Comments: 15
Hirpina81 In reply to Dragonrider1227 [2014-09-16 10:24:32 +0000 UTC]
Seen from a different angle, we can have a sight of what is really happening.
Atom's relief and joy, running in Ochanomizu's open arms... and Tenma's grief: he's lost his son again, and he is invisible again...
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Hirpina81 In reply to Dragonrider1227 [2014-09-17 15:16:08 +0000 UTC]
I am not saying that Tenma is a good father. He put real tortures on his son.
A person with a great mind, powerful, capable of flying, found himself locked up, left without informations about the world out of that house, unaware about his potential... And maltreated by the person who is supposed to love him. Of course, it's not easy to be sympathetic with Tenma.
But many parents think they do right closing their son up. They want to keep them in safe and to keep them close.
His robot-son is the only thing that binds this man to this world; he's not fit for humans, he has been rejected by his robots. He has no place in the world, and that's clear, harsh and clear.
This last act is a desperate attempt to be happy again... but it can't last long: a world is calling Atom to come back, Atom is not his anymore.
So, when he sees that his son is not forced to run to Ochanomizu, meanwhile he had to force his son to be loved by him, it's another blow.
I know that Tenma as a father is a real nightmare. But I can understand a lot this kind of person. And I can feel both happy and consoled for Atom, and under a huge grief for Tenma. Two opposite big feelings at the same time.
I don't want to justify all the mess he had done, but I can see clearly why he did it.
And I bet Atom will understand it too, in the end.
The English translation made another mistake: Tenma does not want to be forgiven, but just loved by his son. So, "Father" is the word, not "I forgive you".
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Dragonrider1227 In reply to Hirpina81 [2014-09-17 23:29:57 +0000 UTC]
Those are all good points actually. Tenma is complicated.
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Hirpina81 In reply to Dragonrider1227 [2014-09-18 17:14:01 +0000 UTC]
That's why I always say that Astro Boy is a story about a father and a son, not just another superhero story.
I think that Tenma's character is one of the best I ever seen. Too human in everything he does, and in the same time, trying desperately to erase his human features.
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Dragonrider1227 In reply to Hirpina81 [2014-09-19 02:32:21 +0000 UTC]
I agree about it being a story about a father and son. Especially the 2003 series. Other versions seem to loose that. Even the manga doesn't always feel that way. The manga focuses more as a story about discrimination
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Dragonrider1227 In reply to Hirpina81 [2014-09-20 03:41:38 +0000 UTC]
We don't ever see any real interacting between Atom and Tenma in the manga. Tenma spends most of his time trying to help Atom from afar because he's too ashamed of what he did to show his face.
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Hirpina81 In reply to Dragonrider1227 [2014-09-21 17:31:43 +0000 UTC]
In the manga he's really mysterious, and in 2003's anime this feature is shown again. But he's not ashamed, he does not want to be forgiven and to return in human society: he has his own agenda, an ideal world made of machines, and, in the end, to turn himself in a machine. It seems saying: "You kicked me out, and I will show you what I can do!"
In this delicate situation, here he comes Atom, ready to shuffle the cards and to ruin his father's plans.
In comics, he was ashamed, but he did not do anything too far-reaching; instead in 2003's series, he made a huge mess, he's almost a criminal. They forbidden him to continue his experiment with the kokoro, they ordered him to destroy his new son, they boycotted his work... he ignored all this, and then he destroyed by himself his own laboratory with all other prototypes. He is a 'wanted'. He can't show his face in public, can he? He's a "loose cannon", una mina vagante.
And he thinks that the only working brain on the Earth is his one... his vision leads him, so he can walk on others' feelings. And even on his son's.
But both in series and in the manga, they don't talk a lot.
In the manga, Tenma 'uses' his son nothing more than a tool... to investigate, to make new experiments or shoots him when he does not want him to meddle in his plans. He does not hate him, but he's always cold and arid. Nothing odd if Atom does not call him Dad anymore, but Doctor Tenma.
In the anime I thought that the first thing they said each other was "It's always a pleasure!" and "You're creepy!". A real dialogue is under Robotonia, when Tenma saves him and wants him to 'wear' that new body. And then, the deepest interaction is when they face the last time in Level 7... I don't count the part in the house, because it was not a dialogue, but a solo act by Tenma... even if Atom was there.
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Dragonrider1227 In reply to Hirpina81 [2014-09-22 01:46:06 +0000 UTC]
Yes, Tenma seems very done with humanity and is ready to move on without it. Can't say I blame him.
I didn't know they wanted him to destroy his work. I got the impression he did it all himself because robots with kokoro scared him for a moment. That's why he shut down Atom and destroyed everything but in time had a change of heart and fortunately for him around that same time Ochanomizu revived Atom.
He does most likely think he's the only one with a working brain in the world. Often the most interesting villains are the ones who honestly think they're the good guys.
hmm, hadn't thought about it but they don't talk to each other a lot, and those last two moments are the only time they actually have anything like a real conversation.
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M4dG4rl [2014-09-13 21:49:50 +0000 UTC]
Oh, yeah, this moment is a bit touching, and out of all scenes and epiosdes avaiable, this one is my most favorite so far. I felt bad for Tenma, though I mean, he just got Atom back but now he lost him again.
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Hirpina81 In reply to M4dG4rl [2014-09-14 22:11:15 +0000 UTC]
Being with his creator can only drive Atom crazy, that's a fact.
But is a fact also that Tenma is the most lonely man on Earth. Not good for robots, not good for hmuman people. With all his powers and the great things he can do, he fails... and he's alone again, unseen, before he decides to disappear.
I always think that the last time he shows himself in public, leading to a disruption the Ministry, he has already planned to give up with his son, his life and everything... and that's where Atom is needed the most.
It's always terrible investigating Tenma's mind...
But also I think that: Atom is always full of good thoughts, love and positive feelings, and Tenma lacks of all of them. Atom can be the right medicine for his unlucky father. That's why I imagined Atom going to visit him after the end of the story: they can talk, no more fights or battles or crazy dreams about a robotic world. Just to talk.
So one would be never all alone again, and the other could make peace with his twisted past.
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