User reviews

As soon as Netflix releases a new celebrated anime I'm a sceptic. The reviews look bought, the reviewers dumb. But still, I had my eyes on Pluto and it didn't disappoint.

Other reviews will tell you what the story is about. For me the anime is fascinating due to its in-depth analysis of AI and the meaning of being alive, to feel and being a person.

I loved the characters, the twists and turns of the plot, the dialogue, the score, the style. It's excellent, like a mix between Monster and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

This is what anime can give you that other video formats lack. The ability to explore ideas within a story, in the same way literature can.

A must-watch.

This might be a stretch, but this show to me was like if True Detective and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners had a baby. The elements of mystery aligned with the chaos that is ensued by these robotic inhuman like beings is incredible yet saddening to watch play out. There are other elements of shows that I think can be compared, and from what I've heard this anime was created by the creator of Monster, but for me those two shows I mentioned were the first to come to mind for me.

Pluto is a sci-fi, mystery, action thriller that brings together so many elements and pretty much knocks all of them out of the park. Every one of the 7 advanced robots have so much life to them that makes you root for them from the get-go. Gesicht, the inspector/detective who is the main protagonist brings so much to the story with his fury and compassion. Epsilon shows the care and love for others in the show. North No.2 gives you hope that you can pursue dreams despite a dark, hard to ignore past. Hercules shows the passion in fighting, while Brando shows how fighting can be put aside for family. And Atom and his sister show you hope, and a glimmer of light in a dark tunnel.

The supporting cast does a great job to further express these feeling at times as well, but this show does a tremendous job of throwing you into a cruel world with robotic figures with artificial intelligence, yet the beings that are supposed to be emotionless make you feel the most, and show you real tears.

Pluto is a brilliant 8 episode mini-series that gives you so much and creates a mysterious and interesting experience that you can't look away from. And with some of the current heavy hitters airing as of recent in the anime world like JJK, Bleach TYBW, One Piece, and the much anticipated final chapter of Attack On Titan that airs this weekend to name a few, it's great to see a mini series pop in and steal the shine every once in a while, and show that anime isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Thank you Netflix, for adapting this story and that too so perfectly. I've missed this feeling. There are only a few anime I was able to binge non-stop (like Steins Gate or AOT). Pluto is no different. It's right up there with some of the best mystery/suspense anime.

There are many reasons why Pluto might be one of the best anime we've gotten in years. Let me explore those reasons one by one.

The storytelling and pacing is just perfect. A mystery is told perfectly, when a viewer is curious, but never confused. That's what this anime did. The story is shown to be complex, but still doesn't seem that way. The pace is never too fast. I never struggled to keep track of the information given so far. It's also never too slow. I just don't know where those 8 hours went. I was so involved in the story. It gave brief amounts of information, at perfect intervals in the story in order to complete the puzzle in our brain.

This isn't just a thriller. It's a story about humanity, about emotions, hatred in particular. Because of how concise the story is, every plot point leads to this theme. Each character plays a huge role in communicating the story's message. And I cared for each of them. The second half brought me to tears. The conclusion is very emotionally satisfying too.

I love how this story used AI in order to explore humanity, and to enhance its emotions as well as its theme. It's just brilliant writing. Such a story, seems impactful now more than ever.

The character that stole the show, was Gesicht. A flawlessly written character, with a very emotional arc. He deserved being the protagonist of this wonderful story.

Another thing I loved was that this was sort of a mix of a futuristic sci-fi mystery, a dark psychological mystery, as well as a detective story.

There's just one tiny problem I had. During the final episodes, they introduced some new plot points, that felt a bit out of place to me.

But overall, this is an emotionally heavy story, memorable mystery and it's brilliantly told. Please, watch it on Netflix. We need more anime like these.

Pluto is a mature adaption of one of the most iconic arcs of Astro Boy. The manga, by the same name, is widely considered a masterpiece and is a deep passion project for the writer. I want to keep this mostly spoiler-free.

