Godfather’s Son, The (Manga)

also known as ゴッドファーザーの息子 (Goddofaza no Musuko)

The semi-autobiographical short story The Godfather’s Son (1973) was originally published as a short story in the January 1973 issue of Best Shonen Jump.

What it’s about

Akashi, the biggest and strongest kid at school, is a bully. He uses his bulk to terrorize the weaker students, subjecting them to humiliation on a daily basis. He also wants his school to be the best in everything, so he confronts the school’s rugby team and tells them that they’d better beat their rivals in the upcoming game, or he’ll force them all to commit sepuku – a form of ritual suicide – in shame. So, when young Tezuka is found to be drawing manga in an empty classroom during an Akashi-led pep rally, things look bleak.

Surprisingly though, Akashi turns out to be a huge fan of manga, and is impressed with Tezuka’s work – he immediately asks for more. From then on, the pair form an unlikely alliance. On the one hand, Akashi provides protection to the small and frail Tezuka, and on the other, Tezuka ensures that Akashi is the first to read his latest work. He also requests a special commission – a life-sized drawing of “Kumiko” his manga dream girl.

One day the school principle informs the students that they will have to run an endurance race, The top ten students will receive a special commendation, and the bottom 30 students will be sent to military school to “toughen them up.” Knowing he’s bound to be in the final group, Tezuka asks Akashi for help and he invites Tezuka over to his house after school for training. When Tezuka arrives, he’s surprised to see Akashi lives in the lap of luxury – he is literally the son of the local gangster boss… the “godfather.”

With Akashi’s training and help, Tezuka is able to maintain a blistering pace and comes in a very surprising 10th, and earning the special commendation. However, the joy is short-lived. In 1944, Akashi is shipped out to join the war, and in 1945, still clutching the picture of Kimiko that drew, he is shot down off the coast of the Philippines and is killed.

Finding common ground

What you should know

The Godfather’s Son (1973) is considered the second instalment, after Zephyrus (1971), in a group of stories that also includes Paper Fortress (1974), Hungry Blues (1975), Mount Monmon is Crying (1979), and Pornographic Pictures (1979-80) which depict various facets of Tezuka’s wartime experiences and more directly convey his anti-war themes than much of his earlier work.

However, unlike some of the other stories in that group, The Godfather’s Son (1973) doesn’t really focus on the war aspects of his “war time” experience. Instead, what seems to be more interesting from Tezuka’s perspective is the power of manga to bring people together.

The Godfather’s Son (1973) is based on a real-life classmate of Osamu Tezuka, and although some of the details were likely over-exaggerated for dramatic effect – Tezuka never let the truth get in the way of telling an even better story – what shines through is Tezuka’s belief that manga was a great unifier. Even two individuals, who could not be more different in stature, build or character, can find a beloved common ground in the pages of manga. It is from that starting point that this particular odd-couple begin their friendship, but they find a level of mutual respect that goes beyond the written page.

So, in the end, Akashi’s death during the war is merely touched upon, it’s more of an anecdotal afterthought. Sad thought it may be that he died, what seems to be the defining characteristic of his death is that he died still clutching on to his one true love – the manga drawing of “Kimiko” that Tezuka had presented him with.