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The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime

Toshio Ban,

Tezuka Productions,

Frederik L. Schodt (Translation)

4.12 · Rating details · 152 ratings · 30 reviews

This graphic-format biography of Osamu Tezuka—Japan's "God of Manga"—looks at one of the twentieth century's great creative artists (Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Black Jack). It is also an anecdotal study of the evolution of Japan's early manga and anime business and its heroes. A never-before-seen popular culture history of postwar Japan, it is sure to fascinate fans ...more

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Paperback, 928 pages

Published July 19th 2016 by Stone Bridge Press (first published July 12th 2016)

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· 152 ratings · 30 reviews

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Oct 06, 2018 Morgan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, translation, nonfiction, paperback, biography, comic-books, history, science, war, superhero

This comic book took me about a month to finish reading, which is long for my comic book reading skills. One of my only complaints with this biography: it's too long for a manga. It reads more like a book rather than a comic book. At the same time, it felt like it didn't have enough and could have had a another volume. However, for the size, this has enough. Some parts could have been cut, in my opinion.

I feel like Osamu Tezuka should be a name people know if they watch anime or read manga. He d This comic book took me about a month to finish reading, which is long for my comic book reading skills. One of my only complaints with this biography: it's too long for a manga. It reads more like a book rather than a comic book. At the same time, it felt like it didn't have enough and could have had a another volume. However, for the size, this has enough. Some parts could have been cut, in my opinion.

I feel like Osamu Tezuka should be a name people know if they watch anime or read manga. He didn't necessarily start the medium, but he defiantly made it popular and more common internationally. He created SO MANY works, more than most Western comic book creators. Not only is he a prolific writer, he seemed to master any genre he touched from kids, adults, science fiction, biography, fantasy, erotica, serious, comical, epic, short, you name it and he probably has done something.

TALK ABOUT WORKAHOLIC! Some might point out that this biography doesn't cover much of Tezuka's personal life. His wife and kids aren't in it as much. Yet, he was working all the time it seemed. I'm not sure he got much personal time. He clearly didn't get much sleep which must have been hard at times, but this book don't go much into that either. He was always working. Personal time would mean he couldn't have time to create. His mind seems to be popping out ideas every week. This biography is about his work with manga and anime, not really who he was as a person, maybe from time to time it would mention something like his interest in insects and film.

Reading this, I want to read more Tezuka. I haven't even read half his works, not even a quarter, maybe a small amount, but enough to get this book. There are many of his books that aren't translated. Some of them you can find now, but it's a slow process. In his lifetime they published a 300 volume set of his works, so I'm guessing most people haven't read all of Tezuka. It's not a goal of mine to read everything of Tezuka, I'd go broke or not b able to read anything else, but it would be nice to read more.

His most popular work on Goodreads is Buddha. As much as I like that series and its a good place to start, it's not even his most well known title. I see on here Astro Boy isn't nearly as popular as it should be and most people know Astro Boy, it's obviously his most recognizable series. However, he has other well know and popular woks such as Phoenix and Black Jack (both I haven't read yet only for the fact they are much longer than his other series, someday). I just find it interesting the amount of people who read manga probably haven't picked up a Tezuka book or don't know of him, well in the States anyway. Not saying you have to love him as much as I do, but manga/anime fans should know of his works, most manga/anime would exist if it wasn't for Tezuka.

I learned a bit from this book too. I didn't realize Astro Boy was the first original cartoon show in Japan that wasn't a short. I didn't realize Kimba was the first color TV show in Japan. ALSO, before anyone says that Lion King is a rip-off of Kimba, it's not. In fact Kimba was very much inspired by Bambi to the point Tezuka would try to imitate Disney's animation style so that he could draw animals. Tezuka was a huge Disney fan. Kimba was based on Bambi as much as Astro Boy was based on Pinocchio. Tezuka was very much trying to be the Disney of Japan, but with his own style.
He even meet Disney briefly and they both complemented each others on their work. Tezuka also meet a bunch of other big names here in the West. Did you know Tezuka turned down an opportunity to work with Stanley Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey? Yes, even Kubrick was a Tezuka fan.

