1952-1968 “Astro Boy” was serialized in “Shonen”
1963-1966 The first 30min. japanese TV animation series “Astro Boy” was broadcasted.
1980-1981 TV animation series “Astro Boy (New)” was broadcasted
2003-2004 TV animation series “Astro/Tetsuwan Atom” was broadcasted
2009 “Astro Boy” A full-length CG animation movie was released

“What if I draw a comic story in which nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes?” though Tezuka. The idea came to him while watching news reports of nuclear tests carried out by the USA. As a result , Atom Taishi made his first appearance in 1951. In 1952, Tetsuwan Atom (“Astro Boy”) made its debut with Atom as the hero. The stories were easy to follow and often a lot of fun and soon afterwards fan mail was pouring in from children all over Japan. Tetsuwan Atom had become the top choice amongst comic fans and ran for 17years non-stop.Tetsuwan Atom went on to become Tezuka’s most famous creation.

In 1963, Fuji TV aired the first animated TV series in Japan; it was the original black & white version of Tetsuwan Atom made by Mushi Productions. A colour version of Astro Boy was made in 1982, this time by Tezuka Productions. However, this new colour version carried a somewhat darker storyline. Although it was still fun and entertaining, there were times when the story became gloomy and serious. The new series also gave Astro Boy a robot family.

Tetsuwan Atom was the first animation to be exported from Japan. Following it’s success abroad, other japanese works started to flood foreign markets.

So far, “Astro Boy” has been broadcasted in more than 50 countries.

In the story, Astro Boy was created by Dr. Tenma, head of the Ministry of Science, as a substitute for his own son Tobio who died in a car accident. In the beginning, Dr. Tenma treated Astro Boy in the same loving way he treated Tobio, but he soon realises that Astro Boy would never be able to fill the void left by Tobio’s death.. He becomes frustrated that Astro Boy would never ‘grow’ ,and eventually abandons him.

Eventually, Astro Boy finds himself in the care of Dr. Ochanomizu, the new head of the Ministry of Science. Dr. Ocha learns of Astro Boy's super powers and ability to experience human emotions, and becomes his guardian and mentor as Astro Boy experiences growing up.