Tezuka in English

This was our little hero’s 0th manga adventure, first published in Shonen Magazine from April 1951 until March of the following year. It is not even considered an Astroboy story at all. However, given the popularity of Tetsuwan Atom (Astroboy), Osamu Tezuka reworked the story, and it is this revised version that is in the Dark Horse collection (Tezuka, vol. 15, p. 118, 123).

In his preface to this story, Dr. Tezuka notes that it had no direct connection to the ‘‘Astroboy series that would follow it’’ (volume 15, p.118). In fact this story’s main characters are Kenichi and Tamao (Kenneth and ‘Specs’ or ‘Theodore’), rather than Atom.

Characters: Atom
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Other characters featured here would also become regulars in Astroboy's adventures; among them are Doctor Ochanomizu, and Dr. Tenma, whose backgrounds and stories would be adopted by the Astroboy series. It then lays out Atom’s story very well, including Atom’s creation, and rejection by his creator (15:129-132).

Characters: Dr. Ochanomizu (Elefun/O'shay)
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Note that Atom’s life in the circus was very different in this tale, than it would be in his own series of stories. Rather than an abusive Ringmaster as portrayed by Ham Egg, here, the Ringmaster is portrayed by Monsuir Amprer, and is merely exploitive.

Characters: Dr. Tenma (Boynton)
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Earth Tenma was no where to be seen in Episode 183

In his preface Tezuka gives the readers a taste of the story as it was originally written, taking place in outer space, with the people apparently on analogues of the Pilgrims’ ships in search of a new planet on which to live after their Earth was determined to be doomed.

Characters: Higeoyaji/ Shunsaku Ban (Mr. Pompous/Albert Duncan)
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The author then, as narrator, notes that as this series’ popularity rose, he “recast the story and created an episode starring Astro” (p. 123). After this narration, the story starts over, this time centering on Earth and several of its inhabitants.

Characters: Inspector Tawashi / Gumshoe
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However, there still remains an element of space travel, as there seem to be two Tamaos. For, sometime after the boy they thought was their son has left home to go to school, another boy who is nearly identical comes to Tamao's home.

Characters: Head of Food Supply
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Wanting to get to the bottom of this mystery, they take him to school to see if there is another already there. His parents’ confusion turns to bewilderment once they see both Tamaos together (p. 15, 141).

Characters: Newspaper Editor
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The tale then goes into the problems of assimilating millions of immigrants from space who all have identical (except for the size of their ears) counterparts on Earth.

Characters: Kenichi Shikishima (Kenneth/Ken)
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Kenichi is one of Tezuka's actors who appears in both adult and child forms. In the B&W Tetsuwan Atom (Astroboy) series, he appears only as an adult,and then, only rarely.

The food supply is one insurmountable problem, but the space people have different culinary habits than the Earth people do. However, once they taste the Earth people’s food, they abandon their own, and the conflict soon begins (p. 154-157).

Characters: Real Guy #1
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These two real guys are obviously based upon real world men.

The story then focuses on the meeting between the two Dr. Tenmas, both of whom have suffered the loss of their sons, both named Tobio, but only the Earth Tenma had created a little robot to take his son’s place.

Characters: Real Guy #2
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Once the Earth Tenma takes the space Tenma to the robot circus to see his robot that he had already sold, he immediately regains his affection for the robot he rejected, because the space Tenma immediately requests to take possession of him.

Characters: Tamao Ume (Specs/Theodore)
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Tamao is Atom's best friend in the Shonen manga and most of the anime series.

Now the Earth Tenma begins to show his true colors, as he plots to shrink all the space people using a chemical that his counterpart had developed.

Characters: Mr. Ume (Tamao's papa)
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Characters: Mrs. Ume (Tamao's mama)
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And his first victim is that very man, whose desire to have Atom as his own son rekindled the Earth Tenma’s own desires. Thus Earth Tenma shrinks Space Tenma; however, in the two animated versions, other characters started the conflict.

