Pluto – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Episode 3

Episode 3 of PLUTO begins with Inspector Nakamura arriving at a new crime scene. The tornado has damaged a single truck carrying a bunch of animals inside. Someone informs Nakamura that the animals are surrounding a young boy. Nakamura and the officer watch as a young girl approaches the animals and calmly asks them to come to her. She tells the officers to drop their weapons as Nakamura realizes the girl’s Uran, Atom’s sister. 

After Nakamura and his partner interrogate Uran to learn more about her abilities, she and Nakamura bump into Atom. Atom apologizes for Uran’s behavior and the two depart to a non-human pathway. Atom senses something strange from a man entering the human pathway as Uran tries to get his attention. Meanwhile, Tawashi meets Professor Abullah, the same man Atom got a strange sensation from and a person who happens to be one of Persia’s most intellectual figures. 

Abullah tells Tawashi he plans to attend Tokyo’s World Science Conference as a part of the post-war reconstruction plan. Tawashi asks Abullah questions about Tazaki since he was the last person Tazaki met before his demise. Meanwhile, Uran and Atom discuss robots and how they possibly understand emotions better than humans but lack expression capabilities.  Atom tells Uran he got a bad feeling from Abullah and couldn’t tell if he was a human or a robot. 

Abullah apologizes to Tawashi for not being much help and departs through the human gate, triggering its sensors. Abullah confirms he lost most of his organic body in the previous Gesicht war and apologizes for setting off the sensors. He brings up the animal transportation truck incident and Uran senses something amiss somewhere but can’t pinpoint what it is. She jokes about Atom being the most scared and they continue walking to their destination. 

Meanwhile, Gesicht and his wife Helena discuss Brando’s demise for a bit and speak with a tourist to help them register for their trip to Japan. The tourist tells Gesicht and Helena she’s registered for the same trip two years ago, confusing the two because they’d traveled to Spain during that time. Gesicht visits Hoffman for maintenance matters and Hoffman says everything about Gesicht looks fine to him. He says humans have tendencies to forget things but for robots like Gesicht, their memories should remain intact. 

Gesicht asks Hoffman if there’s any record of his memories getting deleted or if any nonfactual memories entering his system. Hoffman says no memories have been deleted but he heard reports of correctional facilities implementing false memories in robots in the past. Gesicht proposes a theory that someone could’ve inserted false memories in him and deleted others in the past. He wonders if this has something to do with the nightmares he’s been receiving lately, piquing Hoffman’s curiosity. 

Hoffman meets with Director Schelling and asks him if he did anything to Gesicht’s memory. Schelling ignores the question and asks Hoffman how many robots of Gesicht’s nature are out there. Hoffman says only four remain and Schelling tells him to maintain him properly and leaves for his meeting. Meanwhile, Gesicht visits a new crime scene where the victim’s left in a similar state as the others. Gesicht tells the inspectors that this is a copycat as the criminal left behind traces of evidence, unlike the other killer. 

Inspector Fersen praises Gesicht for his skills and Gesicht asks him if this is the second time they’ve met. Fersen’s taken aback by his question because he feels Gesicht should have a solid memory since he’s a robot. Gesicht leaves and ponders his experiences during the 39th Central Asian War. We cut to a family of three. The wife and husband discuss the husband’s brother, who passed away three years ago and happened to be a criminal.

The wife’s baffled authorities won’t let her husband claim his brother’s corpse regardless of the laws in place. We see the husband driving somewhere and learn he’s named Adolf. Adolf speaks with a male and they discuss an incident regarding a robotic judge’s demise. They preach “death to machines” to each other, indicating they’re a part of an anti-robot group. Adolf visits the institute, reclaims his brother’s body, and departs to Dr. Schiller’s office. 

They analyze his brother’s corpse and Adolf is taken aback by what he sees. Later, he and his wife attend a restaurant and she shares her opinion about robots with him. Adolf tells her to watch what she says as it can be viewed as discriminatory remarks toward them, which goes against the Universal Robot Rights Protection Laws. Adolf leaves to attend something important and unexpectedly passes by Gesicht who is visiting an armed robbery scene. 

After Gesicht stops the criminals, we cut to Adolf visiting a mansion full of anti-robot cultists. Adolf visits the man he spoke to earlier and tells him his brother was pulverized by a robot’s weapon, surprising the cultist leader. He tells the cultist leader that the alleged robot used a special Zeronium alloy shell, similar to the one Gesicht used at the armed robbery crime scene. The cultist leader points to Gesicht as a possible suspect, angering Adolf. He asks the leader to lend him strength so he can kill Gesicht. 

Meanwhile, we cut to Hercules entering his battle suit. He thanks the person for getting it for him and tells him he’s retiring from his fight club position. At the same time, Spokesperson Wagner discusses Gesicht’s use of the Zeronium alloy shell during the armed robbery case with a few reporters. They argue if it’s wise to let him use it since it can pulverize humans. Wagner says Gesicht needs permission every time he plans to use it and will always ensure humans won’t be harmed if he does use it. 

