Osamu Tezuka thread

[Saruta]

I have suddenly bumped into two more people interested in HINOTORI 2772 on this website. As it was in a Delta episode discussion, I'd like to move the discussion here.

I was the driver of the Russian fandub for HINOTORI 2772, which apparently was the first of Russia's full-voice fandubs. It was done over an English VHS, following a pretty dramatic story. The story involved me translating the movie from Japanese for a large audience - without knowing any Japanese. For the details of the dub and the story, see my old post on TiE: http://tezukainenglish.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2771

There is a Macross link. Historically, Kawamori's formative years were influenced by Tezuka - it had to be so. And then in Sayonara no Tsubasa there are some outright Tezuka references, including Hyotan Tsugi toys. Whyie I hear this was the result of an agreement with Tezuka Production. the references are very well placed in the movie. Right at the time when Ranka talks about the value and sentience of all life - sounding like she had a chat with Tezuka's Phoenix or something.

[cwmodels]

Well... here is my encounter story written on facebok about 5 years ago when I finally got my hands on the reprinted manga adaption!

Phoenix 2772 - The first time I saw this comic book was at the age of 5 in Taiwan. I remember my mother came home one day with a bag full of Japanese comic books. She told me her coworker lend the books to me to read. Of course I couldn't read too many words at that age so all I remember doing was looking at the art.

Out of the batch, the one book which I vividly remembered was Phoenix 2772. There were 2 reasons why it made such a lasting impression on me at that age...

1: I remember the artwork was stunningly beautiful.

2: I was really taken with "Orga", the robot-maid and heroine of the book (She's probably the reason for my lifelong love of female androids).

I remember flipping through those comics for several days until my mom took it back to her friend. And I never saw this comic book again since! Throughout the years, I searched for the book but had no success of even finding a trace. It even got to a point which I thought I remembered it wrong and the book never existed.

But by pure chance while doing just a random search online 3 weeks ago for Phoenix 2772, I stumbled onto a site (http://www.2772.otaku.ru/comments/e_comic.htm) that had several scan images of the comic. And an even bigger surprise was finding out the same night that the book got reprinted in Japan and available for purchase! So I immediately order it and last weekend I received it in my mail box.

So after 30 years, I have finally found the book and it is now in my hands! I am reunited with one of the very first comic books I have ever laid my eyes upon! God is good to me!

The story was too complicated for a 5-year-old to grasp at the time, but this is the general gist of it:

Phoenix 2772 is set in the distant future where planet Earth is dying from a lack of energy resources and a disheartening political climate where all human beings are produced by computers to live out certain social roles. The main character Godo is one such child brought up to be a military cadet and nursed by the beautiful robot-maid Orga. Godo was chosen to go into space to hunt down the mystical Phoenix, its blood has the power to heal Earth. Godo meets Rena, a "daughter of the elite" and his social rank forbids them to fall in love. For this crime, Godo loses his citizenship and is sent to a labor camp in Iceland. While in Prison, he meets Doctor Saruta, a professor who wishes to escape and search for the Phoenix. Godo is rescued by Orga and they sets off into space in the ship Space Shark. The crew encounters the Phoenix but was unable to subdue it. Orga sacrifices herself to save Godo and the ship. Upon Orga's destruction, Godo realizes his true feelings for Orga and was distraught over the loss and his inability to repair her. Amazed by Godo' love for Orga, the Phoenix took the form of Orga because it desired that love. After being reunited with Orga/Phoenix and given a paradise planet to live on, Godo still has feelings to return to the dying Earth. But the Earth is on the brink of destruction upon their arrival and the Phoenix reveals to Godo that the only way to save Earth is for Godo to lay down his own life in exchange. Godo makes the sacrifice and Earth is restored to life. And as a parting gift, the Phoenix changes Orga into a real human and Godo is reborn as a baby. Their relationship starts all over again.

