Osamu Tezuka Books

In this book, Adolf Kaufmann, a half German half Japanese teen raised in Japan but educated in Germany returns to Japan. He has been gone for three years and has not been able to contact anyone in Japan for the past two years. He is overjoyed to be reunited with his childhood best-friend Adolf Kamil, a German Jew taking political refuge in Japan. The mood changes quickly, however, since in the past three years non-Jewish Adolf has come to follow the Nazi party beliefs including understanding Mein Kampf.

Non-Jewish Adolf's mission in Germany is to find the documents that show that Hitler has Jewish ancestry. (By now everyone but Adolf realizes that the documents don't mean much and that the war is nearly over.) Adolf has also been assigned to kill a certain Japanese man, who has been hiding the documents. Adolf is shocked to find that his mother has remarried, and to the very man he has been ordered to kill. So that pretty much does it for Adolf's relationships with friends and family back in Japan.

This book follows the Adolfs and Toge, the narrator, through the last few months of WWII and then through their lives after the war, particularly what happens to the two Adolfs. So many minor subplots from other books are resolved here, but won't be distracting if you haven't read other books in the series. This book stands alone well, and will also add more to the story if you have read the other books.

This is a really great amazing series. I recommend it. These are violent books and this one in particular, with a rape, mass executions and plenty of blood gore and violence. So be aware of that and don't give it to a small child to teach them history.

This volume represents the culmination in Tezuka's 5 volume opus. A work which makes connections between the shoah and the bombing of Hiroshima, between racisms of all kinds, it is a breathtaking, tragic, and challenging piece of artistry -- perhaps the best pop culture work on the linked issues of the Holocaust and World War 2.

Mere words cannot describe this tragic tale of three men named "Adolf".

The late Osamu Tezuka is brilliant. The artwork is phenomenal. The manga style and the expressions of the characters is unique.

The series is about how World War II effected EVERYONE- from the leaders to ordinary citizens who just want to live. The five books tackle racism, hatred, nationalism, love, family, and duty.

This last book of the series is a culmination of a great work with pop culture historical significance.

This series is similiar to Art Spiegelman's MAUS, but with a different twist. First of all, the art is manga-style (which I personally like better). Also, there are more characters in ADOLF. ADOLF is a tale from the Japanese perspective, while MAUS is a "survivor's tale". But I degress, it was not my intention to compare the two works. If you liked MAUS, you will like ADOLF.

The final installment is very emotional. A fitting end to such a thought provoking and heart-renching series.

Osamu Tezuka's, "Adolf: 1945 and All that Remains," is the end volume to the epic and sweeping 5 volume 'Adolf' series. While the quality of the series has been excellent throughout, Vol. 5 is truly the hallmark of the series with excellent writing, artwork and the satisfying closure to every single one of the myraid subplots weaved throughout the series.

If you haven't read this series yet do yourself a favor by starting from the beginning and working your way through each of the 4 volumes till you reach this book. Trust me, the journey will be worth it!

Volume 3 of Astro Boy is special for a couple of reasons.

First, as Tezuka tells us himself in the introduction, the novel-length story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" that comprises most of this volume is one of his most popular Astro Boy stories. It's a children's comics classic about the world's seven strongest robots, and like all Tezuka works has a number of themes and messages buried beneath the surface. It's excellent reading for kids, Tezuka fans, and adults interested in the comics medium in general.

Second, "The Greatest Robot on Earth" inspired a recent manga called Pluto, which has been running in Japan since 2003, won numerous awards and is drawing comparisons to such graphic novel greats as Alan Moore's Watchmen. Pluto is by Naoki Urasawa, famous for his long, intelligent and realistic mystery and sci-fi thrillers Monster and 20th Century Boys. Viz is scheduled to start publishing Pluto in English in February 2009. Having read most of Pluto myself, I can say that it is a marvel of modern manga storytelling that re-imagines "The Greatest Robot on Earth" and makes it darker, more adult, and more complex. It's fascinating to read this volume and Pluto together to see how Urasawa took inspiration from Tezuka's adventure story and expanded on its characters and universe (Pluto has run 50-odd chapters as of mid-2008).

If you only ever buy one volume of Astro Boy, make it this one.

Q: Do you have a male preteen, who likes Pokemon, Yugioh, cartoons, owns at least two game systems (handhelds count) and knows what anime is?

