“I would never have become an artist if I had not encountered Tezuka Osamu’s work.”

Kuroda Seitarō was deeply impressed with the great Tezuka Osamu’s ground-breaking modern manga, New Treasure Island (Shin Takarajima), which he discovered when he was only 8 years old. It was an encounter that made him decide to become an artist. In the present series, Astro Boy as an 18-Year-Old, Kuroda focuses on Astro Boy, one of the numerous characters that Tezuka created.

Kuroda re-envisions a brand-new Astro Boy: he is no longer a robot, but just a normal 18-year-old human. The series is showcasing the different emotional changes of Astro Boy when he decides not to fight on behalf of humans, but to live with them as an 18-year-old young man. The birthday of Astro Boy, according to the original story, was April 7, 2003, which means April 7, 2021, coincides precisely with his 18th birthday! You are welcome to come see the exhibition and celebrate with Astro Boy!