If you really like Tezuka, I would recommended this book. I'm not sure this for people who only read one or two of his titles. This covers a lot and might get boring if you only read Buddha, I should mention Buddha isn't much covered in this book. They mention it in the intro, but it wasn't as popular in Japan as it was in the West. This does cover a lot of Astro Boy and his Star System, his Star System is his reoccurring characters he used as actors. Shunsaku Ban, probably his most used reoccurring character, is in fact that narrator for this manga.

Overall, this was great book with really nice manga style illustrations AND it's read in traditional manga style. Just be warned it's long. ...more

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Sep 26, 2016 Rachael rated it it was amazing

I had always been somewhat of a a fan of Tezuka's work and grew to respect him quite a bit, as I learned more about him, but I had only scratched the surface before... this book really showed what an amazing life he had, and the depths of his creativity. I've watched a few of Tezuka's experimental anime after reading this, and will have to delve back into his books with renewed vigor. ...more

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Jul 15, 2016 Kenny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016

What a rollicking breathtaking ride through the life and times of manga no kami Tezuuka sensei.
Not to be missed. Walt Disney has nothing on him. A qualified doctor, musician, actor. Truly a renaissance man.
Yes he does manga and sort of rocketted anime into the stratosphere.

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Jan 23, 2017 Stewart Tame rated it really liked it

At over 900 pages, this is unquestionably the thickest manga volume I own. For the moment. Knowing manga, it wouldn't surprise me if a thicker volume of something comes along someday.

As you'd surmise from the title, this is a biography of manga legend, Osamu Tezuka, in manga form. I was aware of his legendary status, and have read what I assumed was a fair amount of his work over the years. Little did I know ... I knew he was prolific, but wow! Kodansha issued a complete collection of his work ...more

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Jul 16, 2016 Derek Royal rated it liked it

I did enjoy this book, although I'm not entirely certain that its breadth and length worked to its advantage. This is a brick of a text, and there Tashio Ban and the others behind this biography went to great lengths to map out almost every facet of Tezuka's life. At times to the narrative's detriment. There are times when situations and attitudes feel repeated and/or too decompressed. What's more, the book emphasizes the admirable and impressive side of Tezuka, making him appear to be more god- ...more

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Apr 16, 2018 Celepom rated it really liked it

No wonder they called him a God

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Jan 27, 2018 Shaun rated it liked it

This is an impressive work in that it ties together Tezuka’s many manga and animation works and his writing about manga/animation to tell a story of his entire life in manga form. However, reading it is exhausting.
I suppose its to be expected because Tezuka Productions published this book, but one of the reasons it took me so long to get through is because it starts to feel like Tezuka propaganda. No attempt is made to show Tezuka as a character or a person, simply as a “god of manga.” The book This is an impressive work in that it ties together Tezuka’s many manga and animation works and his writing about manga/animation to tell a story of his entire life in manga form. However, reading it is exhausting.
I suppose its to be expected because Tezuka Productions published this book, but one of the reasons it took me so long to get through is because it starts to feel like Tezuka propaganda. No attempt is made to show Tezuka as a character or a person, simply as a “god of manga.” The book falls into a repetitive pattern of “Tezuka won this award, then he came up with more ideas and kept working on anime and manga simultaneously, sleeping very little.” Repeat ad nauseum. Yes, this is the true story of Tezuka’s life and work, but sometimes the truth doesn’t make for a very interesting story. There’s little to no discussion of how this affected his staff or editors, they’re all “tired” but excited for the genius’ next work and repeatedly tell the reader how happy they are just to work with Tezuka.
The translator/publisher also uses some unusual writing conventions I find distracting, especially using an apostrophe when the first word of a sentence is left off in dialogue, for example: “ ‘Guess hard workers have to eat a lot!” The dialogue is completely understandable without the apostrophe so it looks strange and unprofessional to have it included.
The text also has distracting bolding of seemingly random words, which is in keeping with the style of American superhero comics but which I find distracting and irritating, making every line of text appear sensationalized. I’m curious how much of this is the publisher/translator and how much of this could be coming from the writing style of the Japanese.

