Cactus Sam

Also known as サボテン君 (Saboten-kun)

Hello, My Name (in English) is…

His name is a literal translation of the Japanese word “saboten” which means “cactus” in English. In the intro to the Osamu Tezuka Complete Manga Works edition (MT-069) it states that Cactus’ real name is “Sam”.

Distinguishing Features

Modelled after L’il Abner, “Cactus” Sam can be easily identified by his small nose and the black tuft of hair over his forehead. Of course the fact that he is usually wearing cactus-style pants and clunky oversized shoes also helps.

Status: Primary Star (★★★)

With his goofy swagger and clean-cut good looks, “Cactus” Sam claims the middle ground Tezuka “boy hero” protagonist roles. While he is lighter-hearted than Rock Holmes, he is much more rough-n-tumble than the squeeky clean Kenichi Shikishima. In fact, his first appearance, as the titular role in The Cactus Kid (1951-54), only came after he bumped major star Rock Holmes out of the job after the very first chapter. Believing he needed a brighter character, better able to pull off the goofy slapstick comedy, Tezuka fired Rock and recast “Cactus” Sam in the role that gives him his name.

Notable Roles

Outside of the lead in his own series, “Cactus” Sam has also played strong supporting roles, most notably in Cyrano the Hero (1953), along-side the great Duke Red. He also also carried the slapstick comedy torch in Astro Boy (1952-68), Black Jack (1973-83) and The Three-Eyed One (1974-78), among others, with roles that benefit from his goofy temperament and appearance.

Manga Appearances

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

1951

The Cactus Kid as “Cactus Sam”

1952

The Cactus Kid (“Cactus, Get your Gun!”) as “a passenger on the train”
The Adventure of Rock as “one of the delegates at the Bird Men conference”

1953

The Cactus Kid as “Cactus Sam”
X-Point on the South Pacific
The Monster on the 38th Parallel as “Armand”
Cyrano the Hero as “Christian”

1954

The Cactus Kid as “Cactus Sam”

1955

Chief Detective Kenichi (“The Case of the Gorilla”) as “one of the manga artists”

1956

Astro Boy (“Shootout In The Alps”) as “Cactus, one of the boys around the campfire”
Astro Boy (“Midoro Swamp”) as “the boxer”
Lion Books (“The Multiple-Eyed Devil”) as “a passenger on the train”

1957

Whirlwind Z

1958

The Three Who Glimpse the Future as “one of the people listening to Hegeoyagi‘s prediction”

1960

Astro Boy (“Uran”) as “a spectator at the robotting match”

1961

The Ant and the Giant

1965

Astro Boy (“Slippery Catfish in Immediate Danger”) as “Cactus Sam, a Champion of Justice”

1970

The Stranger as “Gii-chan”
Gachaboi’s Biography as “Cactus Sam”

1971

Lion Books (“Serenade of Pig’s Navel”) as “Hirata Gosuke”

1973

Black Jack (“Is there a Doctor?“) as “the witness on the stand”

1975

Black Jack (“Looking Good”) as “a member of the school festival executive committee”

1976

Black Jack (“The One That Remains”) as “the sextuplet’s father”
Black Jack (“Death of an Actress”) as “a spectator at the movie theater”
Black Jack (“Goribei of Senjogahara”) as “a visitor to the camp”

1977

Black Jack (“Kimodameshi”)

1978

Black Jack (“Swapped”) as “Hirabayashi”
Black Jack (“The Vanished Noise”) as “Tatagawa’s neighbour”
The Three-Eyed One (“The Legacy of Urashima Taro”) as “Urashima Taro”