Urasawa took one chapter of Tezuka's Astro Boy, "The Greatest Robot on Earth," and turned it into an eight-volume detective story. A robot detective named Gesicht investigates the killing of the world's most advanced machines, one by one. The hook is that these robots have families, doubts, and trauma from a recent war, and the murders force a question Tezuka only gestured at: what separates a person from a thing built to act like one. Urasawa draws with a restraint that suits the material. Faces carry the weight. It reads like prestige crime fiction that happens to be about androids, and it earns that comparison.
Karamazovian is human-curated and reader-supported. Become a member to read the full writing — search, lists, and your own tree open with it.
Become a member — $2.99 / month →New here? Create account →
Already a member? Sign in →