out of five rating. She also stated that the series conjures up "thought-provoking questions about robots and what it means to be human." Manga critic Jason Thompson pointed out the series' obvious allusions to the real-life Iraq War; the United States of Thracia (United States of America) invaded Persia (Iraq) after falsely claiming they had robots of mass destruction (weapons of mass destruction). Reviewing volume seven, Anime News Network'''s Carlo Santos felt the story got a lot more enjoyable with all the loose ends tied up and said Urasawa does a fine job of integrating Tezuka's design with his own style. However, he wrote that "Urasawa continues to add pointless little flourishes to the story: references to Pinocchio, a creepy little children's song, a symbolic crack in a wall. It probably all has some kind of thematic unity in his head". Santos strongly praised the final volume, saying it works on every level; with philosophical points of war and humanity and artificial intelligence, and feelings of love, hate, hope, and despair that tug at the heart. The Guardian theater critic Michael Billington called the set and visuals of the stage adaptation of Pluto'' "spectacular" and gave the 2018 London performance 3 out of 5 stars. He finished by writing "The show may appeal to manga devotees and is clearly on the side of good in its plea for a world free from hate. But, for all its technical skill, it never engages us emotionally and never explains how we create a world in which humans and robots usefully coexist. This is comic-book theatre executed with great panache but to little real purpose." Notes References External links Pluto at Viz Media 2003 manga 2023 anime ONAs Astro Boy Genco Japanese-language Netflix original programming Mystery anime and manga Naoki Urasawa Netflix original anime Robot comics Science fiction anime and manga Seinen manga Shogakukan manga Thriller anime and manga Upcoming Netflix original programming Viz Media manga Winner of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Grand Prize)