Characters from Naoki Urasawa's Pluto.
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The Eight Strongest Robots
In General
The seven strongest robots in the world, who were ordered to fight in the 39th Central Asia War. Afterward they tried to find their place in human society until a mysterious eighth robot starts murdering them on by one.
- Androids Are People, Too: Everyone took for granted that the robots would be okay fighting in a war, unaware that they would be just as traumatized as any humans.
- The Atoner: They all feel guilty about their actions in the war to differing degrees.
- Doomed by Canon: Pluto is an adaptation of "The Greatest Robot in the World" story arc from Astro Boy, so the robots here are doomed to the same fate as they are in that story including Gesicht.
- Person of Mass Destruction: The higher-ups classify the seven strongest as Robots of Mass Destruction and they are treated like walking sentient nukes, less in terms of raw power and more in terms of how they affect the global balance of power.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Despite being robots they all feel terrible about what they did and have nightmares.
Mont-Blanc
Postwar country: Switzerland
Postwar occupation: Lumberjack/Conservationist
Mont-Blanc is a peace-loving robot beloved worldwide for his conservation efforts and humanitarian aid. He is killed right at the start of the story, the first of Pluto's robot victims.- An Arm and a Leg: Is completely disemboweled from his battle with Pluto.
- Friend to All Children: Very popular among kids, and shown to enjoy his time with them.
- Friend to All Living Things: Enjoyed being in nature more than anything else, and tried to promote eco-friendly logging practices.
- Gentle Giant: Very big and very friendly. However, as a key participant in the 39th Central Asian Conflict he has killed thousands of robots.
- Humble Hero: Mont-Blanc did not want a memorial dedicated to him lest if ruin any beautiful scenery.
- 100% Heroism Rating: To be the point where thousands volunteered to build a memorial for him after his death for no pay.
- Off with His Head!!: Is decapitated by Pluto.
- Person of Mass Destruction. May not look the type, and certainly does not have the heart of a killer, but he was responsible for thousands of robot deaths in the 39th Central Asian Conflict. According to Heracles, he once killed over 3000 robots in the single battle.
- Posthumous Character: Is the first of the seven strongest robots to be destroyed, before the first issue no less. All information we learn about him is through secondhand sources or flashbacks.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Breaks down in tears when he realizes all the robot lives he took.
North No. 2
Postwar country: Scotland
Postwar occupation: Butler
North No. 2 became a butler for an blind composer following the war. He hoped the composer would teach him how to make music so he could be more than a killing machine. North No. 2 is the second robot killed by Pluto, just as he was starting to learn how to play the piano.- A Death in the Limelight: North No. 2 gets two whole chapters focused entirely on himself which end with his destruction at the hands of Pluto.
- All-Encompassing Mantle: He wears a robe all the way around his body to conceal his four weapon arms.
- Do Androids Dream?: The central focus of his chapter of the story. He attempts to understand the music of his current master, a composer, who also wonders the same despite his earlier misgivings about robots.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: He has eight arms, six of which end in weapons.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: The deaths of the many robots he's killed loop constantly in his mind, leading him to wish that he'll never step foot on the battlefield again.
- Token Non-Human: He along with Mont-Blanc are the most robotic in appearance of the seven.
- What Is This Thing You Call Music?: Is assigned to serve an aging, blind composer and wants to learn how to understand and play music. He goes so far as to visit the composer's homeland of Bohemia to learn the local folk songs despite the composer's dismissals. Sadly, he flies off to defend the composer when Pluto comes to attack, just as the old man has finally accepted him.
Brando
Postwar country: Turkey
Postwar occupation: Robotic pankration wrestler
Brando got married and adopted several human children after the war. He fought in a robotic version of Pankration where humans wrestle in robotic shells. He is the third robot killed by Pluto.- Babies Make Everything Better: Brando and his wife adopted several children to try and emulate humans better. Even if he couldn't love them to the full extent a human could Brando was at least able to take care of them, and they loved him in return.
- My Life Flashed Before My Eyes: Undergoes this as he's dying. Unfortunately, this happens as he's trying to transmit a video of his battle to Gesicht and the others; instead, they see pictures of his family.
- Powered Armor: Brando is a type of robot with human-looking civilian body and larger more obviously robotic body which he wrestles in.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Deliberately goes up against Pluto to try and gather info on the latter's abilities and hopefully stop him. Not only is he unable to slow Pluto down, the info he transmitted just ended up being pictures of his family.
- Spirited Competitor: Loves fighting in the ring and had a close rivalry and friendship with Heracles.
Atom
Postwar country: Japan
Postwar occupation: Schoolboy
Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa
One of the seven most advanced robots in the world, and Urasawa's take on Astro Boy. Although he has a child-like appearance and mannerisms, he's arguably the most advanced and powerful robot in the world, able show emotions and experience things that others can't while packing the firepower to defeat nearly any other robot.- Awesomeness by Analysis: His A.I. is so in-depth that he outdoes an entire police squad in investigating the details of a crime scene.
