Produced in time for what would have been Osamu Tezuka's 80th birthday, Ravex in Tezuka World is a short animation featuring characters from Tezuka's body of work meeting an animated version of the musical trio Ravex. It was included as an extra DVD with the group's debut album.
I first reported on this a couple of years ago, and in reading that now I'm kind of surprised at how unfavorable my initial reactions where! I was kind of harsh on it when this project was first announced.
Well, it's taken awhile for me to see it, but it's out there now thanks to a recent fansub. You're on your own if you want to see it for yourself, but I thought it would be fun to give it a quick review with some screenshots right here on ABW for those who are curious. After finally seeing it, I can say that it's at the very least worth being curious about because watching this is kind of bizarre! Whether it's good or bad, it sure is different, so let's go through the the whole story.
Click on the images for a bigger look. Feel free to leave your comments because I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ravex in Tezuka World
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Interview with Buddha Director Morishita
Morishita joined Toei Animation more than 40 years ago, when it was still known as Toei Doga. Since then, he's risen through the ranks to become vice president, and it's probably safe to say that the Shizuoka Prefecture native knows more about the firm than anybody else. After a break of more than two decades, Morishita recently dusted off his director's cap to call the shots for Osamu Tezuka's Buddha--The Great Departure (Japan title: Tezuka Osamu's Buddha--Akai Sabaku yo! Utsukushiku), which opened last month.That's right, this dude worked on Transformers, and now he's worked on Tezuka. Awesome.
You can read the entire interview here on the Daily Yomiuri or by clicking the link below for an archived version. You can also read about the Japanese premier of the Buddha film, with statements from the cast and crew including Morishita-san, here on tezukaosamu.net.
Breathing life into 2 dimensions / Toei Animation's Morishita relishing return to hands-on dutiesContinue reading "Interview with Buddha Director Morishita"...
Makoto Fukuda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Even if the name Toei Animation doesn't immediately ring a bell, chances are you're familiar with much of the company's output: Over the years, the Tokyo-based firm has produced some of the nation's most celebrated cinematic and TV anime.
Similarly, you may not have heard of Kozo Morishita, but you're likely au fait with at least a few of the anime titles he's helped coax into life, including Dragon Ball Z and Saint Seiya.
Morishita joined Toei Animation more than 40 years ago, when it was still known as Toei Doga. Since then, he's risen through the ranks to become vice president, and it's probably safe to say that the Shizuoka Prefecture native knows more about the firm than anybody else. After a break of more than two decades, Morishita recently dusted off his director's cap to call the shots for Osamu Tezuka's Buddha--The Great Departure (Japan title: Tezuka Osamu's Buddha--Akai Sabaku yo! Utsukushiku), which opened last month.
Morishita, 62, has been a movie fan since childhood and says he always wanted to work in a related field. While attending a vocational college with the aim of becoming a designer in the TV industry, he happened to hear about the entry test for Toei Doga. He recalls, "I initially thought the exam was for the Toei film company, but [Toei Doga] turned out to be a different firm altogether!"
When Morishita joined Toei Doga in 1970, it was known for making feature-length cinematic productions such as Nagagutsu o Haita Neko (The Wonderful World of Puss in Boots [1969]). However, the company was also starting to make strides with full-blown TV anime. Starting with Kikku no Oni (Demon Kick), Morishita served as a director's assistant, learning the ropes under experienced senior colleagues.
He made his directorial debut with an episode of Kyuti Hani (Cutie Honey) in 1974, and also had a hand in such titles as Kotetsu Jigu (Steel Jeeg) and UFO Robo Gurendaiza (UFO Robot Grendizer), both produced in 1975. His first outing as chief director came in 1981, when he was handed the reins for Tiger Mask II. In 1983, he directed Tatakae! Cho Robotto Seimeitai Toransufoma (The Transformers) and in 1988, while handling directorial responsibilities for Saint Seiya, he was made a producer.
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Contrasting TV and movies
TV anime and cinematic anime are very different beasts. On TV, it's all about presenting the characters in an engaging way within the framework of a limited number of drawings and a limited budget.
Explains Morishita: "[We learned that] if you endow the female protagonist with generous breasts, it puts a smile on kids' faces. Also, we turned the limitations associated with static images into a plus by effectively employing very detailed drawings of robots and such like.
"Working within such constraints let staffers heighten their powers of expression."
It may have been a slightly unrefined approach, but in their pursuit of each protagonist's "cool" factor, the staff helped coalesce the traditions of Toei Doga's production methods.
Morishita brought the full range of his skills to bear on Saint Seiya, which was produced in conjunction with Shueisha Inc. and its publication Weekly Shonen Jump. The project ate up large amounts of time and money: Clouds were drawn with multiple gradations, lavish action scenes were common and staffers poured their hearts and souls into the work.
Morishita recalls, "We used far too much cash, and consequently, I was made a producer so I could learn how to disburse funds appropriately."
Morishita then produced the Dragon Ball series--again based on a Weekly Shonen Jump manga story--which led in turn to Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Ball starts off as a heartwarming tale, but as the protagonist, Son Goku, grows up, he becomes involved in numerous fierce battles. This change in narrative direction, coupled with Toei Animation's depiction of the resultant action scenes, increased the show's popularity.
In 1978, to deal with a shortfall in personnel, Morishita traveled to South Korea and trained staff there. Five years later, at the invitation of U.S. firm Marvel, he began visiting the United States to help make and direct The Transformers, the success of which brought great benefits for Toei Animation.
Morishita's personal standing rose, too, and he began to have a say in the running of the company.
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Animating 'Buddha'
About six years ago, Toei Co. President Yusuke Okada told Morishita he was interested in turning Osamu Tezuka's Buddha into an animated feature film. Numerous directors and scriptwriters were then tasked with drawing up pilots and plots.
"At the end of the day, however, none surpassed the impact of the original work, and I realized that a straight reading of the story would be best," recalls Morishita. "As I was the one who'd had the original conversation with President Okada, I decided it would be best if I tackled the project myself."
Fulfilling his role as a senior manager naturally kept Morishita very busy, so he'd hit the studio at night and on weekends to hammer away at storyboards for the project.
"I'd order in food and fill out expense sheets; I guess staff in the administration department probably wondered, 'Who the heck's Morishita?'" he says with a laugh. "They probably didn't expect me to be working on the shop floor, as it were."
As for getting into the thick of things again, he notes: "I'm one of only a few people who were around in the era when Toei Doga was churning out full-length cinematic features.
"TV anime attracts viewers through the accentuation of popular characters, whereas movies can afford to spend a long time concentrating on story composition, development and presenting a world view," he adds. "Within these two genres, the director's job is completely different. But when you tackle these roles, you find that it becomes easier both for yourself and for the people who come after you."
The animation master's directorial efforts continue apace, and he's currently working on several projects slated for eventual cinematic release, including George Akiyama's Ashura.
Notes Morishita: "Director Hayao Miyazaki is proving there's still an audience out there for high-quality cinematic anime."
Morishita has a strong desire to see his company once again churn out top-notch feature-length movies a la Hakujaden and its many successors. In this regard, the industry veteran's focus and enthusiasm may well serve as a valuable legacy for future Toei Animation staff.
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Tezuka's 'Buddha' trilogy launched
Toei Animation's Osamu Tezuka's Buddha--The Great Departure is based on Tezuka's manga series Buddha, which traces the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.
The first film in a projected trilogy, it sees the birth of Prince Siddhartha in the Indian kingdom of Shaka, about 2,500 years ago. On becoming acquainted with a number of young female thieves, the young prince begins to ponder the merits of his caste-based society. Meanwhile, Chapra, a slave-turned-military leader from the kingdom of Kosala, invades Shaka.
"We endeavored to make the kind of entertainment that the whole family can enjoy, while still conveying the story's main themes," says director Kozo Morishita. "Ideally, we'd like to spark people into thinking about the fate of those burdened by troubles, or about hurdles that can't be overcome."
Steering clear of needless flash, the film's treatment of the characters' inner struggles and conflicts is handled in an orthodox manner, but with care and gravity, impressing upon viewers the fundamental strengths of Toei Animation.
The movie features the voice talents of such actors as Hidetaka Yoshioka, Masato Sakai, Kiyokazu Kanze, Sayuri Yoshinaga and Nana Mizuki. The theme song, "Scarlet Love Song," was penned by X Japan.
Original artwork by Tezuka and a statue of Buddha are among the many items being showcased at an exhibition titled Buddha: The Story in Manga and Art, running at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, Tokyo, until June 26.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Toying with Humanity
TO MANY, Astro Boy is just a cartoon; a children's show about a robot with rocket-powered legs. But beneath its animated exterior is a surprisingly dark undertone.You can read the entire "Toying with humanity " article on theage.com.au or by clicking the link below for an archived version.
Consider the origins of the title character, who, the story goes, was created by the head of Japan's Ministry for Science to replace the son he lost in a car accident. After a brief period of happiness, the grief-stricken bureaucrat realised he would never fill the void in his heart - so he sold his robot franken-child to a cruel circus owner. As you do.
But fortunately, the kindly new head of the Science Ministry spotted Astro performing in the circus and obtained legal guardianship of him, thus discovering he was capable of human emotions. All of which allowed the series to explore artificial intelligence, feelings and what makes us ''real''.
