 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | STONE BRDGE PRESS | | | ▪ | AUTHOR | | FREDERK L. SCHODT | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 215 | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 07/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 07/23/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN |
To sum it all up, ASTRO BOY is a classic among classics in anime and manga. Just about every series and comic published in Japan since the early 1950s arguably owes something to this story, or at least to its creator, Osamu Tezuka. Inspired initially by the works of Walt Disney, Tezuka gave the style of the studio a Japanese spin in the creation of his famous work, known in Japan as MIGHTY ATOM. The look of Atom/Astro went on to define the basis of what has become known since as manga and anime (the latter a word which did not even exist in Japan when MIGHTY ATOM first appeared in magazines in the early 1950s). Whether you are a fan of the manga or anime versions of this seminal work does not really matter, for if the words of Frederik L. Schodt, author of Stone Bridge Press’ new book THE ASTRO BOY ESSAYS are to be taken seriously, you should at least be looking at this character as the father of the works you enjoy so much and respecting him as such.
THE ASTRO BOY ESSAYS is literally that, a collection of themed essays looking at the character, his creator, and the various manga and anime incarnations of him, along with his overall impact on popular culture in Japan and the rest of the world. The author, Frederik L. Schodt, brings much expertise to the subject, being also the writer of other books on the history of manga. This reviewer read and enjoyed some of these works when first becoming interested in manga many years ago. Schodt is clearly a fan of the style, but brings a detachment to his work that enables him to write critically and academically on the subject as well. As manga gains more mainstream exposure in North America, this is important, as fan based reflections on the subject are not always the most scholarly of works. Therefore, we must be grateful to Mr. Schodt for his efforts, especially in this newest book about Tezuka and Mighty Atom. Mr. Schodt was befriended by Osamu Tezuka in the late 1970s and maintained close contact with him until the latter’s death in 1989. Being fluent in spoken and written Japanese, Mr. Schodt has often acted as Tezuka’s interpreter and has translated several of Tezuka’s manga, including the whole 23-volume ASTRO BOY (MIGHTY ATOM) series, winning along the way the Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 2000 for helping to popularize manga overseas. Some of that connection comes through in the writing, but only in a positive way. Here is a writer who knows his subject well, and its creator very well- a rare thing when dealing with such iconic material. In his essays, Mr. Schodt outlines clearly the creative process behind MIGHTY ATOM, and puts it into perspective against the state of Japan in the 1950s. Remember, this was a country that barely ten years earlier was totally defeated in the Second World War. Tezuka was deeply affected by this, and yet still embraced the artistic style of Walt Disney, an American, and adapted it to suit his own creations- which, it is pointed out, amounted tens of thousands of pages before he died. Uncomfortable around Americans, Tezuka, a medical doctor by training, had to deal with them a lot as his character achieved international success, and eventually landed on American television screens in the 1960s. Never actually practicing medicine, Tezuka used his fascination with science and technology as the foundation for many of the stories involving MIGHTY ATOM. Yet, far from simply embracing the science, Tezuka often looked critically on it through the eyes of Atom, who in his quest to understand humanity often found himself at odds with it. Many other stories he wrote and illustrated explored variations on this. Many other writers and artists have done the same since. Tezuka was not the first to ask the big questions about robots, automatons, and artificial life/intelligence. From the Jewish Golem and Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN, to Carel Kapek’s R.U.R., others had explored the territory before him. But what made Tezuka so clearly able to dwell on the material for so long was the innate appeal of Atom/Astro to fans. The boy robot is cute, funny and endearing, whereas many of the other creations in these other stories were objects of fear and loathing. Mr. Schodt has shown in the essays how the success of MIGHTY ATOM made possible later works featuring robots, androids and giant waldo like devices such as the Gundams and Evangelion. He has also shown how Tezuka’s creation created in itself many problems in the anime industry later, as cost cutting in low budget animation shows based on MIGHTY ATOM set a nasty precedent that led to lower quality standards in the visuals and poor wages for workers in the industry for many years to come. The trade off was more attention to plotting and character development, says the author. While this is highly debatable, especially in recent years, it does merit thought. Including over 40 black-and-white images and 16 pages of full-color ASTRO BOY art, this book is thoughtful, respectful of its material and readers, and yet is easily approachable to those, who like this reviewer many years ago, have come to manga or anime for the first time and have wondered what it’s all about. For scholars, the insights in this book are invaluable, and the information about the social/political realities in Japan at the time Tezuka was creating MIGHTY ATOM are key to understanding why the stories developed as they did. More scholars looking at pop cultural icons in a critical way should take note from Mr. Schodt in this area. IN SUMMARY:
THE ASTRO BOY ESSAYS is a wonderful tribute to a little robot and the great man who created him. Full of keen insights and detailed analysis, this book is a must read for anyone wanting to learn more about the beginnings of manga and anime in the modern world.
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