Following on the heels of Prime Rose (1982-83), Kibando (1984) - was Osamu Tezuka's next series to appear in Akita Shoten's popular Weekly Shonen Champion, however, instead of another sci-fi action series, Tezuka chose to provide his take on the ever popular boy-raised-by-wild-animals theme.
After Don Dracula (1979) came to the end of its run in December 1979 in Akita Shoten’s popular Weekly Shonen Champion, it was a little over a year before Osamu Tezuka unveiled his new series.
As a life-long aficionado of the theatre, Tezuka decided to introduce his readers to the world of the stage in a series that would provide him a vehicle to focus on the great literary works from around the world that he loved.
After those sci-fi and adventures series, Tezuka decided to return to a format he had earlier had some success with in Don Dracula (1979) - a slapstick comedy. Say Hello to Bookila! (1985) began its weekly run on April 26 and ran through to July 26, 1985.
Originally published from April 26 to July 26, 1985, Osamu Tezuka's Say Hello to Bookila! (1985) was a follow up to Prime Rose (1982-83) and Kibando (1984) in Weekly Shonen Champion. Following the tradition set by other great Tezuka series The Rainbow Parakeet (1981-82) and Black Jack (1973-83) that were featured in that same popular publication.
When the popular feature Black Jack (1973-83) came to the end of its original run in September 1978 in Akita Shoten's popular Weekly Shonen Champion, Osamu Tezuka decided to follow it with something a little different.
Tezuka's slapstick vampire comedy, Don Dracula (1979) was published, following the conclusion of his popular Black Jack (1973-83) manga's original run, in Weekly Shonen Champion from May to December 1979. A minor hit, in 1982 it spawned an animated television show. Originally slated for 26 episodes, only four were broadcast before the sponsor went bankrupt.
Following both Black Jack (1973-83) and Don Dracula (1979), Rainbow Parakeet (1981-82) was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Champion from March, 1981 – June, 1982 and features Tezuka's take on the manga "dashing thief" character.
Originally envisioned as an exploration of the human mind, the series of 17 independent, self-contained short stories that make up The Crater (1969-70) was serialized in Weekly Shonen Champion from August 1969 to April 1970.
One of Tezuka's longest-running chapter serials, Black Jack (1973-83) was originally published in Weekly Shonen Champion from November, 1973 until September, 1978. Although usually serialized with one chapter appearing each week, there are 10 chapters from the original run that were serialized over two weeks - one of which was an actual two-parter. In addition to the regular feature, one chapter, 'U-18 Knew' appeared in a Weekly Shonen Champion special issue and is thus considered to be unnumbered.
Tezuka was extremely attuned to his fans, and with Black Jack especially, was sensitive to even the slightest complaints regarding certain conditions/diseases - especially from patients or their families. As such, in cases where he'd received negative feedback, he often felt compelled to change dialogue in, or even pull stories from, future reprints.
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.