Toying with humanityContinue reading "Toying with Humanity"...
Michael Lallo
February 4, 2011
The cute characters of anime frequently explore dark themes.
TO MANY, Astro Boy is just a cartoon; a children's show about a robot with rocket-powered legs. But beneath its animated exterior is a surprisingly dark undertone.
Consider the origins of the title character, who, the story goes, was created by the head of Japan's Ministry for Science to replace the son he lost in a car accident. After a brief period of happiness, the grief-stricken bureaucrat realised he would never fill the void in his heart - so he sold his robot franken-child to a cruel circus owner. As you do.
But fortunately, the kindly new head of the Science Ministry spotted Astro performing in the circus and obtained legal guardianship of him, thus discovering he was capable of human emotions. All of which allowed the series to explore artificial intelligence, feelings and what makes us ''real''.
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''These are not just fluffy cartoons,'' says Evelyn Tsitas, public programs co-ordinator at RMIT Gallery. ''The Western approach sees animation as a kids' thing, but in Japan they use it to explore more adult themes. It's not about telling a pretty story; often, it's about darker themes and emotions.''
Which is why the gallery has just launched two exhibitions: one about Japanese characters such as Astro Boy, Hello Kitty and Pikachu, and another about animated Japanese films - or ''anime'', as they're known - most of which are geared towards adults.
It's clear that cartoon characters occupy a special place in the Japanese psyche. They appear on bank cheques and train tickets, electric shavers and tampons. You can drink Hello Kitty wine and eat Pokemon beef curry. You can even choose from a range of Astro Boy-emblazoned ''boxers, briefs and men's panties''.
''If you look here,'' says Tsitas, waving towards a mocked-up girl's bedroom furnished entirely with Hello Kitty merchandise, ''you'll see some of the most popular products. But you won't just see them in bedrooms - it's perfectly reasonable for office workers to line up dolls and cups with characters on their desks to make them feel happy and comforted.''
Indeed, comfort is the goal of a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital in Taiwan, in which everything from the sheets and towels to the walls of the examination room feature the feline motif ''to ease the stress of childbirth''.
In Bangkok, however, a police chief has taken to disciplining his officers by adhering Hello Kitty armbands to their uniforms ''to make them feel guilt and shame''.
But despite her Japanese heritage, Kitty was ''officially'' born in suburban London in 1974. Her favourite word is friendship, she likes goldfish and lollies, brushes her teeth with strawberry toothpaste … and her blood type is A.
Not surprisingly, her hyper-cute tastes - and the fact she has no mouth - have angered critics, who say she's a bad role model for girls.
But according to Sanrio, the company that owns her, ''Hello Kitty speaks from her heart. She's Sanrio's ambassador to the world and isn't bound to any particular language.''
The females in animated Japanese movies, on the other hand, are unequivocally strong. Unlike the pathetic Disney princesses who are in constant need of rescuing, anime women are empowered, says Tsitas. ''They're not waiting for a prince to release them from a spell, they're conquering evil with their magic sword.''
The character exhibition is divided into decades, helping contextualise the creation of each cartoon idol with the key events of the time. For instance, Astro Boy - who turns 60 next year, and whose Japanese name means ''Mighty Atom'' - was conceived in the aftermath of atomic warfare, just as television was taking hold. Information panels also explain the historical roots of modern cartoons.
''The fact [the Japanese] have lots of different gods means they can associate with lots of different characters and good-luck charms,'' Tsitas says. ''And it's interesting how the anime and manga characters, which are often quite expressionless, are different from the Western cartoon characters.
''If you think of a cartoon like Scooby Doo, the animators tell you how to perceive those characters and what emotions they're feeling. Whereas with a lot of the Japanese characters, you can project whatever you want on to them.
''You can make them happy or sad or whatever you want them to be, which is probably one of the reasons they're so endearing.''
Monday, October 18, 2010
Japan's Robotics Industry Must Forget Anime
Here's an article from TechEYE.net with some interesting discussion on Japanese robots.
Not sure how factually accurate this article is, but I think that less practical robots are still important. The advances in technology that are made during the process of creating them can potentially be used in other ways. Plus, these more whimsical robots can capture the imagination of the public, building more interest in the subject and in science and technology in general. I do feel, however, that time and effort is better spent in ways other than making robots appear and behave like humans at this time. I think that anime like Astro Boy and movies like Star Wars have made people accepting of robots that look like robots.Scientists in Japan are at last changing focus in robotics - increasingly working on practical machines instead of creating all-singing, all-dancing, all-creepy humanoid robots. Japan has for a while now been at the forefront of releasing robots which invoke some sort of terrible uncanny valley experience.
A report in Nikkei (subscription) suggests that Japan is taking its cue from the West and now focusing on developing robotics that have direct, practical applications. Shinichiro Sanji, researcher at Mitsubishi Research Institute, told the paper: "Japanese engineers have tried to create robots like popular comic heroes Astro Boy and Gundam in a short period of time." Another expert said "A bubble in robot research has burst."
Money being spent on research at the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO, has declined too. The biped, human lookalikes have no space in development anymore - and Japan must look to areas where there are labor shortages like fishing, farming and cleaning, suggests Sanji.
It seems companies are doing just that. Fuji Heavy Industries is still putting its yen into robot development and has recently been working on a farming robot able to inject pesticide into the ground. Automation is the way forward, says a farmer: It would "help reduce the burden on workers." Until now, says Nikkei, pumping pesticide deep into the earth is a manual task that needs a lot of careful labor - including full protection outfits from the chemicals.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is working on a robot which will be able to comb the ocean for rare earth metals, as well as a car which may be able to drive itself. And the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization has created an automated system which can handle time intensive farm work such as planting rice seedlings. It uses GPS technology to know where it is and what it's doing.
It's good then that scientists are beginning to put away the anime. A real life Metal Gear would be a site to behold but we can't think of any applications other than World Wars 3 through 10.
Besides, who doesn't like to watch a robot get down and boogie? Continue reading "Japan's Robotics Industry Must Forget Anime"...
Monday, September 27, 2010
Mad Science
In the underrated 2009 film, Dr. Tenma turns against his creation, Astro Boy — but later has a second change of heart. Dr. Tenma creates Astro Boy as a robot duplicate of his dead son. But when he realizes that the robot copy can never replace the flesh-and-blood boy, he rejects the kid. (In the original Tezuka manga, Tenma rejects the boy when he realizes the boy can never grow up, and sells him to the circus.) In the movie, Dr. Tenma finally embraces his robot son after Astro Boy sacrifices himself to save everyone from an evil giant robot — and Dr. Tenma manages to bring Astro Boy back to life.You can read about all "20 mad scientists who turned against their creations" on io9. Continue reading "Mad Science"...
Tezuka's Legendary Wood Panel
A framed wooden ceiling panel sits in the press club inside the Metropolitan Police Department's Ikebukuro Police Station in Tokyo's Toshima Ward.
It shows a sketch of the heroine of Osamu Tezuka's manga "Ribon no Kishi" (Princess Knight), and a self-portrait of the artist in his inimitable style.
As the anecdote goes, Tezuka (1928-1989) drew the pictures on the panel, which measures roughly 70 centimeters by 30 cm, after removing it himself from the legendary Tokiwa-so apartment building, where he and other manga artists had once lived.
The building was torn down 28 years ago. The artist managed to rescue the board thanks to the help of club reporters.
In the top right of the panel, the artist wrote a special dedication: "For the reporters at the Gohomen Kisha Club (the press club for district 5)."Continue reading "Tezuka's Legendary Wood Panel"...
An Asahi Shimbun article on the demolition said: "(Tezuka), wearing his trademark beret, was surrounded by fans who had heard about the demolition and went upstairs to revisit Room 14, which held so many memories. As he had requested, he received wooden panels from the ceiling, which were richly imbued with the smoke from all the cooking that had gone on in that room."
The press club is one of the seven at major police stations in Tokyo. The rooms serve as bases for crime reporters.
How did a panel from Tokiwa-so end up in the press club on the seventh floor of the Ikebukuro Police Station?
Shigeyuki Koide, 59, senior staff writer at the Yomiuri Shimbun, happily recounted the events that took place on Nov. 30, 1982.
"We just happened to drop in at a ramen shop near Tokiwa-so that day," he said.
Koide was 31 and in his first year on the city news beat. After covering a fire in the morning, reporters from the press club went to the Chinese restaurant Matsuba for lunch.
After their meal, the reporters noticed Tokiwa-so covered with scaffolding, with the window frames already gone. They heard that the building was about to be demolished.
The reporters sprang into action, calling up manga artists who used to live in the apartment to get their reactions.
One reporter called Tezuka, creator of "Tetsuwan Atomu" (Astro Boy), who had lived in Room 14 of Tokiwa-so.
Tezuka said he would come down to get some of the ceiling boards. He promised to meet the reporters in front of the apartment late in the afternoon the next day.
On Dec. 1, at his office in Shinjuku Ward, Tezuka handed in 20 manuscript sheets for the manga "Hidamari no Ki" (Trees in the sun) to his editor from Big Comic magazine.
He was two days late for his deadline, and due dates for other serials were fast approaching.
But Tokiwa-so couldn't wait. Tezuka headed off to his rendezvous.
"As I waited for (Tezuka) to return, I was surrounded by angry editors," recalled Takayuki Matsutani, 65, president of Tezuka Productions Co. "I didn't want him to leave the office. Still, I wanted him to take a breather."
