Known for Writing
Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫, Tezuka Osamu) is a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, and animator, often dubbed as the "Godfather of Anime". He was the originator of anime's trademark "large eyes" style of character drawing. Five years after his death, the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum opened.
Born
November 3, 1928
Died
February 9, 1989 (age 60)
Birthplace
Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan
Filmography
173 films, 67 shows
Animated Self-Portraits
1989 · 8m
country: Canada
An animated film compiled by David Ehrlich consisting of 27 animators from different countries all explaining themselves through their animation.
Self Portrait
Self Portrait
1988 · 1m
country: Japan
This extremely brief film was Osamu Tezuka's answer to a challenge presented to the leaders of the international animation community to create animated self-portraits.
Legend of the Forest
1987 · 30m
country: Japan
A tranquil forest and all of its residents must face the destruction of man. A squirrel, born and raised in the forest, fights to defend his home and faces trials and adversities along the way.
Muramasa
1987 · 9m
country: Japan
A wandering samurai finds a straw dummy with a magical sword, which makes him overwhelmingly powerful but begins to drive him mad.
Push
1987 · 4m
country: Japan
In a convenient world where vending machines offer just about everything, the hero procures whatever he needs from machines on his journey to see the creator. He tries to make a replacement purchase of the earth. But the creator declines his request, saying simply that there's no such thing as a brand new earth. The simplicity of the story illustrates the depths of Osamu Tezuka's despair at the earth's degradation, forming the gist of this 4-minute work.
Brave Fire S09
1987 · 6m
country: Japan
This work was submitted in a special animation competition as part of a PR project for a power company, but was unfortunately not adopted. The reason is very clear: the setting of the story is the exhausted earth. There couldn't be a more instructive setting for a power company that uses enormous amounts of the earth's resources. Additionally, a girl robot discovered by the main character can store sunlight and convert it into energy; in other words, the robot does not require a power-generating company. In addition to this, the robot destroys herself to protect the established solar power generation system in space. The unsuccessful outcome of the competition for Tezuka Osamu was only natural, and it is clear that he created this piece, as it was intentionally, as he managed everything from the original story to the screenplay, animation, narration, etc., all the while knowing that the competition was sponsored by a power company.
Galaxy Investigation 2100: Border Planet
1986 · 1h 13m
country: Japan
Tezuka Osamu crafts a love story in the time when humans are expanding into space at the end of the 21st century, employing an omnibus form similar to Bradbury's "Martian Chronicle." Leaving the earth after marriage, a woman is left behind in space when her husband suddenly dies of a cosmic disease. Her friends on the Earth head for space to save the woman who was once everyone's ideal lady. Tezuka Osamu emphasizes his concepts that "love can save the earth" and "only love can save humans."
Yamataro Comes Back
1986 · 25m
country: Japan
After losing his parents, a young bear named Yamataro is chained as an attraction of a small kiosk near a train station. There he is encouraged by a C-62 train to runaway from the humans and become free.
Broken Down Film
1985 · 6m
country: Japan
A cowboy seeks to rescue, then woo, a damsel in distress. But he is constantly thwarted by the scratches, breaks, and other imperfections present in the film print itself.
Lunn Flies into the Wind
1985 · 24m
country: Japan
Akira is a lonely middle school boy, ignored by his classmates and bullied by his teacher. He falls in love with the image of a girl on a coffee advertising poster and names her Lunn. Through his "friendship" with Lunn, he gradually finds the strength to pursue his own dreams.
Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature
1984 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
In 1984 the Japanese government approved gene recombination experiments. Baggy is Tezuka’s response. A cute kitten escapes a lab, and is befriended by lonely child Ryosuke. Years later, he joins her in a quest that’s part spaghetti Western, part contemporary adventure.
Jumping
1984 · 6m
country: Japan
A boy walks down the street and as he goes along his strides increase. Eventually he leaps over towns, forests, and oceans, seeing many things and surprising many people along the way.
