Atom: The Beginning

"Atom: The Beginning" is a Japanese manga series serving as a prequel to Osamu Tezuka's classic "Astro Boy." It is written and illustrated by Tetsuro Kasahara, with contributions from Makoto Tezuka and Masami Yuki. The manga began serialization in 2014 and was adapted into an anime in 2017. The story is set approximately 30 years before the events of "Astro Boy," focusing on two young geniuses, Umataro Tenma and Hiroshi Ochanomizu, who are dedicated to developing robots with self-awareness in an era of rapid advancement in robotics. They create the robot A106, nicknamed "Six," using it as a test subject for their artificial intelligence research. The two scientists have conflicting goals: Tenma aims to create a "god" that surpasses humanity, while Ochanomizu desires to build a robot that can be a friend to humans. The story revolves around the growth of A106 and the challenges the two scientists face as they pursue their individual goals, while also hinting at the events that led to the disasters in the "Astro Boy" world.