- Badass Adorable: He's a reinterpretation of Astro Boy, what do you expect? He's also one of the only three robots that have the potential to destroy Pluto along with Epsilon and Gesicht in this continuity, though all of them hesitate out of compassion in the end (with Atom needing to hear Gesicht's last words to finally stop.)
- Badass Pacifist: Much like Epsilon, he's usually against violence unless absolutely necessary. However, his definition of necessary is more broad than his Australian comrade, and is thus more willing to intervene in such matters.
- Disney Death: Is taken out of commission by Pluto midway through the series, and while Dr. Tenma manages to repair him, he won't wake up. It takes Gesicht's extreme emotions of pain and hatred along with Epsilon's sorrow for him to awaken in time to fight Pluto in the finale.
- Establishing Character Moment: His very first scenes demonstrate how advanced his artificial intelligence is: he acts exactly like a human child. Not simulating the behavior of a child, but being like an actual child by demonstrating things like an excited love for ice cream, a desire for a cool new toy that just released, and whimsical curiosity when he spots a snail.
- Humble Hero: He only entered the conflict on orders in an attempt to end the fighting. He didn't count on being treated like a celebrity and he makes it clear to Gesicht that he hates that kind of attention.
- One-Man Army: One of the seven most powerful robots in the world and was deployed to end a conflict in Central Asia. Also a:
- Person of Mass Destruction: He's capable of great devastation, but rarely shows it due to his peace-loving nature. He finally lets loose during his rematch with Pluto and utterly dominates his opponent.
- Replacement Goldfish: As per the source material, he was originally created to replace Dr. Tenma's son Tobio, who died in a car accident. However, his personality turned out to be far-flung from him, being diligent and responsible when Tobio was not. He even liked foods that Tobio didn't, leading Tenma to reject him in time. Tenma ultimately returns to save Atom once he goes out of commission, and even cries upon his Disney Death.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: An example even in-universe. He didn't even know he was a robot until he was told that he was. Even then, he's the robot most in tune with human emotions and can experience joy from eating and playing with toys, something other robots can't do. He even blends in and goes to school with his sister, Uran. When they first meet, Gesicht marvels at this, stating that his recognition software is actually having trouble determining whether Atom is a human or a robot. It is ultimately this humanity that helps eventually get him to the point of being willing to take these qualities and use them for good in his path to becoming The Hero once and for all.
- Room Full of Crazy: After his revival, he writes out the entire equation for an antimatter bomb before breaking out of the impenetrable shelter he was resting in.
Hercules
Postwar country: Greece
Postwar occupation: Robotic pankration wrestler
Another pankration wrestler and Brando's rival. Unlike Brando, Hercules is focused entirely on wrestling.- All-American Face: All Greece Face, but Hercules embraces his role as a Greek hero named after a Greek hero with pride.
- Blood Knight: Zigzagged. He claims to be built for fighting and seems a bit colder about the war compared to the rest of the seven robots, but it's obvious that it left an impact on him all the same, and he claimed there was nothing fair or just about it.
- Determinator: After his battle suit gets destroyed, he attacks Pluto with his bare hands. He even manages to resist for a while.
- Foil: To Brando. They're both war veterans, wrestlers, and good people, but while Brando considered raising a family postwar Hercules dedicated his life to wrestling. While Brando is friendly and sociable Hercules stoic and blunt.
Gesicht
Postwar country: Germany
Postwar occupation: Police detective
Voiced by: Shinshu Fuji
The main character of the manga. Gesicht is a police robot who works for Europol under the maintenance of Doctor Hoffman who starts investigating the Pluto killings after Mont Blanc and a scientist in Dusseldorf are killed in a similar manner.- Adaptational Badass: Taken down by Pluto with ease in the original, here Gesicht actually succeeds in going toe to toe with him where most of Pluto's previous foes had failed.
- Adaptation Expansion: Duh, given he is the protagonist of Pluto.
- Amnesiac Hero: Not that he knows it at first.
- Arm Cannon: Can transform his hand into a Zeronium Cluster Cannon, the most powerful handheld weapon in the world.
- Artificial Human: As with many of the most advanced robots.
- Decoy Protagonist: Subverted. Although he's killed two volumes to the end of the graphic novel, he's ultimately the protagonist for most of the manga, and it's his detective work and his final words that cause the resolution of the manga.
- Fake Memories: Europol creates some for him to prevent Gesicht from ever finding out he committed murder.
- Good Parents: He was kind to his adoptive son.
- Great Detective: The best in Europol, combining both his enhanced robotic senses and intuition. Ultimately, he succeeds in solving the mystery of Bora and Pluto.
