Born
on November 3, 1928, Osamu Tezuka grew up loving stories, especially
the ones depicted in comics, cartoons, mangas and animation. He was
a kid who loved science, space, and future. Even through the horrors
of World War II, he spent his time drawing his own mangas. His first
published work "Machan no Nikkicho (1946)" was a serial
yon koma manga (manga with 4 frames) on newspaper "Shokokumin
Shimbun Osaka(Mainichi Shimbun of today)."
Osamu
Tezuka was also a kid who took great interest in living things. In
his teenage years, he especially loved insects. He was very enthusiastic
in collecting them, and compiled his discoveries and findings into
two volumes of his own hand-illustrated encyclopedia. Perhaps a little
freakish by today's standards, where video games and other artificial
modes of entertainment are abundant, the wonders he witnessed in the
tiny life forms must have nurtured a compassionate sense of awe for
life that powerfully manifested itself as a captivating force in his
manga and anime.
Possibly,
it was this same force that inspired him to study medicine, and he
did became a Doctor of Medicine. A good student though he was, he
could not abandon his passion for manga even when faced with rigors
of studying medicine, and he continued to ink powerful mangas. As
a medical student, he created his first masterpiece, "Jungle
Taitei (Jungle Emperor Leo)," which was published as a serial
on "Manga Shonen" magazine.
Then
on the New Year's Day in 1963, "Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy)"
premiered as the very first TV anime series in Japan. It was an important
departing point for his career, as well as for the evolution of anime
as an enduring form of art&entertainment. Looking at the show
from today's post-cyberpunk standpoint, "Astroboy" exemplifies
the epitome of nostalgic, timeless tale packed with good ole sci-fi
sense of wonder. |
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