Robita
Encyclopedia
Robita is a fictional character
, a robot
who appears in Osamu Tezuka
's manga
series Phoenix
. It is also a character in the modern Astro Boy animated series.
s. He is an assistant to an old recluse mad scientist
called Dr. Saruta, the last descendant of the Sarutas in the Phoenix continuity. Although Robita may only be a robot, he shows signs of personality and kindness, which even astonishes Saruta himself.
In the Resurrection episode, the origins of Robita have been revealed. He is actually the combined minds of Leon, a human, and Chihiro, a robot, who have been loaded up into an android by Dr. Weekday, a mad scientist who worked for an organ-smuggling crime ring.
Leon was a young man who, having died in a rigged car
accident, was surgically resurrected with artificial brain
implants. The side effect of these new organs changed the way he perceived the world: he saw, heard and felt humans and other living things as repulsive and intimidating jumbles of rocks. His mind having become closer to a robot's than a human, he saw machine
s and robots as beauties and marvels of nature. This was how he met Chihiro, a factory worker robot. Although "she" normally looked like an ugly and cold insect
-like automaton, Leon saw, heard and felt her as a beautiful and charming young girl wearing an antennae
hat. He fell in love in her, and the feeling became mutual, but their love was forbidden, the company not wanting to let go of Chihiro.
After Leon found out his death was ordered by some of his relatives because he hunted the Phoenix
and got its much-coveted blood, he ran away with her and ended into an organ-smuggling crime headquarters. The female leader of the operations fell in love with Leon, who rejected her, and she decided to forcefully combine her body with his by surgery of a mad scientist working for her, Dr. Weekday. After a last request by Leon on Weekday, he agreed to load his mind into Chihiro... but the girl-robot not having enough memory space in her body, Weekday combined them into a bigger robot. Leon-Chihiro gradually forgot his/her memories and ran away, being taken in by a family, who enjoyed his/her gentleness, knowledge of human games and trustworthiness. Leon-Chihiro was then copied and mass produced worldwide, as popular household and nanny robots. His/her new name was Robita.
Yet, one day, a boy accidentally got killed by radiation
inside an isotope
field. His parents, not wanting to take responsibility for the accident, blame Robita. After a long trial, Robita and the Robitas working in the field were considered guilty and ordered to be destroyed. All the other Robitas around the world decided to also destroy themselves from learning the news, and went into collective suicide.
Only one Robita remained, who was working on the Moon
for Acetylene Lamp
, a space transport officer. Robita told him he felt he was human, and was sure about that. Lamp, revolted by a robot having such idea, told him that he couldn't be unless he proved himself, such as killing him for treating him like a slave. Robita did so, in an indirect way, and was left alone on the moon, crying over his guilt, until he was found one day by wandering scientist Dr. Saruta, who took him under his wing as his assistant.
Robita served Saruta as his trustworthy assistant for decades, until he got shot and destroyed by Rock
.
.
series of Astro Boy. The robot keeps his cylindrical body and ellipsoid head, but is given a less dark and more cartoonish look: yellow color, telescopic arms and green bubbly eyes. The character also saw a change in gender, being referred to as 'she'.
Her role is major, yet passive, throughout the series. She is generally shown to be a source of information, added to show a sense of family in the household, or even as comic relief
.
She appeared in the videogame Astro Boy
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
who appears in Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
's manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series Phoenix
Phoenix (manga)
is a manga series by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka considered Phoenix his "life's work"; it consists of 12 books, each of which tells a separate, self-contained story and takes place in a different era. The plots go back and forth from the remote future to prehistoric times. The cycle remains unfinished...
. It is also a character in the modern Astro Boy animated series.
Phoenix
Robita first appears (in the chronological order of the manga release) in Future, where he is a grey cylindrical robot with an ellipsoid head, the eyes being a slit and his arms being articulated with clawClaw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...
s. He is an assistant to an old recluse mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
called Dr. Saruta, the last descendant of the Sarutas in the Phoenix continuity. Although Robita may only be a robot, he shows signs of personality and kindness, which even astonishes Saruta himself.
