Dr. Ochanomizu is the most beloved of Tezuka’s many mad scientist/doctor characters. While he dabbles with powers beyond his control as much as the next mad scientist, Dr. Ochanomizu is almost unfailingly an ally of mankind and of universal peace and friendship. Sometimes he may be a robotocist, sometimes a medical doctor, sometimes as a simple face in a crowd of scientists, but when he does appear, he is almost always a trusted father figure with the best interests of the world at heart.
Melmo was the trailblazer of the "magical girl" genre, and pioneered the transformation sequence. Orphaned at a young age, Melmo's dead mother begs God for help for her daughter. God decides to grant her wish and bestows upon young Melmo a bottle of magical candy - with the blue ones physically making her grow older, and the red ones making her grow younger, all the while maintaining the innocent mind of a 9-year-old.
A stalwart space cowboy-hero, Ken is a boy with a mysterious past.
Captain Ken, also known as the “Savior of the Martians”, is a mysterious human hero boy who, along with his powerful robot horse, Arrow, intervenes to help combat the growing violence between human settlers and the indigenous martian population.
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.
With his old-school tuxedo, slicked back, high-peaked black hair, thick eye-brows and razor-sharp fangs, Tezuka's Dracula is every inch the legendary vampire.
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.