Animated Versions

Characters: Shikishimas (Kenichi's parents)
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While the space people were initially content to eat the food they had brought with them, Kenichi's dad tastes earthmen's food and has and has no more desire for the food he had been eating while in space. The conflict starts soon after.

However, in both of these, Atom is already established as living in his own home with his own parents. Unfortunately, neither episode was included in the English-language version.

Characters: Man who starts the War
Dr. Tenma	?	Dohyar
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The Earthmen take advantage of their space counterparts’ invention of a shrinking fluid or ray to dispose of those counterparts and proceed to start a war against the Space People in general.

Characters: Shibugaki
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Large and oafish, Shibugaki is the class bully; yet, he has his good points. Born to a wealthy family, he thinks this makes him the natural leader of his friends and classmates. Dispite his domineering , he is of of Atom's best friends, and he, Kenichi, and Tamao are often seen together. His family's wealth sometimes makes him Atom's adversary, as occurs in the Frankenstein story.

Characters: Shibugaki’s friend
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This boy appears in a few manga stories and also a few in the 1980 series. He always sides with Shibugaki in any conflict.

Characters: Atom's mama
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Characters: Earth & Space Tamao

(183 Japanese People from Space)

In the manga version, Tamao is first to discover his ‘twin,’ which is a cause of major confusion at home (p. 139-141), school (p. 142-145), and even at the circus, where earth Tamao is mistaken for space Tamao, who had entered a contest against Atom (vol. 15, p. 127), and forced to compete against Atom (p. 137). Thus, the two Tamaos are enemies until Space Tamao leads the earthmen to the spaceship and they meet their own ‘twins’(147-150).

Characters: Space & Earth Norse Necktall

Norse has been a reporter or photographer from the start of the B&W series, and appears in more than a few episodes in that role.

Episode 183 ‘‘Japanese People from Space’’ makes one of Tezuka's comic-relief characters the one who first discovers his space counterpart. Because both Earth and Space Norse Necktalls are TV reporters, they are immediately antagonistic toward one another as they compete to cover the news. In this version, Tamao on the other hand is friendly toward his ‘twin’ from outer space.

Characters: Space & Earth Shibugaki

(183 Japanese People from Space)

Characters: Earth & Space Tick and Tock

Just as the two Norse Necktalls are competing reportrs, so, too, the two Ticks and Tocks. (183 Japanese People from Space)

Characters: Earth & Space Dr. Ochanomizu

Which is which? (183 Japanese People from Space)

Among the many pairs of people, most of the adults are antagonistic toward their twins. Dr. Ochanomizu is one who seems at ease with his counterpart from space.

Characters: Earth & Space Higeoyaji

(183 Japanese People from Space)

Characters: Tobios, Space & Earth (Atom/Astroboy)

The Space Tobio's size indicates that Atom was around for more than a few years by now (183 Japanese People from Space).

Astroboy Manga Index

Last updated Apr. 07/09

Character names, short quotations of synopses, dates of publication, are the property of the respective copyright holders.

ASTRO BOY ® is a registered trademark of Tezuka Productions.

Tetsuwan Atom ® is a registered trademark of Tezuka Productions.

Tezuka, Osamu. Astro Boy Volume 15. Trans. Frederick, L. Schodt. Milwalkee, Oregon: Dark Horse Comics, 2003.

Japanese Language Animated Cartoons:

Tezuka Osamu. Astro Boy (1960s). Perf. Shimizu Mari, Kachita Hisashi, Mizugaki Yoko,Muto Reiko,Yoshikawa Kazuko, Komiyama Kiyoshi, Yajima Kazuaki, Wada Fumio, Yokomori Hisashi, Sakamoto Shinpei, Kanemoto Shingo, Chiba Koichi. Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. / Mushi Production, 1963.

Comics:

TETSUWAN ATOM by Osamu Tezuka © Tezuka Productions. English Unedited translation © Frederik Schodt All other material © Dark Horse Comics, Incorporated. www.darkhorse.com