Metropolis 5pts

 When writing this manga, Osamu Tezuka had not seen the live-action movie by the same name from the ’20s; he’d only seen a still image of the main character and created his own story based on that. Later an anime adaptation was made of his version. The Metropolis manga echoed similar elements to Osamu’s other creation, Astro Boy, by having a scientifically engineered child get adopted by people and learn about humanity. Since this was a collaboration with another publishing house. Tezuka only had half a year to make it, so he combined elements from previously unpublished works, but he ended up having to cut out a lot. Michi, the main character, discovers their powers with the help of friends and has to overcome the big bad for which they were created. Tezuka’s love for Disney is evident not only in the round-eyed, soft-lined cute characters but also in the monstrous rats with the scientific name Mikimaus Waltdisneus. There were a lot of fun breaks of the fourth wall, as well, where characters directly addressed the reader. In the scene where one of the robots gets dissolved with toxic gas, the panel borders separate the detective like a physical wall in his world, even though it was an illustrative device. Tezuka transported his reader between worlds and engaged them in the story through these techniques, but also drew inspiration from real life and other stories. Man-made sun spots empowered the protagonist, but caused problems for everyone else, for example by creating giant creatures. Besides climate change, he also incorporated such things as an international scientific community like the ISC. His robot destruction also might remind readers of the horrifying acts of the Nazis and how they killed their victims, truly cementing Duke Red as a genuine villain. While a disguise for the antagonist, Sherlock Holmes makes appearances to “help” solve the case. 

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