Happy Birthday to the God of Manga

If Osamu Tezuka was still alive today, he would now be 80 years old. And while it is such a shame that he can not be with us to celebrate his 80th birthday, his life's work remains and will continue to entertain people of all ages well into the future.

So, to everyone who has ever read a manga, watched any episode of any anime, played with a Transformers toy, built a Gundam model kit, or done just about anything else that anime and robot fans tend to do, let's all take a moment to remember the life of the man who started it all. Without Osamu Tezuka, none of those things would exist, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn't be the same.

Finding Dulcia has posted an excellent piece about Osamu Tezuka's birthday, and I highly recommend reading it.

But that's not the only thing worth celebrating today. In a totally mind-blowing coincidence that I have only just now caught on to, someone else has a birthday today as well! Someone who, like Astro, is a child of the atomic age. Only this certain someone is someone big. Very, very big!

Happy 54th birthday to the King of The Monsters, Godzilla!

The original Godzilla film was released in Japanese theaters on this day in 1954. That means the two most prominent figures in the exportation of Japanese popular culture around the world were born on the same day. Is that incredible or what?