Pluto Manga Buying Guide: Eight Books, One Edition
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka is complete in English in eight VIZ paperbacks. ISBNs, dates, list prices and how to check a used set.
Pluto is the simplest Urasawa buy: one English edition, eight paperbacks, finished. VIZ published Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka between February 2009 and April 2010, and its Pluto listing shows Vols. 1 through 8 with Vol. 8 marked as the final volume. There is no omnibus, Perfect Edition or box set on that listing to choose between.
The eight books
| Book | ISBN-13 | Released | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1 | 9781421519180 | 2009-02-17 | 200 |
| Vol. 2 | 9781421519197 | 2009-03-17 | 208 |
| Vol. 3 | 9781421519203 | 2009-05-19 | 200 |
| Vol. 4 | 9781421519210 | 2009-07-21 | 200 |
| Vol. 5 | 9781421525839 | 2009-09-15 | 200 |
| Vol. 6 | 9781421527215 | 2009-11-17 | 200 |
| Vol. 7 | 9781421532677 | 2010-01-19 | 200 |
| Vol. 8 | 9781421533438 | 2010-04-06 | 256 |
Each print volume lists at $16.99, so the full run is $135.92 at list. VIZ also shows a $11.99 digital price on the product pages. The books are 5 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches under the VIZ Signature imprint.
What the credits tell you
Vol. 1 credits the book to Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka, co-authored with Takashi Nagasaki, with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions. VIZ’s Pluto page calls the series a “reworking of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy,” but Astro Boy is a separate series and its books are not part of this checklist. VIZ’s Vol. 1 description sets up the premise: the Swiss robot Mont Blanc is destroyed, and Interpol assigns the robot detective Gesicht to the case.
Buying a used set
Because there is only one edition, a used lot is easy to check: count the volume numbers and confirm the last one is Vol. 8, ISBN 9781421533438, the 256-page final book. A listing titled “Pluto complete” that shows seven spines is missing the ending. Match ISBNs against the table if a seller’s photos are unclear.
Where to go next
For more Urasawa, our Monster buying guide and 20th Century Boys buying guide cover their editions, which are more complicated than this one. For the series itself, see our essays on Gesicht and moral judgment and how Pluto draws Gesicht’s face, and the full Pluto catalog.