Baba, Noboru
Also known as 馬場のぼる (Baba Noboru)
Hello, My Name (in English) is…
As Baba Noboru’s name belongs to a real person, it has no special significance in Tezuka’s manga.
Distinguishing Features
Modeled after the real-life manga artist, Noboru Baba is easy to spot as a tall, thin middle-aged man with droopy eyes and a scruffy moustache.
Status: Secondary Star (★★)
Born in Aomori Prefecture in October 1927, Noboru Baba moved to Tokyo in 1949 to begin a career as a manga artist, soon making a name for himself drawing manga for young boys. However, in Tezuka’s manga he seems to have fallen on hard times, and is most often cast in the role of a beggar or vagrant. Although he usually finds himself relegated to small, background roles, he is a specialist in dolling out bits of sage advice.
Notable Roles
Much like fellow manga artist Fukui Eiichi, although Nooru Baba was a contemporary of Osamu Tezuka, he was also a minor star in his own right. Following his debut in the Astro Boy (1952-68) chapter “Frankenstein” (1952), he made many appearances, including memorable ones as a shady monk in The Devil of the Earth (1954), and as Shinichi Hoshi’s teacher in Wonder 3 (1965-66), Mr. Baba, among many others.
Manga Appearances
If you spot an appearance not already listed, please let us know in the comments section below!
1952
1953
Astro Boy (“Red Cat”) as “the man working at the drugstore”
The Monster of the 38th Parallel as “one of the boy’s colleagues”
Crime and Punishment as “a guest at the wake”
Cyrano the Hero as “the ice cream man”
Manga Classroom as “one of the anonymous manga artists”
1954
The Devil of the Earth as “the Tanuki monk”
Benkei as “Genji”
The Destroyer of the Earth as “Cloud”
1955
Astro Boy (“Electro”) as “a beggar”
1956
Astro Boy (“Atlas”) as “one of the refugees”
1957
Lion Books (“The Multi-Eyed Devil”) as “a vagrant”
1958
Astro Boy (“Fortress of the Centaurs”) as “one of the vagrants”
The Three Who Glimpse the Future as “Rock‘s teacher”
The Film Lives On as “Shishido Baiken”
Super Taiheiki as “one of the crowd”
1959
My Memories
The Devil Garon as “the noodle peddler”
1960
Astro Boy (“Uran”) as “a vagrant”
1961
The Strange Boy as “a beggar”
The White Pilot
1964
Astro Boy (“Last Day on Earth”) as “a tramp”
1965
Wonder 3 [Shonen Sunday] as “Shinichi’s teacher, Mr. Baba”
1966
Flying Ben as “Yakiimoya”
1967
Rally Up, Mankind! as “one of the customers at Paipania”
1968
Astro Boy (“The Man Who Returned from Mars”) as “a man at the airport”
1970
Fusuke as “a member of the Shinsengumi”
1973
Black Jack (“Miyuki and Ben“) as “the beggar”
1974
Black Jack (“Eyewitness”) as “a man at the station”
Paper Fortress as “a man in the crowd”
1976
Black Jack (“Another J”) as “a passerby”
Black Jack (“The Old Man and the Tree”) as “a customer at the bar”
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