Named after a popular soft-drink in Japan, Calpis is one half of the comedic duo Ramune & Calpis (also commonly known as Tick & Tuck) modeled after classic American comedians Abbott & Costello. Usually depicted as happy-go-lucky, but bumbling, henchmen or assistants.
Hyoutan-Tsugi actually represents the fruiting body of a kind of Japanese mushroom, and is based on a sketch Tezuka’s sister did when she was very young. This strange little figure has become Tezuka’s signature, in a way, appearing in essentially every work he ever wrote in some strange form or another.
Hyakkimaru is the very definition of a fighter. Having survived a childhood of disability - missing the 48 body parts that his father sold to a cadre of demons at his birth - Hyakkimaru has had to fight every inch of the way. This has made him hard and grim, the perfect Star to be cast in a samurai period adventure featuring supernatural monsters of all sort.
Although - given his appearance - he seems at first sight to be a slightly old-fashioned, man of action and high adventure, his rough exterior hides a impressive dramatic range. Readers have been impressed by his ability to play both roles of extroverted bluster, as well as his ability to take on roles that call for a delicate and quiet exploration of sorrow.
Hecate is a wild, playful, and tomboyish girl. Although both her parents (Mephisto and Madam Hell) are desperate for her to become ladylike and marry Prince Franz - to the point of trying to steal Sapphire's female heart and implant it in her - Hecate has no interest in giving up her wild days of adventuring and turning into a cat just for kicks.
Heck Ben is a recurring minor villain, with a vaguely cowboy-ish style. Although he is usually a man of few words, he is a master at delivering a sinister silence that can ramp the tension up in any scene he's in.
Probably Osamu Tezuka's most reliable "go-to" Star to play a scientist of a doctor. He is generally a friendly and competent researcher concerned with the welfare of mankind. He will often be the one to make a great discovery pertinent to a crisis, even to the salvation of mankind, and yet be disregarded as a crackpot by the rest of the scientific community. However, at other times he serves as a voice of sage wisdom - including somewhat famously lecturing Black Jack on the significance of not underestimating the human body and the miracles of nature.
Hamegg is one of Osamu Tezuka's most widely used character actors. Motivated by greed, he is extremely dishonest and a true coward - character traits that make him perfect as a cringe-worthy villain. He is usually cast alongside Acetylene Lamp (in a partnership Tezuka thought worked particularly well) as a henchman or lackey to another star, such as Duke Red, Skunk Kusai or Marukabe Boon.
As the titular character in Osamu Tezuka's adaptation of the famous Chinese legend Hsi Yu Chi ("Journey to the West"), also known as Saiyuki in Japanese, Son-Goku is a powerful, brash, but generally well-meaning hero. Extremely intelligent and clever, he has the ability to steal the secrets of magic from the gods.
Possibly the most type-cast of all of Tezuka's Stars, Hanao Geta almost exclusively appears as a police inspector/detective. In fact, in Tezuka's manga, Inspector Geta more or less IS the long arm of the law, with the role only occaisionally going to Tawashi or Murai. On those rare occasions when he is not playing a police officer, he is usually cast in some equally morally sound role - as a conscientious ship's captain, school teacher or newspaper reporter, etc.
Ongoing Serial: a series of episodes, published over a span of weeks/months/years where the story plot is connected from chapter to chapter and must be read in chronological order for it to be understood properly.
Chapter Serial: a series of episodes, published over a span of weeks/months/years where the story plot is self-contained to a single chapter. There may be an overarching plot, but the stories can generally be read in any order and be understood
Book: an all-in-one self contained story published as a one-off.
Supplement: an an all-in-one self contained story published as a stand-alone supplement to a regular weekly/monthly periodical.
Short Story: an all-in-one, self contained story that was published in a regular weekly/monthly periodical
Anthology: a collection of all-in-one, self contained stories that were published in a regular weekly/monthly periodical but are generally grouped together.
