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Dr.
Osamu Tezuka: Legend
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by Brian Cirulnick
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| "Walt
Disney of Japan", "God of Comics", "A Legend in his Own Time".
Many of these phrases will forever be used to describe Dr. Tezuka,
but mere words cannot even begin to describe his work, or how
it changed an industry, or even the incredible wealth of material
produced by this one man. |
| As
I began to research this article, friends sent me copies of
magazines that attempted to detail his works, and among them,
I discovered that the more I learned about him, the more I realized
how little I knew. This single person output more Manga than
can be detailed in these pages. The sheer volume of his works
could fill several warehouses. |
|
There are those much more qualified to explain his Manga history,
and I will leave that task to them, and instead, I will concentrate
on his animation career. |
| Osamu
Tezuka was born 1926 in Osaka, Japan, the son of a doctor. According
to Tezuka: "My career as an animator began when at the age of
4 I copied a picture of Popeye. My house was full of comics
when I was a schoolboy. Because we were able to obtain a projector
and several films, I was able to see Mickey Mouse, Felix the
Cat, Chaplin, and Oswald Rabbit at home. When in the third grade
in primary school, I drew comics in my notebook, which was immediately
taken away by the teacher. Later, however, he encouraged me
with praise....." |
| The
then still young Tezuka was heavily influenced by Disney and
especially the Max Fleischer cartoons of the period. The early
1930's character designs coming out of the New York based Max
Fleischer studio featured round heads, and large round expressive
eyes. |
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Commercial
Animation
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| While
studying to enter the medical practice, following in the footsteps
of his father, he also conceptualized and then published several
Manga, most notably Tetsuwan Atom (Mighty Atom), the story a
robot boy invented by a man who lost his own son. Like Pinnochio,
the robot wishes he were human. |
| His
art style fully formed, the characters were appealingly designed,
the story well written, and rife with subplots, intrigue, and
danger for the little robot. |
| Tetsuwan
Atom was an instant hit, and made Osamu Tezuka's name a household
word. Suddenly the manga industry was reborn. Before, comics
were not widely read, but Tetsuwan Atom spread far and wide,
engulfing all walks of life in Japan. |
| In
1957 Toei Animation was formed as a subpart of Toei Productions,
currently the largest film company in Japan, with the goal of
producing animated feature films. |
| Tezuka,
currently the country's most popular cartoonist, was contracted
to direct one of their first feature length productions, Monkey
King (seen in the U.S. as Alakazam the Great). Though a large
success within Japan, the film was panned by critics in the
U.S., although many admit that it was the poor quality of the
translation that ruined it. |
| The
year after Toei Animation opened it's doors, Osamu Tezuka became
Dr. Tezuka, when he received a doctorate in human anatomy in
1958. |
| In
1962, his contract with Toei expired, and he set out to form
his own company, Mushi Productions, which at first, seemed like
a move to put him in direct competetion with his former employer.
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| This
was not so. Dr. Tezuka saw the rapidly expanding technology
of television as his future. He predicted that the best way
to reach a larger auidence than the movies was through the black
and white box that sat in any and every home that could afford
one. |
| He
also decided that his first made for T.V. animation would be
based on his number one best selling Manga, Tetsuwan Atom. |
| This
was a rapid departure from the norm, and in effect, changed
almost all Japanese animation from that point on. Dr. Tezuka's
drive, vision, and determination brought about a new concept
to the then young Japanese television industry. The animation
was fluid enough for T.V. audiences, with movie like plots and
methods of direction previously reserved only for live action
flims, such as attention to lighting and using close-ups for
dramatic effect. |
| When
NBC bought the rights to show Tetsuwan Atom in the U.S. as Astroboy,
Tezuka's worldwide success was assured. The move also gave birth
to a new era of production as Japanese studios refitted themselves
for TV production and new studios formed quickly, as producers
raced to catch up to the level that Dr. Tezuka's pioneering
spirit had brought him. |
| Mushi
Productions grew to be one of the largest animation houses in
the business by the time Dr. Tezuka stepped down from the position
as Acting Director in 1970. Among his achievements there, it
should be noted that he produced an animated version of his
Manga, Jungle Emperor (seen in the U.S. as Kimba the White Lion),
and that he beat out Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat as the first
X-rated animated film with his production Cleopatra, Queen of
Sex. |
| Though
he never actively practiced medicine, he continued to study
and vacillated between his two lives. His manga series' sold
consistently in record-breaking quantities, and he continued
to receive profits from Mushi, so it goes without saying that,
by this point, he was extremely wealthy, and internationally
known. But, he could not rest on his laurels, the animation
bug had bit him. He took again to directing and producing when
in the late 1970's he formed Tezuka Production Co. |
| Again,
one of the first productions of this new unit was a color T.V.
