The Osamu Tezuka Story - A Life in Manga and Anime
Book review
The life story of the artistic prodigy responsible for ground breaking manga innovation and classic anime such as Astro Boy; Kimba the White Lion; Black Jack; and Phoenix
While there is perennial speculation as to which emerging talent will assume the mantle from Miyazaki as Japan’s foremost animator, it is astounding to reflect on a man whose impact on Japanese animation and manga still eclipses those who came after. At the point of his death in 1989, Osamu Tezuka had produced a staggering 170,000 pages of manga across 700 titles. He would use the income from his manga to finance his chief interest in animation resulting Japan’s first animated TV series and go on to produce some 70 animated works. Such prolific output was achieved mostly by a combination of genius and extreme workaholism. Somehow though, Tezuka still found the time to visit the cinema on a daily basis and also complete medical training for his physician’s license.
Manga artists of post war Japan had to do their work in the shadow of such inconveniences as Occupation censorship and grassroot debates over whether it constituted bad reading material. Manga didn’t have the literary and social acceptance it does today. On the other hand, children of the post war years were craving the adventures and escapism that manga provided and were fuelling an industry boom. Tezuka’s works were artistically innovative, story driven and hugely popular. From childhood, he had been exposed to live performance theatre and had access to motion picture films. Instead of staid, traditional frame composition and fixed perspective, Tezuka would incorporate much of the camera techniques used in filmmaking to bring a visual dynamism to his stories hitherto absent in works by his contemporaries.
It could be said that the animation industry of Japan was influenced more by Osamu Tezuka than any other individual. A prevailing belief at the time was that it would be impossible to sustainably produce a 30 minute weekly animation. To achieve viability, Tezuka emphasised the need to economise on animation where possible and aggressively priced the series to match non-animated programs. Again an innovative concept at the time, Tezuka followed the Disney model of recouping revenue from merchandising. Tetsuwon Atomu (Mighty Atom) proved to be a great hit and would be exported as Astro Boy. A sobering note to this aspect of Tezuka’s production style is that it set in place a price expectation that future animation had to compete with. This persistent legacy is still reflected in the overworked and lowly paid status of many animators.
Original serialisation of The Osamu Tezuka Story began not long after his death. Author and artist Toshio Ban has probably created as close to an autobiography as could be had. An appendix lists all of Tezuka’s works as completely as known. Even at barely a line to a title, the listing is still 40 pages long. Also newly available at our library are more Osamu Tezuka books. The Book of Human Insects (Shelf 726.1 TEZ) is an edgy and very adult masterpiece. The Art of Osamu Tezuka God of Manga (Shelf 726.101 TEZ) is a lavish look at Tezuka and his portfolio of works. Some of the drawings in A Life in Manga and Anime are actually renderings of photographs which can be found in The Art of Osamu Tezuka God of Manga.
Shelf: 726.101 TEZ
[Tezuka Osamu monogatari. English]
The Osamu Tezuka story : a life in manga and anime.
by Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions ; translated by Frederik L. Schodt.
Berkeley, California Stone Bridge Press 2016.
xiv, 914 pages : chiefly illustrations ; 23 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (page 912).
Translated into English from the Japanese.
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