If you want an exhaustive slog through Tezuka’s entire catalog of writing, this may be an enjoyable work for you, but if you’re interested in learning about the history of manga, I would read the first half, compare with Shigeru Mizuki’s experiences in Showa, and then stop. ...more

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Nov 19, 2018 Clay rated it really liked it

Quite the ambitious project undertaken just after Tezuka's death in 1989. Starting with his youth and school years, we are given a glimpse into wartime Japan and how that impacted elementary and middle school students. After the war, Tezuka began attending medical school and kept up his drawing, getting into manga through publishers first in Osaka and then in Tokyo. His passion had always been animation, so we see him working to get into that field and all the success he had in both manga and an ...more

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Feb 20, 2020 dejah_thoris rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, history, non-fiction

If you've never read any Tezuka, go read some and then read this book. It's wonderfully thick and written by a close friend with many excerpts from Tezuka's personal writings. Tezuka was an absolute genius and an extreme workaholic. Ban explains that was partly due to production schedules and working for many, many publications at the same time, but it's still impressive to watch someone create for 16-20 hours a day. Tezuka also earned a medical degree and worked as a doctor until his manga and ...more

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Jan 31, 2017 Dana Kraft rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, translated-to-english

I read this knowing little or nothing about manga, anime or Tezuka. He was an amazing talent and he lived during an interesting time in Japan's history. I most enjoyed reading about his early life and events that shed light on Japanese culture and opinion at the time. Once he started his career, things got less interesting for me. I'm sure part of this is because his innovations didn't mean much to me but also because the references to all nighters and constant working got a little repetitive. I ...more

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Aug 22, 2016 Emilia P rated it liked it

Shelves: comic-books

This book was immense, encylopedic, Tezuka-style illustrations. Immensity and repetiveness owe themselves to its first incarnation as a serialized story which commenced publication almost immediately after Tezuka's death. It is a window into his world, at times almost too much so (I don't particularly care how many times he moved his studios!), but also a nice overview of 1) his young life, 2) his manga heyday, and 3) his innovations in anime creation and production! Unfortunately it doesn't dig ...more

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Jun 01, 2018 P.H. Wilson rated it liked it

Shelves: manga, biography

Real rating: 7.3/10
Not for everyone, this distinct biography pays homage to the great Tezuka with care (though at times it feels a little too positive and dances by his negative qualities,) creating a biography that is drawn in a manga style for a man who could never stop drawing. It is quite slow paced and could have been cut down by roughly a 100 pages, but if you are a fan of manga and the notion of an artist who is dedicated to their works (i.e. Picasso, Asimov or others of that ilk.)
I would ...more

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May 13, 2017 Melissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, comic

Follows not only Tezuka's career but offers a history of manga and anime in Japan as well. Holy workaholic, Batman. Stories poured out of this man so relentlessly that he worked almost 24 hours a day his whole life. His creativity was so impressive but this seems such a dangerously unbalanced way of living. One of the things I've always loved about Tezuka's works is his politics - such a huge focus on human rights and equality, and ecology. I wish this work had explored the roots of this a littl ...more

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May 02, 2018 Seul rated it it was amazing

Excellent read if you ever want to learn about the man who made anime what it is today and a pioneer of manga. He was an icon similar to Disney. This book gives us a lot of details about what made this man the best there was from his time as a child to the old man traveling the world.

