is an anime series directed by Rintaro and written by Osamu Tezuka. Originally planned by Tezuka as a full-color remake of the original anime adaptation of his popular manga series Astro Boy, unfavorable circumstances during the pre-production phase of the project led him to abandon it temporarily and create Jetter Mars instead. Although it remains as one of Tezuka's lesser known works, it gained a large following and is fondly remembered. Development Unlike the vast majority of Osamu Tezuka's characters, Jetter Mars wasn't first published in comic book form, written and illustrated by Tezuka. In 1977, Tezuka's animation studio Mushi Productions faced bankruptcy, leading Tezuka to work as an animation director for Toei Animation for some time. He wanted to produce a color anime adaptation for his landmark manga Tetsuwan Atom, (known to western audiences as Astro Boy), but due to the financial distress of Mushi Productions, the copyrights on some of his characters were in limbo. Due to the deadline imposed on Tezuka by Toei to produce the new series, he wasn't able to secure the copyrights to his characters on time, which forced him to compromise his original project and redesign it somewhat, reworking it conceptually and visually to some extent. Tezuka then redesigned Atom slightly, and renamed him as Jetter Mars. Some aspects of Atom's original story are taken and used as the origin of Mars, such as him being created as a powerful android in the image of a boy. Two scientists are involved in Mars' creation, one conceiving him as a combat instrument and the other opposing that purpose, conceiving him as an instrument for peaceful pursuits. This element mirrors the disagreement found in the characters Dr. Tenma and Dr. Ochanomizu in Tetsuwan Atom. Some other borrowed concepts can be found across the series. Some storylines in the episodes of Jetter Mars were remakes of classic and beloved stories Tezuka wrote and drew in his Tetsuwan Atom manga, such as The Artificial Sun and The Last Day on Earth. The series was beautifully animated, and in the Tezuka tradition, it showcased many of his characters from his various manga works in different roles. In the same manner he wrote and illustrated his Tetsuwan Atom manga, Tezuka stayed away from graphic violence in Jetter Mars, although the typical traits of his works are also present in it, such as the importance of moral values, humanity and