Osamu Tezuka

Writing

Osamu Tezuka

Born November 3, 1928 · Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan

Died February 9, 1989 · aged 60

Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫, Tezuka Osamu) is a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, and animator, often dubbed as the "Godfather of Anime".  He was the originator of anime's trademark "large eyes" style of character drawing. Five years after his death, the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum opened.

Known For

THE RIBBON HEROTHE RIBBON HERO · 2026
THE RIBBON HERO
★ 6.32026
MovieAnimationFantasy
When the monstrous Nergal devastates her kingdom, Princess Sapphire reawakens as the Ribbon Hero and fights to save her new home from the same dark fate.
Astro BoyAstro Boy · 2009
Astro Boy
★ 6.32009
MovieAnimationAction
Set in the futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy (Atom) is a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he had lost. Unable to fulfill his creator's expectations, Astro embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before returning to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who rejected him.
One Million-Year Trip: Bander BookOne Million-Year Trip: Bander Book · 1978
One Million-Year Trip: Bander Book
★ 5.41978
MovieActionAdventure
Bander is a 17-year-old boy from Earth who lives on a distant planet, which is populated by human shape-shifters who feed off of vegetables and animal tails. Violence soon breaks out, as invaders launch an attack on Bander's new planet. This was Japan's first 2-hour animated film for television. The program received high ratings when broadcast as part of a set of 24-hour TV programs called "Ai wa Chikyu wo Sukuu" on Nippon Television. After a long gap since his last animated film for television, this work fully reflects Osamu Tezuka's desire to achieve theatrical quality with this production.
MetropolisMetropolis · 2001
Metropolis
★ 7.22001
MovieAnimationScience Fiction
In the midst of societal conflict in the futuristic city of Metropolis, Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban set out to uncover the mystery behind the first human-like robot, Tima.
A Thousand and One NightsA Thousand and One Nights · 1969
A Thousand and One Nights
★ 6.71969
MovieAnimationDrama
Aldin, a vagabond water vendor, embarks of a series of fantastical and tragic misadventures through the Middle East in search of love, fortune, and power.
Cleopatra: Queen of SexCleopatra: Queen of Sex · 1970
Cleopatra: Queen of Sex
★ 5.81970
MovieAnimationComedy
Three people from the future, who travel spiritually to the era of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII Philopator and her Roman lovers Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, become their closest friends as they try to unravel the nature of the plan developed in their own time by a sinister enemy.
Buddha 2: The Endless JourneyBuddha 2: The Endless Journey · 2014
Buddha 2: The Endless Journey
★ 7.72014
MovieAnimationDrama
2500 years ago, in India, Siddhartha was born as a prince of the Shakya clan, but he gives up his position as a prince to see the world. He meets a strange boy named Assaji, who can predict the future, a monk with only one eye and Depa. Siddhartha continues traveling. Siddhartha is overwhelmed by the sufferings he witnesses around him. Meanwhile, Prince Ruri of Kosara begins his attack on the Shakya clan. Second Buddha movie from Tezuka Productions.
Phoenix 2772Phoenix 2772 · 1980
Phoenix 2772
★ 5.91980
MovieAnimationScience Fiction
In the distant future, a young cadet is sent to find and capture "Cosmozone 2772", a mystical universal Phoenix which possesses the power to rejuvenate the drained Earth.

Filmography

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The Three-eyed OneThe Three-eyed One · 1990
The Three-eyed One
★ 8.51990
SeriesAnimationMystery
The Three-Eyed One is a romance SF manga by Osamu Tezuka. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 7 July 1974 through 19 March 1978 and was later published into thirteen tankōbon by Kodansha. This story is about Hosuke Sharaku, the heir to the long lost super civilization of the "Three Eyed Ones", and his best friend, Chiyoko Wato, with whom he solves various problems, often of his own doing. In 1977, The Three-Eyed One tied with another Tezuka manga, Black Jack, for the Kodansha Manga Award. The manga has since spawned a TV special by Shueisha and later an anime whose 48 episodes ran from 18 October 1990 through 26 September 1991. The main character appears in three video games: Mittsume ga Tooru by Natsume on the MSX in 1989, Mittsume ga Tooru/The Three-Eyed One by Tomy on the NES in 1992, Astro Boy: Omega Factor by Sega on the Game Boy Advance and Astro Boy by Sega on the PlayStation 2.

Comic Book

W3W3 · 1965
W3
★ 7.51965
SeriesAnimationSci-Fi & Fantasy
The Galactic Federation is concerned about the number of wars on the Planet Earth. It sends three agents to determine if the planet is a potential threat to the universe, and whether it should be destroyed. The instrument of destruction is a device resembling a large black ball with two antennae that is variously called an anti-proton bomb, a solar bomb, and a neutron bomb. The agents (Captain Bokko, Nokko, and Pukko) are originally humanoid in appearance, but upon arrival on Earth they take on the appearances of a rabbit (Bokko), a horse (Nokko), and a duck (Pukko) that they had captured as examples of Earth life forms. While on Earth they travel in a tire-shaped vehicle capable of enormous speeds called the Big Wheel, which can travel on both land and water (and, with modifications, through the air)

Producer

Leo the LionLeo the Lion · 1966
Leo the Lion
★ 1.01966
SeriesAction & Adventure
Leo the Lion is a sequel to the Japanese-American co-produced series "Jungle Emperor", or Kimba the White Lion. Osamu Tezuka had always wanted his story of Kimba to follow Kimba's entire life, and the Jungle Emperor/Kimba series was such a hit in Japan that Dr. Tezuka produced a sequel, without his American partners, in 1966. Making the series without a co-producer gave him complete creative control. For example, Dr. Tezuka changed the conclusion of his original manga story to a happy ending. Leo the Lion does not follow immediately from the end of the Kimba series. Instead, the story begins a couple of years following the end of the previous series. To English-speaking audiences, the behavior of the title character is inexplicably out of line with what was established in the first series. At the end of the first series, in the original Japanese script, Kimba promises to keep his animals separate from humans. It is this promise that drives the seemingly hermit-like Leo in this series. As the series unfolds, the focus shifts from the title character to one of his cubs, the male named Rune. This series as a whole is about Rune's growth, from a whining weakling to a confident leader.

Writer