Prolific Manga And Anime Artists example essay topic

Kristy Valeria no Richard Zimmer Visual Communications Art 140 Graphic Artist / Designer Osamu Tezuka Heralded by many as the "God of Manga", Tezuka Osamu was one of Japan's most cherished and prolific manga and anime artists. He has been described as the "Japanese Walt Disney". He, perhaps more than any other artist, was responsible for the very characteristic "puppy-dog eyes" which has become a trademark of Japanese animation. Dr. Tezuka did receive his medical degree from Osaka University in 1946, though he concentrated on his career of choice: the art of manga and animation. His most famous creation is probably 'Tetsuwan Atom', which has a large following internationally as 'AstroBoy'. NBC later aired three of his TV series: AstroBoy, Kimba the White Lion (which many have claimed as Disney's inspiration for The Lion King), and Princess Knight.

Inspired by his great love for cartoon animation, Disney in particular (it's said he saw Walt Disney's Bambi 80 times), he set up Mushi Studios, his own production company, (1961-1973) which became a springboard for a number of influential animators who were to follow, including Katsuhiro O tomo (Akira). Unlike Disney which some people say has replaced its pioneering vision with a corporate mentality, Tezuka's vision remained fresh. Osamu Tezuka gained popularity as a manga writer and illustrator up through the 1950's. He is widely credited as the most influential animator in Japan. Tezuka's career parallels the rise of the Japanese animation industry. His first production company, formed in 1961, 'Mushi Productions', was later replaced by his namesake corporation, 'Tezuka Productions' in 1968.

Dr. Tezuka was heavily involved with experimental animation, and had won several international animation awards, including the Grand Prix for Jumping at the 1984 Zagreb International Festival, the Grand Prix for Broken Down Film at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, and the CIF EJ award for Legend of the Forest at the 1988 Zagreb International Film Festival. The world has changed a lot in the past 33 years. When Osamu Tezuka was stunning Japan with his Tetsuwan Atomu in 1963, Japan was generally considered a place that copied American goods and produced cheap toys. The economic miracle still hadn't taken hold. On the whole, the country had not forgiven itself for events of the 1930's and 1940's.

The destruction caused by the Second World War was not far removed from everyday life, and the atomic destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were very fresh memories indeed. It was therefore a bold move as Tezuka, an established manga artist, told a story of the little robot boy with an atomic heart, disowned by his creator for the unpardonable sin of being a failure (he never grew), the little robot is rescued by people who care. They nurture and accept this "heartless" creature. These people were the advocate of the very race who shunned him and all his kind. In the 21st century robots are second-class citizens... useful at times, but not imbibed with the same rights as people. In their gradual acceptance of Mighty Atom, they all become a bit more human.

This show did something else pretty amazing too: Producer Fred Ladd took a look at it and decided that it might actually sell over in America... but the Japanese would have to make it more presentable to the United States. Cells were added to censor the anime and the American money entered the project as Astro Boy was born. NBC had the rights, yet the T.V. station never aired it. With national syndication, Astro Boy became a hit, and inspired many of the First Wave anime fans (like myself). Then, as they do now, the US broadcasters complained about the violence in the shows, and that characters might actually die during the course of a story. This, as Uncle Walt had taught us, was a medium for children, and children could not be trusted with such an advanced concept as death.

The Japanese were exposed to these stories more and it was not relevant to them. Therefore, the American audiences never saw the last episode. Perhaps most surprising to many American fans, Tetsuwan Atomu was not considered to be Tezuka's greatest work. His "lifework" Hi No Tori (Bird of Fire), runs from the distant past to the distant future, sadly it was not completed before his untimely death on February 2nd 1989. Dr. Tezuka is best remembered for his little robot boy and his sister (interestingly, Atomu and Urban meaning atom and uranium). Some of his more experimental films like Jumping, Broken Down Film, Legend of the Forest, and his epic series about a little white lion with black ears... a series which shares many elements with a Disney film from a few years ago.

The lion in the US version of the series was called Kimba... although his original name was Simba. We " ll leave you to draw your own conclusions, but Disney steadfastly denies that anyone based their story on the Tezuka classic. Some in the industry find this not to be a defensible position. Shortly after the firestorm descended on Disney, the company took the position that it was largely unaware of Japanese Animation in general, and Tezuka in particular. Their animators were not influenced at all during the production of their own King-of-the-Jungle lion film. The scenes that were lifted from Tezuka "splash" panels were merely a coincidence.

It was therefore a bit of a reversal when shortly afterward Disney and Studio Ghibli announced that Miyazaki's back catalog of films would be distributed by Disney... a company that was officially "unaware" of the medium. Even before Tezuka's death, other powerful influences were making their marks with manga and television series. Eight Man (TO BOR, the Eighth Man), Kaisei Shonen Marin (Marine Boy), and Tetsujin 28 (Gigantor) all found their way to American TV in the 1960's and very early 1970's. Filling Tezuka's shoes was probably impossible, but the Starving Seven (an artist hothouse project started by Tezuka) were each destined to make their own way in this fledgling industry.

Members of this core group are still active today, but one of the first to break out and take the world by the horns was Liege Matsumoto. His Space Cruiser Yamato (Star Blazers) triggered the Second Wave of fans almost by itself in the US, and many of us think that it's only a matter of time before his presence is felt again in the animation industry. "The Cockpit", gives very interesting insight about just how cool this guy's stuff can be... and we " re all just waiting for an announcement about some of his older stuff being revived as everything old is new again. While much of anime is geared toward adults, a great deal of Tezuka's work seems to be directed at children. I think it's safe for me to say that Osamu Tezuka was a pioneer in the anime world. He was an artist, writer / illustrator of comic books and comic strips throughout the 1950's.

Tezuka foreshadowed his own career by setting up comics to "read" like films. The National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo held a public exhibit of Dr. Tezuka's works in 1990 -- the first ever for a "commercial manga artist". April 24, 1994 became a hallmark in manga and anime history. In his hometown, his fans drew his pictures on the wall it's very popular among the people in his hometown. The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum was opened in his hometown of Takarazuka, in memory of the "father of anime.".