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.
Continue reading "RIP Osamu Dezaki"...
This is not Astro Boy, but hey, we like Tetsujin 28 too, right?
Here's a creative series of Japanese commercials for some kind of wireless mobile Internet, featuring a CG version of the world famous anime giant robot created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama.
Ishinomori created so many of Japan's most famous characters and stories, conquering most every conceivable genre and medium. Most famous among his works is the classic Cyborg 009. Fans of Osamu Tezuka should definitely look into learning more about this incredible artist's body of work. In fact, it was Tezuka himself who discovered Ishinomori's talent and broke him into the professional manga industry.
Here's a sample from the article:
Anyway, a young artist named Shotaro Onodera submitted some samples of his work to Manga Shonen, and it just so happened that Tezuka's famous Astro Boy was running as a special feature in the magazine at the time. Tezuka's editor clued him in to the budding talent, and history was made when Tezuka hired the kid as his assistant and set him to work on the Astro Boy story Electro. The entire experience is laid out in dark horse's Astro Boy volume 15, so seek that out if you want the dirt.
It's unfortunate that so little of Ishinomori's work has been made available to English speakers. The tide has turned in recent years when it comes to Tezuka's manga, so let's hope for the same attention being paid to Ishinomori as well. Check out the English Language version of the IshimoriPro website for more.
Continue reading "Ishinomori's Story"...
I've been putting off writing this for awhile now, but ultimately I can't escape having to acknowledge the passing of the legendary Peter Fernandez. He died on July 15th at the age of 83 due to lung cancer.
Peter had an incredibly long and fruitful career in show-business that began when he was 7 years old. He was in film, radio, and on Broadway, but he is probably best known today for his work in bringing adaptations of Japanese animation to the rest of the world. He worked on titles like the original Astro Boy and Gigantor as well as the live action Ultraman, and his directorial leadership on Speed Racer clearly crafted a pop-culture legacy that endures to this day.
He was a great guy who never looked down on the work that he did. We will all miss him, but his legacy will likely live on for decades to come. I highly recomend everyone read Mike Toole's "Voice of Many Generations" on ANN as a great way of understanding the scope of his life's work.
Make sure you check out The Mike Toole Show, a new column on Anime News Network that is set to feature some of the unique, obscure, classic, and forgotten gems that make Japanese Animation so awesome. The first edition is all about the first wave of black and white TV anime from the 1960's, starting with Astro Boy and moving on to other series that have little to no exposure outside Japan. Tezuka's Big X and Dororo get a mention as well, along with classics like Cyborg 009 and Sally the Witch. It's not only a very informative look at a chapter of anime history that is mostly unknown to English speakers, but it's incredibly entertaining as well.
Continue reading "Old's Cool with Mike Toole"...
Powerhouse anime studio Toei has announced plans for 2 CG animated feature films based on some very famous Japanese anime franchises. They are the super robot Daikuu Maryuu Gaiking, and the esteemed individual at the right, Space Pirate Captain Harlock!
Only two words sum up this preliminary image of Captain Harlock: Absolutely Badass! You can see more of Harlock here along with the awesome Gaiking here and the original news here all thanks to Anime News Network.
They are shooting for a wide release including North America and Europe as well as Asia, and are hoping for these projects to spark new life into the anime business. More info will be available at this week's Tokyo International Anime Fair, where the short pilot films will debut to drum up interest.
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.
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)
Here is some artwork I did a few months ago as a sequel to my "Justice League of Anime" piece, this time using my own composition. Of course, Astro appears with other famous anime characters as my own interpretation of the classic super hero team concept!
Due to popular demand, I will be drawing an Anime Injustice Gang piece as well some day, and I'm looking for suggestions as to which evil anime characters you'd like to see! Read my deviantART Journal post for more info.
We all know that Imagi has it's Astro Boy animated movie set for release later this year, as well as Gatchaman in the works, but it's looks like it's possible that one more classic anime franchise might be making the Computer Generated leap to the big screen thanks to those talented artists and animators in Hong Kong. And if you've been reading Felix Ip's blog lately, you know that something big is brewing!
Tetsujin 28, the classic franchise sometimes known internationally as Gigantor, could very well be one of the next animated feature films produced by Imagi!
Created in 1956 as a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama (who also created "Giant Robo"), Tetsujin 28 is very first giant robot story. It has spawned multiple anime adaptations and a recent live action movie. This is legendary character who absolutely deserves a well done animated feature meant for audiences around the world.
To announce this potential project, Imagi has just unveiled a very elaborate website for the movie, complete with a teaser trailer. This animation is likely made just to drum up interest in the project and may or may not represent what the film winds up being like. Obviously the main character's appearance has been updated, but the robots have got that awesome retro look you would hope for. The website has story information and wallpapers, with concept art and more on the way. Pretty impressive for a movie that isn't even officially coming out yet! Looks like they are simply going with "T28" as the name of the film.
At the end of the teaser, there is a chance for you to say if you would like to see Tetsujin made as a movie by Imagi, and to write some comments. It is pretty much unprecedented for a film production to be this open to the potential audience at this point, so be sure to tell them what you think!
This is quite an interesting development because Astro Boy and Tetsujin 28 are products of about the same time, and are in some ways rival characters. I think it's so cool that classic anime characters like these are getting the chance to show how great they are to a whole new global audience, thanks to the same animation studio. Let's hope that the T28 film gets off the ground!