The scene on the last page baffled me to no end as a child. The idea of rebirth and the religious symbolism (virgin birth) was way over my head at the age of 5. But it is also the page that made the strongest impression on me and why I wanted to find the book again.

Phoenix 2772 was actually released as an anime movie in 1980 and the comic was simply an adaptation of it. But in my opinion, the comic book surpasses the film in many ways and is the real embodiment of this story. Satomi Mikuriya's masterful artwork creates a strong and mature atmosphere the movie lacked. It is also rich in details and graphically beautiful to behold. This work is a true representation of Japanese comic at it's finest! I am so please to be able to see it again!

*What is kind of interesting is that while I was searching for that russian page today to post the link as reference, I stumbled across this Chinese Blog post and the writer recounted pretty much the same story as mine of reading it as a kid and then was unable to find it again until he got a reprint version (in Chinese language) in a online auction 25 years later!

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=594&t=2077728

​And here are some scans from the reprinted version:

[cwmodels]

I'll have to say I truly appreciate coming across that Russian 2772 site. For years I had known about the Anime film version of Phoenix 2772, but there was no records of the comic adaption anywhere. I also worked for VIZ for several years doing preproduction work on English translated manga, and Tezuka's Phoenix Saga was one of the projects that floated my way and even then 2772 was not included in the series. So I thought I was crazy until I saw images of the comic pages from that website. It was a relief after so many years to finally know that comic book actually existed.

Here are some random images of Orga I gathered throughout the years while searching for that book.

Edited September 4, 2016 by cwmodels

[cwmodels]

One a separate but related note... and this is very strange because I would have never thought I would be telling this story to anyone...

I came across this book: "AERIAL Comic Act 5" in 1988 while shopping around for the first time at a Books Nippon store in Manhattan, New York during my junior high school days. It was an officially published doujin based on the OVA series of A.R.I.E.L. (All Round Intercept & Escort Lady). I found ONE SINGLE COPY of this book sitting on the shelves (next to AERIAL Act 1,2,3,4), and as I randomly flipped through it, ONLY ONE PAGE caught my eye, and it was a pinup piece featuring a re-designed Orga (I looked through Act 1-4 just to see if the same artist did any other related work or if there were other Phoenix 2772 contents but there was none of it). I liked the pinup a lot but the book was priced around $15.00, and because there was nothing else in the content that I cared for, I didn't make the purchase. But since then, every time I'd stop by Books Nippon to pick up a Hobby Japan magazine (or buy some other Japanese book), I would take AERIAL Act 5 off from the shelf and look at that pinup piece again. I did that for several years until Books Nippon closed down.

Then life went on for several more years without seeing that book, until I visited a Japanese mall in Edgewater, New Jersey. In the mall there was a Books Nippon branch, and as I browsed through the store, I saw AERIAl Act 5 sitting on the shelf next to Act 3&4. So figured that after the NY Branch closed they must've moved all the inventory here in NJ. And there it is, THE SAME EXACT BOOK! I pulled it off of the shelf and flipped to look at that pinup page, but once again I put it right back on the shelf due to the price. That went on for about 2 more years until one day on when visiting that mall again, I saw Act 5 sitting only next Act 4. For some reason I thought: "If I don't buy it now, I'll probably never see it again". So I finally decided to just go ahead and buy the book for that ONE PAGE.

And that's how this book came into my possession. And in retrospect, I am so glad I got it, since there is no info on the internet for it at this point. Maybe it's fate, but that book was gonna be mine.

About 10 years ago, I decided I was gonna try to scratch-build a figure of this redesigned Orga. But it was my first attempt at sculpting a full figure so I lacked the skills and understanding of materials at the time. And I pretty much failed at it. But I do have the skills now, so one day, just like how this book finally ended up on my bookshelf, I swear, it will be done!

Edited September 4, 2016 by cwmodels

[Saruta]

cwmodels: apparently we had the very same waifu, way before the word waifu became mainstream. Olga. (It's a Russian name so the reading "Orga" never crossed my mind).

