, as an Original Net Animation, Pluto more closely resembles the OVAs of the ’90s.

But true to its seinen reimagining, Pluto isn’t about the robots of Astro Boy duking it out. While there are indeed fights throughout the anime, viewers will catch on quickly that they’re painted as tragic affairs, with the willing participants going in solo against their assailant concealed in a tornado, trying to move past the dozens of wars throughout their history.

In fact, while some real-world locations are intentionally altered, the geopolitics of Pluto are intentionally relevant. The United States of Thracia and Persia’s tensions are germane to unjust war commentary, its 2003 origins calling back to the Iraq War but now having different potential interpretations. But worst of all, Pluto’s victims, initially made for battle, wanted to escape that identity.

Pluto Sets the Bar High for Netflix Anime

Within one episode, many viewers will be reaching for the tissues as Gesecht’s investigations often feature him getting on the right track, but too late to save the next victims. The eponymous villain, Pluto, spends much of the series’ setup mounting surprise attacks, with a tornado marking the site of his assaults. But where the anime often shines is in the preceding moments.

The world of Pluto frequently features vulnerable robots attempting to live their lives on their terms, thanks to Robot Liberation Movement efforts. They’re capable of emotion and even grasping at art, but as Gesecht and others like Atom soon recognize, a robot with a perfect human-passing AI, often inherits humanity’s flaws, potentially overriding their laws:

1. Robots must serve humanity.
2. Robots must not kill or harm humans.
3. A robot must call its human creator “father.”
4. A robot can make anything, except money.
5. Robots may not go abroad without permission.
6. Male and female robots may not change their genders.
7. Robots may not change their face to become a different robot.
8. A robot created as an adult may not become a child.
9. A robot may not reassemble a robot that has been disassembled by a human.
10. Robots shall not destroy human homes or tools.

Pluto more subtly abides by Astro Boy’s Ten Laws of Robotics first conceived by creator Osamu Tezuka. But the notion of them being potentially driven to kill a human is a frightening one. Despite a non-human fictional addition to human society being the focus, Pluto’s themes are still inherently humanistic, critiquing the cycles of war, hatred, and discrimination.

Anybody Craving Resonant & Cinematic Anime Should Check Out Pluto at Least Once

All of these themes are woven into a dense noir story as the seven great robots of the world are progressively picked off. North No.2’s story involves him breaking down barriers between him and his stubborn, blind master. Brando has a wife and adoring kids at home, and is driven to fight the heartless killer who cut down his war buddy, Mont Blanc.

While Pluto gets its roses for being utterly gorgeous, presenting familiar characters like Atom, the eponymous most advanced robot of Astro Boy and Gesicht’s engaging noir story, the anime’s music is unforgettable. It includes diegetic tunes tugging at viewers’ heartstrings while pushing the narrative forward, swapping between romantic melancholia and desolate, proto-cyberpunk ambiance evoking a mature Astro Boy world.

Other iconic anime have preceded and followed Pluto, but its prevailing hook, a deep, often emotionally-taxing mystery, help it stand out immensely. While it’d be great to see 20th Century Boys get the animated treatment in addition to its pre-existing movies, Urasawa’s mystery is a great recommendation alongside Monster, both of which are available to Netflix subscribers now.

Release Date

2023 – 2023-00-00

Directors

Toshio Kawaguchi

Writers

Tatsuro Inamoto, Heisuke Yamashita

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