Since I just noticed/remembered that someone specifically recommended プルートウ (Pluto) to me earlier in this thread, I feel duty bound to offer up a review now that I have finished reading it.
Pluto
difficulty 3/5 (no furigana)
I really enjoyed this, along with most of Naoki Urasawa’s work. The difficulty level of the language is similar to 20世紀少年, but it is slightly less dense and shorter at only 8 volumes, so it is a less substantial undertaking overall and I gave it one less star. Lack of furigana might be a problem for some.
It is a sci-fi story centered on a German robot detective called ゲジヒト, who happens to be one of only a few super-advanced robots in the world. Things start to go awry when a serial killer (who may or may not also be a super-advanced robot) starts killing off all the other super-advanced robots in the world one by one, and it is left to ゲジヒト to investigate, knowing that he may be their next target.
It sounds kind of childish, but like most of Urasawa’s work he weaves it in with adult and philosophical themes. There is a fair bit in there about robot-rights, and whether they can or should be treated like humans, whether robots are capable of evil or have a soul, whether it is ever justifiable for a robot to kill a human (e.g. in the line of duty, as he is a robot-cop) and a fair bit of existential angst on the part of the protagonist as he begins to suspect his memories have been tampered with. Love between robots is also explored slightly, as is the raising of robot children.
I really enjoyed the first 7 volumes, although I thought it took a slightly lame direction for the final volume and the conclusion of the story, but nevermind. Don't let that stop you.
Pluto
difficulty 3/5 (no furigana)
I really enjoyed this, along with most of Naoki Urasawa’s work. The difficulty level of the language is similar to 20世紀少年, but it is slightly less dense and shorter at only 8 volumes, so it is a less substantial undertaking overall and I gave it one less star. Lack of furigana might be a problem for some.
It is a sci-fi story centered on a German robot detective called ゲジヒト, who happens to be one of only a few super-advanced robots in the world. Things start to go awry when a serial killer (who may or may not also be a super-advanced robot) starts killing off all the other super-advanced robots in the world one by one, and it is left to ゲジヒト to investigate, knowing that he may be their next target.
It sounds kind of childish, but like most of Urasawa’s work he weaves it in with adult and philosophical themes. There is a fair bit in there about robot-rights, and whether they can or should be treated like humans, whether robots are capable of evil or have a soul, whether it is ever justifiable for a robot to kill a human (e.g. in the line of duty, as he is a robot-cop) and a fair bit of existential angst on the part of the protagonist as he begins to suspect his memories have been tampered with. Love between robots is also explored slightly, as is the raising of robot children.
I really enjoyed the first 7 volumes, although I thought it took a slightly lame direction for the final volume and the conclusion of the story, but nevermind. Don't let that stop you.
Edited: 2014-08-09, 3:49 am