OSAMU TEZUKA was born on November 3, 1928 in Toyonaka, Osaka. Although trained to be a licensed physician, he chose to pursue his passion for comics and animation. He started his career as a manga artist with his debut comic book New Treasure Island published in 1947, which was a huge success, sparking the manga revolution in Japan. He went on to create many popular and acclaimed manga series for both children and adults, including Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Princess Knight, Phoenix, Dororo, Buddha, and Black Jack.  He introduced many techniques and styles that are still used in manga and anime today, such as cinematic storytelling, expressive character designs, panel layouts, and genre mixing. His stories covered a wide range of categories such as science fiction, historical drama, human drama, comedy, romance, suspense, horror, and experimental art.
Tezuka was also a prolific animator who produced many animated adaptations of his manga works, as well as original productions. He founded two animation studios: Mushi Production and Tezuka Productions. He is credited with creating Japan’s first animated TV series (Astro Boy), first color animated TV series (Kimba), and first adult-oriented animated films (Animerama). His animations were popular not only in Japan but around the world, especially in the US and Europe.
Tezuka’s main theme throughout his works was the preciousness of life. He was influenced by his wartime experiences, his medical background, and his love for nature and animals. He often explored the topics of human nature, morality, ethics, war, peace, ecology, religion, and spirituality. He also had a great sense of humor and imagination that made his works ageless and memorable.
Tezuka’s influence can be seen in many of his successors and admirers, such as Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo, Naoki Urasawa, Akira Toriyama, Rumiko Takahashi, and many others. He is widely recognized as a master of storytelling and a pioneer of animation, as influential to the medium as Walt Disney.
Tezuka died of stomach cancer on February 9, 1989, at the age of 60. He left behind a legacy of over 700 manga titles and over 200 animation titles that have inspired generations of manga artists and animators. A museum dedicated to his life and works was opened in Takarazuka in 1994. He truly deserves the title “the Father of Manga and anime.”