The manga king was about an hour late when he arrived at Tokiwa-so. He immediately went upstairs, even though the apartment was dark because the lights were removed.
In Room 14, he got on a stepladder to get at the ceiling, while reporters shone flashlights.
One asked, "Are you sure you can just tear it up like that?"
An unfazed Tezuka replied: "Don't worry. I've talked with the landlord."
He soon ripped several boards out of the ceiling.
When Koide handed Tezuka a felt-tipped pen, the artist drew the dashing Princess Sapphire, who in his famous tale pretends she is a prince to inherit the throne.
Saying, "And me," Tezuka added a self-portrait.
It was Tezuka's way of thanking the young reporters who alerted him about the demise of his special place. The reporters carried the panel back to their press club and displayed it on the locker.
The board has since witnessed more than 200 reporters at the Gohomen Kisha Club come and go, chasing down stories and learning their trade.
Shinichi Suzuki, 76, an anime artist who also lived at Tokiwa-so, compares the press club to Tokiwa-so.
"I look at it this way: Anyplace, be it a school or a company, becomes a Tokiwa-so to the people who grow up there and are successful in the future."
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tezuka Time with Mike Toole
Anime News Network brings us another new installment of The Mike Toole Show. This column features a look at The Astonishing Work of Osamu Tezuka DVD and a complete, detailed look at all of the Osamu Tezuka anime properties that have been translated into English. Definitely an informative article and another entertaining read from Mike Toole.
Here's a sample that I particularly agree with.
Tezuka Productions would go back to the well and remake Astro Boy in 2003, commemorating both the 40th anniversary of the cartoon and the fictional "birthdate" of Astro himself. The company spared no expense in revitalizing their flagship hero; the TV series was bankrolled by Sony, and directed and scripted by the famous (and somewhat infamous) Konaka brothers.Make sure you read the whole thing right here.
Unfortunately, its western release was badly, badly bungled, featuring a gutted musical score, extensively rewritten scripts, and some episodes either omitted or shown out of sequence; the show was irregularly bounced between Kids WB and Cartoon Network before being canceled. Its broadcast run was never properly finished, although Sony did see fit to throw out a dub-only, poor-quality DVD box. Astro Boy 2003's handling by Sony is a compelling model of how not to release an anime series in the west, which is pretty frustrating in retrospect.
If you ask me, any time is Tezuka time! Continue reading "Tezuka Time with Mike Toole"...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
The World's Oldest Living Otaku
But Fred had some pretty major conspirators in his corner, starting with the “God of Manga” himself, Osamu Tezuka. After briefly meeting each other in 1977, Tezuka would come to rely on Fred and the small circle of fans that he belonged to (the LA branch of the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization, AKA the C/FO) to show him around the SoCal area, and supply information about the burgeoning popularity of anime and manga outside of Japan. Says Patten in his book, “(Tezuka) was bewildered but flattered that so many Americans, who did not understand the Japanese language, had taken the trouble to figure out the plots of his manga from the pictures alone.”You can read "2010 is 1980: Fred Patten and Osamu Tezuka" at OtakuUSAMagazine.com. Continue reading "The World's Oldest Living Otaku"...
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Anti Establishment Black Jack
You can read "Osamu Tezuka: Father of manga and scourge of the medical establishment" on the Guardian Science Blog or by clicking the link below for an archived version.
Osamu Tezuka: Father of manga and scourge of the medical establishmentContinue reading "Anti Establishment Black Jack"...
Tezuka inspired a generation of manga artists and shaped the national debate about medical reform in Japan
Black Jack cartoon by Osamu TezukaView larger picture In one episode Tekuka's superhuman surgeon Black Jack operates on himself without an anaesthetic. Image: Osamu Tezuka
So far in this blog series on graphic medicine I've been looking at medical comics in the west. Now I look east to the work of the "Father of manga" (Japanese comics) Osamu Tezuka. A talented writer, artist and animator, Tezuka used his medical education to inform his anatomically accurate depictions of surgery.
Tezuka was born in Toyanaka City, Osaka, in 1928. Though he attended medical school and became a licensed physician, he chose not to work as a doctor and instead devoted himself to writing and drawing manga and making animated films.
Over the course of his long career Tezuka became a defining force in shaping the genre, publishing more than 700 manga running to more than 150,000 pages. Early Tezuka characters had large eyes, inspired by their American counterparts Betty Boop and Disney's Bambi. Large eyes have since become a stylistic hallmark of the whole genre.
As well as countless other titles including the world famous Astro Boy, Tezuka produced three notable medical manga: Black Jack, Ode to Kirihito, and Tezuka's Ancestor, Dr. Ryoan.
The latter is the story of Tezuka's grandfather, doctor to a samurai warrior during Japan's Meiji period. The other two works, fiercely critical of the Japanese medical establishment, have inspired a generation of manga artists (mangaka) as well as shaping the national debate about medical reform in Japan.
Ode to Kirihito was originally published in Japan as a series in the twice-monthly manga magazine Big Comic from 1970 to 1971. The story follows Dr Kirihito Osanai as he seeks a cure for the life-threatening (and thankfully fictional) Monmow disease which transforms people into dog-like creatures. When Kirihito himself becomes infected, he travels the world reflecting on his alienation and searching for a cure. In this 832-page epic, Tezuka deals with the anguish and moral dilemmas of both doctors and patients with piercing insight.
"For Tezuka, a doctor is not just someone who heals the body, but someone who appreciates the value of life, and inspires others to value it as well," said Ada Palmer, a historian at A&M University Texas and manga scholar. "In Tezuka's Buddhist cosmology all life is sacred and nothing is more valuable than creating or continuing life."
Ode to Kirihito expresses Tezuka's frustration at what he saw as an ineffectual medical establishment. It is one of a number of later social critique stories written by Tezuka that had only a limited impact in the context of his general body of work.
By contrast, Tezuka's medical manga Black Jack has been hugely successful since its original run in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1973 to 1984. In Black Jack, Tezuka depicted the physician he would like to have been had he continued with his medical career. An extremely gifted but unlicensed surgeon, Black Jack performs complicated operations on humans and animals and charges extortionate prices for his services.
Black Jack manga comic, cover image Black Jack, cover image
"The outrageous fees he charges are a test to make sure his patients truly appreciate that life itself is more valuable than any amount of money," said Palmer. Rejected by the medical community, he mostly provides his services to criminals and outlaws on the fringes of society. The series ran for more than 230 episodes.
Tezuka used his experience as a physician to draw anatomically accurate surgical scenes in Black Jack. His highly stylised cartoon figures were set against realistic landscapes and medically accurate depictions of the tissues of the human body. This attention to detail set the book apart from what had come before, and inspired many more mangaka to follow his lead.
"Many of the operations which Black Jack performs are astounding, sometimes impossible, but Tezuka's grounding in medicine means they are almost always convincingly portrayed," said Paul Gravett, comics historian and author of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics.
Indeed there are several points in Black Jack where Tezuka chose to reject medical plausibility. The superhuman surgeon can perform complex surgical operations from memory in complete darkness, for example. In one episode Black Jack operates on himself without anaesthetic. Despite this degree of poetic licence the manga has been enormously influential.
Black Jack remains one of the most popular manga of all time in Japan. "I have never met a Japanese person who wasn't familiar with Black Jack, even those who don't usually read manga," said Palmer. "If Astro Boy is the Japanese Superman, Black Jack is the Japanese Batman. Everyone knows him, even far outside the comics world, and when people think of him people think of his fierce critique of the medical world."
Palmer told me the character is often brought up in debates about medical reform. The Hitachi medical group used Black Jack's image in their advertisement in 2006, for example, because his image is synonymous with good medical care.
However, Tezuka's message was not always welcome. "There were a number of Black Jack episodes which drew complaints from the medical establishment in Japan and which Tezuka agreed to suppress and not allow to be reprinted in book form," said Gravett. Two of these three "sealed issues", issue 41 Vegetable and issue 58 Seat of Pleasure, which deal with the vegetative state and lobotomy respectively, were considered politically sensitive and never re-published.
Gravett said it was significant that Tezuka agreed to suppress this work. "Despite some ill-informed, scaremongering headlines here in the UK trying to panic the public about imported Japanese comics, manga does not operate with an anarchic, unregulated, 'anything-goes' licence," he said.
Palmer cited Naoki Urasawa's Monster and Chiho Saito's Say Hello to Black Jack as examples of manga inspired by the Black Jack series. The latter is a gritty, realistic portrait of corruption and incompetence in the Japanese medical school internship process.
"The subject of the manga is literally that every medical student in Japan starts medical school wanting to be Dr Black Jack, and then has to face the trauma of discovering that isn't possible in the real world," said Palmer. The comic is beautifully illustrated with a detailed medical realism in tribute to Tezuka.
Team Medical Dragon by Akira Nagai and Taro Nogizaka Team Medical Dragon by Akira Nagai and Taro Nogizaka
In a similar vein, Team Medical Dragon by Akira Nagai and Taro Nogizaka attacks corruption and petty politics within the Japanese healthcare system. Serialised in Japan in the manga magazine Big Comic Superior since 2002, the comic combines explanatory medical diagrams with graphic depictions of surgery. The idea was so successful it was made into the television drama Iryu which enjoyed critical acclaim when it aired in Japan between 2006 and 2007.
