Fill her up with premium!

[jeffbert]

Fill 'er up, with premium
How do Astroboy and his little sister take in fuel? This is one of the cutest things I have seen in the B&W series, the Manga, and now, in figurines. I will supply some pics from the B&W and figurine catalogue:

Here, the siblings are just about to leave for school in the morning, as seen in Astroboy goes to school:




While it appears they are taking it in the tail, I think the connectors are above the buns. Note how Uran's skirt is below the refueling hose.

30th Anniversary tape 03, Astroboy goes to school.


Here is Astroboy helping himself to some energy:


TRSI: Astroboy Tape 07




Here, Atom is sharing with this happy guy:


TRSI: Astroboy tape 03

Here he is receiving energy via some other character's telrkenitic power:


TRSI: Astroboy tape 09


Here is from figurine catalogue as seen on eBay:



So, we can see that the new series appears to be be going for the cute touch. I wonder if this will survive the editors when it goes to America? Perhaps this is not even in the new series, but only in the figurines.
As I mentioned in my discussion on the hips or butt, who but a little kid would be so humble as to have a weapon in his bottom, but that is not all he has there.

Here is Atom sharing his energy with a very young robot:


TRSI: Astroboy Tape 01: The Birth of Astroboy

Older robots do not take it in such an undignified manner, but because that was not cute, it did not appear on "The Birth of Astroboy". I have seen them though, but do not feel like hunting them down right now. There was one in which somehow Astroboy was caught in a civil rights struggle between robots an humans, and the robots were starved of energy. He gave away so much of his own energy, he could not even fly just when it became necessary.

I also saw some of these undignified scenes in the manga, but do not wish to kindle Darkhorse Comics' wrath. Manga #3, page 16, and #4, page 147 have the frames in question. I am still awaiting #5-7, so, I do not know to what other types of indignity the siblings are subjected. I saw one that I thought was mama oiling Atom's machine guns, but do not remember where I saw it. I think this was on the web, but I know it was from the manga.

I checked with Shawne Kleckner of TRSI, and he had no problem with my uploading a few images.


I believe these are only available in the NTSC format, and that you Aussies need Pal. So, beware when ordering. I reccomend buying a 6 pack from eBay. Just make sure gleckner is the seller. you can pick up the 6 tapes for $30-40.

[jeffbert]

I know that six or seven people have viewed this topic. Why do you not reply?
:angry:

[DrFrag]

We're all too shocked.

Astro gets refuelled the same way by his dad in issue 10, page 63. And then on page 70 Astro shoots up with a drug called Yellow Horse. Man, they wouldn't get away with that today!

BTW, most Australian VCRs sold in the last 10 years or so have NTSC support, although many cheaper televisions here do not.

[jeffbert]

Thanks for the reply. You say most VCRs support NTSC, but most cheap TVs do not?

I, for one thought these scenes were funny as you know where. Little kids are known for their immodesty, and Atom is no exception. Who, but a little kid would tolerate such treatment?

[DrFrag]

When I was little, I remember thinking Astro's machine guns were just funny. Other kids at school thought the same thing. No one ever thought they were rude or demeaning in any way.

As for VCRs, NTSC support is a standard feature in Australia. However, a cheap television (like a 34cm / 14" set) usually wont be able to support the different screen resolution and frequency. I have a TV like this and I get a lot of flicker if I try to watch an NTSC tape. It's so bad it's unwatchable, but it does appear clear while in rewind mode. Of course, anything is unwatchable backwards at high speed with no sound! NTSC tapes are very uncommon in Australia. I only own one and I don't know anyone else who owns any. I've never seen them in shops. I think so many VCRs here support them because most VCRs are imported into Australia.

[jeffbert]

I have three VCRs, two of which are connected to the ATI TV Wonder card in my computer, upon which I do much of my TV viewing. As I hate waiting through commercials, I usually tape anything I intend to watch, and then view the tape. Thus, I can rewind and pause on interesting items, my screen saver is the "my pictures slideshow" consisting of the cutest and funniest scenes from Astroboy, which I captured with that card's capture feature. BTW, for some strange reason, the screensaver seems to use the most recently added pictures, and then use a subset of all the pictures. Example, I often see the shot of Uran popping the heads off of her doll and teddy bear, but rarely see the one of Atom sticking out of the brick wall after his encounter with A. Hitchcock's Birds. But, on the other hand, the one is cute, while the other is not.

[Nannou]

^_^ ... <_< ... :mellow: ... ... :huh: ... ... ...
that's so... urrrr.... huuu.... silly...

[DrFrag]

Ah, the joys of TV capture!

[jeffbert]

I have just received Manga # 7, still waiting for #6 and the first part of the story, but I read it anyway.

Page 17-18 have him taking his rechage in, the base of his spine, not quite low enough for a rectal thermometer, but close. Although clearly not close enough for confusion.

[jeffbert]

Atom seems not at all embarassed by mama's refueling him through his bottom.


See Technical difficulties/ impossibilities of Atom for a more detailed discussion.