Pluto
	 Volume 2
	  Postscript : The Birth of Pluto
	   by Makoto Tezuka : Visualist

	It was the winter of 2002.  I was given a proposal saying that Naoki Urasawa wanted to 
draw a manga based on "The Greatest Robot on Earth," from Tetsuwan Atom.
	"Really?  A manga remake of a classic manga?  And by a popular artist?"  I was honestly 
somewhat appalled, with all due respect to Mr. Urasawa.
	Now I'll admit, that given April 7th 2003 was the birthdate of Atom in the original 
manga, it would have worked well as a tie-in for such a momentous occasion.
	I don't particularly want to treat my father's works like just some work of fine art.  I 
want them to be widely read and enjoyed by people in any generation.  And if giving them rebirth 
into a new media will help achieve that, I'm all for it.
	It's not as if no manga artist has ever done their own rendition of an Osamu Tezuka manga 
before.  Over 100 artists drew their own version of Atom in an art exhibit entitled "My Atom."
	But these were all homages or parodies, and while they might have maintained the spirit 
and entertainment of the original work, you'd be hard-pressed to value them independently of 
their base.
	I figured that this project would hold true to that stereotype.

	However, this was a serious manga that would be serialized in a magazine, and eventually 
collected into volumes and sold.  When asked of my opinion of the idea, I replied that it might 
be a bit premature.  I figured that someday another artist would do a remake, but certainly not 
timed to coincide with the birth of Atom.  There was a new TV anime series in the works, as well 
as several other events.  I supposed that if it were lined up among all of those, it would be 
received negatively, as just another money-making spin-off created to milk the occasion.
	In other words, as the original author's estate, I politely declined.
	When most people would have realized it wasn't the right time yet and given up on the 
idea, Mr. Urasawa did not.  He asked if I would be willing to meet with him and see some rough 
drafts and settings that he was working on.  He wanted to give me a presentation.
	Well, this guy is serious.  I'd better hear him out.  After taking some time to think 
about it, I finally decided to meet with him.  No doubt Mr. Urasawa realized that he didn't stand 
a chance; he justed wanted to show me what his ideas were.
	However, with me, the act of "meeting" an author is, in a way, a form of "consent."  It 
meant that I was willing to take responsibility for bringing this idea to the world.  There would 
probably be a segment of Osamu Tezuka's hardline fans that would protest the manga, but I was 
willing to face this criticism together with the author.
	I met Mr. Urasawa and his producer Mr. Nagasaki in a bar in Ginza on March 28th 2003, and 
we talked late into the night.  Urasawa excitedly told me how "The Greatest Robot on Earth" was 
the first manga he ever read, and that it would be the basis for his work.
	I was ready to accept the proposal even before being told the basis, but at this point, I 
made my own condition.  That this manga would be drawn unmistakably in Mr. Urasawa's style and 
pacing.
	You see, the sketches and characters he had shown me on his pad were still restrained 
somewhat, perhaps out of respect for Osamu Tezuka's original designs.  Atom was the exact same 
Atom we all knew, and Gesicht had the same face as in the original...
	If we're going to do this, I want to see a manga in Naoki Urasawa's style.  And so I 
requested that he rethink his character designs.  Now, I'd had a few drinks in me by this time, 
and so I was somewhat more forceful and bothersome about it than I might have been.  I told him 
that nobody who had drawn Tezuka yet had attempted to truly take him head-on.  I would be the 
judge to assure a fair fight, so he could do his best against the original author.
	It wasn't hard to imagine that this is where Mr. Urasawa's imagination truly started to 
take over.
	I was regretful that I acted so childishly at the time.
	And so, as a makeshift apology, in my powers as judge of this competition, I decided to 
allow Naoki Urasawa the first victory of the war.  This isn't a competition about which one is 
better at drawing manga.  It simply means that he challenged Osamu Tezuka head-on, and didn't 
lose.  For that alone, he is to be commended.  But the battle is not over yet.
	To all you readers, I hope that you will continue to witness this battle with sweaty 
palms and heightened anticipations, for this is a battle between two first-class entertainers 
with nearly unlimited firepower at their disposal.