Limited Edition Astro Boy Casio Exilim

Check out this special limited edition of the Casio Exilim digital camera featuring Astro Boy imagery and made to celebrate the famous character's manga debut.

Among what makes this limited edition unique are these frames featuring Astro Boy characters that add a fun graphic element around your photos.

A special pouch is also included.

This price for this camera is approximately $440 US, but good luck if you want one. Naturally this is only being sold in Japan and is limited to only 300 units. Check out the camera's specs and more information on Crunch Gear.

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Young Black Jack

A live action TV special featuring a younger Black Jack from back when he was still in medical school will air in Japan on Saturday, April 23. It will be directed by Kentaro Otani, who also directed the live-action films based on the manga NANA. Actor Masaki Okada will star as young Black Jack.

More information from Anime News Network:

In the story, the title character received major injuries in an accidental explosion when he was 9, and his mother was put in an artificially induced coma. The new special will depict how the Black Jack character became an unlicensed doctor and how his destined rivalry with Dr. Kiriko came to be.

Naho Toda (Romance of Three Kingdoms, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror) will play Black Jack's mother, and Risa Naka (anime and live-action The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) will play a fellow medical student. Yukiyoshi Azawa and Masachika Ichimura will also co-star.

Looks interesting and it's always great to see new Black Jack stuff, though for the sake of the character I wish he had even just a touch of silver in his hair.

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Astro Key Chains

Found these Astro Boy key chains awhile back, but I don't remember where. They seem to come from China. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether they are officially licensed merchandise or not.

Astro's face is... unique, to say the least. His eyes look kind of funny. But that makes these kind of interesting. The variety of available figures based on Astro's different appearances in the movie is pretty cool.

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Castro Boy

I was walking around the streets of Toronto earlier this week and somehow wound up in front of a store with this crazy thing in the window.

It's obviously some kind of custom T-Shirt mash-up of Astro Boy and Fidel Castro, not a real licensed product. At any rate it's not anything I would have ever expected to find in my travels, so I was quite surprised and had to take a quick picture to share with you here.

I don't know the name of the store this was at, but it was somewhere right downtown on Queen Street, if you're interested.

Viva!

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Astro Painting by Bryan Lee O’Malley

This incredible painting featuring Astro Boy and his sister Uran was made by Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley and is for the “Water Works” art show at Giant Robot in Los Angeles. It's based on this frame from the 60's Astro Boy anime.

100% of the proceeds from the show will go to UNICEF for Japan aid efforts. You can find out more here.

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We have hit 500!

This month, AstroBoy World celebrates two huge milestones. I started this site 3 years ago, and in that time there have now been 500 posts!

While originally this site was created to serve as a central place for news and information on the then-upcoming Astro Boy movie, and things may have slowed down since then, there has still been plenty of activity in the Astro-Universe even though the movie has come and gone. This year marks the 60th anniversary of The Mighty Atom's first appearance. Plus, there are many other exciting events happening in the world of Osamu Tezuka, including the final volume of Black Jack and the upcoming release of the Princess Knight manga. This is a great time to be a fan and I'm happy to be right there with you, sharing the latest developments and all the other interesting/crazy stuff I find.

I have really enjoyed posting over the past 3 years, and I hope to continue to do so for as long as I can. Thanks to all the readers for your support! Please continue visit and post your feedback.

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Help for Japan.

As I'm sure you're all aware, Japan has been struck by a huge earthquake and tsunami. It's a terrible tragedy that has shocked the world.

As an anime fan and admirer of Japanese culture for many years, I'm heartbroken by the news coverage I have seen. The comics, animation, video games, and movies of Japan have always been so inspiring to me, and in light of these terrible events I am compelled to do something to help.

I'm joining with Anime and Manga Bloggers for Japan to get the word out on how people like you can donate to a cause that will assist in disaster relief efforts.

You can also donate through the Red Cross. In America you can use your cell phone to text REDCROSS to 90999, which will donate $10 through your phone bill, or call 1-800 RED CROSS. In Canada, text REDCROSS to 30333 for donations, or call 1-800-418-1111.

There are other ways to donate as well, but please make sure that you are giving to a legitimate organization.

Although this is a trying time for the Japanese people, I know that the Japanese spirit will rise above it all, rebuild, and prevail. Anime and manga are full of stories about extraordinary heroes. Let's become heroes ourselves and do our part to give back to the country that created these stories we love so much. You don't need rockets in your boots to be a hero. You can help by donating today. Give them a hand and let them know that we stand together!

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