Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Pluto’ on Netflix, A Sci-Fi Mystery By Way of Anime

Pluto, a new Netflix-produced anime project, is a unusually reflective and thoughtful serial-killer mystery, where a rogue robot appears to be defying its programming to murder humans – as well as some of the world’s most prominent and heroic robots.

PLUTO: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A futuristic fire-fighting plane streaks across a sky as a fire rages in the Swiss Alps.

The Gist: Before it even arrives at its in-show world-building, there’s an impressive amount of backstory behind Pluto: The show adapts a beloved eight-volume manga series of the same name, which itself was inspired by a storyline from the classic (and more kid-friendly) manga series Astro Boy. Sci-fi fans unfamiliar with its multiple source materials may think of Blade Runner or the Will Smith version of I, Robot as robot detective Gesicht chases down leads in a disturbing series of killings, though even in the first episode, it’s clear that the series takes a more novelistic approach rather than producing a straight-ahead action-thriller.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Though this is definitely a miniseries, it feels more cinematic in scope, which is why the aforementioned Blade Runner movies and I, Robot will come to mind more readily than other TV shows.

Our Take: So much science fiction in movies and TV fights a battle between the fresh and the familiar, creating worlds where both visual elements and story turns can be innovated and recycled in equal measure. From its 70-minute first episode, Pluto seems unusually in control of its individuality and its influences, maybe due to its lineage as an adaptation of a manga series that riffs on another manga series. This gives the show a long cultural history to draw from, allowing it to reshape its influences, even if some American viewers may come to it completely fresh. Even some of its most stock-seeming elements have room to deepen: The initial blankness of Gesicht, the seemingly lone-wolf German police detective investigating a series of robot and human deaths, takes on a different meaning when the show reveals (early on) that his chiseled grimace belongs to a humanoid robot, rather than a walking and talking human cliche. (There are a variety of robot iterations throughout this show’s futuristic world, some more integrated into humanity than others; Gesicht looks entirely human, save his ability to transformer one of his limbs into a weapon, while one robot he interviews looks unnervingly like Rosey, the maid from The Jetsons.)

This is also the rare sci-fi show where much of the lore it lays out while setting up the story is genuinely intriguing, rather than seeming like a bunch of homework you’re immediately behind on. For example, Mont Blanc, a beloved war-hero robot whose Swiss Alps death kicks off the series, becomes a weirdly fascinating figure despite only being seen alive via news footage. In fact, all of the first episode’s most interesting characters are robots, as the show avoids the tedious assumption that there must be a human entry point for the story. Even if Pluto strikes some sci-fi watchers as a bit derivative or self-serious, animation fans should appreciate its designs, fluidity, and invention. This is a great-looking show, and effective testimony for how sometimes fantastical stories are better-served by animation rather than live-action.

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Sex and Skin: Nothing in the first episode, despite a TV-14 rating for “nudity.” Presumably some more animated (and possibly robotic) skin will follow in later episodes; though the story isn’t exactly graphic early on, it’s definitely pitched at a more grown-up audience.

Parting Shot: The show unveils its version of Astro Boy – a young and powerful robot child who will figure heavily into its storyline.

Sleeper Star: The very first episode illustrates the series’ ambition; after setting up Gesicht and the crimes he’s attempting to solve, much of the second half of its 70 minutes pivots to focus on a blind composer and his new robotic butler known as North No. 2 – a veteran of the much-referred-to “39th Central Asian War” who is attempting to live a life of peace. Between the character’s design and the vocal performances (Patrick Seitz in the English dub, Koichi Yamadera in the original Japanese), the towering, multi-limbed North No. 2 immediately becomes one of the show’s most intriguing characters.

Most Pilot-y Line: At one point, Gesicht visits the last robot who committed murder, eight years before the start of the series, who is being kept mortally wounded but alive as a kind of monument to his crimes – but really also to provide some blatant first-episode exposition about the laws that are supposed to govern this futuristic society. It gets a pass, though, because it’s such an effectively creepy image, and the idea of a robot Hannibal Lecter figure who the detective can consult on a related crime is delightful.

Our Call: Fans of anime, sci-fi, murder mysteries, or, really, any kind of world-building ambition in a TV series should definitely STREAM IT.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.