It is not unusual in Japan for a manga on a seemingly niche topic to gain enormous readership and become serialised on television or turned into films. "Manga covers an enormous range of topics, genres and styles of story, far more diverse than one finds in western comics, or on the animated side western television," said Palmer. "There are manga about gender-switching princes, children raised by pigeons, the bombing of Hiroshima, international competitive baking and the French Revolution."
Palmer told me that because of Tezuka's Black Jack, people in Japan are much more aware of the issue of medical corruption than in most other countries.
"Imagine if Batman were about medical corruption," said Palmer. "When a new movie comes out, the whole nation talks about it. That has had a vast impact on how the Japanese nation thinks about doctors."
Would we have manga without Tezuka? According to Gravett, the question "is rather like asking if we would have French-language comics without Hergé, or American comic books without Jack Kirby. Tezuka was pivotal and a huge inspiration [for manga artists]."
Dr Osamu Tezuka died at the age of 60 in 1989. His legacy lives on in the work of mangaka who continue to tell medical stories. The Osamu Tezuka Memorial Museum in Takarazuka showcases the life work of this prolific and talented artist.
Cian O'Luanaigh is a graphic artist and science writer based in London. He has a masters in science communication from Imperial College London
Sunday, February 21, 2010
China's Animation Growing Pains
Found this recent article about the Chinese animation business, which details some of the obstacles the industry has faced and some of the measures taken by the government to promote it's home grown cartoons while limiting the exposure of foreign imports.
Surprisingly, this article does not mention Imagi at all, in spite coming off the heals of recent shake-ups at the company. What is mentioned, however, is a very interesting fact that I was not previously aware of. The 1980's Astro Boy anime was one of the very first foreign produced cartoons granted entry into China. Here's a video I found of the Chinese Astro Boy theme music.
I always knew that Astro was a popular and important character with Chinese people but now it really makes sense. Of course, this was a double edged sword because it opened the floodgates for Japanese animation in China but at the expense of the country's own cartoon business. Now, such things are highly regulated by the government and China's animation industry is trying to catch up.
I love cartoons and I really enjoy going through the rich history of Japanese anime but I know next to nothing about Chinese animation. I would like to learn more and I think that all animation can only benefit from being shared and allowing new cultural influences while still exploring a cultural identity.
You can read "Growing pains of China's animation movie" at xinhuanet.com or by clicking the link below for an archived version.
Growing pains of China's animation movie
by Wu Chen
BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Freelance writer Wang Xin watched James Cameron's new movie Avatar in December during her visit to America. She was moved by the story and amazed by the 3D effects of the half-animated movie.
The film reminded Wang, a 29-year-old cartoon fan, of a Chinese-made animated movie The Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf she watched at the beginning of 2009.
The film told the story of several goats who were fighting their enemy, the Big Big Wolf, who covets fresh mutton for his family.
It cost 6 million yuan to produce and fetched more than 80 million yuan (11.76 million U.S. dollars) at the box office.
In addition to children, many white-collar workers liked the film. "How to marry a husband like the Big Big Wolf" became a hot topic on the Internet.
The singer, Yafeng, made a song about the desire. He explains why the wolf was worthy of love. "I love you more than loving myself... although I'm very hungry, I will let you take the first bite when I catch a goat..."
There were at least eight domestically-produced animated films last year in China, making it a "blowout" year for China's cartoon films according to critics.
Yin Hong, professor and director of the Center for Film and Television Studies of Tsinghua University, said the production scale of China's cartoon industry has been expanded to more than 140,000 minutes of animation this year, which formed the foundation for many films.
He contributes the growth to the continuous efforts of the government, which set up supporting policies to boost domestic animation industry.
In 2000, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) required local TV stations to get approval from the administration and set quotas for imported cartoons to air on TV.
In 2004, it issued another regulation, stipulating that at least 60 percent of cartoon programs aired in any given quarter had to be domestic.
In September 2006, the SARFT banned all foreign cartoons from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Last February it extended the ban to 9 p.m.
Additionally, the Chinese government has made an annual investment of 200 million yuan in the animation industry since 2006.
Last July, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued a favorable taxation policy to support the development of comic and animation industry.
It seems the measures have started to pay off.
China currently has some 6,000 companies making cartoons and comics. According to a report from the Ministry of Culture (MOC) last March, the industry now employs more than 200,000 workers and yearly production of animation was up to 130,000 minutes in 2008.
However, besides the lucky "Happy Goat" and the Mainland-Hong Kong co-production McDull, Kung Fu Kindergarten, other animated films, including The Magic Aster, Happy Running, and the 3D Prequel of the Monkey King didn't do so well at box office.
A poll done by the China Youth Daily in November 2008 showed that only 14.2 percent of the nearly 3,000 people polled liked Chinese cartoons the best.
By contrast, 62.4 percent of respondents said their favorite animated films were U.S.-made. Another 45.9 percent favored films from Japan.
Chinese animation germinated in the 1920s with Uproar in the Studio a 12-minute cartoon made in 1926. The first animated feature length film called "Tie Shan Gongzhu," or "Princess Iron Fan," was made in 1941.
Before the 1980s, China made a lot of animated films. Many of them are still thought of as masterpieces today by fans, including The Monkey King, Secrets of the Heavenly Book, and Nezha Conquers the Dragon King. These were adapted from Chinese legends.
The first foreign cartoon introduced to China was Japan's Astro Boy series in 1981. Since then foreign cartoons have flooded into China. Because of their more entertaining stories and better business model, they rapidly took control of the market. That was a low point for the Chinese animation industry.
From 1993 to 2003, China only produced 46,000 minutes of animation. Jin Cheng, a director with the Guangzhou Animation and Cartoon Association, said the main reason for these Chinese films' failure in box office was poor preparation and too much focus on success and money.
"Some animation companies made a film in 9 months. They never paid attention to first-phase layout, not to mention delicate polishing," Jin said.
Many of these films, launched with high expectations and great public relations campaigns, got an indifferent response from the market after hitting the big screen.
To Wang Xin, the movie version of the Plesant Goat was a simple cut-and-paste from its original TV series. "The idea, images, and technology were terrible compared to foreign cartoon movies. The film even didn't have a full storyline," she noted.
She said that today's Chinese-made animation lacks the human touch that earlier Chinese cartoons had.
Many producers prefer to add hot social topics, such as the financial crisis, or popular Internet topics to their movies.
"I feel no sincerity from local animation producers toward their audience," Wang Xin said.
Yin Hong said, under current circumstances, it's reasonable for local producers to avoid competition with their foreign counterparts in terms of technology, special effects and other hard conditions.
"The gap between them is too wide," he said.
Wang Xin blames the gap on the protective policies. "These companies won't make progress without competition. Instead, they will lower the taste of domestic audience as they can only watch low-grade animation. It's a vicious circle," Wang said.
Lu Ming, a cartoonist who publishes his comic books in European countries, said the supporting policy, which regulates how animation producing companies get subsidies according to the time length of their productions, damages the artistic and cultural purchase of producers.
"They became total businessmen, and cartoons were only a tool for them to make money," Lu said.
He used his own experience with his book as an example. Even with well-connected storylines, complicated images, and Chinese cultural relevance, he could not find publishers in the domestic market. He had a stable group of readers in foreign countries.
Yin Hong said at the first stage, the policies did stimulate the expansion of the scale of domestic animation industry, however, the policies only emphasized quantity.
He said the direction should be shifted from competition on cost to competition in quality.
"Instead of getting money from just making out an animation, the producers have to consider more about market response, which will force them pay more attention to improve the animation's quality," he said.
He also said policies should encourage the integration of companies and the development of brand and reputation.
As they develop the quality of domestic animation, they will attract larger audiences. As the market grows, local producers will have more space to focus on creativity, Yin said.
"That will be a favorable circle," he said.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Manga's Military Machines Rebranded
The Mainichi Daily News has a new article about how famous manga characters, including Astro Boy and Tetsujin 28, were inspired by the events of World War II but have become symbols of peace and are now recognized as such, as evident in the giant Tetsujin 28 statue pictured to the right.
It's a great look at how characters like this are so much more than just simple cartoons, and have so much to tell us about the past and future of humanity, and how they can be discussed academically. Here's a sample, which relates these two Japanese icons to the story of Frankenstein.
In "Astro Boy," there is psychological conflict between the father (correlating to the professor in "Frankenstein") and the son (correlating to the monster). But in "Tetsujin 28-go," elements of the strange nature of Frankenstein's monster emerge, and at first a strong impression is created that the robot is an embodiment of evil. In this respect, the robot contrasts strongly with the adorable Astro Boy. A feeling of fear from the war is added to this.You can read "Manga's military machines rebranded as images of peace" on The Mainichi Daily News website or by clicking the link below for an archived version.
Manga's military machines rebranded as images of peace
Manga reflect the times, and the shadow of wartime memories has been cast on many manga titles. One well-known example is Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy," which depicts the namesake hero being caught up in trouble between humans and robots. This was apparently inspired by the author's experience of being knocked to the ground by an American soldier soon after the end of the war.
