Do you know
Osamu Tezuka? He is one of the most famous cartoonist in Japan.“
Astroboy”is his most famous work. In 1951 Tezuka started to serialize, “Ambassador Atom”Astroboy appeared as a supporting role in this story. In the Tezuka’s next work, he came back the leading role.
An genius scientist
Dr.Tenma makes a robot instead of his dead son. This robot is the Astroboy. His name is
Atom. He doesn’t grow up, so
Dr.Tenma sells off
Atom to a circus.
It is
Dr.Ochanomizu that helps this poor boy.
Atom is brought up by
Dr.Ochanomizu and he fight for justice against wrong. Sometimes he is discriminate because he is a robot, but he wishes that
humans and robots live together in harmony .
Atom has
seven powers. I introduce these powers to you.
① Atom can
fly. He has a jet engine and it changes over to a rocket in space.
② He can
speak 60 languages.
③ He can
feel human’s good and bad mind.
④ He can
hear a thousand times as much as human can.
⑤ He can
change his eyes to searchlights.
⑥ He can
take out a machinegun from his hip.
⑦ Atom has a capacity of one hundred million
horsepower.
Atom works on atomic energy. The energy is poured from Atom’s hip or chest.
He goes to Ochanomizu elementary school. He is an honor but he makes bigger effort than humans. He is 135 centiimeters and his weight is 30 kilos.
I introduce the other characters in Astroboy.
Dr. OchanomizuHe is the Director General of Science Agency.
He found Atom at a circus by chance. He let Atom goes to elementary school. And he gives Atom his family. He is always a friend of robots. He is a great scientist so there are many his inventions. He repairs Atom if necessary. A big nose is his trademark.
Uran
She is Atom’s sister made by Dr. Ochanomizu.
Uran has a capacity of one hundred million horsepower, too. But she is mentally child so she is a tomboy and spoiled. She often makes trouble and makes Atom be in trouble. Deep in Uran’s heart, She respect Atom
Cobalt He is Atom’s brother made by Dr. Ochanomizu.
He has a capacity of one hundred million horsepower, too and can fly. But he wasn’t made elaborately so he is less dexterous than Atom.
In addition to comic, Astroboy is well-known as
a first animation made in Japan. The animation was started to televise on January 1 in 1963. It become be a popularity TV program at once.
The theme of Astroboy is“
Robot is a friend of human’s.”This theme had a great effect on Japanese’s image of robots. The recent robot scientist says that his dream is to make a robot like Atom. This is mean “Astroboy”is still loved by many people. Even if the times are changing, Atom is living in the people’s heart.
Osamu Tezuka was born in Toyonaka City, Osaka on November 3 in 1928. He was a witty and imaginative boy. And he likes insects very much. One day, he found the existence of “Osamushi”. He was pleased with this insect and his pen name was named after it.
When he was five, he moved Takarazuka City, Hyogo. He spent his boyhood there.
He experienced the World War Ⅱ and he had known the preciousness of life. So he studied medicine and became a doctor of medicine. He didn't became a doctor but this experience was made use in his work,“Dr. Black Jack”. In addition to medicine, he was also interested in drama, animation, and so on.
After that he became a cartoonist. Sometimes he serialized more than 10 comics at the same time.
There are Osamu’s museums in Takarazuka City and Kyoto Station.
Osamu Tezuka who rendered distinguished service toward progress in comics and animations died on February 9 in 1989.