Tezuka In English - Full Feed

Russian Anime

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:35:21 UT

Russian Manga

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:35:09 UT

Although there are not many Russian-language releases of Tezuka manga, it's a start. Check out our handy table below to see what's available.

Russian

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:34:50 UT

Osamu Tezuka's Life Story (1928 - 1957)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:25:00 UT

Osamu Tezuka (手塚治虫) was born on November 3, 1928 to Yutaka (father) and Fumiko (mother) Tezuka. Although he was born in Toyonaka, a city near Osaka, the family soon moved to Takarazuka City, Hyogo - the home of the famous Takarazuka Revue. This theatre, known for its romantic musical works performed by an all-female cast, had a tremendous impact on the young Tezuka. Even before he was old enough to go to school, his mother would often take him to go see the latest Takarazuka Revue productions. Their often flamboyant costuming and set-design had a lasting and significant influence on Tezuka's later works – especially those aimed at young girls.

Animation (Pilots)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:14:46 UT

Animation (Experimental Films)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:13:57 UT

Animation (OAV)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:12:54 UT

Animation (Big-Screen Films)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:12:00 UT

Animation (Telefilms)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:10:23 UT

Animation (Television Series)

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:08:56 UT

Osamu Tezuka's Life Story (1958 - 1964)

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:25:06 UT

In 1958 Tezuka had two meetings that would shape his life. The first was a visit by staff from Toei Animation who were interested in developing Tezuka's manga series, Songoku The Monkey (1952-59) as an animated feature film. Known as Saiyuki, the film was released in August 1960 and although he was only a consultant on the project, it was the first of Tezuka's works to be animated. More importantly, though, his involvement gave him behind-the-scenes access to the inner workings of an animation studio - something that would pay off later in his career.

Osamu Tezuka's Life Story (1965 - 1972)

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:44:48 UT

By 1965, Astro Boy (1963-66) was already entering it's third year in production, Mushi Productions had started work on a new animated television series known as Wonder Three (1965-66), and was gearing up for it's latest ground-breaking series - the first full-colour animated television program in Japan, Jungle Emperor (1965-66). Looking to follow up on the success of Astro Boy, NBC approached Tezuka with a request for a new program. Although they were happy with Tezuka's pitch for Jungle Emperor (1965-66), they were adamant the series had to be produced in colour. Since Mushi Productions did not yet have the capability of colour production, NBC agreed to help finance the necessary upgrades.

Osamu Tezuka's Life Story (1973 - 1980)

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:43:57 UT

By August 1973, after fumbling along for a few years without Tezuka, Mushi Productions folded with a debt of roughly 400 million yen. While reading about it the next day in the newspaper, Tezuka was quite surprised to hear that people were saying that he was finished. He had been so closely associated with Mushi Productions, that the public's perception of its demise was Tezuka's own professional demise. It was during this period that Akita Shoten, the publisher of the popular Weekly Shōnen Champion, decided to commission Tezuka for five weeks to write "anything he wanted". According to noted Tezuka scholar, Natsu Onoda Power, in her book God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga, "the editor, who felt sorry for Tezuka for his declining popularity, offered the commission as Tezuka's "last work" before retirement" (2009, p. 106). Originally conceived as a special commemorative project celebrating Tezuka's (then) 30-year career as a manga artist, it was developed under the banner of "Osamu Tezuka's One-Man Theater Production", with the idea being to publish five independent stories that would spotlight Tezuka's Star System and feature many of his characters.

Osamu Tezuka's Life Story (1981 - 1989)

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:42:33 UT

In 1981, after giving a talk at a medical university, a medical researcher who had been in the audience contacted Tezuka about his family history in medicine. In fact, Osamu Tezuka is part of a medical dynasty of sorts. His great-great-grandfather, Ryosen Tezuka, considered the first modern army doctor in Japan, did much to introduce Western medical knowledge to Japan. This inspired Tezuka to create A Tree in the Sun (1981-86), a period medical drama - one which weaves historical fact and fiction in detailing the stories of Ryosen Tezuka and his son Ryoan Tezuka.

Black Jack (Manga - Sealed Chapters)

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:16:56 UT

Tezuka was extremely attuned to his fans, and with Black Jack especially, was sensitive to even the slightest complaints regarding certain conditions/diseases - especially from patients or their families. As such, in cases where he'd received negative feedback, he often felt compelled to change the dialogue in question or even pull the stories from future reprints.

Out of the 243 total chapters of the Black Jack manga, there are 23 chapters that have, at one time or another, been excluded from collected editions. While the majority of the excluded chapters have been held back because they were controversial or dealt with sensitive political situations, some of them have been excluded simply because Tezuka wasn't happy with the end result. While most of the excluded chapters have eventually made it back into print in at least one Japanese edition, there are five chapters that have almost never been reprinted since they originally appeared in Weekly Shōnen Champion.