Another interesting point we have in common is respect for a very real lady, Anna Panina, who wrote that Russian website. Moreover, the our common work on the 1998 fandub helped her step out of her private shell and become an outspoken fan. I will send her a link to this thread.

I wish I could get my own copy of that comic, but unfortunately I have no idea how to order it from Japan or how much the delivery would cost. Not understanding the language is no big deal as I know the movie story by heart.

Sometimes I joke that my claim to "be" Saruta works just fine with canon as he was reborn countless times and not all were drawn

Also: wow, you worked on the VIZ version of Phoenix! I have all the volumes I could get my hands on, which is about half of the total, I think.

Thanks for the new pinup - never saw this one! For comparison, I went looking for an original Tezuka pinup-style drawing of her I linked from TiE a few years ago and it was gone. I found it on another website and this time, downloaded it, and am attaching it.

Edited September 4, 2016 by Saruta

[cwmodels]

cwmodels: apparently we had the very same waifu, way before the word waifu became mainstream. Olga. (It's a Russian name so the reading "Orga" never crossed my mind).

Another interesting point we have in common is respect for a very real lady, Anna Panina, who wrote that Russian website. Moreover, the our common work on the 1998 fandub helped her step out of her private shell and become an outspoken fan. I will send her a link to this thread.

I wish I could get my own copy of that comic, but unfortunately I have no idea how to order it from Japan or how much the delivery would cost. Not understanding the language is no big deal as I know the movie story by heart.

Sometimes I joke that my claim to "be" Saruta works just fine with canon as he was reborn countless times and not all were drawn

Also: wow, you worked on the VIZ version of Phoenix! I have all the volumes I could get my hands on, which is about half of the total, I think.

Thanks for the new pinup - never saw this one! For comparison, I went looking for an original Tezuka pinup-style drawing of her I linked from TiE a few years ago and it was gone. I found it on another website and this time, downloaded it, and am attaching it.

Piff! Kids these days! They have no idea what it mean to really have a waifu. In the old days they make us work hard for them like a real woman!

But please do give my regards to the Anna. Her site helped me a great deal.

Yeah, I did a lot of freelance pre-production work of VIZ between 2005 - 2008. Pretty much all the jobs with them was removing the Japanese text & sound effects and replacing them with English ones. I was credited as "Primary Graphix".

As for the book, you can actually register with Amazon Japan fairly easily because the site do offer English language support. And they do ship book out of Japan. All you need is a valid credit card. Give it a try.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/火の鳥2772-MF文庫-9-11-手塚-治虫/dp/484012065X

[Saruta]

Piff! Kids these days! They have no idea what it mean to really have a waifu. In the old days they make us work hard for them like a real woman!

Yes. This. Very much. After about four recording sessions with the team, each a few hours long, I ended up spending 24 hours at the PC putting all the sound together.

All that for a woman who was not even "real" inworld (being, you know, a robot). But it was worth it in the end. Though perhaps not following up was a mistake, I could have started something... thing is, though. at the time I felt anime went all downhill after Tezuka's death and was not really interested. It was Macross Frontier that spanned me out of this view many years later.

Yet, the feeling four years later, when I realized this version of movie was now known and loved from Vladivostok to Israel, gaining new fans! In a way, our team succeeded in giving the movie, and Olga, a "new life" in the Russian-speaking world for a few years. (Playing phoenix?)

But please do give my regards to the Anna. Her site helped me a great deal.

I've shown her the thread and she is well pleased with it I doubt she will register here, though. She does not like Macross, except Macross Plus.

