016 – Shootout in the Alps [Astro Boy] (Manga)

Astro Boy (1952-68), Chapter 016 ‘Shootout in the Alps’ (アルプスの決闘), first appeared in the January 1956 supplement of Shonen.

What it’s about?

Astro insists that Professor Ochanomizu implants an artificial heart inside him so that he can be enabled to sense the beauty of things such as music and art just like humans can. Ochanomizu is very reluctant because he warns Astro that this will also mean he will feel fear and terror like humans. But he agrees to make the implantation for a little while and then take it out to satisfy Astro’s curiousity.

Astro senses how different everything is to him now. Flowers look beautiful. The music being played for Christmas this year sounds so sweet. However some masked criminals realize that Astro appears to be scared when he is almost hit by the car they’re driving. They come up with a scheme to use this to their advantage. They kidnap Astro’s robot parents and leave a note telling him to meet them at the entrance to Ueno Park on New Year’s Eve.

Astro is very upset and flies all over Japan to search for his parents while everybody else celebrates Christmas. His efforts are in vain so he waits outside Ueno Park as the bells ring in the new year. One of the gang members arrives in a car and declares that unless Astro agrees to assist them in their plans they will destroy his parents. By 9am tomorrow morning Astro must come to the top of Mt. Akaishi in the Japanese alps. Astro is terrified but he determines to go for the sake of his mother and father.

Meanwhile Professor Ochanomizu contacts Astro’s friend from school Ken to let him know that Astro’s in big trouble. Ken takes another of Astro’s friends Shibugaki with him and together the boys both fly to the alps on jet-propelled skis designed to travel through the sky to find Astro and help him. The criminal gang have Astro right where they want him. Realizing that he truly has become just as scared as humans are they tell him he must fight a big robot to get his parents back. Astro is terrified and is about to be destroyed when Ken suddenly bravely charges from out of nowhere with a pistol. Before anybody can shoot him he shoots at Astro’s throat knocking the artificial heart transplant out of commission. Once again Astro is a regular robot, with no knowledge of the meaning of fear and he smashes the large robot. While the villains run away Ken fires the pistol into the air as a signal to Shibugaki. He responds by throwing a rock over a nearby cliff starting an avalanche which rumbles down right on top of the bad guys apparently killing them all. They are nearly entirely buried with only small bits of their bodies sticking out of the snow.

Astro tells his friends and his parents that this adventure has helped him to understand that it really isn’t a good idea for robots to have the same feelings as humans.

What you should know

The gang member who contacts Astro in the park on New Year’s Eve is a cameo role played by Tezuka’s star character Nylon. Nylon is most well known for playing Baron Nylon, the henchman of the major villain Duke Duralamon in the Princess Knight manga and anime.