Jetter Mars

TV show
Jetter Mars (ジェッターマルス Jettā Marusu) is an anime series made in 1977, directed by Rintaro, and written by Osamu Tezuka. Originally planned by Tezuka as a full-color remake of the original anime adaptation of his popular manga series Astro Boy, unfavorable circumstances during the pre-production phase of the project led him to abandon it temporarily and create Jetter Mars instead. Although it remains as one of Tezuka's lesser known works, it gained a large following and is fondly remembered.

Some may consider Jetter Mars a rip-off of Astro Boy, but the story is rather different. Though, some episodes do have the same plot as some Astro Boy episodes. Such as Episode 05 "Why is Mars crying?" which takes many elements from the two-parters called "The Greatest Robot in the World" and episode 12 "Jam Bond, Secret Agent" which takes many elements from "The Artificial Sun."

Manga
Jetter Mars during and after the lifetime of the show has received several manga adaptations published in magazines published by companies such as Televiland, Adventure King, and Middle-Age Magazine