As for the book, you can actually register with Amazon Japan fairly easily because the site do offer English language support. And they do ship book out of Japan. All you need is a valid credit card. Give it a try.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/火の鳥2772-MF文庫-9-11-手塚-治虫/dp/484012065X

Thanks! I'll see if I can get somewhere, though money might be an issue right now. EDIT: refused to ship to Ireland.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Saruta

[F-ZeroOne]

Although I've never been exactly a Tezuka fanboy, although obviously acknowledging his contribution to the medium, I did fall in love with "Black Jack" - just from reading about the concept in the long-defunct "Anime UK" magazine (same way I got into "Gundam", as it happens). It would be a long time because I actually got to read any of the stories - one Viz issue from the 90s I think was the first time I encountered the actual manga, and then it would near-literally be another twenty years before I actually got to read anymore, thanks to the wonderful Vertical Inc collections, of which I now have the complete set.

[Saruta]

I love the idea of Black Jack and all the manga I could get my hands on. which is unfortunately not very much. I can't afford to buy the full colleciton. Was able to borrow a few volumes osme years ago.

I also owned Adolf but donated it after moving country.

[cwmodels]

All that for a woman who was not even "real" inworld (being, you know, a robot). But it was worth it in the end. Though perhaps not following up was a mistake, I could have started something... thing is, though. at the time I felt anime went all downhill after Tezuka's death and was not really interested. It was Macross Frontier that spanned me out of this view many years later.

I think there is still a lot of good Anime & Mnag work out there since Tezuka, it's just by large, most of the current/modern anime is commercially driven, generic, cash grabs without themes, ideas, or concepts that can layer a bit more depth into the story and characters. Most of the stuff today have no message or unable to saying anything by the time it's all wrapped up.

Although I've never been exactly a Tezuka fanboy, although obviously acknowledging his contribution to the medium, I did fall in love with "Black Jack" - just from reading about the concept in the long-defunct "Anime UK" magazine (same way I got into "Gundam", as it happens). It would be a long time because I actually got to read any of the stories - one Viz issue from the 90s I think was the first time I encountered the actual manga, and then it would near-literally be another twenty years before I actually got to read anymore, thanks to the wonderful Vertical Inc collections, of which I now have the complete set.

Black Jack was a great read. Unfortunately it was another incomplete work of Tezuka. In the story, Black Jack was seeking 5 men who caused the accident that killed his mother for revenge. Throughout the entire run he only found 3, and the stories regarding the other 2 men were never written.

[Saruta]

I think there is still a lot of good Anime & Mnag work out there since Tezuka, it's just by large, most of the current/modern anime is commercially driven, generic, cash grabs without themes, ideas, or concepts that can layer a bit more depth into the story and characters. Most of the stuff today have no message or unable to saying anything by the time it's all wrapped up.

The two works that convinced me that modern anime could still be good (and not just good, but interesting for me, personally) were Macross Frontier and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Neither were around in late 1998, when I was done with the big fandub project. And I was really uninterested in what was modern back then. It was the time when "Those Who Hunt Elves" was new (well a year old, but things took some time to get into Russia). The big name of the time, EVA, also did not really attract me, somehow.

Chobits, in retrospect, might have, but by 2002 my attention was well and truly elsewhere.

[F-ZeroOne]

Never knew that about "Black Jack" being unfinished, thanks for that.

I watch the odd modern anime - "Psycho Pass" was a recent very enjoyable experience (er, as a viewer, the characters probably don't feel quite the same way), but I got into anime by reading about it rather than watching it, and all those series I never got to watch back then are the ones that still hold my attention now, and its only been relatively recently that I've got the chance to see some of them - "Harlock", "Galaxy Express", "VOTOMs", yes, even "Gundam" (the original) and "Macross" - wonder whatever happened to that last one...?

[Saruta]

If you liked Psycho Pass, try Madoka. Because Gen Urobuchi.

[F-ZeroOne]

I'll have to add it to the never ending list of "stuff I really must watch". Though to me, "Madoka" should always be preceded by "Ayakawa"...

[Saruta]

Now that is a VERY different kind of Madoka!

BTW, the last name of the anime Madoka is actually Kaname. So yeah.