A: Yes.

Stop here and buy the series. Don't ask why, or is it valuable, beneficial or even engage in the debate about the academic merits of comic books, or graphic novels. I could tell you it is a Japanese classic, on par with Superman, that it may be a collectors item in the future or it is an engaging series with complex subplots for this age group.

That doesn't matter.

You only need to know that if you buy it:

1. He is reading
2. He is reading
3. He is not playing a video game
4. He is reading
5. He is not arguing or fighting with a sibling
6. He is not watching TV like a mindless drone
7. He is reading
8. He will want to read other graphic novels.

This is one of the best Astro Boy Managa.The Astro Boy managa our good for kids and are funny.This one about Astro Boy fighting Pluto and Pluto fighting 7 other robots.

"Astro Boy (Volume 3)" reprints one of the most popular stories in the Astro Boy saga, that of his struggles against the mighty Pluto, a super-robot designed to duel and destroy Earth's seven most powerful robots. Astro Boy, or course, is number seven on the list.

Pluto has long been depicted as Astro Boy's Arch Enemy, and any action shots of Astro Boy are likely to be seen in battle with this mighty horned robot. One by one, Pluto tackles and destroys the greatest robots from several countries, such as Mont Blanc from France, Hercules from Greece, as well as champions from Australia, Germany and Scotland. In order to challenge Pluto, Astro Boy has his power increased to 1 million horsepower. Will it be enough?

As well as a good story, "Astro Boy (Volume 3)" is a glimpse into Tezuka Osamu's soul. Unable to make Pluto completely evil, he redeems the murderous robot with a sense of honor and responsibility, as well as a desire for the friendship of Astro Boy's sister, Uran. As with all of Tezuka's stories, there is more going on under the surface, as the struggle to build a more and more powerful robot becomes a metaphor for the nuclear arms race of the 1950s Cold War.

Also included in this volume is a short story, "Mad Machine," where an evil scientist creates a device that makes all machines, from clocks to Astro Boy, go berserk. He uses the machine to extort 2 billion yen from the robots of the world. Of course, such a scheme could never work with Astro Boy around!

This is a good book for young people that would like to understand more about Buddhism. This is in a comic book format, so kids will really like it. The drawing style is animee. It reads like a comic book. If you are a parent, you should know that there are a few curse words that some parents may find innappropriate and that there is blood in some of the pictures. But it is no different than any other comic book that way. This is a very good book and I recomend it! In this particular book, Buddha gets older and starts to be in the part of his life when he dictates his teachings to deer. This is important because he considers all being deserve compassion, not just humans. If this is your first time with this series, definitely start w/ book #1 first. The series starts when he is a baby and continues throug his enlightenment. So you should read them in order. It is very good for kids to know different religions just so they know about them.
Some adults I know really like this book too. I loaned it to one of my teachers.

I wanted to give this book 4 and 1/2 stars, but I liked it a little more so I chose 5. The reason I chose 5 is because it has lots of action and it is very exciting.

Another excellent book in the series. Neither I or my high school sons could put it down. Highly recommended!

I thought this volume starts to bring focus to the characters more. I'm starting to see how things are working out, as opposed to just being introduced to characters and situations.

To be honest though, I have found myself a little hesitent over the potrayal of The Buddha. I know that it is my own idea of what he must have been like. Once I open to it, the idea of a more human Buddha than I imagine, is refreshing.

This series continues to hold my interest over the past few years as it has been released and I'm a little sad that there will have to be an end to it someday. Oh well, that's impermanence for ya.

I just happened upon this book when I was shopping for manga and thought it looked like a good read. Well, it's a great read! Finally a book in English about Tezuka!

Schodt does an amazing job breaking down Mighty Atom/Astro Boy along with Tezuka. He actually knew Tezuka so he brings a great insight to this work. The images in the book are great as well, especially the color inserts at the beginning of the book. Included are a great index of all the manga and anime episodes, and a character guide with both Japanese and English character names.

If you are a fan of anime, manga, or both, you will want to read this book to know why the two art forms are so popular today, not only in Japan, but all across the world!

