Osamu Tezuka
- This article is about the manga artist and animator. For the Prince of Tennis character, see Kunimitsu Tezuka.
Dr. Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫, Tezuka Osamu, November 3, 1928 - February 9, 1989) was a Japanese manga artist and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. He is often accredited as the Father of Anime, and the Walt Disney of Japan.
His prolific output and his pioneering techniques and genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga" and "the god of manga." The distinctive "large eyes" style of Japanese animation (anime) was invented by Tezuka, who based it on cartoons of the time such as Max Fleischer's Betty Boop and Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. As an indication of his productivity, the Complete Manga Works of Tezuka Osamu (手塚治虫漫画全集, published in Japan) comprises some 400 volumes, over 80,000 pages; even so, it is not quite comprehensive - in fact, his complete oeuvre includes over 700 mangas in about 170,000 pages.
He was formally trained as a physician, but devoted his life to the production of an enormous body of manga work, the vast majority of which has never been translated from the original Japanese and is thus inaccessible to Western audiences. He began his career as a manga creator while a university student. His medical and scientific knowledge enriched his sci-fi manga, as well as Black Jack, a series about a genius rogue surgeon.
Famous creations include Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu in Japan), Black Jack, Princess Knight, Phoenix (Hi no Tori in Japan), Kimba the White Lion (possibly an inspiration for Disney's The Lion King), and Adolf. His "life's work" was Phoenix—a story of life and death, concerning an eponymous phoenix whose blood endows those who drink it with immortality.
Tezuka headed the animation production studio Mushi Pro ('Bug Production'), which pioneered TV animation in Japan. The name of the studio derives from one of the kanji ("虫") used to write his name.
It is well-known that many of the yet-to-flourish young manga artists once lived in the apartment where Tezuka lived, Tokiwa-so. (As the suffix -so indicates, this was probably a small, inexpensive apartment.) The residents included Shotaro Ishinomori; Fujio Akatsuka; and Abiko Motou & Hiroshi Fujimoto (who worked together under the pen name Fujiko Fujio).
He was a personal friend (and apparent artistic influence) of the well-known Brazilian comicbook artist, Maurício de Sousa.
Osamu Tezuka died of stomach cancer at the age of 60. In an afterword written by Takayuki Matsutani, president of Mushi Productions, that was published in Viz Media's English language release of the Hi no Tori manga, it is said that his last words were "I'm begging you, let me work!"
In 1994 the city of Takarazuka, where Tezuka grew up, opened a museum in his memory. In 1997 stamps were issued in his honor.
Beginning in 2003 the Japanese toy company Kaiodo began producing a series of figurines of Tezuka's creations, including Princess Knight, Unico, the Phoenix, Dororo, Marvelous Melmo, Ambassador Magma, and many others. To date three series of the figurines have been released. A separate Astro Boy series of figurines has also been issued.
Early life
Osamu Tezuka was born the eldest son of three children on November 3rd, 1928, in Toyonaka City, Osaka. He was tormented by his classmates because of his skinny build and weak nature. His mother often comforted him by telling him to look to the blue skies. This gave him confidence. Tezuka loved the environment, especially insects, and wished that all humans would take care of it. He came to the realization that he could use manga as a means of helping to convince people to care for the world. After surviving World War II, he created his first piece of work (aged 17), Diary of Ma-Chan and then Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island), which began the golden age of Manga, a craze next to the American comic books at the time.
Style
Tezuka is known for his amazing techniques which include imaginative stories and stylized Japanese adaptations of western literature. His early art style was basic and inspired by Disney, whom he greatly admired. Tezuka used cinematic camera angles and panning in his early works and beyond, creating the illusion of watching a movie. His work, like that of other manga creators, was sometimes gritty and violent. However he strayed away from graphic violence in titles such as Astro Boy.
Manga & anime (partial list)
The years cited beside each title refer to the period of manga serialization.
- Diary of Ma-chan, 1946. Tezuka debuted with this four-panel newspaper strip, published in the Osaka edition of Shokokumin Shimbun (Mainichi School Children's Newspaper). He was only 17 years old when he produced this work.
- Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island), 1947. This is the manga that made Tezuka a household name in Japan. It is an action-adventure drama inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's book, about a boy named Pete whose discovers a map to Treasure Island and embarks on a voyage to find it. The Western-style art and fast-paced storyline attracted much attention, and it became a best seller with 400,000 copies sold, laying the groundwork for the manga craze and its modern style.
- Jungle Taitei (Jungle Emperor Leo), 1950-54. Better known in the English speaking world as Kimba the White Lion, this manga established one of Tezuka's most iconic creations. His first full-scale long serial, Jungle Taitei follows the adventures of Leo the lion as he seeks to succeed his father, killed by a hunter, as king of the jungle. In 1965, Tezuka's Mushi Productions, financed by NBC Enterprises, produced a 52-episode anime series loosely based on the manga. This was followed immediately by a 26-episode sequel, produced by Mushi Pro alone. This sequel was dubbed into English in 1984 under the title Leo the Lion. A full-length animated film based on the last half of Tezuka's original manga was released theatrically in 1997 under the title Jungle Emperor Leo.
- Metropolis, 1949. One of Tezuka's early science fiction works, about a private detective, Higeoyaji, who tries to take care of Mitchy, a gender switching robot, after its creator is killed. It would be made into a 2001 animated film. The 2001 film was heavily influenced by the Fritz Lang film Metropolis (1927), while Tezuka's original manga had only been slightly influenced by it. It is said that Osamu Tezuka never even saw the movie but was inspired by the poster of the film.
- Captain ATOM, 1951-52. A science fiction manga about the coexistence and conflict between humans and aliens from another planet. Astro Boy made his debut in this manga as a supporting character. After Astro Boy became popular, Tezuka rewrote Captain ATOM as an episode of Astro Boy.
- Tetsuwan ATOM (Astro Boy), 1952-68. A sequel to Captain ATOM, with Astro Boy as its main character. Eventually, Astro Boy would become Tezuka's most famous creation. In 1963, Astro Boy made its debut as the first domestically-produced animated program on Japanese television. The 30-minute weekly program received high public and critical acclaim, and led to the first craze for anime in Japan. In America, the TV series was also a hit, becoming the first Japanese animation to be shown on U.S. television, although the U.S. producers downplayed the show's Japanese origins. Several other Astro Boy series have been made since. Columbia Pictures (Sony) has announced that a CGI-animation Astro Boy movie is currently in production.
- Ribon no Kishi (Princess Knight), 1953-56. A gender-bending adventure drama about Princess Sapphire, a girl who must pretend to be a boy - and whose body, in fact, has two human hearts; a boy's and a girl's. The manga was inspired by the themes and styles of musicals by the all-girl Takarazuka Revue, which Tezuka had watched in his youth. Ribon no Kishi itself established many of the themes and styles of later shōjo manga (girls' manga), such as its affinity for androgynous heroes, and is sometimes referred to as "the Mother of all shōjo manga." It was made into an anime TV series in 1967, and the anime has been dubbed into English and sporadically broadcast on TV in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The anime is also known in English as Choppy and the Princess, and in Italy as La Principessa Zaffiro. A new musical version of Princess Knight will be performed in August 2006 starring the members of the all-female pop group Morning Musume.
- Twin Knight, 1958. Twin Knight was a sequel to Princess Knight, and takes place several years after the end of the original series. In Twin Knight Princess Sapphire is now Queen Sapphire and is married to Frantz, her love interest in the original series. The main characters in Twin Knight are the twin children of Sapphire and Frantz, Prince Daisy and Princess Violetta. Although Twin Knight was originally published under the same Ribon no Kishi title during its short run, the title was changed in 1960 when the series was collected into a single volume. Ever since then it has been regarded as a separate series. No television version has ever been produced.