The Green Cat
1983 · 24m
country: Japan
As a child, Sanbo was adopted by a mysterious green cat once owned by his father’s murderer. The cat grants his every wish, leading Sanbo to a lucrative life of crime, but the gift comes at a high cost. Ban, a family friend turned private detective, sets out to stop the cat’s influence before it can claim the young boy’s soul.
Rain Boy
1983 · 24m
country: Japan
A lonely kid who lives in the countryside meets a strange boy who has a ragged umbrella over his head and there is always rain pouring over him. The rain boy is dazzled by the other kid's boots and offers three wishes in exchange for them.
Bremen 4: Angels in Hell
1981 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
Cat Coda, donkey Largo, dog Allegro, and hen Minuet are transformed from animals to people with alien technology to form a musical group, the Bremen 4. But when invading forces led by Colonel Presto are slaughtering their peaceful village, the musicians must band together and spread a message of peace with music, might, and a little bit of underground anti-fascist guerrilla warfare.
The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
1981 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
When Unico, a young unicorn, is banished from his family by a pantheon of manipulative gods, his powers of joy and happiness are tested as he explores the lands with his friends Beezle and Katy.
One Million-Year Trip: Bander Book
1978 · 1h 32m
country: Japan
Bander is a 17-year-old boy from Earth who lives on a distant planet, which is populated by human shape-shifters who feed off of vegetables and animal tails. Violence soon breaks out, as invaders launch an attack on Bander's new planet. This was Japan's first 2-hour animated film for television. The program received high ratings when broadcast as part of a set of 24-hour TV programs called "Ai wa Chikyu wo Sukuu" on Nippon Television. After a long gap since his last animated film for television, this work fully reflects Osamu Tezuka's desire to achieve theatrical quality with this production.
Cleopatra: Queen of Sex
1970 · 1h 53m
country: Japan
Three people from the future, who travel spiritually to the era of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII Philopator and her Roman lovers Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, become their closest friends as they try to unravel the nature of the plan developed in their own time by a sinister enemy.
Genesis
Genesis
1968 · 4m
country: Japan
The creation of Earth and Mankind. And how God changed his mind.
Norman
1968 · 12m
country: Japan
A boy with supernatural powers is recruited to help Prince Norman in fighting against space invaders from the Planet Guerdan.
Pictures at an Exhibition
1966 · 32m
country: Japan
A series of short animated segments, without dialog, explore major characters of modern society, such as the plastic surgeon, the fashion-obsessed woman, the rumor-monger, and others, leading to a concluding comment on the progress of civilization.
The Drop
1965 · 4m
country: Japan
A sailor is desperate for fresh water to drink while adrift on a raft in the sea.
Cigarettes and Ashes
1965 · 4m
country: Japan
During another routine day at the farm, a chicken refuses to part with her egg. The supervising rooster resolves the issue in one shot. The other chickens furiously escape with their eggs, but freedom is a luxury.
New Treasure Island
1965 · 55m
country: Japan
This was the first episode of Mushi Pro Land, a unique series of 60-minute animated programs. It was also Japan's first 60-minute animated TV program. However, the series never materialized and only this episode was actually aired. The story follows Stevenson's "Treasure Island," featuring characters in the form of animals. For example, the pirate Silver is illustrated as a wolf, where the main character Jim is changed into a rabbit. This has, therefore, nothing to do with the "New Treasure Island," Tezuka's masterpiece Manga.
Memory
1964 · 6m
country: Japan
This is a short, privately produced animated film. While elucidating the mystery and fuzziness as well as merits and demerits of memory in idealizing reality, the story develops into a tale of destruction of human beings, turning the existence of the earth into a memory of the universe. The production, only 5 minutes long, greatly helps expand the viewer's imagination, embodying the enchantment of animation.
Mermaid
1964 · 8m
country: Japan
A dreamy boy in a distant country saves a fish beached on the shore. When he lets it loose in a pool of water, the fish turns into a beautiful mermaid.