It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original from September 2003 to April 2009, with its chapters collected into eight tankōbon volumes.

Pluto was a critical and commercial success, winning several awards, including the ninth Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, and selling over 10 million copies.

Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki began Pluto after over a year of negotiating to get the rights to adapt Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy.

But due to the character's importance, he suggested a long-term "serious" take on "The Greatest Robot on Earth" (地上最大のロボット, Chijō Saidai no Robotto) arc, which is his favorite.

Macoto made Urasawa promise not to imitate his father but make the story in his own style, and even asked him to rethink the character designs.

[7] Fusanosuke Natsume pointed out that in Pluto Urasawa included references not only to other Astro Boy arcs, but to other works by Tezuka as well, such as the characters Tawashi and Nakamura; the police car designed to look like a dog; Uran's encounter with animals; and an obsolete robot maid.

[8] Although people often call Pluto a dark take on a children's classic, Urasawa feels that the idea that Tezuka's work is lighthearted is a common misconception.

"[3] He additionally explained that through its anime and various adaptations it has been "reimagined as very wholesome and safe content, but if you really look at Tezuka's work on a deeper level, it's very dark.

[3] Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, while also working on 20th Century Boys,[11] Pluto was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original from September 5, 2003,[a] to April 4, 2009.

[18][19] A play adaptation of Pluto that incorporated 3D imagery via projection mapping opened at Tokyo's Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon on January 9, 2015.

New cast members included Tao Tsuchiya as both Uran and Helena, Shunsuke Daitō as Gesicht, and Mitsuru Fukikoshi as Abullah.

"[51] In her review, Deb Aoki of About.com claimed Pluto "will suck you in with its masterful storytelling, and will break your heart with its uncommon emotional depth."

[2] Reviewing volume seven, Anime News Network's Carlo Santos felt the story got a lot more enjoyable with all the loose ends tied up and said Urasawa does a fine job of integrating Tezuka's design with his own style.

However, he wrote that "Urasawa continues to add pointless little flourishes to the story: references to Pinocchio, a creepy little children's song, a symbolic crack in a wall.

[53] Santos strongly praised the final volume, saying it works on every level; with philosophical points of war and humanity and artificial intelligence, and feelings of love, hate, hope, and despair that tug at the heart.

[54] The Guardian theater critic Michael Billington called the set and visuals of the stage adaptation of Pluto "spectacular" and gave the 2018 London performance 3 out of 5 stars.