- Hi no Tori (Phoenix), 1956-89. Tezuka's most profound and ambitious work, dealing with man's quest for immortality, ranging from the distant past to the far future. It remains unfinished. Phoenix has been filmed several times, most notably as Phoenix 2772 (1980).
- Big X (Big X), 1963-1966. Big X was one of Tezuka's early stabs at a sprawling adventure story covering the events of three generations. The story begins in World War II with Dr. Asagumo (who is Japanese) and Dr. Engel (who is German) and their collaboration on a new superweapon called "Big X." At the end of the war Big X disappears, but the formula for it reappears in Tokyo nearly 20 years later when Asagumo's son - who had the formula - is killed and the formula is recovered by Asagumo's grandson Akira. The formula is revealed to be an injected body-expanding drug, which is also coveted by Engel's grandson Hans, who is a member of the Nazi Alliance. Though Akira injected Big X in the manga, in the anime this transformation is accomplished by using a pendant since there was some concern that a syringe would be regarded as advocating the use of drugs by children. 59 episodes of the anime were produced, airing in 1964 and 1965.
- W3 - Wonder Three (Amazing 3), 1965-1966. This story features three agents from outer space capable of transforming themselves into animals and are tasked with collecting information which will be used to decide whether the Earth should continue to exist or be destroyed due to the threat it might present to other planets in the future. The fourth main character is a human boy who is working with them to save the Earth. 52 animated episodes were produced, airing in Japan in 1965-66, in the United States from 1967 through the early '70s, and in Australia beginning in 1969. It is also known to have been distributed in several Spanish-speaking countries as Los tres espaciales.
- Maguma Taishi (Ambassador Magma), 1966-1967. Maguma Taishi was the first color tokusatsu series to air in Japan. It centered around the adventures of Magma, Mol, and Gam, a family of robots who defend the Earth against an alien invader named Goa. They're assisted by a boy named Mamoru Murakami (in whose image Gam was created by a wizard named Earth), who has a whistle which can call for any of the robots. Magma - a golden, armored robot with long hair - can grow to an enormous size when it's necessary to fight any of the giant monsters unleashed by Goa, and all three robots can turn themselves into rockets. 52 episodes were filmed, and a 13 episode OVA was also produced in 1993. The series aired in the United States as The Space Giants beginning in 1978. Strangely, most of the Japanese names were changed in the American version to different Japanese names. In Spain it was known as Monstruos del Espacio, and in other English-speaking countries as Space Avengers.
- Dororo to Hyakumaru (Dororo), 1967-1968. Dororo centers around the adventures of Hyakkimaru (alternately Hyaki Maru), who is missing 48 body parts due to a deal his father had made with 48 demons in exchange for control over Japan. When Hyakkimaru is born he is hideously disformed, and is thrown into a river to die. Instead he is rescued by a doctor named Jukai and grows up to be a young man whose missing body parts have been replaced by Jukai with prosthetics (many of which contain hidden weapons). Teaming up with Hyakkimaru is Dororo, a child (and thief) living on the streets. Together they set out to defeat the 48 demons and recover Hyakkimaru's missing body parts. Tezuka never completed the manga, so the intended conclusion to the story is unknown. 26 animated episodes were filmed, airing in 1969. Although the show was originally just known as Dororo, the name was changed to Dororo to Hyakumaru (Dororo and Hyakumaru) halfway through its run. A live action version filmed in New Zealand will be released in 2007.
- Vampire (The Vampire), 1966-1967 and 1968-1969. Though Vampire began life as a manga (which Tezuka never completed), it is most remembered today for its television incarnation. Vampire would be an extraordinarily unusual program for Japanese TV even today - much less in 1968 when it originally aired - since it combined animation with live action. The story revolves around the adventures of Toppei, who comes from a village populated by vampires (who aren't vampires so much as they're werewolves). Arriving in Tokyo, Toppei gets an animation job with none other than Osamu Tezuka, who plays himself throughout the series. Toppei's shapeshifting ability is discovered by the villain of the series, Makube Rokuro (also known in many other Tezuka works as Rock), with the other vampires from Toppei's village attempting to destroy civilization in the process. 26 episodes were produced. The series only aired in Japan and Italy. This was the final Tezuka series to be filmed in black and white.
