Three Magicians, The
| Publication Data | |
| Japanese Titles: | Third Magician, The |
| Sequence: | 45 |
| Publication: | Shonen |
| Publisher: | Kobunsha |
| Publication sequence: | 45 |
| Publication Start: | 10/1961 |
| Publication End: | 01/1962 |
| Dark Horse volume: | 2 |
| Dark Horse Title: | Third Magician, The |
| Dark Horse Date: | 2002 |
| Dark Horse pages: | 103-190 |
| Dark Horse ISBN: | 1-56971-676-5 |
| Dark Horse ISBN-13: | 978-1-56971-677-9 |
Synopsis
Kino, a Robot magician is performing for the audience, which includes Atom, Tamao, Kenichi, and the school bully, Shibugaki. They marvel at his magic, which they believe to be real. However, once he apparently turns Tamao into pork chops, Atom protests. Kino reassures them that it is merely slight of hand. Kino finishes his performance by appearing to walk through a solid steel wall.
| Characters: Kino | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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Noh Uno is a rival magician who intends to use magic as a means to obtain riches, but not by performing for audiences. He desires to know the secret of Kino’s greatest trick, as a means of theft.
| Characters: Uno | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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Several days after Uno confronts and captures Kino, the newspapers print a bold statement, apparently made by Kino, that he will on the date and time specified, steal 100 major works of Art from the museum.
| Characters: Atom | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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| Characters: Tamao | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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| Characters: Shibugaki | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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| Characters: Chief Nakamura | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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In this story, a robot is used in a major robbery. Chief of Police Tawashi (literally ''Scrub Brush'' 'Gumshoe' for the English) suggests that all robots be remade with less sophisticated computer brains,
| Characters: Inspector Tawashi | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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thus reducing them to slaves. Here, the reader is introduced to the continuing air of distrust that Tawashi has for robots, including and especially Atom. As the idea of a robot committing a major robbery is spread by the media, humans become fearful of robots and a riot seems imminent.
| Characters: Doctor Ochanomizu | ||
| Manga | 1963 anime | |
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Related Stories
I seem to recall an Episode of ''Lupin the Third'' in which Lupin uses a similar tactic to steal something, but I cannot remember which, if any episode had it.
Animated version
Whereas the manga had Uno as a rival magician, here, he is Kino’s master.
| Animated versions | ||||
| Number | Title | English Number | English Title | |
| 1960s anime: | 33 | Two Magicians | 33 | Three Magicians, The |
| Names | ||||
| Role | Dark Horse | 1960s Name | 1960s English Name | |
| Good magician robot | Kino | Kino | Abracadabra | |
| Evil magician | Noh Uno | Noh Uno | J. C. Tenpercent | |
| Evil magician robot | Not named | Kino zero | Presto-chango | |
Discussion Thread for this page
Previous 1963 episode: Moon Monsters
Next 1963 episode: Beast From 20 Fathoms
Last updated Mar 25 2008
Reviews, synopses, comments, and comparisons to other works are © 2005, 2008 Jeffbert All rights reserved. Any similarities between my own work and those of Tezuka Osamu World or other sources are purely coincidental, except where sources have been cited.
Character names, short quotations of synopses, dates of publication, are the property of the respective copyright holders.
Images are property of their respective copyright holders, and have been used without premission.
ASTRO BOY ® is a registered trademark of Tezuka Productions.
Tetsuwan Atom ® is a registered trademark of Tezuka Productions.
WORKS CITED
Comics:
Tezuka, Osamu. Astro Boy Volume 2. Trans. Frederick, L. Schodt. Milwalkee, Oregon: 2002. www.darkhorse.comJapanese Language Animated Cartoons:
Tezuka Osamu. Astro Boy (1960s). Perf. Shimizu Mari, Kachita Hisashi, Mizugaki Yoko,Muto Reiko,Yoshikawa Kazuko, Komiyama Kiyoshi, Yajima Kazuaki, Wada Fumio, Yokomori Hisashi, Sakamoto Shinpei, Kanemoto Shingo, Chiba Koichi. Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. / Mushi Production, 1963.
English-language Animated Cartoons:
Tezuka Osamu. Astro Boy (1960s). Perf. Billie Lou Watt, Ray Owens, Gilbert Mack. NBC, 1963.Web Pages:
Tezuka Osamu World. (Astoboy Manga) Subtitle List. Accessed 12/30/07.
http://en.tezuka.co.jp/manga/sakuhin/subtitle/m025.html
--. (Astoboy 1963 anime) Subtitle List. Accessed 12/30/07.
http://en-f.tezuka.co.jp/anime/sakuhin/subtitle/ts002.html
Acknowledgements
My personal thanks to the members of the Astroboy-Online Forum, Special thanks to Astro Forever, for her help with the 1980s series, and for creating so many animated GIFs. Thanks to DrFrag, whose extensive knowledge of all things Astroboy was very helpful. Special thanks to Mark, who owns the site; without which I would not have 'met' any other members. Special thanks to Atoman, whose friendship exposed me to the Japanese Language DVDs, not only of Astroboy, but many other animes also.Thanks to putrocca, the founder of the Tezuka In English website; whose hosting of my pages is very important, to say the least.
And special thanks to Raymond Tucker, whose www.astroboy.tv website gave me information long before I obtained the 1963 series on DVD.