In the magazine "Shonen," which featured "Astro Boy," another robot manga also rose to popularity: Mitsuteru Yokoyama's "Tetsujin 28-go," whose publication began in 1956. This work also has strong overtones of war. In the story, Tetsujin was originally developed secretly as a weapon for Japan during the war, but the war ends and the robot is instead used to maintain peace.
The naming of the robot, Tetsujin 28-go (literally, "Iron Man No. 28"), is said to have partly been inspired by the destructive B-29 bombers of World War II. The early published stories, in particular, placed a strong emphasis on fear, and the robot's image as a weapon of war was strong.
"Tetsujin 28-go" starts from wartime portrayals. Development of a robot is progressing at the request of the military, but the first through 26th attempts fail. The 27th robot is workable, but after that a stronger weapon is born: Tetsujin 28-go.
In the story, various spies are engaged in secret activities in Japan after the war, and Tetsujin, depicted as a relic of the war, comes close to falling into the hands of evildoers, but in the end the robot is retrieved and delivered to Japanese police. The young Shotaro Kaneda controls the robot, and it is used for peace.
It may be that the molding of Tetjsujin 28-go was influenced by the bizarre atmosphere conveyed in the movie "Frankenstein." In fact, Astro Boy also possesses an atmosphere similar to that of Mary Shelley's novel. In the novel the monster is depicted as a pure child, and one of the monster's favorite books is "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It is only the monster's outer appearance that is ugly, resulting in it being hated. Eventually the monster's heart becomes twisted.
Tetsujin 28-go and Astro Boy carry on the image of monsters in human form that are depicted in the film and novel, but that influence is clearly divided in the two manga works.
In "Astro Boy," there is psychological conflict between the father (correlating to the professor in "Frankenstein") and the son (correlating to the monster). But in "Tetsujin 28-go," elements of the strange nature of Frankenstein's monster emerge, and at first a strong impression is created that the robot is an embodiment of evil. In this respect, the robot contrasts strongly with the adorable Astro Boy. A feeling of fear from the war is added to this.
In 2009, a huge, life-size statue of the Gundam robot was erected in Tokyo's Odaiba district, and gained popularity. Not to be outdone, Yokoyama's home town of Kobe, a city damaged extensively in the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, erected a huge Tetsujin monument. It is delightful that what was once a symbol of evil has now resurfaced as a monument of peace. (By Osamu Takeuchi, professor of Doshisha University)
Continue reading "Manga's Military Machines Rebranded"...
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Toon Boom Goes Global
Variety has a new article about animated films released this year, with a focus on the films produced outside the US, including Imagi's Astro Boy. It has some of its facts wrong (Imagi has an office in Japan, but isn't based there), and I don't agree with everything it says, but it is an interesting read, especially regarding the challenges foreign animated movies have faced in getting North American audiences to watch. However, in spite of recent box office disappointments, more animation will be finding its way to the big screen for quite some time.
You can read Toon Boom Goes Global on Variety.com or by clicking the link below for an archived version.
Toon boom goes global
Animation a sensation at '09 box office
By MARC GRASER, PAMELA MCCLINTOCK
When it comes to the box office, animated films couldn't be a bigger draw.
This year alone, toon fans helped five pics earn more than $100 million in the U.S., with Disney's "Up" floating close to the $300 million mark and DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" and Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" scaring up nearly $200 million each.
That kind of coin has encouraged producers to as many animated projects as they can afford into production. Many of those films aren't being made in the U.S., but overseas, in territories where much of the physical work on Hollywood's animated films already takes place.
A toon boom is underway in Europe and Asia, with studios there ponying up big bucks to produce animated family fare that's carefully crafted for American audiences -- boasting appealing characters, high-end computer-generated visuals and packed with pop culture references.
Yet despite recent disappointments like "Astro Boy" and "Planet 51," and "Igor" and "Valiant" before that, foreign toon shops are continuing their attempts to break into the U.S. market.
In the past, toons produced in those territories were expected to play only for local audiences, and were made for around $20 million to $40 million, with budgets financed with state funding.
But a greater focus on making animated films that can attract attention from U.S. distributors is upping pricetags considerably, and luring outside financing.
"Planet 51," a CG-animated toon made in Spain and released by Sony on an impressive 3,500 screens, was produced for $70 million, while "Astro Boy," from Japanese toon shop Imagi Studios, and distribbed by Summit Entertainment, was backed by more than $60 million in financing.
"Normally in Europe, we make a movie which succeeds there, and then jumps to the U.S.," says "Planet 51" producer Ignacio Perez Dolset.
Yet on "Planet 51," producers always had the U.S. in mind, with Handmade Films, which handles international sales, locking down distribution in the U.S. before its home territory, Spain, sold.
Funding for that film came from deep-pocketed Zed, a Madrid-based developer of entertainment for mobile phone operators around the world. "Planet 51"-helmer Jorge Blanco and Dolset had cut their teeth on creating videogames at Pyro Studios before moving over to Ilion Studios to make their alien tale.
The distribution rights for films like "Planet 51" aren't considered too risky for studios.
If the films find an audience, that's a boost to the bottomline of a distributor looking to fill their slates with B.O.-friendly family fare. If they don't, the production entity takes most of the hit.
"Hollywood financing and production levels are hurting," Perez Dolset says. "Cost consciousness means Hollywood will be far readier in the future to look around the world looking for films which offer larger value for money."
Looking for that kind of return, Universal Music Group struck a partnership with StudioCanal at the Cannes Film Festival to pick up the U.S. theatrical, DVD, TV and non-theatrical rights to the $25 million pic "Around the World in 50 Years," the second 3-D feature from Belgium's Ben Stassen ("Fly Me to the Moon").
But what's also gotten Hollywood increasingly interested in foreign-made and financed toons is the fact that more studio titles are already being drawn by animators in other countries, with Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" produced from Paris and lensed at East London's Three Mills Studios, where Tim Burton made "The Corpse Bride."
Elsewhere, Paris-based Mac Guff is currently working on Chris Meledandri's "Despicable Me," his first animated feature for Universal Pictures, meanwhile Relativity Media's "The Tale of Despereaux" was created at Framestore's London premises.
The more high-profile toons made abroad also boast talent studios already work with:
n While Perez Dolset and Blanco came up with the idea for "Planet 51," they drafted "Shrek" co-scribe Joe Stillman to develop the film and give it an American pop culture sensibility.
n Antonio Banderas is producing "Goleor, the Scale and the Sword," a $33 million-fantasy epic, in pre-production at Granada's Kandor Moon in Spain.
n Italy's Rainbow Studios is behind the $30 million gladiator spoof "Versus Roma," for which it has recruited "Shark Tale" and "Ice Age" scribe Michael J. Wilson. The 3-D toon is touted as Italy's first full-fledged attempt to craft a global hit toon.
n In France, John Boorman is directing the $25 million-budgeted "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," produced by Laurent Rodon and Claude Gorsky of Films Action, and Boorman's longtime associate Kieran Corrigan. Pic is co-financed by SND.
n And France's EuropaCorp, owned by Luc Besson, has also ponied up $42 million for "A Monster in Paris," skedded for a 2011 release, that "Shark Tale" co-director Bibo Bergeron is helming.
EuropaCorp, like the U.K.'s Aardman, is investing more than $40 million per pic after recent B.O. successes.
After earning $108 million worldwide from "Arthur and the Invisibles," in 2006, EuropaCorp committed to release at least one toon per year around the world. The company has the second part of its "Arthur" trilogy, helmed by Besson, out this month, backed by a sizeable $95 million budget. The $102 million "Arthur and the Two World Wars" opens next year.
Whether those will appeal to U.S. auds is still up in the air. The first "Arthur" earned just $15 million in the U.S.
Producers are still trying to figure out what gets lost in translation when foreign toons unspool Stateside.
Despite their big budgets, "Planet 51," has earned $30 million since Nov. 20, while "Astro Boy" has earned just $19 million domestically since its release Oct. 23.
That's despite a built-in nostalgia factor for "Astro Boy," with the TV show from the 1960s, Happy Meal toys at McDonald's and heavy promotion at Comic-Con over the last two years.
Both pics are now starting to roll out overseas, which could help them recoup some, if not all of their production costs, but the fact that they failed to strike it big at the box office is vexing to distributors, who thought that the combination of ambitious production values and American tastes would boost their prospects.
Not all Stateside firms produce animated blockbusters either. Independent animated films can be challenging, like "Delgo," distributed by Freestyle Releasing last year, which earned just $695,000. Focus Features' "9" has fared better, with nearly $32 million.
However, "Delgo," was maligned by critics, and "9" was darker than most other family toons, and marketed more to an adult audience who wanted to see an edgier take on traditional toons produced by Tim Burton.
But in the case of "Planet 51" and "Astro Boy," the films were marketed to younger kids. They were sold as big-budget studio films boasting well-known voice talent like Dwayne (formerly The Rock) Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Jessica Biel and Kristen Bell.
More importantly for moviegoers, they featured impressive visuals, with the rubbery looking aliens in "Planet 51" looking like they'd fit easily within DreamWorks' "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Astro Boy's" stunning visuals coming as close to a Pixar production as you can get.
While both of their campaigns were clear to keep the films' foreign origins to themselves -- "Planet 51" even got the backing of NASA in order to help hide that fact -- something obviously got lost in translation.
Previous films like "Valiant" or "Igor" didn't attract audiences because they were considered too "European" or "fell short in production values," says "Planet 51" producer Perez Dolset. Others attribute their disappointing performances to the size of their marketing efforts in the U.S.