Every single character from the original arc in Astro Boy has been given justice in this remake. Atom (Astro Boy Himself) and Gesicht are the main leads of this show and both of them never fail to keep me engaged. The suspense is all very well done and the conclusion to it all is personally among my favorite endings in fiction.

I would highly recommend going into this blind, and if you love Seinen anime/manga, you will have an absolute blast here. Pluto comprises some of the most well-written and heartfelt characters whose story reaches a perfect end. Pluto isn't just another humans & robots centred story, it is THE humans and robots centred story.

Going into Pluto I knew we would get a brilliant adaption because the project was led by Masao Maruyama. He founded Madhouse and MAPPA, who specifically founded this new studio to adapt extremely well-deserving and overlooked mangas akin to Pluto.

Moreover, some of the other masterpieces he produced are Monster, Perfect Blue, Death Note, Hunter x Hunter (2011), Nana, Trigun, Hellsing Ultimate, Paprika, Kids on the Slope, and Tokyo Godfathers, among many others, the guy has been the driving force for masterpieces left and right. Also, the music composition is being done by Yuugo Kanno, who is well known for his extremely popular JoJo opening themes.

The Mangaka Naoki Urasawa is well known for his genius in developing murder mysteries or suspenseful tales that get increasingly interesting as you read. He has genuinely created some of the most masterful stuff in modern entertainment, and to finally see this manga by him get such a phenomenal and passionate adaption feels so good; I waited for so long to get one. I hope that Pluto is successful enough that we get an adaption of 20th Century Boys, which is another manga by Urasawa.

I am only writing this review to put shame on the guy who gave it 2. How could you possibly go into this anime thinking it was going to be straight action scenes and that's it. That isnt the authors style what so ever. This show is a masterpiece of storytelling and emotions. The first episode left me in tears and the build up to the finale was beautifully done along with the finale itself. Pluto and monster which are both written by the same author are not meant to be action animes but more a story that slowly unravels and tears at your heart strings. I believe if you give this anime anything under an 8 you have to be a young kid or someone with a short attention span just eager for fight loaded episodes.

This show is slow paced, yes but it rewards your patience with a climax that hits harder emotionally than any of the anime punches we are used to.

I had high expectations of this since I loved Monster, another anime by the Pluto's author and just like Monster, this show truly embodies human kindness and empathy.

The world is messed up and this show draws parallel to some of the darkest events of the latest millennium but throughout those moments of bleak and violent incidents, there's a ray of hope that this show never loses sight of.

Seinen anime are few in number but the recent adaptation of Vinland Saga and now this gives me hope that there's an audience that wants to see more mature themes in anime.

In short, Pluto is a masterpiece if you're patient and willing to pay attention.

First of all, I have to say that I'm an anime only and I haven't read the manga. I've only seen one other series by Naoki Urasawa and that is the anime of Monster.

So going into this blindly, I expected something similar like a realistic psychological crime story. But what I got was something completely different and it's honestly hard to believe that these are two mangas written by the same author. It's a science fiction that takes place in the future with a lot of fantasy elements, such as extremely advanced technology like robots and artificial intelligence on the level of or even more developed than humans. That was definitely a nice change and just proves that Urasawa is a genius of a mangaka who can write very diverse stories. The only thing halfway similar is the murder mystery aspect of the story, but I definitely loved that.

This anime had some interesting themes like the never-ending cycle of hatred. It's also very emotional with hard hitting deaths that almost made me cry for literal robots. Every episode is interesting and has some nice moments, but no episode is even close to the level of the masterpiece that is the last one.

