It was teased a few days ago, and today Astro Boy: Edge of Time, based on the work of the "grandfather of manga" Osamu Tezuka has been announced with a Kickstarter campaign.

The title will be a collectible card game for PC (including Mac and Linux) and mobile. The goal is a rather modest $50,000, and no stretch goals have been announced for the moment. No console versions have been mentioned either.

Astro Boy: Edge of Time aims to celebrate the work of Osamu Tezuka in partnership with his son Makoto (AKA Macoto Tezka). It's developed by Project Atom, a team within Osaka-based studio Active Media, and comes with a definitely interesting staff of artists lending their skills for the cards: Goichi Suda (Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51), Hiroya Oku (Gantz), Satoshi Yoshioka (Clock Tower 3), Nekoshowgun (Lollipop Chainsaw), Hiroshi Matsuyama (CyberConnect2's President), Seiichiro Hosokawa (.hack//G.U.) and Hiroaki (The King of Fighters series). The soundtrack will be composed by Akira Yamaoka and Giorgio Moroder.

The story of the game will be as follows:

Dark forces beyond understanding have consumed nearly all that exists. Ripped to shreds, left for dead, those that find themselves still alive find hope in an unseen power that transports them safely to a city known as The Sprawl that exists outside the normal flow of time and space. Out of reach of evil, human and robot alike work together to survive in this harsh strange new world.

Citizens from all of these different universes start to integrate with each other, and 8 districts are formed by the newly established government to properly govern and protect the people. Peace reigns in The Sprawl for a time, until the demon king Goa invades The Sprawl from beyond.

The skies above The Sprawl turn blood red, as Goa’s invasion fleet arrives, and Astro, Magma, and other heroes gather to protect what little they have. Aiding them in battle are a new breed of hero: summoners. Able to use “cards” to manifest hard light construct versions of those they’ve met, the summoners are able to create entire armies with the flick of their wrists.

Despite successfully repelling the Goa invasion, many of the heroes sustain heavy damage. Magma now sleeps in the center of the city, the new governmental building built around his motionless body. Astro is nowhere to be seen, leading many to ask: Where is Astro?

Two years have passed since the invasion, and a new soul awakens in The Sprawl. A new era begins in the last city in existence.

Below you can also read a few notes about the gameplay.

• Unique Positional Combat: players have access to two rows in combat: an offensive row where cards are able to attack the enemy, but cannot protect the player, and the defensive row where cards defend incoming attacks but are unable to initiate attacks.
• Reimagined Characters: Fresh new redesigns of Tezuka’s most famous characters crafted by Japan’s most legendary illustrators.
• Story Mode: Experience a whole new adventure with Astro and other famous Tezuka characters that intertwines a deep storyline with unique card-based combat.
• Multiplayer: Battle other players in multiple ranked and unranked online modes and prove yourself as the best summoner in The Sprawl.
• Ongoing Development: The experience is always growing! Regular updates for ASTRO BOY: EDGE OF TIME will add new cards, new story mode episodes, and new multiplayer modes, so there’s always something new around the corner.

You play as a summoner, equipped with a powerful deck of “cards” that allows you to summon mighty heroes from across time and space to fight to defend your new home. In the full game, players build decks of 30 cards to take down mighty foes and defend The Sprawl or take on other players in a plethora of ranked and unranked multiplayer modes.

On the battlefield, each player gets two rows upon which to place units: The aggressive Enforcer row, and the protective Guardian row. Units placed from your hand in the Enforcer row can attack the enemy player and its units, but won’t be able to protect you from direct attacks. On the other hand, cards in the Guardian row are able to protect you from direct damage, but cannot initiate combat.

In addition, each card has a unique skill that will either passively activate when the right conditions are met, or are manually activated by the player when the time is right.

In addition to commanding Tezuka’s characters on the battlefield, players will also have access to Gear cards, powerful cards you can play during your turn to change the battlefield, buff units, or completely obliterate your enemy.

Last, but not least, you can check out a gallery and the video pitch.