Where Atom Boy failed: Beyond the functional to the spirit
The original article by Morinosuke Kawaguchi appeared on February 17, 2009 in DIME magazine:
“目玉おやじとアトムにみるハイテク機器の進化論“
Earliest manga in Japan has two big heroes: Atom Boy written by Tezuka Osamu and Medama-oyaji by Shigeru Mizuki. Even though they appeared in the 1950’s, they couldn’t be more different.
Atom Boy is a robot with meticulously described powers: He uses atom power equaling 1 mln horse power, can fly, hears 100,000 times better than a human, speaks 16 languages – and can recognize the good from the bad guys. He is the hero protecting the world with his powers. He is pure hardware.
Opposed to him is Medama-oyaji: A tiny critter, so weak it can barely walk and that lives in the hair of his human son Kitaro. He acts as his son’s advisor and also encourages him when his son is depressed. He is the voice we often wish we had. This hero is pure software.
For years product development has been focused on hardware, to make things more efficient in their functionality. This is the Atom Boy principle. Astro Boy’s raison d’etre was pretty much based on the powers he had, and he had to prove his usefulness as an only near-human. He ends up committing suicide. On the other hand there is Medama-oyaji, an almost non-physical being that as opposed to technology represents a spirit. His soul stems from nature, while Astro Boy’s stems from human design.
Morinosuke Kawaguchi believes that engineers are trapped into asking the wrong – or just the same – question, which is always about what technology can do. As our devices become more intelligent, the Medama-oyaji principle gains in importance, and with this perspective Kawaguchi advises engineers to simply think about what they wish they had. To Kawaguchi, the Medama-oyaji is the predecessor of today’s mobile phone and what it still holds in store for us in the future.
Medama-oyaji is a concierge, a coach, an on-demand functional, wearable advisor. As Atom Boy was reduced to his functionality, he failed in the end. The future devices are not simply function, but a voice telling us to keep going.
