Osamu Tezuka

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 23:10 -0700

Anyone here a fan of Osamu "Godfather of Manga" Tezuka? I've just gotten into his work recently; it's pretty interesting stuff. He does a lot of innovative things in his manga. Anyone have recommendations for particularly good Tezuka manga to read? I'd like to read his massive series Buddha, but it would be expensive to acquire all eight volumes, and no libraries around me carry them (although I actually did find Ode to Kirihito in my university's library)

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 19:37 -0700

I forgot to mention that YouTube has a few of Tezuka's short films:

Jumping:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=45_8ejTGAw8

This one is a real gem. I wonder how many man-hours it took to animate this thing!

Broken Down Film:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tWYCRquSUKY

This is a fun short film with some enjoyable Tex Avery-like gags.

Memory:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pqKD_BZT_6M

Drop:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HPU-8LSAGdM

Self Portrait:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=G5r_ZypuKds

I think this came from an anthology of self-portraits by animators.

There are also some clips of movies that Tezuka produced. I really wish they were available on DVD.

Clip from A Thousand and One Nights (I love the music in this one, this looks about 1000 times better than Disney's Aladdin):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Ahtb3KWl80

Cleopatra (aka Cleopatra: Queen of Sex)

Someone actually posted this whole movie on Youtube in ten minute segments, but unfortunately, it's in Japanese with no subtitles. The first part of the movie has a strange futuristic prologue in which animated faces are superimposed on live actors (I wonder if it's anything like what we would have gotten if Tezuka had accepted Stanley Kubrick's offer to work as some kind of designer on 2001: A Space Odyssey). I can't think of any other movie to use a technique like that. Was it some kind of weird cost-saving measure? I'm not sure.

(Moderately un-worksafe, contains some nudity)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZPlKWzF1Kos

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZPlKWzF1Kos

For some reason, Julius Caesar has green skin and Cleopatra looks like a guy in drag.

oxthowe · Post by **oxthowe** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:56 -0700

I actually just started reading Fred Schodt's translations of Astro Boy (published by Dark Horse). I've always been sort of skeptical of Astro Boy in the past, the main reason being that he's a little boy who flies around in his underwear. But the series is actually really good. I just wish I knew why the graphic novels aren't published in the order that they were published in Shonen magazine.

Have you read The Astro Boy Essays by Fred Schodt? It's a pretty interesting look into Tezuka Osamu's life as well as the creation of Astro Boy.

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 18:31 -0700

I've never read anything by Schodt other than his translation of Tezuka's Phoenix (done under a pseudonym along with someone else). I'd like to read some more volumes of Phoenix, what I've read so far is pretty interesting and just a little bit reminiscent of Darren Aronofsky's underappreciated The Fountain.

The Cartoon Network is currently showing the original Astro Boy as part of its Adult Swim lineup on Saturday night/early Sunday morning. The Adult Swim website currently has an episode that can be viewed in its entirety:

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episode ... 5222f70023

The animation is fairly primitive by today's standards, but I find these cartoons somewhat interesting because they look a lot like animated Tezuka manga panels.

I found the first volume of Dark Horse's edition of Astro Boy on Amazon.com used for about a dollar plus shipping, so I decided to order it and give it a chance. (Amazon.com marketplace is a pretty good source for inexpensive copies of comic book and manga TPBs)

I've become interested in Tezuka's work lately, and I'm even trying to find a way to emulate his drawing style (albeit with the cuteness dialed down just a little bit). Besides Buddha, Phoenix, Astro Boy, and Ode To Kirihito, what are some other must-read Tezuka titles?

Azraelito · Post by **Azraelito** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:59 -0700

black jack was the introduction for me of tezuka!!

excellent manga!!I read it in spanish!!it has all kind of things,suspense,horror,thriller,action,fun... black jack is a truly gem!!!

I think in Usa the only publisher who release something was viz..

but is highly recommended!!

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 21:18 -0700

Here's something Astro Boy-related on YouTube that's amusing (even if it is edited pretty clumsily):

Was Jurassic Park Inspired By An Episode Of Astro Boy?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QHdfKOiVVVY

Usagi · Post by **Usagi** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 15:09 -0700

Im a real bug fan of matropolis and Kimba the White Lion- I would love to find a Kimba vintage toy....it would go in my cario cabnet lol

Jet_Jaguar · Post by **Jet_Jaguar** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 15:46 -0700

Usagi wrote: Im a real bug fan of matropolis and Kimba the White Lion- I would love to find a Kimba vintage toy....it would go in my cario cabnet lol

Which Metropolis? The manga or the 2001 Rintaro movie? I've never read the manga; it's supposed to be pretty different from the movie. I liked the movie. For a while, I was using the track "El Bombero" on the soundtrack in my CD alarm clock to wake me up (it does a pretty good job!). I've also used the snippet of Quincy Jones's "Ironside" theme from the Kill Bill soundtrack as a wakeup sound.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=54vtXRI32MQ

Usagi · Post by **Usagi** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 22:07 -0700

Jet_Jaguar wrote:
Usagi wrote: Im a real bug fan of matropolis and Kimba the White Lion- I would love to find a Kimba vintage toy....it would go in my cario cabnet lol
Which Metropolis? The manga or the 2001 Rintaro movie? I've never read the manga; it's supposed to be pretty different from the movie. I liked the movie. For a while, I was using the track "El Bombero" on the soundtrack in my CD alarm clock to wake me up (it does a pretty good job!). I've also used the snippet of Quincy Jones's "Ironside" theme from the Kill Bill soundtrack as a wakeup sound.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=54vtXRI32MQ

:3 the Retro Movie that was in 2001-- I reconized Tezuka's style!

Stan Sakai · Post by **Stan Sakai** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:10 -0700

My favorite Tezuka animated series is Princess Knight. The last 25 episodes or so was one long story. It was darker in tone than the fluff stories that preceded it, and gave a very nice conclusion to the epic.

I met Dr Tezuka a couple of times, and in 1998 I was one of the guests of Tezuka Productions to Japan. These were an annual thing for awhile, though ours was the last. Colleen Doran, Jeff Smith, and Jules Feiffer was there the year before. Colleen is writing about that trip in a retro-blog here:

http://adistantsoil.com/blog/?p=1593

My experiences were much different than hers.

That was a wonderful trip. It was actually that trip that started me photographing all my meals while traveling. I should write a blog about that trip as well. Maybe when I have the time.