- Umi no Triton (Triton of the Sea), 1969. The series takes place 5,000 years in the past when everyone living in Atlantis is killed by Poseidon, a would-be dictator bent on conquest of all of the Earth's oceans. The rest of the story is about the fight of Triton and Pippi - the last known Atlantean survivors - against Poseidon, aided by their dolphin companions and the Orihalcon dagger, a weapon which makes Triton nearly impervious to harm. 27 episodes were filmed and aired in 1972. The series aired only in Japan and Italy. A theatrical version was released in 1979.
- Kureopatora (Cleopatra: Queen of Sex), 1970. Kureopatora holds an unusual position among Tezuka's works since it's the most explicitly sexual project he ever attempted. The film is particularly notable since it was one of the first two animated features to be given an X rating in the United States (the other being Fritz the Cat). The movie told the story of Cleopatra and her numerous romantic encounters with Julius Caesar and the other men in her life. The film was not a success in Japan (partly due to financial troubles Tezuka's film company was having at the time), and is rarely seen today.
- Fushigi na Merumo (Marvelous Melmo), 1970-1972. This series centered around Melmo, a nine-year-old girl whose mother is killed in an auto accident and has to then take care of her two younger brothers (the suggestion being that their father had died some time before). The ghost of her dead mother visits her and gives her a bottle of candy given to her by God. The blue candy turns Melmo into a 19-year-old version of herself, while the red candy turns her back into a child. Combining the two turns her first into a fetus, then into an animal of her choosing. A total of 26 animated episodes were produced, which aired from 1971 to 1972. Tezuka intended the series to function as a kind of introductory sex education for children. That being the case, not surprisingly the series only aired in Japan and Italy (as I bon bon magici di Lilly). When the manga first appeared in 1970 it was originally titled Mamaa-chan. However, by the time the anime debuted in 1971 the name of the main character was changed to "Melmo" (derived from "metamorphose") due to "Mamaa" having been previously trademarked.
- Ayako, 1972-1973. The story of the Tenge family and its fall, from the end of the WWII to the 70s. Major events and some characters of this story are based on true events and inspired from real persons.
- Black Jack, 1973-83. The story of Black Jack, a talented surgeon who operates illegally, using radical and supernatural techniques to combat rare afflictions. This is the longest of Tezuka's works. Black Jack received the Japan Cartoonists' Association Special Award in 1975 and the Koudansha Manga Award in 1977. Three Black Jack TV movies were released between 2000-01. In fall 2004, a TV anime was aired in Japan with 61 episodes, releasing another movie afterward. A new series, titled Black Jack 21, started broadcasting on April 10, 2006.
- Mitsume ga Tooru (The Three-Eyed One), 1974-1978. Mitsume ga Tooru was an expression of Tezuka's interest in Eastern religions. The story revolves around Hosuke Sharaku, a junior high school student who must always wear a bandage over his forehead which conceals a third eye. When the third eye is covered Hosuke remains a normal boy. When the eye is exposed his evil side takes over and he becomes a sorcerer of enormous power with a desire to conquer the world. His female classmate Wato Chiyoko is always around to try to save the world from his evil side's plans, but is also attracted to Hosuke's evil side. 48 episodes of the anime aired in 1990 and 1991.
- Buddha, 1974-84. Tezuka's unique interpretation of the life of Buddha. The critically acclaimed series is often referred to as a gritty, even sexy, portrayal of the holy-man's life.
- Unico, 1976-1979. Unico is a baby unicorn with the power to grant a wish to anyone who finds him. The gods, however, are jealous of Unico and order the West Wind to banish him to the Hill of Oblivion. The West Wind can't bear to subject Unico to such a fate, and thus continually spirits Unico from one place to another to escape the wrath of the gods. Tezuka's manga was serialized in Sanrio's "Ririka" (Lyrica) magazine. Although Unico is probably the most popular of Tezuka's characters who hasn't had his own TV series, he has appeared in a TV special (produced as a pilot for an intended series) and two feature-length anime films made for Sanrio by the Madhouse animation studio. Both films were also dubbed in English and enjoyed some popularity outside of Japan in the early 1980s.
