Why is Atom not given any honorifics in アストロボーイ・鉄腕アトム? Is it because he's a robot?


I'm very new to Japanese I'd like to apologize now for any glaring mistakes up
front.

Revisiting Astro boy, I've noticed that Atom is very rarely called by any kind
of honorific, just アトム. The only instance I could find was him being called
アトムくん by his teacher, is it because he's a robot?




The fact that he is a robot is not important.

  * Close friends and family members do not use くん/さん at all when they call one another.
  * At classrooms, English-based names may resist くん/さん earlier because everyone knows it's not used outside Japan.
  * Generally, mass media do not use くん/さん to address a celebrity, active sport player, etc (there are [complicated house rules](https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/entry-933057.html)). Ordinary people do not use くん/さん when they refer to them.

アトムくん is a perfectly valid option to those who work with Atom in a
businesslike manner, like his teacher.