In the case of "Planet 51," the look of the character and the film overall may have been creatively crafted to reference other pics that have worked before like "Star Wars," "E.T.," "Alien," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and "2001," making it difficult for it to stand out on its own. It was hard for reviewers not to mention the resemblances to those films.
As for "Astro Boy," the disinterest in the kid robot can be chalked up to the same reason "Speed Racer" didn't take off with moviegoers: Just because a property was popular in the '60s doesn't mean it's still cool with consumers today. Nostalgia doesn't always mint money in the U.S., especially when the aging property was originally born overseas.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Osamu Tezuka: The Political Reading
You can read it at the Herald Scotland website or by clicking the link below for an archived version.
Published on 9 Nov 2009Continue reading "Osamu Tezuka: The Political Reading"...
Teddy Jamieson looks at the work of the Japanese cartoonist who mixes Hitler, Stalin and Buddha into his animations.
Imagine for a moment that Walt Disney, in his later years, had decided to make an animated film about Jesus, mixing up a bit of theology with big-eyed anthropomorphic characters while he did so. Bit of a stretch isn’t it. But let’s stretch it further. Imagine also that Uncle Walt then reckoned that a cartoon about Russian dictator Joe Stalin might be just the thing his audience required.
ou can’t see it, can you? You can’t see the man who gave us Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck messing around with religion and dictatorship (unless of course you are prepared to see Walt himself as dictator, as perhaps some of his overworked, underpaid animators may have done back in the 1930s and 1940s).
But keep this notion in mind when you start thinking about Osamu Tezuka. Because Tezuka – for some the Japanese equivalent of Disney – did just that, or something very similar, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tezuka is best known in the west for his creation Astro Boy – an animated movie version about the young robot featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage and Charlize Theron will be released in the UK in January – but towards the end of his career he gave readers his version of both Buddha and Adolf Hitler.
Actually, Helen McCarthy, author of a new book about Tezuka, believes that, if anything, the Disney comparison falls short. “He was more like Walt Disney, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby [the two men behind many of Marvel Comics’ greatest characters], Tim Burton, Arthur C Clarke and Carl Sagan all rolled into one incredibly prolific creator,” she writes in The Art Of Osamu Tezuka: God Of Manga.
If that seems a big claim (to say the least) it’s perhaps because we just don’t have the background to judge. After all it’s only in recent years that we have come to recognise that the comic strip is worthy of attention (quite criminal, especially in this country given that effectively the British comic industry could be labelled with a “made in Scotland” sticker), while the concepts of manga and anime – Japanese comics and animation – have by and large bypassed an older audience and plugged directly into the central cortex of the country’s teenagers who subsequently might be better placed to overthrow our stubborn Anglo-American cultural blinkers.
Even if all that comes to pass, however, you are left with the problem of how to get a grip on such a protean talent as Tezuka, a man who is said to have created more than 700 manga series, 170,000 pages of drawings and another 200,000 pages of anime storyboards and scripts (as well as qualifying to practice medicine). On his deathbed in 1989 his last words were “I’m begging you, let me work.”
Disney and Dostoevsky
Tezuka was born in 1928, the eldest son of a well off, well educated middle class Japanese family, who grew up watching Disney films and reading and drawing comic strips. In 1944, he picked up the skin infection ringworm, his arms swelling up as a result. When his mother took him to Osaka University Hospital for treatment a doctor told her that a few more days and her son would have had to have his arms amputated. It’s impossible now to evaluate how that might have changed Japanese popular culture. A year later Tezuka was an eye-witness to the firebombing of Osaka, an experience he would vividly chronicle in manga decades later. Out of this mix of influence and experience came a talent that transformed Japanese publishing.
Astro Boy was the breakthrough. Tezuka was 22 when he created the tiny humanoid robot (known as Mighty Atom in Japan). The comic was published for 16 years and made into one live action and two animated TV series. And although it incorporated many of Tezuka’s concerns – a hatred of discrimination and injustice for starters – its success also mirrored Japan’s postwar obsession with technology and looking to the future (the past being too painful so soon after the war). Tezuka did not invent manga but he did help make them more dynamic. “I felt that existing comics were limiting,” he once said. “Most were drawn as if seated in an audience viewing from a stage ... This made it impossible to create dramatic or psychological effects, so I began to use cinematic techniques ... I experimented with close-ups and different angles and instead of using only one frame for an action scene or the climax (as was customary), I made a point of depicting a movement or facial expression with many frames, even many pages. The result was a super-long comic that ran to 500, 600, even 1000 pages.”
His work appealed to both boys and girls yet as early as 1953 Tezuka’s ambition was clear when he adapted Dostoevsky’s Crime And Punishment into manga form. More adult themes permeated such works as The Phoenix, Buddha and Adolf which often made few concessions for children, as well as anime such as 1001 Nights which McCarthy wryly notes contains “the only known animation of human-crocodile sex”. Before he died Tezuka had started working on an anime adaptation of the Bible. It can be jarring reading some of these adult works. Buddha, published by Harper Collins in the UK, doesn’t shy from death and pain and poverty in its account of Buddha’s education, yet it is encased in a comic strip imbued with visual signifiers that in the west we still read as childish (specifically big-eyed cartoony characters and anthropomorphism).
But in the end that’s our problem not Tezuka’s. And if other manga artists speak more to a contemporary (more cynical) audience than perhaps his work does now, anyone who wants to get a handle on Japanese popular culture in the 20th century can’t ignore him.
It’s now two decades since Tezuka’s death. You can visit a museum dedicated to his art in his home town of Takarazuka. But perhaps for the true impact of his work take a trip to Tokyo. Tokyo looks like the future. And it looks, as McCartney notes, like a manga panel. Walt Disney only has Disneyworld and Disneyland as his architectural legacy. Tezuka has a whole city.
Friday, November 20, 2009
New Atom Angel
Joe McCulloch of comiXology.com has written a fascinating new editorial about the history and politics of Astro Boy, comparing the manga with new movie. It's a great read that takes a very serious look at the character, with a focus on the much discussed chapter where Astro goes back in time and fights the U.S. Militray, who were bombing a village in Vietnam.
Here's a sample.
"So, the funny thing about the new Astro Boy is how much it gets right, which means picking up Tezuka's weaknesses as well as his strengths. A lot of the manga's in-joke charm is preserved, from various Tezuka Star System cameos (including Tezuka himself and his lil' pig-faced critter stand-in) to tactical citation of earlier bits of its own history - some of the ‘60s anime title sequence gets subtly remade as Astro zips around exploring his powers. The original's dour origin premise is dutifully updated, with brilliant Dr. Tenma's beloved son violently killed (sadly, Nicolas Cage restrains himself from chomping into the Dr.'s potentially livewire role) and Astro Boy created as an imperfect twin replacement, the imperfection always figuring into the work's grand theme, since robots are individuals like people are too."Read "New Atom Angel" on comixology.com for the entire piece. Continue reading "New Atom Angel"...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The "God of Manga" Humanized
Uncle Fred sure is showing up a lot latley!
The A.V. Club has a new interview with Frederik L. Schodt about the work of Osamu Tezuka. No serious new ground is discussed, but it serves as a great reminder of Tezuka's accomplishments and also a as decent introduction to his wide influence.
Here's a piece discussing which of Tezuka works that a new reader might want to start with:
"If you want to see what Tezuka was trying to do and how bold he was, begin with Phoenix. It’s a particularly good work to start with because it’s accessible due to the time it was written, and its themes are quite universal. Some of the other early works—even parts of Astro Boy—have visuals and a density of text that is a little different than what people are used to. But by the time he was really getting going with Phoenix, he had already developed many of the hallmarks of most modern manga—cinematic, dramatic layouts—so it’s visually very beautiful."You can read "The "God of Manga," humanized" on the A.V. Club or click the link below for an archived version.
Interview: The "God of Manga," humanized
Osamu Tezuka scholar Frederik Schodt explains the anime pioneer
by Chelsea Bauch November 11, 2009
Osamu Tezuka pioneered anime (those big, doey eyes were his design), elevated manga comics to a new level of sophistication (less geeky, more general interest), and set the groundwork for mature yet kid-friendly movies (Pixar is eternally indebted). Although this influential Japanese artist-writer-producer’s work has become a founding touchstone of international pop culture, he is still relatively unknown to American audiences. Ahead of The Freer Gallery Of Art’s upcoming film retrospective, Osamu Tezuka: God Of Manga, Father Of Anime, we asked Frederik L. Schodt—a Tezuka scholar, Japanese translator, and the author of seminal text The Astro Boy Essays—to give The A.V. Club's readers a fanboy-worthy guide to the animation icon.
The A.V. Club: Why is Tezuka described as the “God of Manga”?
Fredrik Schodt: In Japan, Tezuka is called the “God of Manga” not because he invented manga—he certainly didn’t—but because he made some innovations in the traditional comic-book format. Tezuka took the basic setup and did something that was very new at the time: a hybrid between comic books and animation. He expanded stories to make them very long and cinematic, so many readers almost felt like they were watching a movie compared to traditional comic books. That allowed other artists to begin employing the same techniques and the same methods, thus elevating the original medium to a full-fledged form of expression. Artists could suddenly depict the same sorts of things that would be depicted in more mature novels or films.
