Character Profile | Atom – My Unico Fans

About

Name: Atom
Other Names: Astro, Astro Boy, Ambassador Atom, Mighty Atom, Time Spirit, Spirit of Time, 時の精
Gender: Male
Species: Robot, Fairy, Spirit
First Appeared: Atom first appeared in “Captain Atom/Ambassador Atom” (アトム大使) in 1951 in Shonen magazine. Atom’s first appearance in Unico was the First Grader version in April 1980. He then appeared in the 2000 short film, Saving Our Fragile Earth: Unico Special Chapter.

Atom (アトム Atomu) is a robot created to replace Dr. Tenma’s son after a car accident killed him. When Dr. Tenma realizes Atom cannot replace his son, Dr. Ochanomizu welcomes Atom as his own. Atom is another one of Osamu Tezuka’s Star System characters, appearing in several of his works.

Voice Actors

Japanese Voice: Nina Kumagaya (2000)

Physical Appearance

Atom’s black hair, styled into two points, is inspired by Tezuka’s morning bedhead. He has a bare torso, black and green bottoms, and red boots. In Saving Our Fragile Earth, Atom (the Time Spirit) wears a large pink cap with clock hands, a pink jacket, a blue bow, blue pants, and red boots. According to the official Tezuka Osamu website, the female robot that flies through the skies in Metropolis and Yokoi Fukujiro’s (横井福次郎) robot, Perry from Robot Perry-kun (ロボットペリー君 Robotto Perii–kun), inspired Atom’s design and story. Because of this, he has both boyish and girlish characteristics.

Personality

Atom’s personality can vary depending on the type of role he is playing, but overall he’s kindhearted and selfless.

Abilities

Flight
Super strenght
Super intelligence
Various abilities because he’s a robot
Can go back and forth in time (as Time Spirit)

Timeline of Appearances

Date	More Information
1951	Atom’s very first appearance was in Captain Atom (Ambassador Atom) in April 1951. The main character was Kenichi, but Atom, a supporting character, was built for alien negotiations post-Earth-alien conflict.
1980	Atom makes several appearances in the First Grader version of Unico. You can find him in the background on Esuo’s bedroom wall and here and there in other areas throughout the comic.
2000	Atom appeared as the Time Spirit in the Saving Our Fragile Earth short film on July 20, 2000. When Unico and his friends need to go back in time, the Sphinx pulls down the Time Spirit in order to do so. The spirit accompanies Unico and the others until it’s time to return.