That final episode is one of the greatest TV episodes I've ever seen. It has a plot twist on the same level of Attack on Titan, which absolutely shocked me. And that final fight had me on the edge of my seat the whole time as it's just pure craziness and emotion. It's genuinely the greatest finale that I've ever seen in any anime and this is not an exaggeration. I'm just so glad to finally see another very well executed ending. Most endings that I've seen felt kind of unsatisfying.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fairly short show and it was an incredible experience. The only thing I disliked was the animation of environmental elements like tornados and explosions. The studio used too realistic CGI for this that just looks a bit odd compared to the 2D animation.

I rarely give a 9/10 but this show deserves it. This is an adaptation of an arc in Astro Boy, with Naoki's twists and changes, it became one of the best told story of this year if not in all time. It follows Gesicht, a German robot detective attempting to wrestle his career and his personal life and when a murder case whose suspect is a robot, all hell breaks loose. (It's a bit cliché as cyber murder plots go, but it's nothing unforgivable). It also features Astro Boy/Atom and the other popular robots as they realize they have become more and more human and as they realize what emotions and feelings feel like. The second robot has the most emotional story among them and I loved it, without spoiling anything. Although Gesicht's, the titular Pluto's and the others come close as well.

Excellent adaptation and animation. As expected from Mr. Naoki. Hope more of his manga is animated in the near future. (Waiting for 20th Century Boys and Asadora!)

This show is amazing. The story is fantastic and compelling and it stays interesting through the whole show, but the animation and design is also beautiful. If you like sci-fi and/or mystery this is definitely something you should check out. This show was the first anime I've binge watched In over a year and through each episode it just kept getting better. I'd describe it like if Detroit become human was turned into an anime. At first I wasn't expecting much due to Netflix ruining show adaptations in the past but this is truly a great adaptation and reboot of this title and deserves so much more love.

This is one of those animes that you can recommend to anyone. It has good characters, good story, good animation and great sci-fi aspects.

My only complain is the length of the episodes, they are too long for me, making me often lose focus while there's no action. But maybe I should not have binged it. So it might be preferable to watch it slowly.

There is a substantial amount of emotional parts in this show, be ready for it.

When I finished watching this, I wanted to go back to watch the old Astro boy shows.

I give a rating of 7 because I reserve 8-10 rating for my top favorite shows that I can rewatch anytime. Pluto is a good anime, but I don't think I will ever rewatch it, mainly because of the length of each episode.

Still a recommendation for sure. Cheers.

This show tries hard to be emotional and smart, but completely fails on both accounts due to its embarrassingly unsophisticated treatment of the key themes and abysmal pacing. I am not exaggerating when saying that 30% of scenes and dialogues are re-used/repeated multiple times during the show. "Mysteries" are never satisfyingly resolved and everything feels extremely ad-hoc (including the characters' motivations). There is a important difference between mystery and confusion. It is unclear to me how this can have such good ratings, it's a really unsatisfying show, at least for an adult. With AI being such a topical theme (treated in much better ways in other shows, e.g. The recent Pantheon), all the praise for what is a very simplistic treatment of it is surprising to me.

This is a great sci-fi mystery series. It's a true sci-fi series in that it takes current conflicting situations (AI, war conflicts) and extrapolates the good and bad possibilities into the future based on the current issues they're facing. The story telling is very good, humanizing robots who develop emotions and hopes and dreams, just as much as humans do. Character development is equally as good, especially learning the ups and downs that Gesicht faces in his job as a detective and in his personal relationships. I only noticed a couple of small plot bandaids to smooth things over, but otherwise, it's a really well told story and warning of the consequences of the greed that causes war and the ensuing escalation that develops from the pain and hatred of wars.

Pluto takes place in a future where humans and AI robots live together. It starts off as a mystery when one of the world's seven greatest AI robots is murdered. Shortly after, a leading AI rights human advocate is murdered. An AI detective robot, one of the seven world's greatest AI robot called Gesicht investigates. Is the murderer human or AI robot? If the latter, then one of the cardinal robot laws may be violated, since robots are not supposed to harm humans.

What unfolds is a multilayered story.

