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W3 (γ―γ³γγΌγΉγͺγΌ)
Ongoing
3
Finished
May 30, 1965 to May 8, 1966
8.0/10
Average Review Score
100%
Recommend It
1
Reviews Worldwide
Wonder 3 is a very good manga by Osamu Tezuka that is somewhat overshadowed by a controversy where Tezuka may have been a victim of plagiarism/industrial espionage (see https://tezukainenglish.com/wp/?page_id=1585 if you want the details). Actually based on the anime version, it apparently has a very different plot from the original. Despite featuring three talking animals, this manga comes off as one of Tezuka's more mature early works. The protagonist is Shinichi Hoshi. Though the three aliens find most humans they meet to be rotten to the core, they find Shinichi to be pure-hearted and kind. But Shinichi is a complex character. He has a goodheart, but he is so principled that he is enraged by the corruption, disingenuity, and cruelty around him. This, alongside his immaturity, leads him to constantly get into fights and constantly skip school. Thus, Shinichi is a much more complex character than other early Tezuka protagonists. Additionally, this is a relatively serious science fiction story despite being written for young boys. The three aliens are trying to find out if humanity is worth saving, so the theme explored a lot is the idea of the corruption that is inherent among much of humanity. There is a big focus on the corruption, deceit, and the other things that make humans despicable, and it's done in a relatively realistic way (at least for the time). It's also a coming-of-age story for the protagonist, Shinichi, as he learns self-control and starts to gain friends. 8/10
"Amazing Three" is an SF drama featuring three aliens who come to survey the earth and a human boy, Shinichi, and tells the story of their fight against various bad people. It is the year 196X, experiments with the hydrogen bomb continue and the world is at war. To resolve whether to save the barbarous earth or erase it with an antiproton bomb, the superior beings gathered in the Milky Way confederation deep in space decide to dispatch three investigators to earth. So as not to appear suspicious to humans, Bokko, Pukko and Nokko, the three people in the Milky Way patrol known as the Amazing Three, are transformed into a rabbit, a duck and a horse and sneak into a village called Ogawa-mura somewhere in the countryside of Japan. There they get to know a wild but simple-hearted boy called Shinichi Hoshi and start to run with him. Meanwhile, Shinichi's older brother, Koichi, is involved in a fight for justice as a member of the secret intelligence agency "Phoenix" against a global plot, a position he has concealed even from his own family. Shinichi and W3 get sucked into this plot. Through their exchanges with Shinichi and Koichi, the three members of W3, who initially thought the earth was just a barbarous planet, find their feelings being gradually transformed. (Source: tezukaosamu.net)