great story!
how saddening and touching

Great story!
You did a fantastic job!
Wow! Astro based on Tobio's fantay!
The POV parts were great too!
Black Jack's one was good! The bit with Atlas was too!
Pinoko's catchphrase was funny as usual!
Here's an idea! A crossover of Tezuka tales such as Jungle Emperor Leo and Astro Boy and Unico and Princess Knight and Firebird and Black Jack and Sharaku!

Thank you for this Beautiful story, I think is One of The most careful histories about all The facts & feelings that makes Astroboy a tale for all The times, very sweet. I you'll write more about The life of The creator af Atom Dr. Umataro Tenma :D

Wow, that great! I wish Tenma would have got a clue. Keep up the great work!

Man, I love this fanfic! You know what, I'm going to start to read the rest of the chapters of it. I couldn't get around to it cause I was busy with other stuff. (Shame on me!)

Actually, I would have to say that this is one of the best Astro boy fanfics I have ever read. :)!

What on earth is Black Jack up to?! Excellent interjection of Tezuka. Looking forward to seeing how this all ends up :-)

So wait a minute . . . the replacement Nora has ALSO been replaced? C'mon Tenma, that's just wasteful! Last week I saw the movie "Robot and Frank" - which was excellent, and really makes a point of how we - as humans - are very likely to get attached to our semi-sentient robotic helpers and nannies.

One thing I would imagine coming out this whole interplay would be Tenma's motivation to better understand/appreciate the importance of considering the connections humans make with non-human "family" members (and an interactive robot would certainly be as compelling as a dog or cat). Truly, all he had to do was transfer the AI to the new model and it **could** have sufficed as a means of keeping the robot "alive." Never thought about that before, but really - your story brought that out to me. And I guess the guy is just so enamored with the point that Nora was STILL "just a machine/tool" that his head/heart was more touched by wanting to get to know the NEW model.

I had a honest emotional attachment to my first car . . . and I always get a little teary-eyed when I hear Neil Young's "Long May You Run." I mean, I KNEW it was a machine - but it had so many little quirks, and I spent a great deal of time caring for it, and "in return" it gave me real freedom for the first time in my life. There's no doubt in my mind that as robots actually do become increasingly important in our lives, that there will BE "Tobio's" and "Tenmas." And this prequel provided a chance to think about THAT part of the whole picture Tezuka gave us. Great job.

Just one thought, though...

CRUNCH? mehhhh . . . . well, then again a 9 year old kid on a scooter smacking into a truck? Yeah, I guess it would be more of a "crunch" than a cacophony of screeching wheels and twisting metal. My mind always tend to place the word "Captain" before the word "Crunch" whenever I encounter it. XD oh no - Tobio Tenma: Captain Crunch.

I like the swimsuit idea. Having Tobio play a part in Atom's design really makes their connection seem closer.
Tobio's birthday is next week with father's day not too far behind. Can't wait to see how you write those out!
Update soon

I have to laugh at how manipulative Tobio is . . . my brother would do things like that (leave catalogs and magazines open to pages with things he wanted; talk incessantly about what he just HAD to have; do charming things to get my parents attention and then slip in the not-so-subtle hint about what he wanted). IT WORKS! Plus Tenma is carrying all that guilt - he's just ripe for the picking, as they say XD

Tezuka may not have written it down as such, but I certainly can see the setup for the beginning of the canon as we know it growing right out of this. And yeah, we DO focus on responsibly recycling electronics . . . so it would be totally natural to tear-down/repurpose old robotic components. The issue will become . . . at what point are they "people" and not "appliances?" Tenma has a heck of a wake-up call coming his way! :-0

Awwwww . . . I see what you're doin' there Mr. Penguin! Very, VERY clever. Your eye for detail is indeed impressive. I bet you write very clean code! XD

As for Tenma - he should use freakin' OUTLOOK to send himself REMINDERS! DUH! Or, Tobio ought to do it for him. That MAN needs a "nanny!"

He probably writes clean code too - BUT TAKES TOO ! $#ING LONG TO DO IT (that's why he's always at work)

Now it's time for a nice refreshing Clementine. I can see Tobio swimming (when Atom is "digging" I think it looks like he's swimming).

Wow! So much happened in just two chapters. I had no idea Hoshie would die too, but it's not surprising. At least she stayed with her daughter to the end. Through it all, she was trying to be a good mother. But because she was selfish, she didn't even think of Tobio.
I can't begin to fathom why a mother would choose one child over the other.
The direction after this is taking an interesting turn. I kinda thought Tobio would react that way. It fits and you wrote it well. Great details.
Looking forward to the next update.

Oh, man . I don't blame Tobio for running away. Geez Tenma, don't you GET it? Nooo, of course not.

It occurs to me that both Tenma and Black Jack are major work-a-holics who tend to leave their families on their own and focus on their angst/careers. Makes me wonder if this is a reflection of a facet of Tezuka's own personality - and the problems it brought to his own life.

And . . . if you think about it . . . Astro is rather "Type A" too . . . so, perhaps it could be said that Atom is an expression of Tezuka's idealized version of himself? hmmmmm . . .

WHEW! This chapter is chock-full of goodies and heartbreak! Black Jack as an EMT . . . Hoshie "a bit of a nut job!" - that dialogue between Tawashi and Shunsaku Ban was epic stuff, as was the whole chase scene. Poor Tobio . . . he has lost WAY too much in his young life. He DESERVES those 20 minute tantrums!

I find the twists on Tobio's "backstory" really original, and it's a credit to your skills as a storyteller the way you have this whole "prequel" world that is as rich and interesting as the "Astro" part of the saga. I confess I read chapter 7 and then hopped back to refresh my memory and fill in the blanks.

There is really only one aspect to the whole tale I have an "issue" with . . . and that's Tobio's age (as in, I can't figure out if he's 7 or 9 or 12 . . .?) I honestly, for the life of me, can not envision a precocious 21st century boy over the age of 3 or 4 wearing "footie" pajamas with ears (think of 9 year old Ralphie in that "bunny suit" in "A Christmas Story"). IMHO there is no way Tobio would wear that thing, and although they most certainly drew Tobio doing just that in "The Secret of Atom's Birth" (and yes, he looks adorable in it) - he appears to be more of a toddler or kindergarten age child (which also doesn't meld well with his mechanical abilities in that movie). And I don't see **that** little guy coming up with a name like "Cobalt" or damning his mother.

I find that's the dilemma of blending the various versions of Atom's origin story . . . some parts just don't fit together well. I think Tobio's character functions best a little more mature - but then it becomes beneficial to let go of the uber-cute "widdle" Tobio parts.

Beyond that, though, the way you had Tobio "designing" Pluto and Atom is fab (not to mention this idea that Urania existed before Uran). And Cobalt's activation scene was great too - yeah, having Tobio present creates a connection that would be great for him to remember later on when Atom replaces his human counterpart.

And of course the drama between Tenma and Hoshie is something a lot of us enjoy reading about - I won't spoil things for those who haven't read the other chapters yet - but it's goood stuff!

Yay! New chappy!
The breakfast scene was really cute and funny. The part where Colbalt explains his "newness" and his reactions are pretty realistic. You got his character down perfect too!
I was sad to read about how Hoshie got away with Urania. It's strange that she didn't show any emotion at first, but it's clear that she's unhappy and wants to go home. I hope that situation gets resolved soon.
In the last part, I felt Tobio should have fought more for Colbalt. Also that Colbalt didn't get enough time in the Tenma house hold. Although I get Tenma's frustration and lack of patience. He doesn't quite believe that robots have real hearts yet either.
Great chappy! Can't wait for another!