Fans of Astro Boy, Buddha and Blackjack will be happy to know that today's episode is all about the manga god that is Osamu Tezuka! After reading his manga biography we talk about the precedent he set for the industry and detail the process of how the artist makes manga. Besides discussing the all-important issue of him being a furry or not. Skip synopsis @ 8:20
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084: The Osamu Tezuka Story
By Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions
Translation by Frederic L. Schott
Dr. Osamu Tezuka was born the eldest of three children on November 3rd, 1928. Having grown up in a liberal family he was exposed to cartoons from an early age. His father was an avid photographer who would give him comic books upon returning from his travels in America, as well as let him read Akahon, illustrated children's literature printed with a distinctive red ink.
Tezuka was a pioneer due to popularising cartoons as stories "story cartoons", thus paving the way for the modern manga industry as it stands today. It is why some refer to him as the 'god of manga'. It was during this post war time and across the world that many cartoonists were looking towards cinema as inspiration for their story telling. Osamu Tezuka himself was a fan of cinema, especially the works of Walt Disney. And by his 30's he would forego his work as a practicing physician entirely and be the highest paid manga artist in Japan.
At the age of 35, using his funds acquired from licensing his intellectual property, earning money from radio drama adaptations and by publishing his manga he was also able to pioneer the first televised anime show within Japan. This being an adaptation of his Manga, 'Astro Boy' otherwise known as 'Mighty Atom' as well as the first coloured anime show in Japan, 'Jungle Emperor Leo'. The same studio that produced those shows, Mushi Pro or "Bug Productions", would challenge their audiences with experimental releases such as the anime movies Belladonna of Sadness, Cleopatra and an adaptation of Arabian Nights before Mushi productions went bankrupt. This however would be just a minor setback in what would be a prolific career, he would continue to make experimental anime and manga throughout the entirety of his life. Having the chance to remake Astro Boy as a coloured TV show and making many successful manga for old and new fans, such as 'BlackJack', 'Message to Adolf' and what would be considered his longest running manga and life's work, 'Phoenix'.
Tezuka would die of stomach cancer on February 9th 1989. He was 60 years old. He would leave behind a wife, Etsuko Okada and (according to my sources he had 3 children) Makoto, Rumiko and Chii. As of 2014 Rumiko stated that she unlocked one of her father's draws and found a half-eaten chocolate, an essay praising Katsuhiro Otomo for the work he did on Akira and some drawings of erotic anthropomorphic animals, including a very sexy white mouse. It's fair to say that Rumiko was happy her dad didn't publish those.
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