Tezuka In English
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Ochanomizu, Dr.

Also known as お茶の水博士 (Ochanomizu Hakase)

Hello, My Name (in English) is…

It’s fitting that the good doctor, a scientist, gets his name directly from the Ochanomizu district of Tokyo—an area known for its many universities. In Japanese, “ocha no mizu” means “water for tea”. Water from a natural spring on the grounds of a local temple was used to make tea for a Shogun in the early Edo period (early 1600s), and that’s how the neighbourhood got its name. Since tea is a such a common beverage in Japan, the doctor’s name makes him instantly relatable to readers of all ages.

Distinguishing Features

With two round “muffin-like” tufts of white hair on either side of his head covering his ears, and his impressively enormous nose, Dr. Ochanomizu can be spotted a mile away.  Legend has it that Dr. Ochanomizu’s large nose originated by accident, when Tezuka’s pen slipped while drawing it.

Status: Primary Star (★★★)

Dr. Ochanomizu is the most beloved of Tezuka’s many mad scientist/doctor characters.  While he dabbles with powers beyond his control as much as the next mad scientist, Dr. Ochanomizu is almost unfailingly an ally of mankind and of universal peace and friendship.  Sometimes he may be a robotocist, sometimes a medical doctor, sometimes as a simple face in a crowd of scientists – but when he does appear, he is almost always a trusted father figure with the best interests of the world at heart.

Reportedly modelled after Kazuhiko Atsumi – a middle school classmate who went on to become a heart surgeon and professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo and who was personally told of the connection by Tezuka himself.

Notable Roles

Dr. Ochanomizu is best known for his role is as the head of the Japanese Ministry of Science in Astro Boy (1952-68).  He made his debut in Ambassador Atom (1951) and he appears in nearly every subsequent chapter.  While he is not Astro’s original creator, he does rescue and rebuild him.  Serving as a kind of surrogate father, he teaches Astro and gives him purpose as a liaison between human and robot kind.

Besides his role in Astro Boy (1952-68), he has appeared in several other series, including X-Point in the South Pacific (1953) as Dr. Nazenkop – a name he would later adopt in the anime telefilm Undersea Super-train: Marine Express (1979) as basically a fallen version of his usual character type.  He has also had memorable appearances in Black Jack (1973-83), Unico (1976-79), and in Midnight (1986-87), where he served alongside an adult-aged Astro and Uran.  He has also been spotted in several other minor titles.

However readers should take care not to confuse him with Saruta, the star of Phoneix (1967-88) who sports an equally massive proboscis.  In fact, because of their similar features, it is speculated that Sarutahiko is an ancestor/descendant of Dr. Ochanomizu.  In the original serialization of the Phoenix (1967-88) chapter “Sun” (1988) the two were cast as brothers, however the scene was cut in the final collected book edition.  They have also taken on similar a roles – with Dr. Ochanomizu (in a rare look at him as a shy and innocent young man) playing “Cyrano de Bergerac” in Black Jack (1973-83) and Sarutahiko doing the same in Rainbow Parakeet (1981-82).

Manga Appearance List

If you spot an appearance not already listed, please let us know in the comments section below!


1951

Ambassador Atom as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1952

Astro Boy (“Astro’s Parents
Astro Boy (“Gas People”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Frankenstein”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
The Adventure of Rock as “one of the delegates at the Bird Men conference”


1953

Astro Boy (“Red Cat”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Flying Skyscraper”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
X-Point in the South Pacific as “Dr. Nazenkop”


1954

Astro Boy (“Mission to Mars”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Cobalt”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Coral Reef Adventure”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Fuhrer ZZZ”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1955

Astro Boy (“Electro”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Youth Gas”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Yellow Horse”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
The Age of Great Floods as “a member of the military”
Ms. Gentle Breeze as a Prefectural Government official”


1956

Astro Boy (“Shootout In The Alps”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Atlas”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Test Pilot”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Midoro Swamp”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Robot Bombs”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Ms. Sunflower as “Ms. Sunflower’s uncle”


1957

Astro Boy (“Ghost Manufacturing Machine”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Black Lux”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Mysterious Ball”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Super Cyclone”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Lion Books (“A Bullethole in the Wilderness”)


1958

Astro Boy (“Crucifix Island”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Fortress of the Centaurs”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Mad Machine”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Count Bat”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
The Three Who Glimpse the Future as “the program director”


1959

Astro Boy (“The Eyes of Christ”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Secret of the Egyptian Conspirators”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Subterranen Tank”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Artificial Sun”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Merchant of Venice


1960

Astro Boy (“Space Snow Leopard”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Invisible Giant”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Uran”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“His Highness Deadcross”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1961

Astro Boy (“The White-Hot Being”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Plant Poeple”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Hot Dog Corps”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Third Magician”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
The Strange Boy


1962

Astro Boy (“Space Parasites”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Robot Land”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Astro vs Garon”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1963

Astro Boy (“White Planet”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Robot Spaceship”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1964

Astro Boy (“Last Day on Earth”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Greatest Robot on Earth”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Brain Swap”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Time Machine”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
The Great Zeo as “the Minister’s secretary”


1965

Astro Boy (“Roboids”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Robio And Robiette”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Blue Knight”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Astro’s Been Stolen!”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Broadcasts from Outer Space”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Slippery Catfish in Imminent Danger”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Ambassador Magma as “a member of the human resistance”


1966

Astro Boy (“Astro Boy Reborn”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Melanin Tribe”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Meeva”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Ti-tan”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Flying Ben


1967

Astro Boy (“The Faceless Robot”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The 100 Million Year-Old Crime”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Zolomon’s Jewels”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Beginning of the Contradiction”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1968

Astro Boy (“The Man Who Returned from Mars”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1969

Astro Boy (“Astro’s First Love”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Rubbish Poetry as “a member of the audience”
Gum Gum Punch (“Oshishi”) as “a member of the magic gum heroes”


1970

Gachaboi’s Bography as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1972

Astro Boy (“Astro Boy Returns”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Buddha
Lion Books (“The March Covered in Mud”) as “one of the reporters”


1973

Black Jack (“Is there a Doctor?“) as “the hospital director”
Lion Books (“A Distant Star”) as “the Tokyo University Professor”
Microid S as “a Minister”


1974

Black Jack (“Two Loves”) as “the sushi master”
Jumbo as “Professor Redosu”


1975

Astro Boy (“Astro Boy II”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Black Jack (“The Cursed Operation”) as “a scholar”
Black Jack (“Emergency Shelter”) as “a doctor”


1976

Black Jack (“Showa Shinzan”) as “a doctor
Unico as “Chico’s grandfather”


1977

Black Jack (“High and Low”) as “the site foreman”
Black Jack (“Timid Cyrano”) as “Cyrano”
Black Jack (“A Hill for One”) as “Black Jack’s Elementary school homeroom teacher”


1979

Don Dracula (“Dracula Train”) as “the retired locomotive engineer”


1980

Astro Boy (“The Robot Disposers”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Franken”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Unico [First Grader]


1981

Astro Boy (“Guinness Book Robots”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Magnetic Robot”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Space Doll”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Ghosts in the Desert”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Crazy Duck”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“A Feline Guardian Deity”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“The Space Shuttle”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”
Astro Boy (“Showdown on Mt. Fuji”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


1985

Farewell, Night as “botanist”


1986

Phoenix (“Sun”) *serial only!*
Atom Cat (“Atom the Orphan”) as “Dr. Ochanomizu”


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