I don't think the onslaught of Japanese pop culture would not take fruition if not for the talented work of Osamu Tezuka. He influenced his country men for many generations and his manga books are still published today and are fresh as they were printed over 60 years. The man has left a mark on more artists/animators than Walt Disney ever did. Frederik L. Schodt delves into the framework of this genius who set the blueprint to all manga and anime that we are used to. If not for Osamu Tezuka, I think Japanese manga and anime would be dormant, as with the Beatles a slew of bands followed them, but there was only one Beatles and they will always be standing tall in their heap in the part pop culture as will Osamu Tezuka will be for the Japanese culture, his name is under every breath of new creation that comes from that part of the world and has crossed oceans with his universal ideas and will leave a giant imprint for many more years yet to come. Astro Boy Collection Box Set

You will not believe me when I try to tell you about Osamu Tezuka. He drew over 150,000 pages of manga in his lifetime, more than 700 separate series, and more than 70 anime, films and movies. He was a pioneer every genre, from hard sci-fi to mahou shoujo to adult films. He developed the drawing and animation techniques that still dominate the industry today. Today's greats, from Rintaro to Yoshiyuki Tomino, worked and studied with him. He was a political activist, writing against war, racism, environmental exploitation, medical corruption. He was a national hero of Japan, and under consideration for the Nobel Prize in literature when he passed away in 1989. Astro Boy, Black Jack, Kimba the White Lion, Metropolis, Phoenix, Buddha and Princess Knight are only the best known of literally hundreds of creations which have impacted every corner of the manga world. If you think this sounds like too much for one man to plausibly accomplish in a lifetime, you're far from the only one who finds Osamu Tezuka a little superhuman.

Fred Schodt, author of Dreamland Japan Manga! Manga!: the World of Japanese Comics and translator of Phoenix, Astro Boy and more, was a personal friend of the "God of Comics" and his translator when Tezuka visited America. In his long-awaited Astro Boy Essays, Schodt gives a concise and detailed introduction to the life, influence and significance of Tezuka in the history of Japan and the international comics world. Focusing on Tezuka's best known work, the anti-racist children's classic Astro Boy, it gives efficient, approachable portraits of Osamu Tezuka's life and personality, the atmosphere in Japan during and after WWII and their effect on the manga industry, the nightmarish behind-the-scenes production schedule that birthed Japan's first animated TV series, and the spread of Astro Boy as a Japanese, and later an international symbol of peace, technology, hope for the future, and above all of Japan itself. The rocky history of Astro Boy's American distribution gives a fascinating look at the beginnings of American anime fandom, and how many barriers had to be broken to achieve the comparatively-smooth licensing and distribution system in place today. All the material is presented in a format beginners can understand, but with enough details that even experts will find themselves learning more with every page. The Astro Boy Essays is an invaluable contribution to manga scholarship, and provides a window for American otaku to finally learn about the "God" who made anime what it is today.

For more information about the book, see:
www.stonebridge.com/AstroBoy/AstroBoy.html

For more information about Osamu Tezuka, his life and works, see:
TezukaInEnglish.com

All 8 volumes great reading of fictional account of Buddha's life and philosophy.

Recommended purchase for manga lovers.

I am Buddhist, so I may have a biased opinion about this series. I honestly am not a big comic book/manga fan, but this series caught my interest. I ended up buying the whole 8 book series and very much enjoyed reading them. These books are not for young children, as there is definitely adult themes, language and drawings of violence and sex in them. These books are not for people looking for serious Buddhist dialogue either, but they are fun and a new and interesting way to view the life of the Buddha. I originally got them for myself and will keep them to share with my children when they get in the mid to late teens. They are worth a read and I recommend them to all interested in the Buddha's life, but from a fresh and not so serious point of view.

I am by no means a manga expert, which is probably just the kind of person this book would appeal to. This series was written in the seventies and is now reintroduced to the English-speaking public with a new translation. This is an example of exactly the kind of story that lends itsself so well to "comics". It's amazing how much meaning and emotion can be captured through these beautifully simplified drawings. You can read this as an adult and enjoy it, but teenagers, even little children can understand it (unless you're offended by cartoon boobies) This fourth book is a must have if you have any of the others. It culminates with a very important part of Siddhartha's life, and makes me all the more excited to read the 5th and 6th book!

