Osamu Tezuka life and biography

Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese Cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack.

Osama Tezuka made cartooning and animation into serious art forms in Japan, where he is often compared with Walt Disney. Tezuka was still a medical student when he began drawing a serial newspaper strip called Machan no Nikkicho ("Diary of Ma-chan"). Soon he was publishing book-length comic book stories, or manga; his New Treasure Island was released to much acclaim in 1947 and sold 400,000 copies. He earned his medical degree from Osaka University in 1951, but then turned full-time to manga and its animated cousin, anime. By that time he had already created what would become his most famous characters, the robot-boy Atom Taishi (or Astro Boy) and the compassionate lion known as Jungle Emperor Leo. Tekuda specialized in long-form stories, with a cinematic visual style and long, intricate dramatic sequences. He was remarkable for his output and sheer versatility: He did dramas, comedies, adult strips, cute kiddie strips, and sci-fi.

He also created the saucer-eyed style which became a staple of Japanese animation, as seen in characters like Speed Racer and Sailor Moon.

Read more