Jetter Mars (Star)
Jetter Mars was the protagonist of the 1977 anime television show of the same name. Mars was a character that Osamu Tezuka created because the rights for Astro Boy were owned byAstro Boy‘s sponsor, Meiji Seika Kaisha at the time. Mars’s first appearance was on a New Year’s postcard that Tezuka drew in January 1977.
Like Astro Boy, Mars is a powerful android with the appearance of a boy but the Mars has some notable differences both in origin and personality. There are two people responsible for his creation. His body was built by Dr. Yamanoue but his artificial intelligence was designed and implemented by Dr. Kawashimo, since Yamanoue was unable to create a working AI for his robot. Dr. Yamanoue named Mars after the Roman God of War as he was originally built for military purposes. Mars was born as a blank state and did not understand the difference between right or wrong. However, due to Dr. Kawashimo’s design, Mars was capable of feeling emotions. Dr. Kawashimo and Dr. Yamanoue often fought about how he should be raised and treated. Through the course of the series, he learns to understand his emotions and about morals. Mars is very close to Dr. Kawashimo’s robot “daughter”, Miri. She helps Mars in understanding the world around him and Mars is very open with her.
Mars has a childish personality is very naive about the world. Mars trends to trust people very easily which at times leads him into dangerous situations. Also, unlike Astro Boy, Mars is mischievous. Sometimes he plays practical jokes on people and he enjoys slapstick. Mari Shimizu, the voice actress who played both Mars and Astro Boy, was asked about his mischievous nature in a lecture that Mari Shimizu held at the Kanda Univesity of International Studies. At the end of the lecture, she commented on the difference between the two characters, as Mars had a mischievous personality while Astro Boy was portrayed more as an “honor student” type character. Mari Shimizu also noted that Mars’s relationship with Miri was the opposite of Astro Boy and Uran’s since the hero (Mars in this case) was the one being helped by his sister. Mars is also affectionate as he cares deeply for his friends and family and he willing to protect them from danger. Mars also gains a strong sense of justice throughout the series.
Mars is not a common character in Tezuka’s Star System. Besides appearing in his own series, Mars has only made an appearance in the Gameboy Advance game, Astro Boy: The Omega Factor. Mars is one of the many Tezuka characters that help upgrade one of Astro Boy’s stats. Mars’s origin story is slightly different from the one in the anime. This time, Mars was a prototype that was hidden on the moon. In Omega Factor, Mars was developed by Dr. Yamanoue and Dr. Kawashimo from the start . In Mars’s character profile it states that Mars can grow both physically and mentally. Although the anime mentioned that Mars ages mentally, it was not specified on whether or not Mars can also age physically. Mars also made a brief appearance in The Last Mystery of the 20th Century OVA where he sported a slight redesign.
Please Note: Dr. Yamanoue is a name sometimes used for characters played by Dr. Hanamaru, however, Dr. Yamanoue in Jetter Mars is someone entirely different.