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Jun 22, 2020 Eswar rated it it was amazing

I grew up with Tezuka Osamu's manga and anime. Safe to say that I learned my Japanese through manga and Osamu's mangas were by far the most influential in my early youth. Listening to the Tetsuwan Atom theme song as a child gave me a Sense of Purpose as a Purveyor of Social Justice. Grandiose thoughts for a five-year old foreigner in Japan. The stories always felt real. The endings were tragic, invoking complicated emotions for a child, yet still enough for us to understand the moral of the stor I grew up with Tezuka Osamu's manga and anime. Safe to say that I learned my Japanese through manga and Osamu's mangas were by far the most influential in my early youth. Listening to the Tetsuwan Atom theme song as a child gave me a Sense of Purpose as a Purveyor of Social Justice. Grandiose thoughts for a five-year old foreigner in Japan. The stories always felt real. The endings were tragic, invoking complicated emotions for a child, yet still enough for us to understand the moral of the story. What I didn't realize until reading the book was how much he had accomplished way before the 80s.

Osamu grew up in the affluent neighborhood of Takarazuka in West Japan, near Osaka. He was curious and into bugs, but wartime Japan shaped his childhood. Even during the war, he had teachers who were supportive of his mangas, which bolstered his confidence. I didn't know that he was a medical doctor and a Ph.D. holder - he would create manga for publishers during his medical school.

The book shines a light into the crazy work ethic of manga writers. Meeting multiple deadlines required all-nighters that stretched Osamu's 40+ year career; this may be one of the reasons for his passing at the early age of 60. The intense level of competition in the manga creation amongst him and his contemporaries led to the premature passing of one of his rivals.

Osamu was always nurturing and encouraging younger talent. It took him a while before he started hiring assistants, but that would never reduce his work hours. He slept rarely; three hour days were the norm. His assistant and teams followed suit. Around an eighth of the book was dedicated to showing how editors chased after him. Editors would chase him and his peers for copies of the script ahead of the deadline. They would even book rooms in hotels, trap the manga creators there until the story was complete. Editors following Osamu would have to kiss their family lives goodbye.

He seems to have been a good leader. Hardest on himself, but expecting the highest quality of his entire team. He worked hard printing out manga after manga to create cash to fund his anime aspirations. He was indeed a visionary and influenced the creation of new technology to convert his ideas into art.

Gone too soon, but modern Japan is blessed to be influenced by him. ...more

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Jul 28, 2018 Darren Cormier rated it liked it

Warning: I really probably mistakenly insert westernized views and terms into this review.

Very long and encyclopedic graphic novel biography about Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of manga and anime. The first part of the book was the most interesting, covering his formative years and adolescence, his early interest in entomology, his seemingly preternatural gifts at storytelling. Even in grade school (westernized word), his ability to make up stories on the spot and entertain his friends was acknowl Warning: I really probably mistakenly insert westernized views and terms into this review.

Very long and encyclopedic graphic novel biography about Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of manga and anime. The first part of the book was the most interesting, covering his formative years and adolescence, his early interest in entomology, his seemingly preternatural gifts at storytelling. Even in grade school (westernized word), his ability to make up stories on the spot and entertain his friends was acknowledged by students and instructors alike.
As the book moved on into his second part and his development of manga, his inveterate workaholic nature was prevalent. He was producing serialized manga for no fewer than five magazines, and developing ideas for stories, and attending medical school, completing all with honors. He was also compulsively going to the movies (a goal of 365 per year).
However, the third part becomes repetitive. And after he meets his wife and starts a family, his round the clock working and focus on his manga and his films and his research to the neglect of his family caught up with me. The book becomes a cycle of Dr Tezuka producing an astounding volume and quality of work, always working, never sleeping, and his work being developed and revered for the genius that it was. However, it becomes tedious. I'd rather read his work (especially Buddha, one of my favorite graphic novel series), than read about him creating his work.

