The three Adolfs

[Huscheli]

I just saw in a german manga forum, that the german TV station "3sat" (a more serious one who often shows documentaries and stuff) showed a discussion between some book lovers about Tezukas "Adolf ni tsugu". As you maybe know the manga is just being released in German now, I think that's why they made it. Well, sadly I missed the show but they also have a link with a rough summary on their homepage and I think you might be interested in it too, since in the west (and especially comic-afraid Germany) his works are rarely honoured that much.

http://www.3sat.de/3sat.php?/kulturzeit ... index.html

I made a very bad and rough translation so you all know what they wrote about it. It's more or less just general Tezuka brabbeling, but I still think it's great they discussed his manga on TV!!

Three times Adolf - Comic artist Osamu Tezuka and his manga-comic about the Third Reich

In Japan, he’s known by every child: The comic artist Osamu Tezuka, who made himself his own toughts about the world. He was the “God of manga”. Because in Japan, one doesn’t read comics but manga – and this fast, 16 pages per minute. They’re edited in numbers of millions.
Osamu Tezuka is said to be the inventor of manga and once he did a story which was completely unlike all others: a manga about he Third Reich, about 2000 pages long.

A little boy is being broken by the Nazis, his best friend is a jew, whose name is also Adolf. And then there is another Adolf: Hitler. He only knows hate and destruction. “The three Adolfs” depicts what fascism is doing with humans. The evil can only be overcome if one tells its story. Osamu Tezuka was a restless story teller. He worked every minute. The three Adolfs was the first manga that was taken that serious that it was sold in bookstores.

Characters shape childhoods

Japan, 40 years ago: The countrys story is about the same as Germanys. The war was lost but everybody tried to ignore the memories. And then there came the big economical success.
In all of Japan Osamu Tezukas manga were being read. Even in Germany everybody knows him – we just don’t know it. Out from Tezukas studios came for example a white, little lion named Kimba, a friendly fighter for justice (:D). That’s why he’s also sometimes called the Disney of Japan.
In the whole world children grow up with his characters.

In fantasy, everythings okay. Tezuka created a lot of funny characters – but the story of fascism never let go of him. Concerning Nazis, there isn’t anything funny – and not at all cute.
Japan and the Nazis had a somewhat friendly relationship. That must have interested him. What connected those two countrys? How is one able to stand upright if whole peoples were being brainwashed?

Adolf Hitler, a Jew?

For „the three Adolfs“ Tezuka created an insane plot: It’s about to dethrone Hitler with an unbelievable secret. The journalist Sohei Toge gets his hands at dangerous documents. All secret agents of the world are searching for them. These documents could mean the end of Hitler because they prove that in “Hitlers body there’s running jewish blood”. Adolf Hitler, a jew? The dictators getting a serious problem. He’s panicing of being dethroned and lets himself comforting by Eva Braun.
Tezuka tells us: Not the origin but the eductation shapes a human.

A lot in “Three Adolfs” must seem very naiv for German Readers. But one mustn’t forget: Tezuka drew a story for Japanese people about terror in a very foreign country. And he’s treating topics like terror and hate. In our reality terrible things happen, maybe that’s why we search comfort in fantasy.

Manga artist Osamu Tezuka created a whole cosmos on paper. 40 years he drew comics, hes work consists of more than 150 000 pages. That comics are being loved that much in Japan has a reason. It’s because of a very passionate artist named Tezuka.
Osamu Tezuka died 60 years old.


Edit: The thread also serves as a general discussion thread about the manga. =)

[cmoon]

Thanks for translating! Yes, I feel sometimes the US is the only country that really barely knows Tezuka.

[Huscheli]

Ah well, the Germans (or Swiss people) aren't any better. Adolf is the only manga released here besides Kimba and Astro. And they all sold bad. That's why I was that excited to see that Adolf made it into some discussions group on TV haha (But maybe since it's about the Third Reich it doesn't suprise me it gets a little bit more attention lol)

[cmoon]

I suppose your right. I should be really happy we have Tezuka, Buddha, Kirihito, Asto, etc. Its just that the Germans have Kimba (nevermind their own Moomin series, how cool!) Not having Jungle Emperor in English just keeps making me forget all the other great things we have.

[Huscheli]

[Jeffbert]

I receive ABOUT.COM'S 20th Century History email updates, & a few days ago, I received a link to this page:


However, the page sites no sources. The following page does cite a source:



Which is this UK newspaper:



So, the question is, what basis did Tezuka have for this plot element in ADOLF? If there was no obvious element in the known family tree (see link in first page cited), why would Tezuka even suspect such a thing? Was it merely Tezuka's imagination that produced this plot element?