I have to say that when I first started reading the Buddha series,...I was immediately taken in by the comedy and light heartedness of the story. Although Tezuka Osamu took a few liberties here and there with the story of Siddhartha, I was captivated. There is also a lot of brutality in the story as well, but it is well done because it illustrates some of the very inhumane behavior going on during those times. I am also very pleased at how Tezuka san showed the very very human side of Buddha rather than making him appear as an emotionless god.
Volume 7 in the Buddha story was very good and I definitely recommend these books for kids and young Buddhists alike. It would great if this story could be made into an anime series.

I am Buddhist, so I may have a biased opinion about this series. I honestly am not a big comic book/manga fan, but this series caught my interest. I ended up buying the whole 8 book series and very much enjoyed reading them. These books are not for young children, as there is definitely adult themes, language and drawings of violence and sex in them. These books are not for people looking for serious Buddhist dialogue either, but they are fun and a new and interesting way to view the life of the Buddha. I originally got them for myself and will keep them to share with my children when they get in the mid to late teens. They are worth a read and I recommend them to all interested in the Buddha's life, but from a fresh and not so serious point of view.

This 7th instalment of Buddha continues the fascinating story Tezuka poured so much effort into. For me, one of the most instructive points of this story has been Buddha's humanity. In this book, Buddha is beginning to age - resembling a middle-aged bum with sagging earlobes. Becoming enlightened does not automatically make him omniscient, and this leads to intense struggles as he applies a philosophy of the eternal to his position in the world as it was when he lived.

On reflection, and in the context of recent Muslim anger over the portrayal of Mohamed in a comic, it is useful to recall a point made by Aldous Huxley in the Devils of Loudun concerning enlightenment:

"In so far as it helps the individual to forget himself and his ready-made opinions about the universe, religion will prepare the way for realization. In so far as it arouses and justifies such passions as fear, scrupulosity, righteous indignation, institutional patriotism, and crusading hate, in so far as it harps on the saving virtues of certain theological notions, certain hallowed arrangements of words, religion is an obstacle in the way of realization"

In the much-needed debate over free expression of religious ideas, we should not be afraid of offending sensibilities that have been conditioned by forces intent on putting obstacles in the way of individual enlightenment.

In this light, Tezuka's portrayal of Buddha can be seen as an important reminder for us today.

Q: Do you have a male preteen, who likes Pokemon, Yugioh, cartoons, owns at least two game systems (handhelds count) and knows what anime is?

A: Yes.

Stop here and buy the series. Don't ask why, or is it valuable, beneficial or even engage in the debate about the academic merits of comic books, or graphic novels. I could tell you it is a Japanese classic, on par with Superman, that it may be a collectors item in the future or it is an engaging series with complex subplots for this age group.

That doesn't matter.

You only need to know that if you buy it:

1. He is reading
2. He is reading
3. He is not playing a video game
4. He is reading
5. He is not arguing or fighting with a sibling
6. He is not watching TV like a mindless drone
7. He is reading
8. He will want to read other graphic novels.

"Astro Boy Volume 5" continues Dark Horses excellent collection of Tezuka Osamu's, Japan's "God of Manga," seminal series. Each volume has Tezuka's trademark blend of serious adult issues and child-friendly storytelling. Almost like "A Child's Guide to Racism, Politics, and Other Bad Things" each Astro Boy story contains a moral on political ambition, greed and prejudiceness.

Volume 5 has three story arcs; "Crucifix Island" is the tale of the bitter and unfriendly Pook, a transforming robot left unfinished by his "father," a criminal named Dr. Tozawa. Tozawa bands together with some other criminals to storm Crucifix Island, a rich treasure depot of gems and uranium, using Pook as their main weapon. However, his love for his "child" leads to Tozawa's undoing. "Space Snow Leopard" is a science lesson on colony creatures, like ocean coral and sponges, as Astro Boy battles the mysterious Space Snow Leopard. "The Artificial Sun" talks of prejudice, as robot-hater and world famous detective Sherlock Holmspun teams up with Astro Boy against gangster Kim Sankaku and a stolen artificial sun. In order to defeat Sankaku, Astro Boy must overcome Holmspun's attitudes about robots, as well as his dark secret.

While very cartoony in nature, and definitely aimed at a young audience, the "Astro Boy" series can be enjoyed by a wide spectrum of ages, as Tezuka's stories are universal in themes. However, if you have a child of young reading age, Astro Boy would make a great gift.

