Astro Boy, known in Japan as , is a fictional superhero and the protagonist of the eponymous franchise. Created by Osamu Tezuka, the character was introduced in the 1951 Captain Atom manga. Astro Boy has appeared in animated television shows (notably the 1963, 1980, 2003 series) and feature film adaptations of its eponymous manga, as well as a live-action TV series, other works by Tezuka, and video games. On 7 April 2003, the City of Niiza registered the character as an actual resident. He was also inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2004. Creation and conception Atom (known as Astro Boy or just Astro in English) originally appeared as a supporting character in the comic Atom Taishi (Ambassador Atom, sometimes referred to as Captain Atom), which appeared in Shonen, a monthly magazine for boys, in April 1951. Tezuka then created a comic series in which Astro was the main character. Osamu Tezuka created Astro to be, in the words of Frederik L. Schodt (creator of the English-language version of the Astro Boy manga), a "21st-century reverse-Pinocchio, a nearly perfect robot who strove to become more human and emotive and to serve as an interface between man and machine." As Tezuka's art style advanced, Astro "became more modern and 'cute'" to appeal to the audience of boys in elementary school. Appearances Original manga and 1960s series Astro Boy was created by Doctor Tenma (Dr. Boynton in the 1960s English dub), and was meant to be a replacement for his recently deceased son Tobio ("Toby" in various English translations and Astor Boynton in the 1960s English dub). However, because the robotic replica was not able to grow and age like a normal human child, Doctor Tenma sold him to a Robot Circus led by the cruel Ham Egg. At the circus, Tobio was renamed to "Astro" and later found by Professor Ochanomizu (Dr. Elefun) and took away following the law of robot rights. Professor Ochanomizu gave Astro a family with a robotic mother, father, sister (Uran/Astro Girl) and brother (Cobalt/Jetto). As head of the Ministry of Science, Professor Ochanomizu often calls on Astro to help resolve situations involving humans, robots and (on occasion) extraterrestrials. 1980s series Astro Boy appeared in the show of the same name as its major protagonist. He was originally built by Doctor Tenma after his original son, Tobio, who was recently killed in a car crash.