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			The God of Manga: Dr. Osamu Tezuka by Naruto Dr. Osamu Tezuka was born November 3, 1928. Early in his career he was influenced by the 1930 drawings of Disney and Max Fleischer. He modeled his first creation, Tetsuwan Atom (Astroboy) after the wide eyed drawings of Fleischer. Max Fleischer is popular for his character Popeye the Sailor Man. The wide eyed characters of Fleischer and especially Disney's Bambi helped define the Japanese Animation style that the world stumbles to duplicate. Tezuka wasn't just a Japanese animator. He was ahead of his time. He helped give the fledgling Manga industry a second wind with his one of a kind creations. In 1957 he joined the new animation division of Toei Productions. There he was contracted as a cartoonist where he created the Anime title Monkey King (U.S as Alakazam the Great). Loved in Japan, the movie was critically panned in the states. The poor translations would be a major contributing factor in the films lack of success. During this time, Tezuka had other ambitions. He would form the "Animation Party of Three" along side Ryohei Yanagihara and Hiroshi Manabe. In addition he would organize the first ever Japanese Independent Animation Festival. He would then go on to produce two films using the his own funds. After his contract expired with Toei in 1962, Tezuka formed his own company called Mushi Productions. Instead of competing with his former employer, Tezuka took his company in a different direction. Inevitably the rest of the country would follow his lead. He utilized television as a new medium for Japanese animation. However, he didn't simply create television programing, he brought the same theatrics and depth from the movies into shorter time intervals, something never before done. As the rest of the Japanese production companies rushed to create television animation, Tezuka brought one of his most beloved Manga characters to the public. Tetsuwan Atom was a breakout success and made Tezuka a household name. However, dominance in Japan wouldn't be enough. NBC purchased the rights to the series and later renamed it Astroboy. After that, Osamu was known throughout the globe. Mushi was now the biggest production company in Japan. Some other triumphs from this production house included Jungle Emperor (U.S Kimba the White Lion) and the first ever X-rated animated film, Cleopatra, Queen of Sex, which narrowly beat out Ralph Baskshi's Fritz the Cat. As more and more animators imitated his style, it gave Japanese animators a prototype of how to model their creations. In 1972, Dr. Tezuka stepped down as Acting Director of Mushi Productions to open Tezuka Productions. There he would create the first animated series for color television. Constantly breaking new ground, Tezuka adapted another one of his famed Manga creations to the small screen. Space Firebrid 2772 would forever change the face of animation in Japan. It brought a new level of quality and also marked one of his most autobiographical works to date.			Name: Dr. Osamu Tezuka Most Famous Creation: Astro Boy Birth place: Toyonaka, Osaka, Japany Born: November 3, 1928 Passed: February 9, 1989 Inspiration: Walt Disney, Dave Fleischer Interesting Notes: Called the God of Manga The Japanese Walt Disney Trademark "Puppy Dog Eye Style" influenced heavily by the movie "Bambi" "Kimba the White Lion" might have been the inspiration for "The Lion King"