Uran is Astro's younger sister and a major recurring protagonist in the Astro Boy franchise. She was created by Professor Ochanomizu, based off Astro's own blueprints, and presented to Astro as a birthday gift, or New Year's gift, depending on which series. Uran often finds herself getting into trouble and causing trouble for Astro. She possesses a part of Astro's strength but none of his combat powers, and her most common power is the ability to talk with animals. Due to how closely she resembles her brother, Uran is very rarely a player in the Osamu Tezuka Star System, and mainly appears in the numerous Astro Boy series.[1]
Appearance[]
Uran's model sheets from the 1963 anime
Though Uran has had less consistent designs compared to her older brother she has always looked fairly similar to her older brother but with some differences. She has the same jet-black hair as Astro but hers has spikes curling up symmetrically on both sides of her head, She has a slightly thinner body type compared to Astro and at times stubbier feet. She has been shown to wear clothes more often than Astro, usually a dress, the color of the dress may vary but in merchandise and other artwork it is usually pink. She also has either pink, red or black small lace-less shoes. Though her appearances are varied between, adaptations this is usually how she looks
Personality[]
Uran is very self-spoken and independent. Unlike her brother, she is selfish, obstinate, impulsive and prone to acting on her own, which often leads to her headstrong attitude causing trouble for herself or others. She hates being left behind or having people think she's weak. Uran idolizes Astro, whom she is very close to and loves tagging along with his adventures regardless of wether or not he approves.
Uran loves art and nature. She tends to hang out with animals and in forests. Uran is very empathetic to the point where she can even sense what others are feeling or thinking.
Anime[]
1963 Series[]
Uran (Named Astro Girl in the english dub) was first introduced in the 1963 series. She was presented as a birthday present to Astro, who rejoiced claiming he had always wanted a sister. She proves to be a handful, being the far-more independent between the two, teaching Astro what it actually means to be an older brother.
1980's series[]
Uran and a classmate named Mari
Formally introduced as Uran, she was presented as a gift to Astro on New Year's Day as a thank you for all his hard work. After showing her new family she could dance, Uran already causes Astro trouble only hours into his New Year. By the end of the day, Astro and Uran realize that this is the start of a beautiful bond, as long as Astro keeps track of her. Uran often accompanies Astro on his adventures and acts as a sidekick when she isn't the main cause of the problem. Astro looks out for Uran and in turn, she does the same, the best she can.
2003 series[]
Renamed as Zoran in the English dub, she was created to teach Astro responsibility and to possibly test Doctor O'Shay's skills. Astro accepts her with open arms, excited to have his very first relative. Once learning what a handful she is, Astro apologizes for treating her childishly but requests that she does everything he says.
In the series she is given the ability to talk to animals, befriending a bird that she named Pecora, which even helps solve a mysterious case with the famous detective. She is often jealous of Astro's fame and power but loves and looks up to him none-the-less. She accompanies him on a few trips and plays a major role in the story of "The Rise of Pluto". However, she is usually only seen now and then in Dr. O'shay's house where she and her brother reside.Her age is not stated but it is implied to be 6 or 7.
Pluto[]
Uran appears in Naoki Urasawa's manga series Pluto, based on the storyline "The Greatest Robot in the World" where she is also given the ability to speak with animals.
Video Games[]
Tetsuwan Atom (Famicom)[]
Uran appears in the Famicom Tetsuwan Atom game as an NPC with one sprite that flips back and forth, you save her from a frozen cave and later her, Higeoyaji, and Dr. Ochanomizu get into a rocket to escape an impending threat.
Tetsuwan Atom (Super Famicom)[]
Uran appears in the Super Famicom game Tesuwan Atom.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor[]
Uran appears in the game Astro Boy: Omega Factor.
Powers[]
Uran uses her splitting power (1960)
Uran has 50,000 horsepower and is considered extremely powerful for her size. Despite not sharing any of Astro's built-in weaponry or abilities, she does have super strength and can easily lift heavy things. Uran is also a high level empath and can communicate with animals, and in Pluto, even detect human emotions.
In the 1980 series, Uran briefly had the power to split into two separate copies of herself. However, these copies split her original strength, making either of them only 50% the strength of the original Uran. She also briefly had this ability in the original manga and 1963 anime, although it was not something she was originally created with, being only a temporary function with the same downsides.
In the Pocket Jeunesse series, Uran has super-speed and the ability to literally bounce off the walls. She has this power in contrast to Astro's ability to fly.
Origin[]
In the opening to the manga chapter, “Uran,” Tezuka describes through his cartoon self how he no longer remembers the exact inspiration for Uran's creation. She had been in the series for so long and in so many versions that, by that point, Tezuka speculates Uran's origins may never be known. The chapter opening then explores different possibilities of Uran's origins. A lot of these are references, such as Higeoyaji saying she was retrieved from the bottom of the ocean, which is a reference to Roppu-Kun, and Cobalt saying she was found in a trash dump, which is Cobalt's origins in the TV show, but not in the manga.
However, what is known for certain is that Uran is the basis for Miri. from Jetter Mars. Miri is the responsible older sibling to the mischievious Jetter, a contrast to Uran and Astro.
Gallery[]
See Uran/gallery
Trivia[]
- Uran has maintained a constant presence throughout the various iterations of Astro Boy. She is the most frequently recurring of Astro's family, moreso than Rin, Ethanol, Cobalt and Chiitan.