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No Japanese animation artist has a more vociferous following in America than Osamu Tezuka (1926-89). An important figure in both the history of
manga (comics) and animation, Tezuka is sometimes referred to as "The God of
Manga" and "The Walt Disney of Japan"; many anime artists began their careers working on his films and television programs. In the U.S. he's better known for the TV series
Astro Boy and
Kimba the White Lion than for his theatrical films.
Astro Boy, originally Tetsuwan Atom (literally "Iron-Arm Atom"), focused on a boy superrobot created by Dr. Tenma (Dr. Boynton in America), a scientist whose son had been killed in a traffic accident. When Astro Boy failed to mature as a real child would, the inventor sold him to a circus. He was rescued by the kinder Dr. Ochanomizu (Dr. Elefun), who taught him altruism and virtue, which led the robot to become a crime fighter, battling an assortment of aliens and mad scientists. The short, pudgy Astro Boy had a saucer-eyed look, inspired by the old Fleischer cartoons; scores of other artists followed Tezuka's lead and gave their characters the large eyes that one critic dubbed "ocular elephantiasis." Astro Boy debuted in Japan on Fuji TV, January 1, 1963, and premiered in America in syndication on September 7, 1963. One hundred four of the black-and-white episodes were shown in the U.S. --Charles Solomon