• One layer explores a world of humans and AI robots: the discrimination, the rights of sentient beings...

• One layer explores the complexity of emotions that develop within AI... and that the more advanced the AI complex brain, the more human (hence emotionally imbalanced even) AI may become... even considering murder or even suicide.

• One layer parallels the unjust pre-emptive attack of the world on a country that didn't have the weapons of mass destruction it was accused of having.

• For many fans, Naoki Urasawa's tribute to Osamu Tezuka's Atom Boy as one of the seven greatest AI robots on the killer's murder list is exhilarating. Dr Tenma, Dr Ochanomizu and Uran all make worthwhile appearances.

Naoki Urasawa has another of my favorite stories... Monster and 20th Century Boys. All told with masterful suspense.

Finally, I have to note that there are some pacing problems in the anime version, especially to drive home the point at the end. And the AI robot emotions do not come across as poignant as in the comics. Still, it is a good ride, and a good think throughout this viewing journey.

I just finished watching all 8 episodes, from episode 1 to 8, of the talked-about Netflix original anime "PLUTO". The last time I found a Netflix original anime this entertaining was with "Arcane". This embodies Japanese anime; its uniqueness lies in not settling for a simple good-versus-evil narrative, setting it apart from the formulaic plots of Disney anime. I'm confident that "PLUTO" will sweep the awards at the Annie Awards next year!

An absolute masterpiece of an anime. Maybe the best Anime of the year or beyond, If you lust for the spirit of well renowned animes of older times, as Pluto catches their flow and polishes it with a fresh look.

The astroboy story has always been really good, this just makes it even better (in my opinion). It has amazing animation also. This anime has reached into my top 5 favorite (Netflix) anime, I hope to see Netflix put out better anime like this. I highly suggest wating this (Pluto)

It is fairy dark however, so it might not be for everyone. Blood is also frequently seen. The music and sound effects are done amazingly, it gives the show a 90s detective feel (at some points in the show). The character design is also great, especially the robots, it makes you feel for them. The show may be a bit slow at times.

Words are not enough to describe this Masterpiece. The emotions I feel are totally different than other Animes I watched. The animations are top class. It's impossible to understand negative reviews. Watch it and after years be sure your daughter or son watches this masterpiece too. I have been watching Animes for 15 years and this is absolutely in my Top 5. This is not a popular anime yet but after few days all social media will talk about this and hype it. I feel very appreciated to be one of the early-watchers of this Anime. Also, songs playing in this anime are absolutely wonderful. I started to listen everyday.

Pluto is Naoki Urasawa's love letter to Osamu Tezuka. It made me cry multiple times, its cinematography had my jaw dropped, the big animation moments brought me to tears with how epic they were, and I adored these characters as much as I would watching a live drama TV show, and I love anime don't get me wrong but there's always something about a real life show that makes you more invested, but this show has that same "it" factor if that makes sense. That lies in the character writing being so human along with the English dub cast knocking it out of the park (thank you Patrick Seitz for bringing everyone together especially the past Monster dub voice actors). Pluto is the definition of kino and a genuine anime of the decade contender.

I like the series, its world building, ambience, characters, and it has some tear level moments. Though the first episodes I couldn't stop thinking that it was some Asimov level immersion on the psychology of robots.

But then it becomes quite clear to me, how the story can only advance through the dumbest, incoherent and unrelated actions form the characters. Despite addressing the characters, both humans and robots, as genius, smart, logical, etc. They are just the typical teenager from those scary movies in which they do the most illogical and incoherent actions (that usually kills them) only because it's the only way in which the plot could take place.

Their actions simply make no sense, not within the characters, their development nor the story and knowledge they give us. Like in the referred movies, the presence of any decent grow up would quickly solve must of the problems, and yet they fail to justify any of it, and attempt to give some moral values in exchange of some sense.

I don't know the source material, but the Asimov saga of the robots it's amazing, and I believe it puts to shame this content, that could have been easily related to.

