The Smithsonian celebrates the work of Osamu Tezuka (part 10)

By: Brian Mah

===============
Did you get a chance to meet Mr. Tezuka or his family?
===============

Frederick Schodt: I knew Tezuka fairly well. In 1977, I started to worked for him as his interpreter. I worked with him until his death. When he came to the US I came as his interpreter. He was one of the first Japanese artists to attend ASIFA related events around the world, such as Canada and Europe. (ASIFA is an international organization relating to Animation.) He was kind of like an ambassador. He even spoke at the U.N. It was one of the smaller rooms, not the general assembly.

Helen McCarthy: Never, much to my regret. I got in to anime in 1981 but I just didn't have contacts on the level that would let me meet a giant of the field and I wasn't in Japan or the USA at a time when I could have met him as a fan. But I feel as if I've got to know him a little through writing a book about him. Every day for three years, I've spent time with Osamu Tezuka, and it was fun.

===============
Do you think Tezuka's work is still prevalent in today's society?
===============

Helen McCarthy: Very much so. You can look at his influence on science, like the Atom Project currently being championed by Japanese scientists, but there are lots of examples in art and culture, like the 2008 Tezuka Gene art exhibition at Parco Shibuya where 35 fine artists produced tributes to his work. He was ahead of his time in so many ways - we're only just catching up with his environmental awareness.

Frederick Schodt: I agree with Helen. The Astro Boy anime was a great kids show. If you read the original manga, even though he wrote the manga for kids it had a lot of serious issues. He wrote about Man vs. Machine relations, Artificial Intelligence, and Terrorism. Some of the stories will go over the kid's heads, but the parents will still find the stories relevant today. The Pluto comic series is a good example. The manga is a new interpretation of one story based off the Astro Boy manga.

Natsu Onoda Power: Yes yes and yes (can't imagine anyone saying no).

Yoshihiro Shimizu: Without Tezuka's post war manga, it would be unthinkable. He pioneered the concept called "Story Manga." Tezuka's animated works act as a bridge for foreign animation.