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AllanWhincup β Coppertone Astro
Published: 2010-12-06 19:48:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 6909; Favourites: 29; Downloads: 315
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's Sketch Jam subject is Astro Boy this week. I dunno -- I see a hero in a bathing suit and my mind automatically goes to this.I've never watched nor read Astro Boy, so in researching him for this drawing I learned that he was created by a scientist as a replacement for his dead son. My question is, why would he create him as a boy wearing nothing but a bathing suit and knee-high boots? What the hell's going on there?
Sorry, I don't know who owns this character. It's not me, though...
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Comments: 25
Now we know what he looks like as a plumber.
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No. That is SPARTAAAΒ
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You're very welcome n_n
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Dude...I seriously saw this coming. I thought of the same thing 5 minutes ago and I went "When will I see it"
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And here it is! I aim to please
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You read my mind~! you win a cookie
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OMG -- That is REALLY FUNNY and really well done! It's so strange, I remember when AB was first on TV in the US (in B&W) -- I was a kid, and never thought of him as being clad in a bathing suit and boots. To me it looked like Superman's or Mighty Mouse's "hero outfit" - and being in black and white didn't call you attention to the fact he had no shirt on (they never defined his body, so it almost appeared he was wearing a shirt).
NOW however, I really must agree - what child wanders around in "Speedos" -- if you're gonna make him look realistic, for heaven's sake, CLOTH the poor kid!! XD
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Haha -- thanks. Glad you enjoyed it
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Hi! Well I have to answer your questions. Firstly, Astro Boy quite often wears normal clothes, its just when he is fighting that he wears his speedos and red boots. What quite often happened was he smashed through a glass window and his clothes broke apart and fell off, but his other outfit stayed intact. However in the 2009 movie he mostly wore jeans and a t-shirt. It was only at the end after a long battle that he wore his outfit.
[link] <-- this is an artwork I made based on the movie and he is wearing clothes here.
Osamu Tezuka is the person that created the Astro Boy character.
However, I think your artwork is well drawn and funny. Well done!
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Thanks for setting me straight (my wife also later explained that he does often wear clothes), though it still begs the question that, if he's a robot, why would he be designed as wearing trunks and boots? I mean, why not just build him naked? It's not like he has "stuff" down there, right? I have the same questions about "female" robots who are designed with breasts -- what's the point?
I'm just being a nerd, though, and overthinking things 
Thanks for the comment and clarification!
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The question of "is he designed wearing trunks and boots" and "does he have stuff down there" could be debated. I'm sure most people would tell you that he is designed with underwear and a belt as part of his body, in the 1980s series, he actually got his boots later when he joined the circus. In the 2009 movie his boots and underwear were part of his body. I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have a penis, but ~kakashischika has a different view, as can be seen by her fan fictions.
In the 1980s series, he wears clothes most of the time except when he is fighting. He wears school uniform when he goes to school, and casual clothes as well. At the beginning of the 1980s series when he is created it shows him with his underwear on the table in the lab. Later on, when he is on a cruise ship with his father he is wearing a suit.
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My point wasn't whether or not he has junk. It's a question of design versus function. Generally speaking, the way machines look is determined by their purpose -- a car has four wheels so it can move easily across the ground; a toaster has slots in it so the bread can slide between the heating elements. I'm questioning (in the dorkiest manner possible, I'll freely admit) why someone would design a robot with underwear, either as part of his body or removable? What is it's function?
The truth is that when Astro Boy was created back in the 50s, it was pretty common practice to put underwear on anything that didn't normally wear clothes, cuz people were worried that a "naked" robot would corrupt and disturb kids and turn them into criminals. It's the same case with countless giant monsters from the same time period. Check out some of Kirby's monsters from the same era -- they all wear underwear even though they're gigantic apes or lizards! [link]
So, I get WHY Astro Boy is wearing underwear. I just find it amusing to look at it from a real-world perspective and to poke fun at the absurdity of it. But please don't see that as a slight against the character or his legion of fans. No disrespect is intended!
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Yes, I get what you mean. I think the underwear is for modesty purposes. The giant lizard with underwear is funny though!
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