Pluto
	 Volume 1
	  Postscript
	   by Takamasa Matsutani : President of Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd.

	I find it astonishing that "Tetsuwan Atom" has been fixed up into a new manga the likes
of "Pluto."
	As I'm sure some of you know, April 7th, 2003 is Atom's birthday.  That is the date that
was set as his birthday when Osamu Tezuka began drawing the Tetsuwan Atom manga over fifty years
ago.
	While my company was busy with a new animated series and other gala events for this year,
I had a meeting with a Shogakukan editor, Naoki Urasawa, and the producer, Takashi Nagasaki. They
wanted to make a new manga based on the "World's Strongest Robot" story.  And they wanted to take
one of the characters introduced in that story, the German detective robot Gesicht, and make him
the main character.
	I thought the idea of making a sub-character the protagonist, rather than Atom, was very
fascinating.  A manga based on another manga, and on top of that, one drawn by the genius author
of Osamu Tezuka Award-winning mangas "Monster" and "Yawara!," as well as other award-winning 
works, Naoki Urasawa.
	I quickly conferred with Osamu Tezuka's eldest son, Makoto Tezuka.  As well as receiving
his approval, he even agreed to help supervise the manga.  And after a year's worth of serialized
installments, there has finally been enough material to collect in a volume.  Due to the great
amount of reaction to the manga, I've written this postscript to conclude the book.
	Ryoko Tani, who protected her judo gold medal in the Athens Olympics, was given the 
nickname "Yawara-chan" due to Naoki Urasawa's series "Yawara," but Mr. Urasawa's world has truly
come into its own from "Monster" onward, and I am entirely confident that "Pluto" will one day
rank among his greatest masterpieces.
	Now, Osamu Tezuka and Naoki Urasawa have a 32-year age difference.  At the age of 22-23,
when Urasawa made his manga debut, Tezuka was in post-war Japan 1950-1951, when story-driven 
manga was something read among kids, and the first monthly manga magazines began to appear.  His
"Jungle Emperor Leo" and "Tetsuwan Atom" serials had begun, as well as shoujo-themed material and
some collected volumes, as he discarded his path to a doctorate to pursue his career in manga.
	Now, when Tezuka was at the age that Urasawa is now, Mushi-Pro had gone bankrupt, on
the verge of death.  But the next year, in 1973-74, one only has to see his schedule to find
the start of "Blackjack," also "Mitsume ga Toru," "Barubora" and "Shumari" in Big Comic, plus,
in December of 1974, four weekly serials, one separate weekly serial, three monthlies, as well
as one-shots: the workload of a man possessed.  This is not meant to be idle praise of Tezuka.
Every author has different qualities, and while pride in quantity is rather useless, quantity
itself has its own significance.  Because constant eagerness and dedication to one's work
will never fail to leave great value in the world.
	Now, the comics of Japan have evolved to the level where they are recognized worldwide
by the word "manga."  In the post-war '50s, Osamu Tezuka and his "Tokiwa-so" group led the
manga world forward and greatly developed the possibilities of the medium.  But now, I believe
that manga is attempting to hold back a period of excess.  The world of manga is beginning to
develop a shadow, as the ever-rising sales resemble the post-war Japanese economy more and
more.
	However, the expressive potential of manga is infinite.  And room for development is
infinite.  Please, Mr. Urasawa.  Please continue to create the kind of great works that will
lead the world of manga.  For the people of the past and future.
	I'm looking forward to it.

	August 2004