Astro Boy's new AvoCali-style international look

9:56 AM on 04.16.2008 // Zac Bentz

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.

It's been 20 years since the "god of manga" Osamu Tezuka proved his mortal status by dying. His legacy has certainly outlived his mortal coil, with his most famous creation Astro Boy making another appearance in treaters in a forthcoming GC film.

Not content to let sleeping dogs lie, those who manage Tezuka's estate are getting antsy and have been farming out the Astro image to outside sources. Most recently, artist Lily Franky has vetted young Tetsuwan for an international audience. According to Yoshihiro Shimizu of Tezuka Productions' Copyright Division:

"...there are loads of people who absolutely adore Tezuka works, but there are growing numbers of young people who know nothing about them. We want to actively collaborate on a number of projects and use these developments to get young people learning about Tezuka's works." 

They are calling the new Astro look "AvoCali Style" after the Californication of sushi dishes. Apparently this means fattening him up, giving him a dead eyes and a shit-eating grin.

Is it just me, or is this new look extremely unappealing? What was wrong with the original design? Aren't we all supposed to be drawn to the awesomeness that is Astro Boy's sleek, more angular oh-so-Japanese look? These guys are totally blowing my mind. How is this going to attract a wider audience, and how is this helping "to increase the opportunities for people to learn about Tezuka-sensei"???

Zac Bentz,
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