Someone Has Decided Astro Boy Was Not Fat Enough

Posted at 2:19 PM Apr 22, 2008

Meet Astro Boy. He might have put on a few since you last saw him.

I have no words, so you only get quotes from Mainichi:

In a collaboration with decorated illustrator Lily Franky, Tezuka Productions has produced a version of Astro Boy (known as "Mighty Atom" in Japan) with fleshy jowls and a belly that wouldn't look out of place on Japan's other icons, sumo wrestlers.

Tezuka Productions insiders are calling the fat hero the "AvoCali Style" Astro Boy, taking the name from U.S.-created sushi dishes avocado-maki and California rolls. "Once upon a time, Americans never ate raw fish, but now they really want to find a delicious sushi," Shimizu says. "In the same way, we want the collaboration that led to 'AvoCali (Astro Boy)' to take the character worldwide. There's no future for Tezuka Productions surviving on Tezuka works alone."

I would like to have been in the Tezuka Production conference room for that meeting. Mainly so I could have beaten them all with baseball bats.