Welcome to Tezuka In English

Osamu Tezuka (1928 – 1989)

Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫) is a manga author and creator of many of the first Japanese animated television programs. While Tezuka’s best known creation is, arguably, the world-renowned children’s series Astro Boy (1952-68), he drew more than 150,000 pages of manga in his lifetime – touching on every style and genre. He wrote for every age-group, from young children to mature audiences, and single-handedly created the majority of the genres and character-types we see in manga and anime today.

Though he is one of the most respected cultural figures of 20th century Japan, finding information in English on his work can be difficult. As such, we’d like to welcome you to Tezuka In English – home of the global community for English-speaking Tezuka fans. Here you will find information on his life story, the many manga and anime series Tezuka created, his beloved Star-System cast of characters, what’s available in English and what’s not. You’ll also find links to many other useful web resources including publishers’ sites, official publicity sites, and other fan sites. While you’re at it, join our forums and and meet other Tezuka fans from around the world!

All Life is Sacred…”

Tezuka In English is a volunteer-run fan site working in conjunction with TezukaOsamu.net, the official Japanese website. We’re always looking for help, so if you have a link to suggest, please contact us!

About Osamu Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989), the "God of Manga", was arguably the greatest manga/anime artist of the 20th Century, and had it not been for him, Japanese anime and manga would not be what they are today. Although best known (especially outside Japan) as...

Tezuka's Manga Works

Osamu Tezuka is credited with creating more than 400 individual manga series, the great majority of which have not been translated into English. As such information, at least in English, on many of the series is scare and what little there is can often...

Tezuka's Anime Works

Always moving forward, Tezuka's belief and enthusiasm led him to create the first truly weekly animated television program (i.e. anime) in Japan with Astro Boy (1963-66), the first full-colour animated television program with Jungle Emperor (1965-66),...

Osamu Tezuka's Star System

One of the unique elements of Tezuka's work is his use of recurring cast members, characters who appear over and over in different series, with different names and different backgrounds but the same general personality and drives.

Translations

English-language translations of Osamu Tezuka's works have have come in several waves. The earliest translation of his work was done as a labour of love by the amateur four-man team known as dadakai - which included noted manga scholar Frederick L. Schodt,...

Analysis

Given his influence on manga and anime, it should come as no surprise that plenty has been written about Osamu Teukza. Although most of it has been written in Japanese, there are several good English language books that cover Tezuka's work. Here you...