Reimagining a children’s classic as a mature serial killer mystery, PLUTO already had high expectations for its anime adaptation. The limited series adds an additional challenge, with only hour-long episodes dedicated to each of the series’ eight volumes, which follows not only Gesicht’s own investigation, but also in-depth stories of each of the remaining Great Robots. However, the anime, now showing on Netflix, is able to meet this challenge with its deep understanding of the source material. It’s not just a straightforward police procedural, or just futuristic dream of how AI and humans can co-exist. PLUTO is a robot series that strikes at the heart of what it means to be human.

PLUTO stands out from other AI anime with the way it portrays the robot experience. Like other AI-robot stories, the limited series presents technology advanced enough to make artificial intelligence seem quite close to humans. However, the way the robots detect and react to threats feels unique. The closest thing comparable is Spider-Man’s Spidey sense, but the way PLUTO portrays this is through rushes of electricity, cosmos, black-and-white static, corrupted pixelated images, and absence and presence of sound. It’s a great addition to the already excellent images from the original manga.