In recent years, anime and manga have exploded in popularity. However, this may not have been possible without manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka, often known as the Godfather of Manga, produced over 700 manga series throughout his prolific career. His manga, along with the TV series he produced, spurred manga and anime forward.

Although Tezuka’s works weren’t the first to be adapted into anime, they were the first that broke the wall hindering its progress. Many anime before his time were used as war propaganda, and animated shorts were used as commercials. The first anime film created, Momotaro, was used as war propaganda during the latter half of WWII. Tezuka, who was still a teenager, saw the film and was inspired to create his own TV show. 

“All around me, the ground was a sea of fire … and houses in every direction were burning with leaping flames making a rumbling sound. Then rain with black soot came down. I walked to the top of the riverbank of the Yodogawa. From there, I saw many big craters hollowed by bombs, where numerous objects which resembled human bodies were lying on top of one another,” said Tezuka in a description of a firebombing during the war.

His experiences during the war caused him to gain a respect towards the importance of life, a theme that would be present throughout many of his works.

This is made apparent in Tezuka’s Tetsuwan Atom, better known as Astro Boy. Astro Boy tells the story of an android created to replace a scientist’s son. After realizing that a robot cannot replace the life of a human, Astro Boy is abandoned by his creator, and is eventually adopted by a professor, who becomes his guardian and makes a robot family. Throughout the series, Astro Boy acts as a superhero, fighting crime and saving lives. Astro Boy acts as an agent of peace throughout the manga, and he places heavy emphasis on saving lives.

While Astro Boy was not his first work to be adapted into an anime, it was the most famous one to be adapted. Astro Boy was adapted by Tezuka’s newly founded Mushi Productions and made a huge first impression. Astro Boy was the first anime to ever air on a weekly basis, as it was previously considered impossible due to concerns with the cost and time needed to create episodes. However, Tezuka persevered and found ways around this, using a technique called limited animation. Tezuka reduced the amount of frames needed per second and limited movement to certain parts of the body. Previously, animators had been using fluid animation, which made limited animation appear to just be a set of cheap tricks. Astro Boy’s popularity proved that it was possible to create profitable anime with limited animation. Astro Boy also spawned many tropes that are still found in anime today, such as the distinctly large eyes, impossible hair, and giant robot fights. 

Even today, Tezuka’s work remains relevant. In 2019, one of his works, Dororo, was adapted into a 26 episode anime series by MAPPA. Dororo tells the story of a baby, Hyakkimaru, whose body was fed to demons in exchange for the prosperity of a lord’s domain. Years later, Hyakkimaru, now equipped with prosthetics to replace his missing body parts, returns to hunt down the demons that took his body from him. Although it was written long ago, it contains many of the darker themes found in modern anime today, and still able to make itself relevant. While it was overshadowed by other series while it aired, Dororo was still able to carve out its own niche.

Despite Tezuka’s death in 1989, his legacy lives on within his manga and anime.

Photo courtesy of WIKIPEDIA.COM