series of Tetsuwan Atom. Also, the feature film Space Firebird
2772 was produced. Space Firebird was a story loosly based on
one of his longest running Manga works, Hino Tori, which was
the story of the legendary chase for the immortal Pheonix. The
work was semi-autobiographical, and a very personal piece for
Dr. Tezuka. Space Firebrid broke new ground in animation quality,
and became a yardstick to measure all other films by. |
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Tezuka's
Other Life
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| While
his dual life as Doctor (though he never actively pursued a
medical career), and commercial cartoonist is well known, what
many fans of Japanese animation do not know was that Dr. Tezuka
led yet another life within the field of animation, that of
an independent producer. |
| Independent
animation is a field usually reserved for the terminology "art
film", but the genre is an area full of experimentation, and
art styles vastly diffrent from those we see daily. Almost every
modernization in the field of commercial animation was the result
of experimentation in styles, camerawork, and usage of the medium
in independent animation. |
| In
1961, Yoji Kuri started a group known as the "Animation Party
of Three" with Ryohei Yanagihara and Hiroshi Manabe, and later
that year, organized the first Japanese inedependent animation
festival. |
| The
very next year, Tezuka joined, and produced two films with his
own funds, Story of a Street Corner, and Male. Over the years
he continued to experiment with the medium and discovered that
there was much more freedom in producing his own work in whatever
style and form he wished, than bowing to the limitations set
by the Television Industry. |
| While
Mushi productions continued to grow and produce several animated
shows at the same time, employing over 400 people, who would
later go on to become some of today's top animation producers
and directors, the man who started it all, Osamu Tezuka, was
already starting to feel boxed in by the world he had created.
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| Already,
many other studios were copying his techniques, and animation
was acheiving a "standardized" look. The Japanese love for copying
and conformity was strangling the creative atmosphere he needed
to work in. |
| In
1982 he left commercial animation altogether, and went to work
full time for his own films, completely abandoning the animation
"factories" he helped create. |
| His
efforts bore fruit when he premired at the internation Zagreb
Animation Festival, held on alternating years in Czechezlavokia,
the experimental film, Jumping. Jumping was a seven minute piece
of genius, and won the grand prize at the festival. |
| Not
to be outdone by himself, next year, the Festival in Annecy
saw the premire of Broken Down Film; which is what the title
claims it is. The elaborate pranks confused even hardened projectionists,
and the audience loved it. Though no awards are given at the
Annecy Festival, it won grand prize at the Hiroshima Festival.
Osamu Tezuka became a honored name among independent animators.
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| He
continued to promote the medium, appearing at many animation
festivals around the world, right up until the point of his
death. Osamu Tezuka collapsed after arriving home from a festival,
where he shared his experience with those who had alot to learn
from this one man. |
| Osamu
Tezkua literally changed the face of Japanimation. Before his
influence, Japanese animation was traditionally oriented, with
a style of it's own. Tezuka homoginized it, making it a widely
accepted form of entertainment because the style was not recognizable
as belonging to any particular nation. He introduced techniques
normally reserved for feature films into the television market,
and created an industry in his wake. When he discovered his
own Frankenstein's Monster in the stifleing air of the animation
factories, he left commercial animation and pursued his own
goals. |
| He
made the films he wanted to see, and in doing so, gave us something
more than anyone had ever imagined. He had a unique love for
the medium, and expressed it in a way that we all could appreciate,
and also love. |
| I
for one, found myself influenced by his work, and I adapted
my then forming art style towards his. It is interesting to
note that he has influenced a new generation of American cartoonists,
when he himself was influenced by American cartoonists at Disney,
and the Fleischer studio. |
| It
has come full circle, and we are in a unique position to continue
to carry the kind of love he had towards the future. That is
Osamu Tezuka's greatest legacy: That so many people love his
work, and are striving towards the elusive symbiosis this man
shared with his artform and the artform he shared with the world.
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| from:
http://www.hyperguide.com/tezuka/ |
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