Highlights
- "Montblanc was a beloved hero to all, sparking a touching memorial and highlighting the tragedy of his untimely death."
- "The tense relationship between blind musician Paul Duncan and robot butler North No. 2 evolves into a close bond."
- "The anime delves into the complex issue of robot integration into society, with Hercules asserting his identity as a robot."
Pluto, at its core, is a mystery anime set in the future wherein robots are as commonplace as smartphones in our society. Detective Gesicht, a robot, is tasked with tracking down a killer going after the world’s most powerful robots and the scientists that created them. Who is doing it? What is their goal?
The Best Mecha Anime, Ranked
The mecha genre's stories of bombastic battles with giant robots are best told in these shows.
And the list continues. It’s a hard-boiled detective story with a lot of themes seemingly taken from the headlines. While the story began in 2003, the ideas are still prominent today. Let’s get into some of these topics via quotes from the Pluto anime adaptation on Netflix. There will be spoilers.
8 “Montblanc Was A Hero In The Truest Sense Of The Word.”
Episode 1
There is no named character tied to this quote. It happens earlier on in the episode when Gesicht goes to comfort Montblanc’s creator. At the same time, a memorial service is being held for Montblanc nearby. Montblanc was beloved by all and not a single human on Earth seemingly wished him harm. It’s a touching scene as dozens of volunteers flew to this location to help build a monument following a bad fire accident involving some firefighters and the death of Montblanc.
7 “Hurry On Home Now, You’re Going To Be Late For Piano Practice.”
Paul Duncan: Episode 1
The first half of the first episode deals with the death of Montblanc and a scientist tied to robot kind. The second half slows down a bit and follows an older musician, Paul Duncan, who has gone blind. North No. 2, one of the world’s most powerful robots, has become Duncan’s butler. It’s a tense situation between the two characters as Duncan seemingly hates robots. However, through time, the two become very close. Unfortunately, to protect Duncan, North No. 2 flies off to fight an incoming threat which is when Duncan gets worried and says this line. It’s clear in his tone that he knows North No. 2 is probably dead.
6 “I Don’t Play At Human Stuff…Cuz I’m A Robot.”
Hercules: Episode 2
The first episode and a good chunk of episode two showcase how robots get along with society. They don’t have to eat or sleep but they mimic humans to fit in better. When Gesicht goes to visit Hercules and asks if he wants to get a drink, Hercules responds with this line.
10 Robots That Defined The Mecha Anime Genre
The mech anime genre wouldn't exist in its current form without these legendary robots.
He doesn’t want to come across as rude but his statement is real. Why pretend you’re a human when that is never going to happen? That is almost certainly a common thought of robots in this world.
5 “Are Dead Babies Your Idea Of Justice?”
Episode 3
This is another quote that is not tied to a named character. In episode three, Gesicht has a flashback to his time during a big war. He recalls seeing a man crying over his baby’s cradle which is covered in blood. That’s when this man goes on a rant about the soldiers coming there for peace but their actions say differently. The casualties of war are great and that’s a central theme of Pluto. At this point, Gesicht was learning how to grieve and he had no idea how to handle this saddened and angry father which made the citizen even angrier.
4 “Oh Christ, You’ve Done Enough.”
Dr. Ochanomizu: Episode 4
Pluto demonstrates three sides of the robot debate. It showcases a lot of anti-robot behavior like through Adolf and a cult-like organization that he belongs in. The anime goes into people who are neutral on the topic too. Then there are people like Dr. Ochanomizu who shed tears over every robot life lost. In episode four, he finds a robot dog and tries to repair it, but it dies anyway. Even as it lay dying, it still tries to comfort the good doctor which is when he starts to cry and say this line.
3 “What Is Flesh Compared To Loss Of A Loved One?”
Professor Abullah: Episode 6
Professor Abullah is the central antagonist of the anime although this is played for a mystery. He has a lot of good, poignant quotes that can be used in everyday life. This one, in episode six, for example, examines what one would do in a crisis.
Best Mystery Anime, Ranked
Watching a plot slowly unravel is seriously fun as these fantastic anime mystery stories show.
At a funeral, Epsilon gives his condolences to the professor about losing his limbs during the war and becoming a cyborg. For Professor Abullah, it seems he would rather lose his body than losing a loved one. That’s the message of this quote.
2 “Robot Memories Can Be Deleted…Would That It’d Work On Us.”
Professor Abullah: Episode 6
This is another great quote from Professor Abullah in Pluto and it’s from that same episode too. He is speaking with Professor Hoffman about how robots can retain all their memories or delete them for secrets or personal matters. Professor Abullah laments that humans cannot do this to forget painful memories like the loss of a loved one. It’s a good thought although this situation has a bit of intensity in it. Professor Abullah is practically setting his colleague up to get kidnapped because he blames Professor Hoffman for being one of the people that led to his wife getting killed.
1 “Professor, Do You Ever Think We’ll See The End Of Hatred?”
Atom: Episode 8
If there is one core theme to Pluto, besides robots standing in for racism, it’s that hatred causes the world a lot of pain. This is one of the last lines of the anime and it’s said by Atom right after his final fight. He wants to live in a world without hate because that is seemingly why wars happen. Hate, at least, is the emotion that fueled Professor Abullah to do what he did. As the great Yoda once said in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, “"Fear Leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." That’s close to the line Atom says here in Pluto.