- Jet Mars (Jetter Mars), 1977. Jetter Mars was essentially a remake of Tetsuwan Atomu in which Astro and some of the other characters were slightly reworked by Tezuka because he was on a deadline and couldn't re-acquire the Tetsuwan Atomu copyrights in time to produce the color Tetsuwan Atomu series he really wanted to make. Jetter Mars, like Astro Boy, is a powerful robot built in the image of a boy. The two scientists who created him are Dr. Yamanoue (who created Jetter's body) and Dr. Kawashimo (who created his mind). The disagreement between them mirrors the disagreement in Tetsuwan Atomu between Dr. Tenma and Dr. Elefun, respectively. Several episodes were remakes of earlier Tetsuwan Atomu stories. A total of 27 episodes were produced. Jetter Mars is often regarded by Tezuka fans as one of his weakest efforts, though Tezuka was under some financial pressure at the time, and was unable to wait for the copyright dispute to be resolved. Other Tezuka fans defend the series as the best Tezuka was able to do under the circumstances, and that there was really nothing wrong with it that wouldn't have been corrected had it been produced as a Tetsuwan Atomu series.
- Don Dorakyura (Don Dracula), 1982. A cancelled anime series. It was supposed to have had 26 episodes, but only 8 were produced. The main character, Don Dorakyura, lived in Transylvania, but moved to Japan to get rid of vampire hunters, such as Prof. Rip Van Helsing. He lives with his daughter, Chocola, and his henchman, Igor.
- Tell Adolf (Adolf), 1983-85. A manga set in the pre-World War II era, it revolves around three people with the name Adolf—one a Jew, one a Nazi, the third being Adolf Hitler himself.
- Jumping, Unknown, 1984. A 6 minute animation film (not anime style) showing the world from the point of view of a bouncing ball (or jumping child). Each jump of the camera goes higher, each landing is a visual surprise (i.e, a city setting, a jungle, the ocean floor, a battle field in wartime, the depths of Hell, etc.). The amazingly moving perspective was all drawn by hand.
- Blue Blink, 1989-1990. Blue Blink is the story of a boy named Kakeru and a blue horse from outer space named Blink. When Kakeru's father is kidnapped, Blink and Kakeru set out to try to find him. 39 episodes were produced. Blue Blink is notable since it was the final anime Tezuka worked on, though he'd only finished writing the first few synopses at the time of his death.
- Broken Down Film, Unknown. A 6 minute animation film (not anime style) made in 1985 which parodied ancient cartoons, and the techniques used by animators to fake a 'film break', by having a Wild West cartoon, supposedly made in 1885, continually have faults with the tracking and the film running too fast, as well as the occasional break in the film, rendering it impossible sometimes for characters to do anything...
- Legend of the Forest, (Mori no densetsu) 1987, 29 min. A homage to the history of animation in the form of a parody. The film starts with 19th century-style illustrations and slowly progresses from static images to animation, from black-and-white to colour, from silent to sound, finally arriving at computer aided animation.
Trivia
- Osamu Tezuka is one of only three individuals who have been involved in both anime and medicine. The others are Megumi Hayashibara, who is a registered nurse and Seiyuu (Voice acting); and Hideaki Anno, a cofounder of Gainax who studied medicine and chemistry in college (he is best known for Neon Genesis Evangelion).
- During the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War Two, Tezuka supported himself by drawing "pin-up" pictures for U.S. servicemen, often trading them for military food rations.
- When Tezuka died, he had completed 150,000 pages of manga, just short of 500 24-minute anime episodes, and 200,000 pages of animation scripts. A few were used in for remakes, including the 3-D-enhanced Astro Boy and the recent release of Black Jack.