The 2003 series is considered by fans to be one of the best renditions of Astro boy ever. Known for its risk taking and emotionally charged story-lines, most if not all the episodes hit. But one in particular, “Lost In Outland,” stands out among the rest. Why that is, has been of particular interest to me, who personally enjoys it as well. My findings have led me to come up with three reasons as to why. For starters, the change in pace & scenario compared to other episodes. Secondly, the unforgettable and unique characters. And, thirdly, Astro’s place in it all. While this is not an exhaustive list of reasons, it is clear from these three alone that, out of all the 2003 series episodes, “Lost In Outland” proves time and time again to be the best and most loved.

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Now, of course, before we begin, I have to disclaim a couple of things. One, this is not meant to convince you to like the episode if you dislike it already, I am simply explaining what I have found & researched and presenting it to you as such. Two, I am well aware that the research methods I have used to come to these conclusions come with drawbacks and downsides that harm its legitimacy. While I tried my best to circumvent this, things can and do fall through the cracks, and there is nothing I can do about that in said regard.

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To start, I want to explain a little bit about how I got to this point, and what made me wish to write this post. I knew personally that Lost In Outland was my favorite episode of the 03 series, but when speaking about it with other people, I was shocked to find out I was not the only one who felt that way. I also, at the time, had developed some theories as a result of this feedback that hinged on my own personal thoughts, not just about the episode, but also about my personal life. Thus, I decided to put together a Google Form in an attempt to not only gauge what other’s thought about this episode, but also if my theories held any water.

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Of course, as mentioned earlier, there are some caveats to doing a poll. Besides the obvious— that people can lie or use bots to manipulate the results— there’s also the inherent bias that I am (presumably) polling people who already like and enjoy the 2003 series. So, the odds of them liking Lost In Outland goes up tenfold. There’s also the fact that I was only (at the time of writing this) able to pull in 8 responses. But as I said, I cannot control how people respond, and who responds, exactly. Even if I made it extra obvious that the results would be anonymous, that still may not have been enough to convince people to be brutally honest. This fandom is also quite tiny, so while 8 people in a poll for any fandom would seem so little, in this case it’s actually quite a lot. Finally, there was a second section in the form that contained some more heavy questions (mostly pertaining to my theories) that people had to opt in to answer. Some may have chosen not to participate and thus only answered the questions from the first section.

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Out of the 8 people who submitted responses, 75% of them consider Lost In Outland their favorite, or all-time favorite episode. 25% did not consider Lost In Outland to be their fave or all-time fave. Participants were given a question to elaborate on why they did or disliked the episode, and we will be discussing their thoughts later. For now, to continue, 75% prefer the subbed version of the episode, while 25% prefer the dubbed.

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For the second half of the survey, in which 87.5% of people agreed to participate, 57.1% of them consider themselves to be LGBTQ+/queer. 42.9% of them (presumably) consider themselves to be cishet. Precisely 71.4% of them have said they’ve experienced some form of trauma at any point in their life, while 14.3% did not, and 14.3% said “maybe.” The final question, directly attempting to answer a theory I had made, was a bit inconclusive. Only 57.1% of people said that they have or had (at any point) thoughts of escaping/running away, starting over somewhere new, or anything similar.

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Now that we have broken down the multiple choice responses, we can get back to talking about the written response question I saved for later. This brings us to the three reasons outlined in the intro as to why the episode is so enjoyed. For starters, we can talk about one of the most frequently brought up reasons: the characters. Many praised the unique nature of the commune characters, with one even mentioning how lovable and interesting they are. Personally, I also agree that the characters are what make the episode. They serve as the backbone for the episode’s plot, and as one participant said, even make for the perfect set-up for a spin-off show. Boon in particular was brought up twice and seems to be the breakout star altogether. However, I can also see the opposite for why some wouldn’t like this, as introducing so many new characters (that, spoiler alert, we never see again) can be overwhelming, or seen as a waste. But, I think the episode did a fantastic job at making them all diverse and unique that we can’t really forget them. And, as for the “wastefulness” argument, that’s somewhat valid, but it’s not entirely our fault that the show couldn’t find a way to bring them back in some capacity.

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Next, we have something a little similar, and that’s the change of pace/scenery. Now this personally has got to be one of, if not the sole reasons I love this episode, and I’m glad everyone else agrees! To begin, many pointed out how we don’t normally get to see live as lived outside of Metro City, or even outside of those that are rich. This episode, based around a commune that is said to live in Outland as a “[Way for] people to forget about their problems.” gives us a perspective we haven’t seen yet. Of course, though, I can’t talk about this point and not say the obvious, that this isn’t the first time (nor would it be the last) that Astro’s lost their memory. However, in this specific context, I think it takes that idea and freshens it up a little. It’s also really nice to see O’shay step up to the plate and take initiative in looking for them. Not to say that he’s never stepped up before, but as one participant wrote: “It was the first episode, Ochanomizu claimed parenthood over, Atom.”

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Finally, our third reason is a bit hard to pin down. Originally written in my outline for this blog post as simply “Astro’s altruism”, which is based on a single response written that spoke of Astro wanting to help others, despite everything. It seems far more that the majority (including myself), similar to liking how different of a situation Astro was in, also liked what it represented for them. Now, I am no psychologist, nor would I claim that anyone who participated is, either. Even still, the fact that it’s as clear as the night sky that what Astro goes through is enough to make us all collectively sigh in gratitude that it’s not of importance or worry this time around, is astounding. Yes, there is still something to be said about the episode’s entire premise beginning with Astro going out of their way to fix the satellite, despite not being instructed to do so at all. As well as the fact that they were able to clear Boon’s name after successfully using the Boon Unit. But for once, we’re seeing Astro live a life where they aren’t pestered or arsed to have a “purpose,” to be a mediator, to feel like being an activist is more important than being a kid. They were allowed to just be, and that, is precious.

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For the 25% who disliked the episode, only 1 submitted a written response that said though it is not their favorite, they still enjoyed the episode. The other declined to comment.

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To summarize, there are many reasons why Lost In Outland is considered the best of the best, even by 2003 series standards. But, based on my research, the 3 most predominate ones are: the stellar characters, the unorthodox setting, and Astro’s place in it all. And considering I agree with them all, should it really have been a surprise to me that I wasn’t the only one? Perhaps not- but I’m glad to now have concrete evidence as to why, and perhaps you do too as well. Because, out of all the 2003 series episodes, “Lost In Outland” proves time and time again to be the best and most loved. And the proof is in the pudding.