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The Mike Toole Show - Tezuka Time


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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:36 pm Reply with quote
I think you should have mentioned Astro Boy Omega Factor, one of the best games for the Game Boy Advance, and it doubles as a tribute as most of his most famous characters are in it, with the Phoenix bringing Astro back to life.

Overall I still love the history from this feature, sure your probably not going to get the huge hits that say a review of a recent popular series will get, but it helps people understand anime more. Tezuka's legacy truly has earned him the title of God of manga.


Last edited by Charred Knight on Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:48 pm Reply with quote
I was able to come up with 9 anime of Tezuka's that I knew were released in America (counting each Astro Boy series as separate), but it's also all stuff that has a DVD release, not shockingly. I was able to come up with 12 manga though, I really do appreciate Vertical for bringing over more Tezuka! It's like those guys are wearing a superhero cape or something.

Astro Boy: Omega Factor was actually my big introduction to Tezuka, although I had seen the Metropolis movie beforehand, but with all the cameos in Omega Factor (who's name I found to be ironic after I saw Astro Boy [1980]), it really is a great introduction to a lot of the characters in the Star System and a lot of the bigger series he made. I just wanna see some company translate all the manga that was referenced in Omega Factor someday (at least the stuff not already translated like Black Jack and Phoenix)!

But what I've always found amazing about Tezuka stuff is how good it is even years later, Tezuka died less than 3 months after I was born, I was never able to really grow up with any of his stuff on TV or anything either, but hooray for DVD and manga giving me my Tezuka fill.
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Lupin the Third



Joined: 29 Jul 2007
Posts: 88
Location: Idaho
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:51 pm Reply with quote
Epic and thorough article, Mr. Toole! (psst...check your PM's)

Similar the poster before, I learned a lot about Tezuka-dom through the "Omega Factor" Game Boy cameos. That was an awesome game. Shame the Astro Boy CG film wasn't as fun as Treasure's simple but most enjoyable GBA romp. Some great little plot twists in there, too!
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RadicaLElly



Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 194
Location: Coral Springs, FL
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:59 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
If you're even a little curious, scare up a couple of Kimba episodes and compare for yourself; if you ask me, the similarities are numerous and obvious.


If you ask me, both works are just Hamlet with lions.
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 8:09 pm Reply with quote
RadicaLElly wrote:
Quote:
If you're even a little curious, scare up a couple of Kimba episodes and compare for yourself; if you ask me, the similarities are numerous and obvious.


If you ask me, both works are just Hamlet with lions.


The second movie is Romeo and Juliet with Lions and a happy ending, and the third is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with a Meerkat and a Warthog and a happy ending
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 8:24 pm Reply with quote
Charred Knight wrote:


The second movie is Romeo and Juliet with Lions and a happy ending, and the third is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with a Meerkat and a Warthog and a happy ending


Obviously the next logical step is to do RENT with lions.
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Greboruri



Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 373
Location: QBN, NSW, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:16 pm Reply with quote
The English dub of "Ambassador Magma" OVA actually made it to DVD in form of the R2 Japanese DVD box set released by Pioneer back in 2001 or so. It's now out of print and there's no English subs on the discs, but you can easily find the box set on Yahoo Auctions Japan for a reasonable price.

I'm amazed I have the majority of the titles Mike mentioned. Missing Cleopatra and Amazing 3.
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grooven



Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 1424
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 11:24 pm Reply with quote
RadicaLElly wrote:
Quote:
If you're even a little curious, scare up a couple of Kimba episodes and compare for yourself; if you ask me, the similarities are numerous and obvious.


If you ask me, both works are just Hamlet with lions.


If you have actually read Hamlet and analyzed them, the only similarity is the uncle killing his brother and a ghost.

Disney proves this when they showed a white lion in their pre-production reel (available on the platinum dvd release) and have the title tentatively called "The Jungle King" That was proof enough.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 11:53 pm Reply with quote
They made a live-action movie from MW? I guess there's no need to do one for Monster, then.
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fuuma_monou



Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 1816
Location: Quezon City, Philippines
PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 12:00 am Reply with quote
Blue Blink and Three-Eyed One were dubbed in Tagalog and shown on local TV. Wonder if Yuzo Takada had TEO in the back of his mind when he made 3x3 Eyes.
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rti9



Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 1241
PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 1:38 am Reply with quote
Mike Toole wrote:
Unfortunately, its western release was badly, badly bungled, featuring a gutted musical score, extensively rewritten scripts, and some episodes either omitted or shown out of sequence; the show was irregularly bounced between Kids WB and Cartoon Network before being canceled. Its broadcast run was never properly finished, although Sony did see fit to throw out a dub-only, poor-quality DVD box. Astro Boy 2003's handling by Sony is a compelling model of how not to release an anime series in the west, which is pretty frustrating in retrospect.

Marc Handler, who is given the credit of series story editor in Astro Boy 2003, spoke about what happened in an interview done by Daryl and Gerald of the Anime World Order podcast which Toole probably already listened.

The only Tezuka short I really like is Jumping. All others seem to be unmemorable student films only mentioned here and there due to the fact that they were directed by the God of Manga.

