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よみがえる名作
「真の強さとは馬力とは関係がない」 —
手塚治虫のこのメッセージを受け継いだのが、
浦沢直樹の『プルートゥ』だ。
New take on an old tale
In 1965, manga artist Osamu Tezuka drew an episode of "Astro Boy" in which the hero confronts a powerful robot, Pluto, who has been created for the sole purpose of destroying all other powerful robots and enabling his master to conquer the world. (This story is available in English, expertly translated by Frederik Schodt, in "Astro Boy, Volume 3," published by Dark Horse Comics.)
Created for an audience of children, this story is told in simple language with plenty of comic relief, but it touches, as do all the "Astro Boy" stories, on profound themes, and is tinged with sorrow. It was precisely the depth of "Astro Boy" that kept it from being a huge popular success among children of the day. At the time, it was overshadowed by another robot manga, "Iron Man No. 28," which thrilled little boys with the fantasy of owning a giant, remote-controlled robot that could beat up anyone else's robot. But today "Astro Boy" is still read and widely loved, whereas "Iron Man No. 28" survives only as kitsch.
Thirty-nine years later, master manga artist Naoki Urasawa (of "MONSTER" fame) is retelling the story of Tezuka's "The Greatest Robot on Earth" for an older and more sophisticated audience. Whereas adult-oriented remakes of children's comics are often cynical and contemptuous of the original, Urasawa's interpretation of this classic story is undertaken with seriousness and a great respect for the original.
Yet "Pluto" (published by Shogakukan and serialized in Big Comic Original) is neither a nostalgia trip nor a fawning homage to a childhood idol. Urasawa tells the story from the point of view of the German police inspector robot, Gesicht, who was only a minor character in Tezuka's original. Along the way, Urasawa includes references not only to other works by Tezuka (such as "Black Jack"), but also to science-fiction masters such as Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, and, of course, Isaac Asimov, creator of the Three Robot Laws.
One by one, six robots are given a story that was only hinted at in the 177-page original. The seventh robot, Astro Boy himself, does not appear until the end of "Volume One." Subplots are added, and minor details altered, but Tezuka's original message - that true strength has nothing to do with horsepower - is retained, elaborated on, and made particularly relevant to our times. In Pluto, as in Astro Boy, might does not make right. The robots who fight Pluto are important not because of their physical power and prowess, but because of what they have done for others, and the love that is accorded them as a result.
Shukan ST: Dec. 3, 2004
(C) All rights reserved
- take
- 解釈
- drew an episode of 〜
- 〜の一話を描いた
- "Astro Boy"
- 『鉄腕アトム』
- confronts
- 対決する
- Pluto
- プルートゥ。アラブの王が作らせた最強のロボット
- conquer
- 征服する
- expertly
- 巧みに
- comic relief
- 緊張をほぐしてくれる場面
- is tinged with 〜
- 〜を帯びている
- kept 〜 from 〜
- 〜は〜にならなかった
- was overshadowed by 〜
- 〜によって影が薄くなっていた
- "Iron Man No. 28,"
- 『鉄人28号』(横山光輝作)
- with the fantasy of owning 〜
- 〜の持ち主になるという空想で
- kitsch
- 俗受けするもの
- Naoki Urasawa
- 浦沢直樹
- of "MONSTER" fame
- (いろいろな漫画賞を受賞した)『MONSTER』で有名な
- "The Greatest Robot on Earth"
- 「地上最大のロボット」
- sophisticated
- 通の
- adult-oriented
- 大人向けの
- cynical
- 皮肉っぽい
- contemptuous
- 見下した
- is undertaken with 〜
- 〜を持って取り組まれている
- nostalgia trip
- 感傷的な行為
- fawning homage
- へつらうような礼賛
- inspector
- 刑事
- minor character
- 脇役
- Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick
- 米 SF 作家ロバート・ハインラインとフィリップ・K・ディック
- Isaac Asimov, creator of the Three Robot Laws
- ロボット三原則(ロボットが守らなければならない3つの法)を作った米 SF 作家アイザック・アシモフ
- Volume One
- コミックスの第1巻
- Subplots
- 脇筋
- (are)altered
- 改編されている
- horsepower
- 馬力
- is retained, elaborated on
- そのまま受け継がれ、詳しく展開されている
- made particularly relevant to 〜
- 〜に通じるものに仕上げられている
- might does not make right
- 「力は正義なり」ではない
- prowess
- 優れた能力
- is accorded 〜
- 〜に与えられる