Osamu Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka (, working under the homophonous pseudonym ) is a draftsman Japan board of Manga and an organizer, Character designer, producer and scenario writer of Anime.

A price, the " Osamu Tezuka culture Award " , since 1997 the purpose of exists and is to reward a Mangaka whose style corresponds more to that of Osamu Tezuka.

Biography

It was born the November 3rd 1928 in Toyonaka, in the Préfecture of Ōsaka, and deceased the February 9th 1989 with Tōkyō. Very young person, it is marked by the cartoons of Walt Disney (it would have seen Bambi more than 80 times), which make him discover its vocation.

It publishes its first mangas in 1946, during its studies of medicine to the Université of Ōsaka. One finds traces of this formation in his work, particularly in the series Blackjack , putting in scene a surgeon at pledges, who exerts in the illegality.

Tezuka meets success since 1947, thanks to a manga called the New Island with the Treasury ( Shin takarajima ). Thereafter he wrote very many works (more than 700 original works) which he would be impossible to enumerate in an exhaustive way. Most important are low on this page. Even if it approaches all the styles, the science fiction and the fantastic one belong to its fields of predilection. Towards the end of its life, it turned to the manga for adults: the History of the 3 Adolf , Ayako or Barbara fall under this blacker and literary tendency.

In 1962, it founds its own studios of Anime , Mushi Productions . Mushi means insect in Japanese, Tezuka dedicated a true passion to them. Its pseudonym, 治虫, consisted besides of 治, its true first name, to which 虫 was coupled, which is the Kanji for mushi (but which, here, melts itself in the preceding kanji, preserving the pronunciation Osamu ).

It is often presented like the father of the modern manga.

The style of drawing of Tezuka is recognizable: the feature is clear, the simple images, cinematographic cutting. Moreover humor always finds its place. It is him which introduced the large eyes of Toon into the Japanese data base. The author never hesitates to put himself in scene, with his easily identifiable silhouette, in particular thanks to his beret and with his large glasses. He always does not give himself the beautiful role, and is eliminated even sometimes!

He is also the author of many courts/animated medium-length films, in particular the Legend of the forest (1987) or the experimental film Jumping (1984). He also supervised the animation of several series originally published in manga, like Princesse Sapphire , Astro Boy or the King Léo .

Its manga Metropolis , inspired of some images which he had seen of homonymous film of Fritz Lang was longitudinally adapted measuring of animation in 2001 by Rintarō.

Finally Hayao Miyazaki is regarded as a disciple of Tezuka.

A museum devoted to its work was created with Takarazuka, city where it passed its childhood.

The station of Kyoto also pays homage to him: in addition to a mini-cinema and a mini-museum, one finds there a store of derivative products of his creations. Moreover one sees the heroes familiar in top of signposts, and a clock with the image of the Phoenix.

Tezuka out of Japan

As of the Years 1960, the Disney company saw Tezuka and its work like a threat towards its industry, and imposed a blackmail on the networks (“networks”) of televised diffusion: if the latter did not renonçaient to diffuse the King Léo (which was a certain success with the the United States) and Astro Boy , Disney would not enable them any more to diffuse its own productions. During years, works of Tezuka and the Japanese productions in general, animated or not, underwent true a blackout in the United States. One needed the intervention of an important base of “fans” - in particular in the field of the cartoon -, délitement of the authority of Disney (who, having her own television channels and reserving for her last the greatest part of her production, did not have great any more a deal to offer) and the exponential multiplication of the number of chains of TV so that the Japanese series appear again on the American small screen, at the beginning of the Années 1990.

In France, Spain or Italy, the Japanese series started to be a certain success as of the end of the Années 1970 with Heidi , Goldorak (and of many other giant robots), the Vic Viking , Candy Candy , Albator and at least a series of Tezuka, Princesse Sapphire . It is the field of the cartoon who, in Europe, resisted longest on arrival of the Japanese productions. The cartoons adapted of series and diffused in France, for example ( Astro , etc), were carried out on the spot, with poor scenarios and drawings inspired of the cartoons and not of the mangas of which they were the adaptation. To this reason, the Japanese cartoon enormously spent time to announce her existence in Europe, while the cartoons were them very largely diffused, until the end of the Années 1980, at which time they again disappeared from the screens, under the pressure of political personalities as Ségolène Royal which showed these cartoons of several evils: doubtful morality, lack of artistic qualities, violence, etc

It is in a context of ignorance with respect to the cartoon and the cartoon Japanese women that Osamu Tezuka was presented to the International festival of the cartoon of Angouleme in 1982 to project its film Hi No Tori 2772 in a total indifference. To this occasion it however binds friendship with Moebius which will be one of the first “frontier runners” of the manga in France. The United States had been in 1980 much the more receptive since the International Film Festival of Las Vegas then decreed its price of animation to Hi No Tori 2772 and the International Comic-Idiot of San Diego allotted to Tezuka a Inkpot Award .
It should however be noted that the most advanced criticisms were already with the fact of the importance of Tezuka in the world heritage of the cartoon.

