Yesterday was the 23rd anniversary of Osamu Tezuka’s death. To commemorate the man who had (and still has!) such an impact on manga publishing, I thought it would be good to talk about his manga and our favorites.
Personally, I love Ode to Kirihito
the best. It was the very first Tezuka manga I remember reading and I still find it to be one of his most solid works.
That being said, I really enjoyed Princess Knight
! And I really want to read Rainbow Parakeet in English! (I swear I will never stop talking it up until it gets published in the U.S.!)
So what’s your favorite Tezuka manga? What are you dying to see published in English? Have you read any of his work recently? (I just finished Black Jack Volume 10
myself.)
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About Daniella Orihuela-Gruber
Daniella is a freelance manga editor and blogger. She likes collecting out of print manga and playing with her puppy. Yes, someone got her a puppy already.
I’m going to cheat and say it’s a tie between Ayako and Ode to Kirihito.
Well, I’m going to try and cheat^^ Both were pretty good!
Is that cheating? I don’t mind if you post more than one title as a favorite. I’ve yet to read Ayako though!
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My favorite is Ayako, but I also enjoy Dororo, and certain arcs in Phoenix and Buddha. I also must say Princess Knight has surprised me. It reminds me of the fairy tales I read like crazy while growing up, but mixed with a more adventureous heroine that I found in the fantasy/SF novels.
I rate Tezuka’s translated works like this:
1. Buddha
2. Phoenix
3. Adolf
4. Apollo’s Song
5. Black Jack
Buddha is number one. Phoenix is a close second because some of the volumes aren’t as good as others. The first four are especially excellent.
Buddha is the best because Tezuka adds so much to the original story. It never comes off as overly religious or preachy. In fact, often it’s raw and graphic. For such a long story, it keeps building and building and the highlight is the arc that leads up to Buddha reaching enlightenment. He takes the original story and creates these little stories around them that are just incredible. And finally the art is gorgeous. He is a master of juxtaposing the cartoony with the realistic and that is really on display in this comic. Also the hardcover Vertical is really nice.
Ode to Kirihito would probably be number 6…
Hm. I never really ranked Tezuka’s work like that. I haven’t gotten the chance to read Adolf yet (soon!), but Apollo’s Song would be last on my list. It’s the most disappointing Tezuka title to me.
The rest… I don’t know if I care to rank them. I enjoy Black Jack, Buddha and Phoenix on roughly the same level. ^_^;
For me the most disappointing would be Swallowing the Earth. I wasn’t really into Astro Boy or Princess Knight either but that’s probably just a matter of taste…
I think Apollo’s song is awesome.. I’ve read it about 10 times.
Swallowing the Earth was OK, but I actively dislike Apollo’s Song. Different tastes, I guess. 😛
I thought Princess Knight was like a hit of Disney nostalgia.
Ode to Kirihito and Buddha are my favorites. Haven’t read Phoenix yet. Apollo’s Song is at the bottom of my list as well. Black Jack is great but uneven, and can’t compete with his longer-form work.
UNICO
IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION
For those of us who haven’t yet read Unico? Yes. ^_^
Oh, I was just being silly 🙂 Unico is just a memory from my childhood. I would totally buy it if they brought it over, but I’m not a crazed fanatic 😀
I love Tezuka, though. The man was a genius. I’m currently reading “God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post World War II Manga” by Natsu Onoda Power, and the author really nails down Tezuka’s comic revolution/evolution. I really recommend it if you haven’t read it. 😀
I would put Unico on my list if they have the same emotional impact as the movies did for me, when I saw them in the 80s. Unfortunately the manga is not available, …….yet.
my tezuka favorite hasn’t been translated in english
It would be entitled as : tomorrow the birds or the bird super-system
I think it mixes all tezuka’s themes in one book. Hope you’ll have it soon released.
Ah, that’s too bad.
But seriously, I don’t have any power to publish or sway over decision makers in manga publishing. So I can’t do it. Yet.