AVC: How was manga different when Tezuka came to it?
FS: Tezuka started out drawing manga when it was a genre of entertainment for children. It wasn’t as popular and wasn’t as mass-media oriented as it is today. So he was drawing mainly for children, and one of the tasks was to take this format and this genre of entertainment for children and to expand it—to make it more accessible to older audiences, and gradually develop it as a full-fledged medium of expression. A lot of his works, especially his early works, may seem cartoony, but later he began exploring much more sophisticated themes, adult themes, and he started creating manga for girls and for older people in their 20s and 30s and 40s.
AVC: Why the change?
FS: Tezuka was an intellectual—he was originally granted a license to practice medicine, although he never did, and he was also very well-read. He was an extraordinary person working in a medium of entertainment for young children, who dreamed of telling stories that would rival the best literature, that would explore ideas that were very sophisticated. If you look at many of the stories he created for children, such as Astro Boy, you’ll see that he was also trying to entertain himself. Themes like religion, racial discrimination, man-machine relationships, and even subjects like terrorism appeared early on in his manga designed for young audiences.
AVC: Did he have other favorite topics?
FS: Tezuka explored ideas of future dystopias and future utopias. He often created stories that had science-fiction themes because he was very curious about the future and very curious about the world in general. He was a real sponge—he soaked up information from multiple sources then reinterpreted it to use in his stories.
AVC: Why do you think Astro Boy succeeded like it did?
FS: The way he designed Astro Boy was particularly international and capable of not only transcending borders, but also transcending the era. It’s an unusual work in the sense that he created it in manga format in ’51-’52, but he set the story in 2003. Even though it’s technically a contemporary story, it’s kind of a message from the past about today—it was an alternative future that Tezuka created to speak to his contemporaries and also to speak to us.
AVC: What did you think of the new Astro Boy movie?
FS: I enjoyed it a great deal. I know that some fans are grumbling about certain ways that the character was interpreted, but I tried to watch it and not compare it to other animated films and not analyze or deconstruct it at all. I really tried to watch it, as close as I could, with the mind of, say, a 10-year-old. I think that if you do that it’s great entertainment and a lot of fun. It’s different from Tezuka’s original story in many ways, but you can also tell that the director has read Tezuka’s original work and some changes had to be made for an American audience and international audiences.
AVC: What are some of the things that don’t translate to American audiences?
FS: A whole canon of Tezuka manga has been published in more than 400 volumes, but in his lifetime he’s said to have drawn more than 150,000 pages. We’ll never see everything that he did in English, and there’s always going to be things that don’t make it over here, which is true of all artists in Japan. There are whole genres of manga that have no market here—mahjong manga or pachinko manga, for instance—because they have no relevance to modern Americans. The converse is true too, of course; it’s just an inevitable part of cross-culture.
AVC: Which Tezuka do you recommend new readers start with?
FS: If you want to see what Tezuka was trying to do and how bold he was, begin with Phoenix. It’s a particularly good work to start with because it’s accessible due to the time it was written, and its themes are quite universal. Some of the other early works—even parts of Astro Boy—have visuals and a density of text that is a little different than what people are used to. But by the time he was really getting going with Phoenix, he had already developed many of the hallmarks of most modern manga—cinematic, dramatic layouts—so it’s visually very beautiful.
Continue reading "The "God of Manga" Humanized"...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
New David Bowers Interview
Science Fiction website Tor.com has an excellent new interview with Astro Boy movie director David Bowers. This interview took place before the wide release of the film last month, but the writer had seen the film already and was quite knowledgeable, making for a fascinating read with a lot of detail.
Here's a quote about some of the social commentary of the film:
"I think was something that was always there in the Astro Boy thing: there was always the robots being treated as second-class citizens; Tezuka very much cared about the environment; there are a lot of undertones to this movie. I don’t think it’s preachy, though—I can’t stand kids’ movies that are preachy, because it comes across as patronizing—but at the same time, hopefully it’s thought-provoking."The image to the right is a picture I found from the Los Angeles premier of the film, and you can see more here.
Check out Tor.com's "Interview with Astro Boy director David Bowers" or click the link below for an archived version. Thanks again to Robert for the tip!
Posted Monday November 09, 2009 11:03am EST
Interview with Astro Boy director David Bowers
Mike Sargent
David Bowers began his career in animation as an in-between artist* on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. He went on to be an animator and storyboard artist for varied projects ranging from Count Duckula and Danger Mouse to The Road To El Dorado and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. He moved up in the ranks to supervising animator and storyboard supervisor on films like Chicken Run and Balto. He directed his first animated feature in 2006, the much underrated Flushed Away, which featured voice performances from Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellan, to name a few. Bowers is no stranger to the field and process of animation and clearly used to working with top talent; his latest film is Astro Boy.
Astro Boy is one of anime and manga's oldest and most beloved creations and holds the distinction of being the first comic ever to be animated in Japan. Created by the now-legendary “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy first appeared in 1951 in comic form as “Tetsuwan Atom.” Soon after, he became “Astro Boy,” and Tezuka continued to create every single Astro Boy comic story for 21 years. Tezuka organized Japan's first TV animation studio, Mushi Productions, and Astro Boy was Mushi's first release; it debuted as a weekly series on Fuji television in black and white on New Year's Day 1963. 193 episodes were produced, and the show ended its run in 1966. By the late sixties, Astro Boy had been dubbed into English and sold worldwide. In 1982 a new color version of Astro Boy was created and over 50 episodes were produced during that incarnation.
By now, even if you have never watched a single episode of any version of Astro Boy, most people have heard of him or seen him in some form on necklaces, key rings, phone straps, t-shirts, bags, or any of a myriad of other fashion accessories.
I had a chance to sit down with Director David Bowers just before the film came out to ask him about taking on such a monumental project.
MS: I’m here with David Bowers, who is the director and co-writer of Astro Boy.
DB: Hello!
MS: Dave, you’ve been quoted a lot in the media saying that if people give it a chance, they should like it. What do you think are the main obstacles you have to overcome—is it just the long history and significance? Why would people not want to give it a chance?
DB: I think it’s the opposite of that, actually. I think it’s because Astro Boy hasn’t really been around or a presence for awhile, that I think audiences don’t know who he is. But I think if people do come along, they’ll see this movie that’s full of spectacle, it’s full of heart, it’s got a really, really positive message to it, and hopefully it’s very funny.
MS: It is very funny, and there are a lot of things you did that I liked, quite a lot of things, and I think it works on several levels. I brought my daughter with me—she’s a kid, so she loved it, and I loved it, too. So what were some of the most important things to you that you either wanted to retain from the old Astro Boy or do to make it more modern?
DB: I think the most important thing to me was creating the emotional story of Astro, you know, the relationship with his father and the difficulties that arise—if anyone’s listening that doesn’t know the story, it’s about a brilliant scientist who loses his son and creates a robot replica, but the robot replica doesn’t quite work out the way he wants it to. And I find that story fascinating and I knew that if I could get Astro’s story, his emotional story of not quite knowing who he was, and trying to find out who he was, and eventually realizing that he’s a hero, I could get you really caring for the character—then I could hang all the action and spectacle and special effects and all the jokes and all the new characters and all the characters from the manga that people love onto that.
MS: Well, I agree. There were a lot of little details that as an adult I love…there’s a little joke in there—I won’t give it all away, but someone asks him about his hair and he says, “It’s just gel!” (laughter), little things like that; was it important to you to make it something that adults and kids could see and enjoy and enjoy maybe if you come back in five or ten years and see it?
DB: Yeah, I think so. Somebody asked me what age group I was making the movie for when we were in production, and I gave as an example Star Wars, which when I was a kid and it first came out I was ten years old. I went to see that movie and I loved the droids and I loved the action-adventure, and I loved the lightsabers, and then going back to it a little older, I loved the story of Luke Skywalker, his hero’s journey and his relationship with his father. So I’m hoping it’s a movie that works on different levels for different ages.
MS: Now, what made you pick this? You’ve been doing animation, you’ve been a storyboard artist, you’ve been a story artist, you did Flushed Away—which I thought was hilarious, by the way—what made you want to do this project? What brought you on board, and how did this come to you?
DB: Well, I’ve always loved science fiction, and you rarely get a chance to do science fiction in the animation arena, but also I was aware of Astro Boy. I certainly didn’t know Astro Boy as well as I know him now, but I was aware of him. (It was) just a chance meeting with Maryanne Garger, the producer, who I’ve known from Flushed Away and many other movies before then. I was visiting the studio and I said, “Oh, you’ve got Astro Boy here!” And they said yeah, and I said, “That’s very cool…” I just thought it was a perfect project for me; as I said, I love science fiction, I absolutely love it. I wanted to make a cool science fiction film, a superhero movie, for families.