Legend of the Forest felt like another "experimental" project trying to do several things and resulting in a very odd mixture. Toole's comparison with Frédéric Back's The Man Who Planted Trees reminded me of this:

Nausicaa.net wrote:
Osamu Tezuka - At first, Miyazaki wanted to become a manga writer. Ever since his childhood, he loved Tezuka's manga. But one day, he realized that his manga were just an imitation of Tezuka, and he burned all the manga he had written. He says he struggled to write his own manga, but found that he couldn't. As for Tezuka as a creator of animation, Miyazaki is harder on him. He criticizes Tezuka's work as no good, and blames Tezuka for ruining the Japanese animation industry by dumping.

Nausicaa.net wrote:
Frédéric Back - Miyazaki saw Crac! by this Canadian animator, when he was visiting the United States. He says that he was so blown away by it, that he got depressed by comparing it to what he was doing then. He wrote a liner note for the Japanese laserdisc of The Man Who Planted Trees, and in it, he said that he was truly impressed by how Back animated plants, something very difficult to do.
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 2:12 am Reply with quote
grooven wrote:
RadicaLElly wrote:
Quote:
If you're even a little curious, scare up a couple of Kimba episodes and compare for yourself; if you ask me, the similarities are numerous and obvious.


If you ask me, both works are just Hamlet with lions.


If you have actually read Hamlet and analyzed them, the only similarity is the uncle killing his brother and a ghost.

Disney proves this when they showed a white lion in their pre-production reel (available on the platinum dvd release) and have the title tentatively called "The Jungle King" That was proof enough.


You do know that's the main plot of the Lion King right? Yeah the Lion King obviously took the Mandrill but the mandrill isn't the main plot of the series.

Did the Lion King take some images and ideas from Leo the lion? Of course, but then Tezuka took ideas from western animation as well. No one cares because that helps the industry. One of the main themes of the Jungle Emperor series was humans and animals living in peace, humans are never even mentioned in the Lion King
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:15 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Sony would release (Metropolis) on DVD, and it has run regularly on cable TV since then. It's about time this one got a blu-ray release.

For me to consider incurring the expenses associated with upgrading my current entertainment equipment, something so special as a Blu-ray release of this film would most probably be required. News of such a release spread in 2007, though nothing seems to have come to subsequent fruition.
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DuelLadyS



Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Posts: 1705
Location: WA state
PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:38 am Reply with quote
Metropolis was on TV at our house just recently- my mom called me in to see what was on "ah", I said, "I've still got the DVD for this." "Really?" Says mom. "When did you get that?"

"... YOU bought it, mom. Remember? You got it for yourself, but then decided to give it to me."
"I did?"
"Yes, you did!"

She didn't remember it at all. My mom really needs to watch less movies if she's completely forgetting things she liked well enough to buy. (She was actually glad to learn on the DVD though- it was late, so she could go to bed without finishing the movie and just watch the disc later. Laughing )


And if Princess Knight/Choppy and the Princess never came out in the US, what in the world do I have on my Amazon wish list? (it's never actually been available to buy, or Id've done it.)
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Chrno2



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 6171
Location: USA
PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:25 am Reply with quote
ARRRRRGh....(must from now on write, save then post)

Great column. I'm very fond of 'Tezuka's works. I've read just about everything that's been published here in the states. I'm still working on 'Black Jack'. I hope that one day 'Vertical' will consider publishing 'Princess Knight'. One thing about 'Tezuka' he proved that he could write about any genre out there.

I'd heard about the 'Cleopatra' movie from an encyclopedia. Considering what I knew about 'Tezuka' (which wasn't much except for Astro Boy) I was shocked at that time knowing that he had some involvement with an adult oriented feature. Too bad I'll never get the chance to see this. But you know the internet is a busy place. I hope that one day someone will get around to releasing 'Alakazam the Great'. Since it's a Toei project maybe Discotek will consider (hint hint).

I remember watching 'Ambassador Magma' aka 'Space Giants' as a kid when it ran back in the late 70's. I never knew that it was a 'Tezuka' creation until the 'Anime East' 90 convention. I didn't know that he had past a year before that too. I had been curious about the OVA but because of such bad reviews with it's release here I sort of put it off my list to watch. But if they plan on reviving it then I might want to try and check out the older release. Ever since stuff like 'Giant Robo' I've been sort of fond of the older animation styles that Tezuka, Ishinomori and others have established. It would be nice if some of the older 'Phoenix' films were released. I know some didn't care for the MB release but I felt it was good for what we could get and it covers quite a bit. Of course 2772, is covered in the manga. Though I surprised that 'Tezuka' never really thought to animate the entire manga series while he was alive. The 'Tezuka' site shows what stories were turned into films. And if you want to research the whole 'Kimba' vs 'Simba' deal you can find plenty of that. I've read Fred Patten's essays. But you can find sites about US and Japanese that have found comparisons not just in the original Kimba but also later series with adult Kimba or Leo. They can deny it all they want but the proof remains. But that's past news but interesting nonetheless. Though I'd like to check out some old Astro Boy.
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