Astro Boy (2003 TV series)

Astro Boy (アストロボーイ・鉄腕アトム, Asutoro Bōi: Tetsuwan Atomu, lit. "Astro Boy: Mighty Atom") is a Japanese anime television series, based on Osamu Tezuka's manga series of the same name. Produced by Tezuka Productions, Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, Animax, Dentsu, and Fuji TV, it was directed by Kazuya Konaka, with Marc Handler as the story editor, Shinji Seya designing the characters, Shinji Aramaki and Takeshi Takakura designing the mechanical elements, Keiichirō Mochizuki serving as chief animation director, and Takashi Yoshimatsu composing the music.

The anime was created to celebrate the birthdate of Atom/Astro Boy, as well as the 40th anniversary of the original TV series. It kept the same classic art style as the original manga and anime, but was renewed and modernized with more lush, high-quality, near-theatrical animation and visuals, combining the playfulness of the early anime with the darker, more serious and dramatic science fiction themes of the manga and the 1980 series. The anime was broadcast in Japan on Fuji TV from April 6, 2003, to March 28, 2004, every Sunday from 9:30 to 10:00 JST, for a total of 50 episodes, and it was also aired outside of Japan on Kids' WB in the United States and other local broadcasters overseas.