MS: Well, I definitely think you did, and I’m curious: what were some of the elements that you…You said you wanted to have a lot of heart and it does—towards the end I have to say, you got me, I was very moved! What were some of the things that you thought, either A) you were very strong about, or B) you thought, I wonder if we tinker with this, there might be people who don’t feel…
DB: I don’t know; the only big difference between our Astro Boy and previous versions of Astro Boy is that Dr. Tenma gives Astro Boy his son Toby’s memories, so when Astro Boy wakes up, he thinks he’s a real kid. He has no idea he’s a robot, and the discovery that he’s a robot—and not only a robot, but that the man he thinks of as his father and who he loves doesn’t want him anymore—I think is just more heartfelt. It was more interesting to me, and those questions of identity were interesting, too. As for…you know, I tried to keep as many of the favorite characters in there: Dr. Elefun has a big role (Dr. Ochanomizu, to those who know the original), and Hamegg I thought would be a great villain…President Stone—he’s a new character voiced by Donald Sutherland, he’s terrific in that. Really, I think I just took the things from the manga that spoke to me the most, and there’s just too much in the manga to include everything. There isn’t much in the manga that I don’t like, to be honest with you—it’s just that there’s an awful lot of it.
MS: Well, I have to say, my memory of Astro Boy—I don’t remember there being so much social commentary in there. Now, was that a big addition of yours, or was that something that was always there?
DB: I think was something that was always there in the Astro Boy thing: there was always the robots being treated as second-class citizens; Tezuka very much cared about the environment; there are a lot of undertones to this movie. I don’t think it’s preachy, though—I can’t stand kids’ movies that are preachy, because it comes across as patronizing—but at the same time, hopefully it’s thought-provoking.
MS: Well, I think the best science fiction always says something about the human condition.
DB: Of course! I agree completely.
MS: And on that level I think it works very well, because that’s what it is; there are elements of it that remind you of things that you might be more familiar with, or that kids might be more familiar with, but I think it’s got its own voice, clearly, and its own type of hero…Tell me a little bit about the development of the story: did you have a clear idea what you wanted to happen in this movie, or were you just picking and choosing, cherry-picking from the original anime?
DB: I cherry-picked, not so much from the anime as from the manga, but at the same time the key thing for me was Astro Boy having Toby’s memories, and who are you and what are you, and what is it that makes someone human? At the end of the movie, Astro Boy is proven to have a lot more humanity than a lot of the humans around him…that’s the thing that excited me, and from then on it was just like a giant jigsaw puzzle, trying to find the pieces that fit best and would end up being the most entertaining movie I could make. I must say, because this all sounds very heavy, I wanted to have huge action sequences, and I knew I wanted to have fighting giant robots—I love that stuff. And I wanted us to have the biggest, meanest, giant fighting robot ever and I hope he is—I mean, he’s pretty immense (laughs). He’s bigger than any other fighting robot I’ve seen…
MS: Definitely! Now, what have audience reactions been? I mean, it seems very positive—today, the audience was a mix, a lot of young people, but they loved it, so…
DB: That’s what I’ve found so far, as well. It’s been really great; I mean, people who’ve liked Astro Boy in the past, they’ve said (luckily for me) that they like it and they enjoyed the movie, and people who don’t know Astro Boy have discovered him, and I think that’s great. Ideally for me, people discover Astro Boy through this movie and they’ll start looking back and maybe read the manga and maybe look at some of the earlier TV shows, and sort of find out where it all came from…
MS: Well, you were saying that Astro Boy—in America, he hasn’t been around for awhile—but that’s not quite the story in Japan. He’s an ambassador, practically.
DB: He is, he is. Again, I was very nervous about taking it to Japan, because you have no idea how people are going to react, and also there tends to be a bias against non-Japanese movies, especially a non-Japanese filmmaker making a movie of Astro Boy, and I think people were hesitant… But once people saw the movie, again, they really liked it. Kids particularly—it was great.
MS: That must have been very rewarding…
DB: It was very rewarding. It was a big relief, to be honest.
MS: Okay, now, what’s the release schedule? Is it going to go out all over the world at the same time, or is it going market by market?
DB: October 23rd, it’s going to an awful lot of markets. Some other places, some territories, I think Latin America (and I might be wrong on this) I think it’s mainly in January; in England it’s January, and everywhere else I’m not sure…Most of the world is October 23rd…it’s a huge release.
MS: Now, a couple of other elements behind the scenes that I really enjoyed—you got some great voice talent, and you got John Ottman, who’s a great composer. Now tell me a little bit about getting those elements…
DB: Well, it was great. I mean, we were very lucky. We went out to, really my wish list of amazing actors—you’ve got a movie and it’s got Nicholas Cage and Freddie Highmore and Kristen Bell, and Bill Nighy and Nathan Lane and Eugene Levy and David Alan Grier, you know, all these great, great people… I’m sure I missed somebody out there—Charlize Theron! I don’t think you can get a lot of movies with that kind of cast, but it’s not time-consuming for them: they can do it at their convenience, they can wear their pajamas, they don’t have to wear any makeup, there’s no lighting, and I think some of them find it quite liberating to do a performance in a booth, just using their voices… I’m just very lucky that all these people said yes.
MS: Well, there are a few actors you got who have never done this before, weren’t there?
DB: I don’t think Charlize has done anything like this before… I think Kristen’s done some stuff for a video game… I think so. I know Freddie’s done a little bit of animation before, and Bill Nighy…
MS: He can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. (laughs)
DB: No, no! I worked with him on Flushed Away, I love him—I cast him twice in Astro Boy, so… it’s just a pleasure.
MS: Now tell me about getting John Ottman.
DB: Well, I wanted a score that felt modern but had a classic feel to it, and I listened to John’s music, and the day I met John we talked about movies that we liked, we talked about the kind of music that we liked for movies, and I talked about the kind of music I wanted for Astro Boy, and he seemed such a great fit. And then he just went away, and wrote this amazing score; I’d come in, I’d talk to him occasionally…I didn’t give too many notes, really. We talked about the whole movie first of all, we spotted it**, I briefed him on what it had to be, what the emotional need was for the music here, or whether it needed to drive, or whether it was exciting, and he just did an amazing job and we recorded it at Abbey Road studios in London with a huge orchestra, and a huge choir, and it’s a spectacular score. I think it sort of harkens back to classic John Williams…I love it.
MS: I think it’s perfect for the film, because like you said, it gives it that kind of epic, heroic, “birth of a hero” kind of feel. Is that always what your intention was?
DB: That was exactly it. That was exactly the intention.
MS: At the end of the movie, which I won’t give away, it’s obvious that we’d love to see more Astroboys, and I love how it goes right into what would be his next adventure. Would you come back and do another one?
DB: I’ve very much enjoyed myself doing the Astro Boy movie, I really have, so I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. It just depends—if people like the Astro Boy movie, then I’m sure we’ll make another one. But for the end of the movie, I just wanted to end on an action/adventure, exciting note—end on a high!
MS: I’m also curious, for you, as an adult now (laughs) there was a sense to me of sort of the kid in all of us, there are certain elements in there, Astro Boy’s kind of at that—he never really says his age, but you get a sense that he’s somewhere between twelve and fourteen—and there’s definitely that sense of wonder, figuring out as an adolescent what you can do, what your body can do, so was that part of what you wanted to bring out, that “kid in all of us” thing?
DB: I think it was, and I really hope that comes across in the scene where he discovers his powers, when he falls down and he finds out he’s got rocket boots, and then he finds out he can do all these amazing things like fly through the clouds, he can drill through solid rock—he’s pretty much indestructible. It’s sort of kid wish fulfillment. It’s quite empowering for kids, I think, to see a superhero who’s also a kid onscreen…I think that’s great. But hopefully, yeah—I’d display a childlike sense of wonder if I suddenly found out my feet had rockets in them!
MS: (laughs) Okay…what did you learn about yourself making this film?
DB: Learn about myself? I learned a little bit more about the kind of movies I like. It was nice as well—at Dreamworks and the other studios I’ve worked with before, you have a huge, huge machine behind you, and it’s great, and it’s hard to mess up. But Imagi, which is a much smaller company—and really, Astro Boy is, to be honest, an independent movie—it’s an amazing crew of incredibly, incredibly talented people, but you don’t have that safety net. You can’t mess up, you know—you have to be pretty definite about what you want to do, so as a director, for me, it was liberating in that I could make decisions and go with my first instincts, and then just stick with those instincts, and it was good. It was good. I’m not sure what I learned about myself…(laughs)
MS: Well my last question is, for you—having been part of a production team, a team player, a storyboard artist laying it all out—now, letting go of all of that and having other people do what you at one time would have done, what is that like for you?
DB: It’s great, because I think I see them doing their jobs from the perspective that I had when I was doing the jobs myself. So as a director, I really try not to stifle people; I really just want to get the best out of them. So, everybody from the story artist through editorial through the animators and the lighters, these are all great people with lots of experience, and as a director you’re foolish not to draw on that experience. These movies really are a collaborative effort, as well, so as a former story artist and animator myself, I know what it’s like to have your ideas crushed. (laughs) So, I try to encourage and get the best out of people.
* in between artist:
In traditional animation you have artists who do the ‘extremes’ [or key frames] which are the extreme gestures or movements of a character, and then you have a series of in between artists who do all of the frames [film is shot at 24 frames per second] of animation in between each gesture of movement to make the movements smooth and seamless.
** After a film has been shot (or some shooting has been completed), the composer is shown an unpolished "rough cut" of the film (or of the scenes partially finished), and talks to the director about what sort of music (styles, themes, etc.) should be used — this process is called "spotting."
Mike Sargent is a nationally-quoted film critic for WBAI-FM in NYC. His late night radioshow’s web site is Lifeislikesciencefiction.com and that just about says it all.
Continue reading "New David Bowers Interview"...