The festival of Angouleme catches up with only in 2004 by proposing Ayako for the “price inheritance” then, two years later, Prince Norman for the same reward (without success in both cases).

Works translated into French

By chronological order of publication in French with, between brackets, the publication date in Japan.

Astroboy (1952-1968), Glénat, coll “Manga”, 12 volumes, 1996-2000.
the King Léo (1950-1954), Glénat, 3 volumes, 1996-1997.
Blackjack (1973-1983):

Glénat, 12 volumes, 1996-2000.
Asuka, best coll the “of Osamu Tezuka”, 17 volumes, 2004-2006. In the same editor: Blackjack, the unqualified doctor , coll “Shônen”, 3 volumes, 2006.

life of Buddha (1974-1984), Tonkam, coll “Tsuki Pocket”, 8 volumes, 1997-1999.
History of the 3 Adolf (1983-1985), Tonkam, coll “Tsuki Pocket”, 4 volumes, 1998-2001.
the Crater (1969-1970), Tonkam, 2 volumes, 2000.
Phoenix, the bird of fire (1956-1989), Tonkam, coll “Tsuki Pocket” 11 volumes, 2000-2002.
Ayako (1972-1973), Delcourt, coll “Akata”, 3 volumes, 2003-2004.
MW (1976-1978), Tonkam, 3 volumes, 2004.
Nanairo inko (1981-1983), Asuka, best coll the “of Osamu Tezuka”, 5 volumes, 2004.
the Tree with the sun (1981-1985), Tonkam, 8 volumes, 2004-2006.
Princess Sapphire (1953-1957), Sun Productions, coll “Manga Sun”, 3 volumes, 2005.
Vampires (1966-1969), Asuka, best coll the “of Osamu Tezuka”, 3 volumes, 2005.
Unico (1976-1979), Sun Productions, coll “Manga Sun”, 2 volumes, 2005.
Barbara (1973-1974), Delcourt, coll “Akata - Ginkgo”, 2 volumes, 2005.
Metropolis (1949), Taifu Comics , coll “Taifu Classic”, 2005.
Kirihito (1970-1971), Delcourt, coll “Akata - Ginkgo”, 4 volumes, 2005-2006.
Prince Norman (1968), Cornélius, coll “Paul”, 3 volumes, 2005-2006.
the Child with the three eyes (1974-1978), Asuka, best coll the “of Osamu Tezuka”, 8 published volumes, 2005-2007.
Dororo (1967-1968), Delcourt, coll “Akata - Ginkgo”, 4 volumes, 2006.
sapphire Children (1958-1959), Sun Productions, coll “Manga Sun”, 1 volume, 2006.
Stories for all (?), Published Delcourt, coll “Akata”, 5 volumes (21 envisaged), 2006-2007.
I.L (1969-1970), Casterman, coll “Sakka”, 2006.
Hato (1964-1967), Cornélius, coll “Paul”, 3 volumes, 2006-2007.
Prince Norman (1968), Cornélius, coll “Paul”, 3 volumes, 2006.
To swallow the ground (1968-1969), Milan, coll “Kanko Traditional”, 2 volumes, 2006.
Gift Dracula (1979), Sun Productions, coll “Manga Sun”, 2 volumes published (3 envisaged), 2006-2007.
Ludwig B. (1987-1989), Asuka, best coll the “of Osamu Tezuka”, 2 published volumes, 2006-2007.
Tomorrow the birds , Delcourt, 1 volume, 2006.
the legend of Songoku (1952-????), Akata, 4 volumes envisaged and 3 currently available. 2006-20??.
Tonkaradani (1953-1957), Milan, 1 volume, 2007.
Midnight (1986-1987), Asuka, best coll the “of Osamu Tezuka”, 4 volumes envisaged and 3 currently available. 2007-20??.
Lost World (1948), Taifu Comics, coll “Taifu Classic”, 2007.

Animations

Saiyuki ( 西遊記 “peregrination towards the west”, translated into English by Alakazan the Great ) 1960, its first feature-length film, an adaptation of xiyouji (西遊記 the Voyage in Occident), telling the Chinese legendary epopee of sunwukong (孫悟空, Japanese sound-goku), the king monkey, who also inspired the very famous one animates Dragon Ball. To note that the studios of animation of Shanghai had already produced a feature-length film on the same topic, (铁扇公主, black and white, 1941) and produced some another (大闹天宫 da nao tiangong, color, 1964). Tezuka will draw an illustration with Sunwukong of film of 1964 and Astro in homage to the work of the organizers of Shanghai.
the Legend of the forest
the King Léo

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