It’s an idea that Western adaptations struggle with as if making some gritty and mature makes it inherently more interesting, regardless of its actual content or quality. There’s also the issue of taking such a family friendly work like “Astro Boy” and injecting it with much more mature themes and ideas. It’s a comic that is overflowing with Wimberly’s personality and style, but undeniably still Romeo and Juliet. That’s why something like Ron Wimberly’s “Prince of Cats” works so well. You need to hit that perfect balance of the original and the new. It’s Jimi Hendrix covering “All Along the Watchtower”, or Johnny Cash doing Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.” They take those original songs and imbue them with the something new and interesting, transforming them into something that isn’t the original.Ĭreating a good adaption is hard – stray too far and you lose any semblance or reference to the original (it stops being an adaptation and just something new altogether) stay too close to the original and you’re not really bringing anything new to the table. He isn’t just rehashing Tezuka’s work he’s remaking it to become something else. I think Makoto’s comparison nails why Urasawa’s version works so well. Taking their work and attempting to change it can come across as an act of hubris.
In the back matter for “Pluto” Volume 1, Osamu’s son, Makoto, compares Urasawa’s adaptation to the various covers of Beatles songs: “Countless covers have been made of Beatles songs, right? And if something new and interesting comes out of a new arrangement, that’s good, right?” Both Tezuka and the Beatles are objectively two of the most important artists in their respective mediums. From his work on “20th Century Boys” to “Monster,” Urasawa has constantly proven he’s a master of his craft.
He’s regarded as being one of the greatest modern day mangaka for a reason. How do you approach and rework something created by the man known as The God of Manga and do it justice? That’s not to diminish Urasawa as an artist. Adapting an Osamu Tezuka story is a tall order.
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