He would have turned 93 Osamu Tezuka November 3, 2021, if he hadn't been struck by an illness in 1989 when he was just 60 years old. His name will now often echo in the ears of regular manga readers who have certainly already got their hands on one of his titles at least once. And there are so many.
Its production is indeed limitless and crosses many different genres. Tezuka was accompanied by many assistants over a period of about 40 years, some of whom became famous mangakas themselves. Over time he has been called "the father of manga", but most of all he is famous for being nicknamed "the god of manga". Why is Osamu Tezuka called that?
The answers are varied. His career began in the 1940s, when manga wasn't as widespread as it is today. Manga had been around for a while, but it was Tezuka, inspired by the Disney style, a transform them and give them many of the properties we know today, including big eyes. In his early career, Tezuka created timeless works such as Astro Boy, the first shojo in The Sapphire Princess history, but also much heavier manga. In fact, Tezuka believed that the medium was not only suitable for making people laugh, but also to encourage people to move and think. His production then extended to other genres, such as The Story of the Three Adolfs or La Fenice.
So he gave the comic medium a strong boost in a Japan that grew strongly in the post-war period and also became an inspiration for characters like Go Nagai and Shotaro Ishinomori. Throughout his career Tezuka has over 700 manga. written, including long series and single volumes, with a total of over 150,000 drawings.
Because of this, Tezuka completely shaped the manga and is therefore known as the god of the manga still today and his works circulate in every library with a capital L.
