Astro Boy

I recently played the newest Astro Boy game on the Game Boy Advance, and like the original Astro Boy animé series, it is about a young robot with a “soul” (called the Omega Factor) working to make the world a better place for humans and robots to coexist. The planet Earth of the Astro universe is a technologically advanced one, with human-looking robots, and the available technology can make life infinitely better for all – or end all life. Here, a war between robots and humans occur, with the robots eventually becoming victorious, but with almost 80% of the Earth becoming a wasteland. Horrified at the outcome, Astro transcends time and travels back to the past, and ultimately changes the flow of time by convincing several key persons and robots not to go to war with each other.

In our world, technological advancement is much like the one in Astro’s world. It can make life infinitely better, or it can ultimately destroy it. In less dramatic terms, technology can assist and facilitate our day-to-day activities, but it can also hinder our progress as persons. If we put technology to good use, then we may be able to help other people by providing them a better chance at living their lives.

Sometimes it’s funny how we can learn so much from the Japanese animés. My theory is that, after the Second World War, the Japanese have developed a new, profound sense of life, and they wish to spread this lesson to everyone everywhere through their animé shows. After all, it’s so much easier to broadcast a message using animé. Plus, it’s much more entertaining.