Android V (アンドロイドV) is a space-opera manga by Shotaro Ishinomori serialized in Akita Shoten's Adventure King through 1965.
A later serialization was published in the Mainichi Elementary School Student Newspaper (Sunday Edition) through 1967.
Plot[]
The titular protagonist, Android V is a dropout member of the Space Federation Secret Police Alphabet Squadron. One day, he encounters two luminous space lifeforms, Pepel and Moko, who came flying in with a meteorite. Pepel coexists inside V, and Moko coexists with Robo, a hound dog who was hit by the meteorite.
V gradually grows from a "dropout android" to an "excellent android." In their adventures, V and Robo rescue people from rampaging robots and resolve the different difficult cases that occur on various planets in the galaxy. The manga also goes through the effort to explain the planets such as Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury , and also describes the difference between androids and cyborgs, making it a fairly scientific story for the time.
In the later Mainichi Newspaper version, Pepel is renamed Roppi, and the unit to which V belongs is the Space Patrol Android Unit 101 Group.
Characters[]
- Android V (character)
- Robo
- Daisaku Ban
- Ambassador M
- Rita
- The Alphabet Squadron
Serializations[]
- Adventure King: January to October 1965
- Mainichi Elementary School Student Newspaper (Sunday Edition): April to July 1967
Related Works[]
Angel 2[]
V's design was entirely re-used for the eponymous Angel 2. This work would be serialized in the children's magazine "Disneyland" from January to October 1966, standing out as an original manga among adaptations of Disney works.
The character of Yasushi from My Neighbor Tamageta-kun was also recycled, for Angel 2's human friend Yasushi Yamada/Angel 1.
The Story that Begins at the End[]
The characters of Mary and Chibi were re-used from this manga for the brother and sister that V saves in the final chapter of the Mainichi Newspaper version.