- Happily Married: His wife dearly loves him and many scenes are spent with him lamenting the fact that he is unable to spend more time with her. He even promises her to go on vacation after the case is over. He's unfortunately killed before that happens.
- Heroic BSoD: A gets one after he learns that he committed murder, although he quickly recovers and returns to duty.
- Implacable Man: Both due to his immense power and durability, and relentless approach to solving the Bora mystery.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Justified in that he is a robot who can literally delete his own information. Gesicht himself is not known to have deleted any of his own memories, but Europol deletes his memories of his son and his murder of Adolf Haas' brother.
- Just a Machine: Often treated to this in his line of work by those prejudiced against robots. He generally takes it in stride before one-upping the local authorities with his investigative skills.
- Knockout Gas: Can transform his right hand into a gun that delivers it.
- Meaningful Name: Gesicht is German for face.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Made of Zeronium alloy and as a result is not only nearly indestructible, but also immune to EMPs and similar attacks.
- Person of Mass Destruction: One of 7. Apparently lived up to it in the 39th Central Asian Conflict.
- Retirony: Is killed by a cluster cannon the day he decides to quit Europol.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Gesicht has a wife, a child, as well as friends, and even eats and drinks. He knows that he cannot truly enjoy food though, but like most human-like robots he follows such social norms.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After his son is killed.
- Robotic Reveal: Far from the greatest in the manga, but the reveal that Gesicht is a robot in the first issue nonetheless come as a surprise given how human he is.
- The Stoic: Behaves in such a manner to most of his 'clients' and fellow police, but shows a softer side of himself in interactions with Atom and Helena.
- Super Cop: The greatest in the world.
Epsilon
Postwar country: Australia
Postwar occupation: Orphanage administrator
The only one of the Seven Strongest Robots to not participate in the 39th Central Asia War on the grounds of being a conscientious objector. Instead Epsilon opened an orphanage for children whose parents were lost in the war.
- Badass Pacifist: Refused to enter the war as he knew what the casualty count would be. It doesn't stop him from manhandling all but the most powerful of robots.
- Bishōnen: Seriously, if someone didn't refer to him as a male robot it would be hard to tell.
- Fatal Flaw: His Thou Shall Not Kill pacifism. He is strong enough to kill Pluto but spares him the first time they fight, giving the villains enough time to come up with a plan he cannot escape from.
- Friend to All Children: He takes care of a group of war orphans after the conflict who love him dearly in return. He ultimately sacrifices his life to save them, with his last thoughts being of wanting to hug the kids one last time.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Fits the trope to a T.
- Light 'em Up: He's able to harness and focus photon energy in the form of flashes to blind opponents or as powerful heat rays.
- Off with His Head!: His head is bitten off by Pluto.
- Worf Had the Flu: In Epsilon's first encounter with Pluto, he defeats him with ease but deliberately spares him. In his second encounter, he is killed, but he's at a disadvantage because of the cloud Bora creates since Epsilon is powered by the sun's rays. He was also distracted trying to protect his adopted son from harm.
Pluto (contains spoilers)
His full form
Postwar country: Persia
Postwar occupation: Murderer
The manga's namesake. A robot serial killer targeting the seven strongest robots in the world, as well as the humans who were on the Bora Survey Group, a group of inspectors who claimed Persia was massacring robots.
It is eventually revealed that his real name is Sahad, a gentle robot who wanted to fill his homeland of Persia with flowers. After losing everything in the 39th Central Asian War, Dr. Abullah, his creator, was consumed by hatred, and used Sahad as an instrument of vengeance. He created the "Pluto" body and inserted Sahad's AI into it, tasking it with killing the Bora Survey Group and the seven strongest robots.
- A Storm Is Coming: He's preannounced by hurricanes and storms.
- An Arm and a Leg: Atom destroys one of his arms and both horns.
- Calling Card: After killing a victim, he places his remains in-between two "horns".
- Combat Tentacles: His horns can extend and bend, and are strong enough to impale any robot. On top of that, he can electrify them.
- Green Thumb: He has the ability to generate flora and even make it rain, as he demonstrates to Uran.
- Hero Killer: He starts by killing Montblanc. He ends up killing 5 of the 7 greatest robots, and sends Atom into a coma.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His most dangerous ability. After impaling the enemy robot, he unleashes a massive surge of electricity that overloads them from the inside.
- Mechanical Abomination: For most of his appearances Pluto appears less like a robot and more like a demonic force of nature.
- Redemption Equals Death: After his second fight with Atom he gives up his life to save the world from a supervolcano.
- Truer to the Text: While he has a more "realistic" android form like all the character redesigns in the manga, the one he uses for battle is just a slightly more monstrous version of how he looked like in the original series.
