Biwamaru is a blind travelling hermit whose humble appearance belies his considerable hidden skills. As a member of the supporting cast, he usually offers the protagonist advice or assistance, but it comes in the form of a lesson... and not always an easy one.
Atlas in his primary role is Astro Boy’s younger brother, created by Dr. Tenma, the same scientist who created Astro. Although the origin stories of both Astro Boy and of Atlas vary, generally speaking, Atlas is created by Dr. Tenma after his disappointment in Astro.
In a future where robot technology is rapidly transforming the economic and social face of the earth, the 100,000 horsepower Astro Boy is the most powerful robot in the world, and the first robot with a true human-like artificial brain.
With a certain flair of European style and nobility, Monsieur Ampere oozes a refinement born of aristocratic breeding. From the very beginning, he demonstrated his complexity of character, and ability to tackle dual roles.
Although better known by his evil pseudonym, Alabaster, he originally appears as James Block, a handsome, famous and successful young black athlete. When James is spurned by the lovely Susan, he goes on a murderous rampage and lands in prison. There he meets and befriends the ignominious Doctor F and gains access to the inventor's invisibility ray.
Afil is a career bit player. Although he has had a few roles as a key antagonist - primarily with his co-conspirators Kao Sekken and Gratin - he is generally known for throw-away roles, cast as a servant, a henchman, a passenger, a customer, or simply a man-in-the-crowd.
One of the unique elements of Tezuka's work is his use of recurring cast members, characters who appear over and over in different series, with different names and different backgrounds but the same general personality and drives.
Ongoing Serial: a series of episodes, published over a span of weeks/months/years where the story plot is connected from chapter to chapter and must be read in chronological order for it to be understood properly.
Chapter Serial: a series of episodes, published over a span of weeks/months/years where the story plot is self-contained to a single chapter. There may be an overarching plot, but the stories can generally be read in any order and be understood
Book: an all-in-one self contained story published as a one-off.
Supplement: an an all-in-one self contained story published as a stand-alone supplement to a regular weekly/monthly periodical.
Short Story: an all-in-one, self contained story that was published in a regular weekly/monthly periodical
Anthology: a collection of all-in-one, self contained stories that were published in a regular weekly/monthly periodical but are generally grouped together.