In the Resurrection episode, the origins of Robita have been revealed. He is actually the combined minds of Leon, a human, and Chihiro, a robot, who have been loaded up into an android by Dr. Weekday, a mad scientist who worked for an organ-smuggling crime ring.
Leon was a young man who, having died in a rigged car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
accident, was surgically resurrected with artificial brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
implants. The side effect of these new organs changed the way he perceived the world: he saw, heard and felt humans and other living things as repulsive and intimidating jumbles of rocks. His mind having become closer to a robot's than a human, he saw machine
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
s and robots as beauties and marvels of nature. This was how he met Chihiro, a factory worker robot. Although "she" normally looked like an ugly and cold insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
-like automaton, Leon saw, heard and felt her as a beautiful and charming young girl wearing an antennae
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
hat. He fell in love in her, and the feeling became mutual, but their love was forbidden, the company not wanting to let go of Chihiro.
After Leon found out his death was ordered by some of his relatives because he hunted the Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
and got its much-coveted blood, he ran away with her and ended into an organ-smuggling crime headquarters. The female leader of the operations fell in love with Leon, who rejected her, and she decided to forcefully combine her body with his by surgery of a mad scientist working for her, Dr. Weekday. After a last request by Leon on Weekday, he agreed to load his mind into Chihiro... but the girl-robot not having enough memory space in her body, Weekday combined them into a bigger robot. Leon-Chihiro gradually forgot his/her memories and ran away, being taken in by a family, who enjoyed his/her gentleness, knowledge of human games and trustworthiness. Leon-Chihiro was then copied and mass produced worldwide, as popular household and nanny robots. His/her new name was Robita.
Yet, one day, a boy accidentally got killed by radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
inside an isotope
Isotope
Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
field. His parents, not wanting to take responsibility for the accident, blame Robita. After a long trial, Robita and the Robitas working in the field were considered guilty and ordered to be destroyed. All the other Robitas around the world decided to also destroy themselves from learning the news, and went into collective suicide.
Only one Robita remained, who was working on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
for Acetylene Lamp
Acetylene Lamp
For the lighting device, see Acetylene lamp, also known as Drake, is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka who recurrently appears in his works, usually in a villainous role.-Description:...
, a space transport officer. Robita told him he felt he was human, and was sure about that. Lamp, revolted by a robot having such idea, told him that he couldn't be unless he proved himself, such as killing him for treating him like a slave. Robita did so, in an indirect way, and was left alone on the moon, crying over his guilt, until he was found one day by wandering scientist Dr. Saruta, who took him under his wing as his assistant.
Robita served Saruta as his trustworthy assistant for decades, until he got shot and destroyed by Rock
Rock (manga character)
Rock is a recurrent major character in most of Osamu Tezuka's manga series, and he is an important part of Osamu Tezuka's Star System...
.
1980 series
Robita played a very minor role in the episode "Save the Carolina 3" of the 1980 series as a domestic robot working at a space stationSpace station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
.
2003 series
Robita's character, known as Nora in the English version, has been reused for the 2003 animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series of Astro Boy. The robot keeps his cylindrical body and ellipsoid head, but is given a less dark and more cartoonish look: yellow color, telescopic arms and green bubbly eyes. The character also saw a change in gender, being referred to as 'she'.
Her role is major, yet passive, throughout the series. She is generally shown to be a source of information, added to show a sense of family in the household, or even as comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
.
She appeared in the videogame Astro Boy
Astro Boy (2004 video game)
is a video game based on the 2003 version of the anime television series, produced by Sonic Team.- Soundtrack : is the official soundtrack for the game...
.
External links
- Robita Pictures of Robita statues of the way he looks throughout the Phoenix series