I will agree with a few of the other reviewers. This show is: 1. Far too long 2. Starts off somewhat compelling, then becomes preachy to all heck (hence the 45-degree slide review title).

3. Spends far too much time on minor characters of zero significance 4. Has characters using powers when convenient, but "forgetting" to use them...also when convenient (read: would stop the plot advancement stone cold in its tracks) 5. Pretty much takes existing manga source material and breeds it with every Star Wars cliche there is 6. Lots of "lack of communication" going on (despite advanced tech) again simply because it would solve the problem and end the story 7. The whole King of Persia (*cough* Saddam *cough*) being a somewhat "decent" guy until abused by the West is a laughably bad attempt at rewriting history 8. Memory chip McGuffins abound 9. And many more attempts to get "The Message" out to the masses in standard Netflix fashion.

So, don't believe all the 9- and 10-star reviews. This one's reviews are seriously padded by fanboys of the older source material. It is grossly over-rated, has an inflated sense of self-worth, and is honestly not that good.

This is a series that made me question if AI will be able to empathize, appreciate art, or even surpass humans, like Animatrix did to me. And if they were more like humans emotionally, but more powerful and indestructible?

There are many tears, smiles and the over-dramatic scenes with screams, but most of time they were not able to resonate with me. Unlike I felt in AstroBoy, Naruto, Sword Art Online I, Somali and the Forest Spirit, or Fullmetal Alchemist... which I really mourn the loss of the characters.

There are some similarities with Astro Boy, but the original Astro had the same personality like Gon from HunterXHunter, innocent and determinate. The style of Pluto seems more like Castlevania series. There are some action scenes, but mostly thunderbolts and lights.

I am hoping for season 2. There's some uniqueness to Pluto, but not enough to rewatch it like the Animatrix. My guess is that they chose the current way to appeal to all age ranges, but with a focus on the young generation.

"Pluto" is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Naoki Urasawa, who made a name for himself in the scene with his masterpiece "Monster," among other things. The manga "Pluto" is a reinterpretation of "Astro Boy" by Osamu Tetzuka, who in the manga scene has the humble title "God of Manga". Among other things, one of my favorite anime "Dororo" was written by Tetzuka.

All of these factors left me with very high expectations for the anime - perhaps a little too high.

"Pluto" impresses from its first moments with a very attractive drawing style and excellent animations.

This anime also effortlessly manages to build a good relationship between the main character and the viewer.

For most of the time, the viewer is in the same situation as the main protagonist "Gesicht". While watching, you're constantly pondering and asking yourself the same question again and again - who or what is "Pluto" and what exactly does Pluto want?

If you watch "Pluto" in German - like I did, names like "Gesicht", "Atom", "Uran" or even "Adolf" seems pretty strange, but I think they just wanted to make the names sound as German as possible.

Unfortunately, I also have to say that I can't only say positive things about "Pluto".

For example, in my opinion the pacing is often just not optimal. This goes to both extremes - sometimes the story progresses very slowly and could be a little quicker, but there are also situations where it goes much too quickly and I would have liked it to have taken more time.

It's hard to say whether the anime needed fewer episodes, more episodes or simply better story management.

Another point of criticism for me is the fighting. Unfortunately, apart from the very last fight, they are not at all exciting and are actually quite boring. I understand that it was done that way so that as a viewer you continue to feel in the dark and don't get too much information about the enemy, but it could have been solved better.

I'm also missing some highlights here - the anime is exciting most of the time, but also pretty monotonous if you ask me. There are probably no more than 3 situations in the entire anime that will really stay with me.

I would also personally have liked more brutality. "Pluto" tells an unpleasant and brutal story and I would have liked to have seen that made clearer here and there - but that's just a personal wish of mine.

"Pluto" is clearly a very good anime, but it still bothers me because it had so much potential to be even better if only a few small changes had been made.