The Big Guns

The Big Guns by *kizer180 on deviantART

Very cool artwork by kizer180 on deviantART featuring several famous robot, cyborg, and high tech characters, including Astro Boy. Do you know them all?

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RIP Osamu Dezaki

It is my unfortunate duty to report on the tragic loss of legendary anime pioneer, Osamu Dezaki, who passed away last weekend due to lung cancer.

Dezaki had an incredible, influential career in the Japanese animation industry that went all the way back to the 1960's when he joined Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Productions and worked on the original Astro Boy anime. He would go on to work with other Tezuka properties including directing the Black Jack movie and OVA series, as well as finishing The Old Testament Story after Tezuka's death.

Probably best known as the director of the Ashita no Joe anime, Dezaki also worked on classic series and franchises including Aim for the Ace, Lupin III, Golgo 13, and Space Adventure Cobra. Even beyond that is his involvement in co-productions for American produced cartoons including Bionic Six and Mighty Orbots.



The "Postcard Memories" technique, where the importance of an animated scene is enhanced by fading into a fully detailed illustration, was created by Dezaki and has pretty much become an anime staple. Thanks to brilliant touches like this and his overall wide body of diverse work, the memory and influence of Osmau Dezaki will live on.

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Limited Edition Astro Boy Casio Exilim

Check out this special limited edition of the Casio Exilim digital camera featuring Astro Boy imagery and made to celebrate the famous character's manga debut.

Among what makes this limited edition unique are these frames featuring Astro Boy characters that add a fun graphic element around your photos.

A special pouch is also included.

This price for this camera is approximately $440 US, but good luck if you want one. Naturally this is only being sold in Japan and is limited to only 300 units. Check out the camera's specs and more information on Crunch Gear.

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Young Black Jack

A live action TV special featuring a younger Black Jack from back when he was still in medical school will air in Japan on Saturday, April 23. It will be directed by Kentaro Otani, who also directed the live-action films based on the manga NANA. Actor Masaki Okada will star as young Black Jack.

More information from Anime News Network:

In the story, the title character received major injuries in an accidental explosion when he was 9, and his mother was put in an artificially induced coma. The new special will depict how the Black Jack character became an unlicensed doctor and how his destined rivalry with Dr. Kiriko came to be.

Naho Toda (Romance of Three Kingdoms, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror) will play Black Jack's mother, and Risa Naka (anime and live-action The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) will play a fellow medical student. Yukiyoshi Azawa and Masachika Ichimura will also co-star.

Looks interesting and it's always great to see new Black Jack stuff, though for the sake of the character I wish he had even just a touch of silver in his hair.

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