The folks at Fantasy.fr have conducted an excellent interview with the legendary Go Nagai, creator of notable manga and anime franchises such as Mazinger Z, Devilman, and Cutie Honey. He talks about his influences and mentions the importance that the work of Osamu Teuzka has had on his career. It was originally written in French, but an English translation is also available.
Forgot that I had not yet posted this here, but now is as good of a time as any!
On day, while watching Justice League on DVD, I started to wonder, what if there was a Justice League of anime characters? Who would be on it?
Well, I thought about it long and hard, then I took a famous piece of Justice League artwork and painted my own version of it. This is what I came up with, and you better believe that our boy Astro got a place on the team!
You can also see the individual profiles of the team members which I just recently uploaded. Each has a little story I wrote about how the member joined the team.
Enjoy. I'll be featuring more artwork in the future, so if you have any art or know of any that you like, send me a link to it.
Continue reading "JUSTICE"...
Things have come full circle as the live action movie "Speed Racer", based on the classic Japanese anime, has been released to theaters in Japan this week. To mark the occasion, the Japan Times has a pair of articles, written by Patrick Macias, about the original anime. 'Speed Racer': drawing on an anime legend is an incredible interview with Ippei Kuri, one of the founders of Tatsunoko and creators of "Mahha GoGoGo", and 'Americanizing' a cartoon classic focuses on Peter Fernandez, who adapted the Japanese series into the series known internationally as Speed Racer.
It's interesting to note that Speed Racer was a much bigger hit outside Japan than it was in its own country. And yet, the Speed Racer movie hasn't done very well and is considered to be a box office disappointment. How will Japan accept the film, and what bearing does it have, if any, on the Astro Boy movie?
I'm kind of struggling to find the right words to describe the Speed Racer movie. I guess the easiest thing I could say about it is that I have never been so happy to get a headache. Speed Racer is some of the most fun I've ever had at the movies. With it's bright colors, rich details, and incredibly fast racing sequences, the live action Speed Racer movie is not a film that everyone is going to enjoy, or even be able to handle. Motion sickness did kick in for me towards the end of the film. But I had a smile on my face nearly the entire time, and when I wasn't smiling I was gasping in amazement at the incredible visuals. It really looks and feels like no other movie that has come before it. Perhaps this new visual style is an acquired taste, as it has been criticized since the first images were revealed, but I was blown away by it. Speed Racer succeeds in bringing an animated property to life better than anything else, and you simply can't fault a movie for succeeding in being exactly what it wanted to be. The story is structured uniquely as well, with many flashbacks and events not necessarily unfolding linearly.
The cast was pretty much spot on, with everyone looking and acting exactly like their anime counterparts. John Goodman, in particular, was born to play Pops Racer. And Christina Ricci is totally adorable as Trixie. Speed himself is well played by Emile Hirsch as the ultimate do-gooder. And you gotta love Sprittle and Chim-Chim. They were pretty annoying at times, but they were worth a few laughs and kids really liked them. All of these characters really emphasized the family aspect of the movie, and made it more than just a display in special effects. And of course, you've got the original anime bad-ass in Racer X, who is just as cool, if not more so, than he was on the TV show.
Another thing that warrants some attention is the music. The score weaves in the classic soundtrack from the cartoon in both subtle and dramatic fashion over the course of the film. It was exceptionally well done and will fill fans with great memories of the TV series.
This is a movie that really goes all out in being what it is without trying to make sense of adapting the source material into typical Hollywood context. It's clearly set in it's own alternate reality where cars can look and move the way they do and it's not weird at all for the Racer family to name their son "Speed" and have a pet chimpanzee. It just got everything right without either taking itself too seriously or mocking the original show. You either get it or you don't. Speed Racer fans will love it. Speed Racer is much better as a Speed Racer movie than, say, a movie like Transformers is about Transformers. In my opinion, most of the negative press surrounding Speed Racer centers more around critics attempting to write witty headlines like "Speed Racer Crashes" or "Speed Racer Runs Out of Gas" than actually giving the film a chance. Those who do give it a chance will likely find a movie with a lot of heart, warm nostalgic feelings, amazing visuals, and most of all, tons of fun. I have a lot of pity for anyone who doesn't.
So, yeah, Speed Racer is a wild ride, and the rapid paced, crazy camera angles a did give me a headache. But it was the best headache I ever had. Watching this movie was an absolute blast.
The wait is over! The first major Hollywood adaptation of a classic anime has now been released to North American theaters. Speed Racer is here, and with its release comes a wave of coverage and interest in all things anime, including Astro Boy and other series released in the 60's.
Here are a few articles that have been popping up around the Internet.
Introducing anime - The filmmakers talk about their introduction to Speed Racer and anime.
Fast and furious - A fairly detailed article of what the movie is all about.
Speed Racer looks like no other movie that's ever been made. This could be the dawning of a brand new visual genre of film. Make sure you see it and judge for yourself. Expect a review on the movie right here very soon!
This site is dedicated to everything Astro Boy, the works of Osamu Tezuka, and other related anime & manga. Whether you're an old-school fan, a newcomer, or anything in between, AstroBoy World is bound to offer something interesting for you.
