Rock Holmes (aka Rokuro Makube)
Also known as ロック・ホーム (Rokku Hōmu)
Hello, My Name (in English) is…
Given his origins as a boy detective, Rock Holmes named is derived from another famous sleuth – Sherlock Holmes. Given the complexities of the Japanese language, with the often interchange between the sounds for the English letters “R” and “L”, in Japanese the detective is often called “Sher-Rock.”
Rock’s other important stage name “Rokuro Makube” is also a pun. “Ro-ku-ro” is a combination of “Rock” + kuro, meaning “black” in Japanese, and “Ma-ku-be” is pulled from Shakespeare‘s play, Macbeth.
Distinguishing Features
Rock is easy to spot in Tezuka’s manga stories, sporting his trademark front sweeping bangs-and-sideburns hairstyle, with a hard-edged mischievous glint in his eye.
Status: Major Star (★★★★)
One of Tezuka’s most popular and versatile Stars, Rock Holmes has an arc like no other. Spanning the entire gambit from ardent boy hero, to the truly pshchopathic villain, Rock has done it all… and then some.
Rock is the bad boy we all love. In many ways he is the polar opposite of Osamu Tezuka’s eternal boy scout – Kenichi Shikishima. Despite his true-blue character beginnings, even in his earliest adventures, Rock had a bit more of an edge. And once good boys go bad… they go bad all the way – right to the very depths of evil cruelty. Rock is sometimes good, sometimes evil, but always determined, absolute, charismatic and narcissistic.
If you’d like to read a more in-depth analysis of Rock’s character, please check out ‘Rock Holmes: Transformation’, and analytical essay written author, scholar, and TezukaInEnglish.com founder, Ada Palmer.
Notable Roles
Like many of Tezuka’s boy heroes, Rock first appeared as a child detective in Detective Boy Rock Holmes (1949), and was pegged from the start as rising star. In Nextworld (1951) pairs up his two main boy heroes, but also illustrates their differences – with Kenichi coming through hardships still pure and optimistic, while Rock is transformed by his experiences of war, torture and betrayal. In The Adventure of Rock (1952-54), takes on another leading role as an upstanding and courageous boy. However, his role takes on a new dimension and stretches his range. Not only does he take on a love interest angle, but also a heroic death – something which even many of Tezuka’s adult Stars wouldn’t have been able to tackle.
The major turning point in Rock’s career came in Vampires (1966-69) where he starred as Rokuro Makube. This role turns Rock’s charisma into a weapon as a cunning and ruthless criminal who exploits the weaknesses of the vampires for his own criminal and selfish ends. Rock also continued in this trend as the charismatic villain in Alabaster (1970-71).
It also should come as no surprise that he appears many times in Black Jack (1973-83) as well – including a memorable role as Black Jack‘s childhood best friend.
Manga Appearances
If you spot an appearance not already listed, please let us know in the comments section below!
1949
Detective Boy, Rock Holmes as “Rock Holmes”
1950
Manga University as “Bessie”
The Cuckoo Clock Event
1951
The Road to Utopian Lurue as “a cartoonist”
Next World as “a newspaper reporter”
The Cactus Kid as “Cactus Sam” (first episode only!)
The Moony Men [Manga Shonen] as “Private Detective Eijiro Danbara”
Age of Adventure as “Midori noshin”
Fossil Island as “newspaper reporter” and “Indian”
1952
Volcano Island Boy
The Adventure of Rock
1953
The 13 Secrets
X-Point in the South Pacific
The Disc of Maboroshi
1954
The Devil of the Earth as “Kenkichi”
A ’32 Ford
Astro Boy (“Fuhrer ZZZ”) as “Roberto”
1955
The Age of Great Floods as “the pilot”
Chief Detective Kenichi (“The Case of the Gorilla”) as “the picture on the wall” (cameo)
1956
Astro Boy (“Shootout In The Alps”) as “Rock Holmes, one of the boys around the campfire”
1957
Pink Angel as “Rock”
Whirlwind Z as “Hajime Takagi”
The Earth War as “a soldier of Urameshia”
1958
The Twin Knights as “the gentleman in a tuxedo” (cameo)
The Three Who Glimpse the Future as “Rock”
Peacock Shell as “the Japanese youth”
1959
Jet King as “Ryo-chan”
Astro Boy (“Ivan The Fool”) as “
Merchant of Venice as “Bassanio”
The Moment as “the taxi driver”
1960
Astro Boy (“Uran”) as “a member of the audience”
Captain Ken as “Hoshino Mamoru”
1961
The Strange Boy as “the FBI agent”
1963
Astro Boy (“White Planet”) as “Koichi”
1965
Astro Boy (“Slippery Catfish in Imminent Danger”) as a “Champion of Justice”
1966
Flying Ben
1967
Phoenix [“Future”] as “Rock”
1968
Astro Boy (“The Man Who Returned from Mars”) as “an attendee at the funeral”
Burunga I as “Ganomos”
1969
The Runaway Tanker as “Mamoru Yamashita”
Gum Gum Punch (“Oshishi”) as “a member of the magic gum heroes”
Rubbish Poetry as “a member of the audience”
1970
Gachaboi’s Biography
Alabaster a “the FBI agent”
1971
Marvelous Melmo “The Prima Donna” as “the judge”
1972
Dust 8 as “Asa Midori’s younger brother”
1973
Black Jack (“Is there a Doctor?”) as “Akudo Nikula”
Black Jack (“A Girl Who Became a Bird”) as “a spectator at the man-powered flight contest”
Buddha as “King Bimbisara of Magadha”
1974
Black Jack (“Nadare”) as “Dr. Ohedo”
Black Jack (“Finger”) as “Rokuro Makube”
1975
Black Jack (“Black Queen”) as “the Black Queen’s fiancée”
Black Jack (“The Sewer Way”) as “BB the leader of the terrorists”
The Story of Stone as “Thomas Waterman”
1976
Metamorphosis (“Orbit”) as “Baron Rockbelt”
1978
Black Jack (“The Last Train”) as “the Black Queen’s husband”
Black Jack (“The Kuroshio: A Memoir”) as “the novelist Homura Rokuhisa”
Black Jack (“Imprint”) as “Rokuro Makube”
1979
The Insect Collector as “The son of the chairman of Blood Arrow Oil”
Don Dracula (“The Jaws of Dracula”) as “Dr. Tanaka’s husband”
1981
The Rainbow Parakeet (“12 Angry Men“) as “the son of Mr. Myway”
Phoenix (“Strange Beings”) as “Sakonnosuke Yagi’s lover”
1985
Say Hello to Bookila! (“Why Studio 13?”) as “reporter Rokuro Makube”
Say Hello to Bookila! (“Date at Dawn”) as “reporter Rokuro Makube”
Say Hello to Bookila! (“It’s Tough Being a Reporter”) as “reporter Rokuro Makube”
Say Hello to Bookila! (“Exploring the Mystery of Bookila”) as “reporter Rokuro Makube”
Say Hello to Bookila! (“The Monkey’s Paw”) as “reporter Rokuro Makube”
Say Hello to Bookila! (“The House of the Pianoid”) as “reporter Rokuro Makube”
Say Hello to Bookila! (“Prisoners of the Island of the Lost”) as “reporter Rokuro Makube”
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