The anti-robot cultist leader watches the newscast from his home and asks Adolf for his opinion. The cultist leader says it’s best to stigmatize Gesicht and plan their moves carefully. He brings up Adolf’s brother’s background and says society will turn against their anti-robot cause if more people learn about his past. Hercules gets stopped by Epsilon, one of the seven most powerful robots. Epsilon confirms they refused to get deployed to the war because it didn’t have a righteous cause. 

Epsilon confirms they were abused and treated poorly, unlike Hercules, Blanc, and the others. In exchange, Epsilon had the opportunity to foster a beautiful connection with human children. Epsilon fears if humans and robots grow closer to each other, something terrible will occur in the end. He argues they must work together to break this cycle of hatred. Adolf visits a shop to buy a highly advanced war weapon to use on Gesicht. 

Adolf reflects on his poor upbringing with his brother and father. After getting Adolf and his brother a ball, a robot grabs him and declares him a thief in front of everyone. Adolf recalls his father returning home drunk for several months before taking his own life. During their adult years, Adolf’s brothers give Adolf a portable prep school device. Adolf notices his brother’s injuries and his brother confirms he murdered a few robots. He asks Adolf to study hard and create a world without robots. 

Adolf follows Gesicht to a forest. Gesicht speaks with Epsilon about Brando’s death and his hunt for his killer. Epsilon argues they must stop Hercules because he doesn’t want another war to occur again. They discuss Persian War Syndrome, a psychological illness rooted in one’s experiences with the war. Epsilon says many children under his care suffer from its symptoms and says one child, in particular, keeps uttering the name Bora, the made-up organization Ochanomizu, Blanke, and Tazaki worked under. 

Before they head to school, Uran senses something amiss with an animal nearby. She tells Atom to vouch for her so she can find and help the creature. At a redevelopment zone, Uran finds a male robot and asks him if he needs assistance. The robot informs her of the energy source it needs to operate. Uran returns with it and the robot thanks her for it. He says he doesn’t remember where he came from or his name. The robot says he remembers fleeing from something though. 

Uran notices the abstract art the robot painted on the wall and admires it. The robot doesn’t recall what he was attempting to paint but appreciates Uran’s adoration for the artwork. After several instances of the two hanging out together, Uran returns with more clothes and realizes the robot’s finished his art project. She deciphers it as a field of flowers, bringing tears to her eyes. Before Uran leaves to meet with the robot the next morning, Atom stops her. 

He questions what she’s up to while Uran attempts to convince Atom she found a lost robotic cat. She promises to introduce Atom to the feline when she feels he’s ready. Uran meets the robot man near a large field of flower bushes. The man uses his powers to resurrect some dead flowers and feels this is his life’s purpose. The two discuss death and its meaning. The male robot receives a vision of what appears to be the being that killed North, Blanc, Brando, and the others. 

The man repeats the phrase “Bora” similarly to the child Epsilon mentioned to Gesicht. Meanwhile, Abullah speaks with a gentleman who is at the most recent site where the tornado happened. Abullah asks him to be careful when retrieving Pluto’s body and confirms he created its body. The gentleman confirms he’s found Pluto, who is possibly the same gentleman in Uran’s care. Meanwhile, Uran says that man should consider using his power to make the world a beautiful place like the field of flowers. 

However, the man feels that’s not what he was created to do. He heads out of the area and summons a storm with his power, restoring life to the remaining flowers. Atom, Ochanomizu, and several officers arrive. Atom warns Uran to get away from her friend since he senses a strange electromagnetic field around him. Uran’s upset with Atom telling people about their secret while Atom tries to persuade her to come to his side. Meanwhile, the male robot recalls hearing Atom’s name and having a deep hatred toward him. 

Before he attacks Atom, he malfunctions. Ochanomizu analyzes his body and notices his computerized brain is missing. Suddenly, a construction droid arrives and says the male robot before them is his body. At the same time, Abullah meets with his robotic partner by a lake to confirm the real Pluto’s location. Pluto arises from the lake and Abullah reminds him of his mission to kill Atom.

The episode closes with an eerie shot of Pluto. 

The Episode Review

Just when you think you have a tight grasp on how events will go, Pluto finds a way to throw a well-crafted curve ball your way to shake things up. This was another marvelous chapter of the series, adding more tension and things for fans to look forward to as we conclude. Urasawa and Tezuka continue to bring fans more interesting supporting characters and twists to keep fans engaged too. 

From the curve ball involving Uran’s male robot friend to the suspicion surrounding Abullah, it’ll be difficult for viewers to avert their eyes away from this tale’s phenomenally-written plot. At the same time, many may question if our writers could be adding too many sub-plots in the basket. Not only do we have a revenge plot with Adolf to worry about but we must engage with Atom and Pluto’s issue. 

While Urasawa’s managed to pull it off in prior works, it’ll be intriguing to see if he can tie everything together well with this anime’s narrative. We’ll have to wait and see on that front.

In addition to having a great narrative, the visuals remain captivating as with prior episodes. From its action scenes to its emotional segments, everything appears fluid and sharp, giving audiences a beautiful viewing experience. By and large, Pluto has been exceeding many expectations. Hopefully, it can keep it up.