Humans
Professor Ochanomizu
Japan's leading expert on robotics. In the past Professor Ochanomizu was part of the Bora Survey Group, the team sent to Persia to search for Robots of Mass Destruction. He is good friends with Atom.
- Big Good: As the leading expert on robotics and the head of the foremost authority on robotics while full onboard with equal rights for robots.
- Parental Substitute: He is like a second father to Atom, despite Atom having robot parents.
Adolf Haas
A member of an anti-robot hate group, Adolf believes that Gesicht murdered his brother.
- Arc Villain: He shows up in the middle of the story to antagonize Gesicht, inadvertently helps Gesicht with his investigation, and disappears for the rest of the story.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Adolf loved his brother. In fact he seems to be the only one who did.
- Troubled Sympathetic Bigot: A flashback shows how Adolf's father lost his job a robotic assembly line leaving the family destitute, to explain his bigotry.
Dr. Tenma
The genius scientist who wrote the artificial intelligence program most robots are currently based on. His son Tobio died in an accident, driving Tenma to build Atom as a replacement, but when he realized Atom was different from Tobio Tenma abandoned him.
- Abusive Parents: He abandoned Atom when Atom acted like his own person instead of like Tobio.
- Expy: Not only is he an expy of the Astro Boy Tenma, this Tenma shares physical and personality similarities with fellow brilliant scientist/shitty father Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: While Tenma appears perpetually grouchy, Uran detects that inside he is even sadder than her over Atom's death.
Other Artificial Intelligences
Brau 1589
The only robot known to have murdered a human despite being Three Laws-Compliant, and the story's reinterpretation of Astro Boy character Blue Knight. Brau 1589 is locked away deep underground while humanity tries to figure out how he killed a human. When Pluto starts killing humans as well Gesicht goes to interview him to try and figure out how this could happen.
- Ax-Crazy: Brau is very clearly off his rocker, somehow, giggling, saying cryptic comments, and reveling in how scary he is.
- Consulting a Convicted Killer: He is the Dr. Hannibal to Gesicht's Clarice Starling when the latter is trying to figure out how a robot could murder.
- The Spook: Brau should not work. His artificial intelligence was looked over thoroughly to find any clue of how he could murder someone they found nothing. He does not make any sense on a fundamental level, which, as he puts it, terrifies everyone.
- Redemption Equals Death: At the very end of the final chapter, he escapes from his cell and, seemingly inspired by Atom, uses his lance to destroy Dr. Roosevelt, knowing that its removal from his body would kill him.
- Tailor-Made Prison: Brau's prison is more like the Chernobyl sarcophagus. It only has one guard, but to reach him Gesicht has to travel several floors underground and walk around a bunch of tetrapods to reach Brau, who is pinned to the wall where he was stopped originally.
Uran
Voiced by: Minori Suzuki
Atom's sister. She is perhaps the most empathetic robot in existence, able to detect the emotions of people from far away.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Uran is showing regularly ditching school to help out someone she detects is in trouble.
- The Empath: Uran has a unique ability to detect when someone is scared, whether they be human, animal, or robot, and can detect those emotions from several kilometers away.
Dr. Abullah (contains spoilers)
The head of the Science Ministry in Persia during the 39th Central Asia War, Dr. Abullah and his family were killed in a bombing. A copy of his emotions were loaded into a robot he and Dr. Tenma had been working on, waking it up and immediately driving it insane. Thinking itself to be the real Dr. Abullah, the insane robot turned Dr. Abullah's other robotic son Sahad into the monstrous Pluto to carry out his revenge against those he blames for his loss.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The greatest accomplishment an artificial intelligence can pull off is a lie, and the greatest lie someone off is a lie they themselves believe.
- Big Bad: Ultimately behind the murders carried out by Pluto, as well as some murders he carries out himself.
- Mask of Sanity: Beneath Abullah's professional exterior is a man barely holding his murderous anger in check.
- Misplaced Retribution: He blames the Bora Survey Group and the seven strongest robots for the destruction of his homeland. But they were all just tools of Thracia and regret the most what happened to Persia.
- Tomato in the Mirror: He does not take finding out he's not the real Dr. Abullah well.
Dr. Roosevelt (contains spoilers)
A massive supercomputer that talks through a teddy bear, whom the president of Thracia reports to. It wants to exterminate most of humanity and make robots the dominant lifeform on the planet, with it as their ruler. It hopes Dr. Abullah's plan to blow up a magma chamber beneath Thracia will facilitate his own plan.
- Eagleland: An embodiment of "Thracia's" feelings of imperialist superiority.
- Greater-Scope Villain: It is implied to be the force behind the entire story, telling the president to start a war in Persia, leading to all the problems that causes.
- Karma Houdini: Averted at the very end thanks to Brau, who sacrifices himself to destroy the would-be ruler in the final pages of the series.