I am not a Buddhist but I love this book. It's nothing less than a beautiful work of art.

--Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God

I also recommend:

Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide

DGV continues to publish some of the most beautiful, affordably priced illustrated books around. The cover illustration here is not misleading--each of the 88 pages here is devoted to Satogawa, whose work relies on the dramatic and surprising use of color, as well as the concomitant sensations of motion and stillness, centeredness and disturbance. There's even something of a nod to Jacques Louis David in the depiction of King Bimbisaara's suicide. The colors and poses are at once traditional and postmodern, drawing as much on the thangka as the comic book. The text is terse and didn't receive much in the way of editing, but it really doesn't matter here. This is all about the illustration, and Satogawa's work doesn't disappoint.

I've read volumes 1 - 5 and 10 and 11 of the Phoenix series so far. While I've very much enjoyed all of them, this is the first one that really got me involved emotionally. It's a book that I found myself thinking about long after I finished reading it. Highly recommended!

Dr. Tezuka's life work--'Phoenix'--is a somewhat uneven assortment of often brilliant story telling and images. This should be expected since his work on this epic (can we use any other term, given the storyline spans all of human history?) starts in the late 60's and continues until the end of his life (1989). Phoenix seems to be one of Tezuka's outlets for exploring the very boundaries of comics the same way he explored experimental techniques in animation (Jumping, Broken Down, etc.) It is exciting to think how Phoenix came very close to changing the comic industry, translated some time ago (I forget exactly when) by the Dadakai group. Then for some reason the idea was scrapped. When we look at the publications by Alan Moore and (rightfully) elevate his work--seeing it as influential on where modern comics are right now; there is something humbling in how Tezuka was building a mountain of works more awe-inspiring and more innovating than anyone could have imagined decades before anyone heard of Moore. Tezuka seemingly created the lengthy graphic novel on his own, pushing the comic as a serious artistic medium. If only Phoenix had gotten published when the translations were first made! (late 70's, early 80's???)


Though the impact is somewhat lessened, Viz has made a serious attempt to rectify the problem. The first 5 volumes of Phoenix in print and in English is truly a marvelous thing. They are most often moralistic, but Dr. Tezuka seems to enjoy pushing our own sense of morality to its breaking point (and I suppose that is where story telling really begins to get interesting anyway). The stories are often somewhat cosmic in nature, featuring a giant flaming bird right out of Stravinsky's firebird suite (Tezuka even admits the inspiration). Being a bird which lives forever and who's blood gives eternal life, there is rarely a question that each story will in time deal with issues of mortality and resurrection. A lot of characters die, often in horrible ways. Tezuka is both pessimistic about the final outcome of the human race, while also retaining some hope--and for me that's where I find the work fantastic.

Vol. 5 is probably not the very best of what's published (I award this to Future and Karma) but it is excellent nonetheless and still miles beyond what most people would consider to be comic. Although the story is really no different in tone from early installments, the in-jokes are notably gone. This change seems to be wide-spread through Tezuka's later work, and it does aid the story a bit (the in-jokes nearly overwhelmed and capsized his earlier Phoenix entry, Yamato).

What Resurrection exceeds at is good science fiction. This story wrestles with many of the same themes that P.K.Dick is famous for in the West. What it means to be human is central to this story along with themes of persecution of the weak (just as in Astroboy, Robots continue to have questionable rights--being treated as tools while they clearly have feelings in Tezuka's stories).

Now the next step is terrifying because this is where Dadakai stopped translating Phoenix. There are seven more volumes (though even this is not a complete cycle since Tezuka did not live to complete the entire piece), and I can only hope that Viz choses to continue the publication of this series--even though it may not be as profitable as Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh! This is so very clearly an important contribution to comics (for English readers), along with Viz's earlier publication of Tezuka's Adolf and Vertical's publication of Buddha, that it would be terribly unfortunate if Viz chose to stop here.

This series has really picked up with the last two books. Ananda is the best so far, with a lot of references to the actual history of the Buddha (though some big liberties taken with Ananda's real story). This is a softer book, without a lot of the violence from the first few books. It also continues the trends towards depth that book five started so well.
I thought about quiting this series after the first couple of books, now I'm glad I haven't. I just hope the quailty continues through the final two books.