Some interesting facts of his life, however: he was one of the first people Kubrick reached out to in developing storyboard concepts for life in space for 2001. (Tezuka was too busy to accept.) He was compulsive and obsessive about Disney and all animation techniques, reportedly seeing Bambi 80 times in the theater. And he only met his idol Walt Disney once, at the 1964 World's Fair, for about five minutes.

Perhaps it's my westernized viewpoint creeping in, but I just wanted him to spend some time with his family, to take his family with him on his trips. But that's probably a cultural projection.
...more

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Dec 23, 2019 Ben Truong rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography, graphic-novels, history, manga

The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime is a biographical graphic novel written and illustrated by Toshio Ban and translated by Frederik L. Schodt, it traces the life of Osamu Tezuka in a form that he is known for – a manga in a graphic novel format.

Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, animator, and film producer. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga", ...more

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Mar 14, 2019 Sharon rated it liked it

This is a biography of Osamu Tezuka written in manga format, and covers his entire life, from being a schoolboy before WWII to becoming the acknowledged 'god of manga.' To say this biography is exhaustive would be an understatement. Unfortunately, it is also exhausting. I enjoyed this book a great deal, but the level of minute detail makes it feel as if we are following every single minute of Tezuka's life. There is a huge amount of repetition about how incredibly hard-working Tezuka was, always ...more

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Apr 09, 2019 Rachelle Marie rated it liked it

Overall, an excellent insight into Tezuka's life's work. He had incredible passion and imagination, and the amount of work he produced is staggering; this book largely focuses on that. The artwork is consistently fantastic, and very true to Tezuka's style.

However, there are a few flaws. There's a lot of name dropping, which is confusing at times, especially with no context other than "oh hey these people were involved." I understand that this is a translation, so perhaps these names mean more to ...more

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Mar 15, 2021 Bacchus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Al terminar las casi 900 páginas que relatan toda una vida, este manga me ha hecho sentir una satisfacción y un gozo que no tenía desde que terminé por primera vez la trilogía de películas de El Señor de los Anillos. Ahora bien. No he leído nada de Tezuka. Tocará ponerse. Y dentro de...quien sabe? 20 años? volver a leer esta maravilla después de haber conocido más sus historias.

Lo que consiguió este señor a lo largo de toda su vida no tiene nombre: todas las historias que contó, los lugares que ...more

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Jun 14, 2021 JohnnyBear rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novel, young-adult, non-fiction, memoir

Strong 7 out of 10

The Osamu Tezuka Story is a manga/biography about the famous and influential manga/anime artist named Osamu Tezuka. If you haven't heard of Osamu Tezuka then you've might have heard of his works. He is the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, The Budda Books, and many other works. This book took me around two months to finish because of the length. (view spoiler)

Book Cover

My mother got me this book from the library. I ended up finishing it while in th ...more

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May 01, 2020 Ilse rated it liked it

Shelves: manga-graphic-novel

I'm a big Tezuka fan and I really thought it was a good idea to capture Tezuka's life in manga. But I stopped reading at about 80%. For me, it contained too many details and repetitions. ...more

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May 12, 2019 Jackie rated it it was ok

This is an incredible thing to say, but this book is a full five hundred papes too long.

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Feb 28, 2017 World Literature Today added it

Shelves: reviewed, featured-reviews

"Cartoonist Toshio Ban pulls off this manga biography beautifully. One of Tezuka’s chief assistants for years, he can imitate his boss’s style when he needs to but brings his own flair to the work. Ban keeps the energy high, moving us through Tezuka’s life at a pace as fast as Tezuka himself. The story was originally serialized, which means that there are several check-in points and some repetition. I found this incredibly helpful, actually. This wasn’t a comic I could read in one sitting, so I ...more

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Dec 30, 2016 Ben rated it it was ok

Shelves: plano-library

While the historical background of the manga and anime industries in Japan is interesting, there is far too much repetition resulting in a tedious read over 900+ pages.

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