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1-13 of 13
- Writer
- Director
- Animation Department
Tezuka Osamu was born on November 3, 1928 in Toyonaka, Japan as the first child of Fumiko & Yutaka Tezuka. At 5, he & his family moved to the village of Kohama in Hyogo prefecture (present day city of Takarazuka). When he was 7, he entered Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka. Due to his diminutive stature, he was bullied a lot in school. His mother was a good story teller & would tell stories to him. His father was a big comic & animated movies fan. Therefore, he would do a private showing of movies he bought at his house. This influence would later inspire him to write story length comics that was as exciting as watching a movie. He drew his first comic when he was in 3rd grade titled Bin Bin Namachan, a story of a bald-headed boy that was modeled after himself. During those days, he read comics such as Norakuro & Nakamura Manga Library. He even drew a story about martians called Kaseijin Kuru! He also invented his famous character Hyotantsugi in a work he titled Fuku-chan to Uotsuri. . Another one of his works called Shina no Yoru caused quite a sensation.
His other love in life was insects. He would roam around the fields to study them & he would draw his own encyclopedia. One day, he found an insect named Osamushi, which resembled his name. Therefore, he adopted Osamushi as his pen name. He started to draw using pen & ink as well as write comics when he was 15. He self-published 13 books that year. In 1945, he entered Osaka University's medical division. The following year, he made his professional debut w/ the comic Maachan no nikki-cho in an Osaka children's newspaper. Later that year, he met Nanama Sakai at the Kansai manga club meeting & was asked to draw a feature length cartoon. W/ Sakai as story writer, he published Shin Takarajima the following year, selling 400,000 copies. He then went on to win 1st place at the YMCA for his piano performance. He was also a member of the university's acting club during & dabbled in school plays. What separated him from artists before him was that his comic had a 3-dimensional feel to his pictures & more lively motion to his characters.
In 1950, he began writing Jungle Taitei, which was published in the magazine Manga Shonen. After graduating from Osaka University the following year, he wrote the pilot episode for Tetsuwan Atom titled Atom Taishi, which was featured in the magazine Shounen. In 1952, he passed the exam to become a practicing physician. Atom Taishi ended in March & is renamed Tetsuwan Atom w/ syndication continuing until March 1968. He was in a dilemma as to which profession he would choose as his career: to be a manga artist or a doctor. He consulted his mother about his career choice & she advised him to choose whichever he loved the most. Encouraged by this, he chose manga.
In 1953, he moved to the now legendary Tokiwaso apartment where many young comic talents from all over Japan lived to start their career. Most of them were not only younger, but considered him as their guru, becoming a mentor. In 1959, he married Etsuko Okada. That same year, Tetsuwan Atom airs on Fuji TV featuring live actors. In 1961, he started his own animation production company called Tezuka Osamu Production Animation Department & beginning work on the pilot of animated version of Tetsuwan Atom. On January 1, 1963 Tetsuwan Atom starts airing on Fuji TV & is broadcasted by NBC as Astro Boy in the U.S. the following year. He followed up w/ the animated version of his comic Big X & W 3. In 1965, he created his 1st color anime Jungle Taitei, later airing in the Americas as Kimba the White Lion. His works from late the 60s such as Magma Taishi & 70s such as Mitsume ga tooru & Black Jack aren't as well known outside Japan, but he continued to draw at a prolific pace during those years. In 1972, due to internal strife, Mushi pro disintegrates. He later created another production company named after himself called Tezuka pro. During the 80s his work load slowly declined & he was more of a cultural icon, becoming a guest on many social events & TV interviews. He was also busy running his production company.
In 1988, he felt pain in his abdomen & underwent surgery. Not knowing this was due to stomach cancer as his his physician chose not to reveal his terminal illness, he was heard saying, "This doctor doesn't understand my question" as he asked about his condition. He passed away on February 9, 1989. Magazine headlines read Manga Taitei iku. Now, he's remembered as the greatest manga artist of all time, single-handedly jump starting both genre of modern day manga & anime with many manga artists were influenced by Tezuka's works. He was also 1 of the most prolific artist in the field w/ over 700 stories spanning over 170,000 pages to his credit . His impact on the entire social culture of Japan's also seen as immeasurable as he influenced so many different areas of art & society through his comics. Never in history has a comic artist influenced the society of a single country the way he did. He'll be remembered as the founding father of modern day manga.- Osaka native Kinami Haruka graduated from Takarazuka High School and went on to obtain an Arts degree from Kokugakuin University of Tokyo. She studied Chinese and English at university. Later on she studied Hangul for a role. While at high school in 2001 she was picked to do PR and be the face for the annual Zenkoku Kotoogako Yakiu Senshuken Taikai school baseball tournament. She won a New Star Horipro agency audition in 2001. She is the younger sister of actress Kinami Sayaka. Between 2002 and 2003 she was a member of a limited idol band Licca celebrating the 35th anniversary of Licca-chan ( Kayama Licca) dress-up doll. They released three singles and a full-length album. She was on the television variety show Fuko No Housoku's reenactment segment in 2004. This began her acting career and she has divided her career between movies and television serials since although the latter has been her main area of activity. Her first starring main role came with Kazoku Hakkei in 2012. She was also the main actress in the 2013 movie 100-Year Clock. Kinami play the lead role in the Kiseki No Hito play which run from October 9 to 19th at The Galaxy Theatre. As with all Japanese actresses she has pushed products and appeared in multiple commercials on TV. Kinami came to this earth on August 9, 1985. She was dating actor and Mr. Hong Kong 2005 Matthew Ko in 2012 and again in 2013. The press speculated that they were seeing each other on and off and occasionally while he was in other relationships. She was dating One OK Rock's Osaka-born bassist Ryota in 2014. She was a fan of the band. Her affairs are managed by Horipro. She loves dancing, ballet and maintains a boyish short hair.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Masato Tsujioka was born on 3 September 1979 in Toyonaka, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Old Prison (2012), Black Room (2015) and Drastic (2010).- Yuka Ohnishi was born on 6 July 1968 in Toyonaka, Japan. She is an actress, known for Typhoon Club (1985), Sukeban deka: Kazama sanshimai no gyakushû (1988) and Sukeban deka (1987).
- Actor
- Editor
- Producer
Naoki Tanaka was born on 26 April 1971 in Toyonaka, Japan. He is an actor and editor, known for All About Our House (2001), Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010) and Gyakkyo nine (2005). He was previously married to Sie Kohinata.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Tadanari Okamoto was born on 11 January 1932 in Toyonaka, Japan. Tadanari was a director and writer, known for A Well-Ordered Restaurant (1992), Are wa dare? (1976) and Chikotan (1971). Tadanari died on 16 February 1990.- Taka Higuchi was born on 10 November 1958 in Toyonaka, Japan. He is an actor, known for Kamen Rider Agito (2001), Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015) and Kamen Sentai Gorider (2017).
- Actress
- Music Department
Mahiru Konno was born on 12 April 1977 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan. She is an actress, known for Radiant Silvergun (1998), Kotaro Lives Alone (2021) and Looking for Anne (2009).- Nao Nagasawa was born on 12 May 1971 in Toyonaka, Japan. She is an actress, known for Beyblade (2001), Kinnikuman: Kinniku-sei ôi sôdatsu hen (1991) and Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (1993).
- Writer
- Music Department
- Producer
Ritsuko Kawai was born on 3 March 1964 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan. She is a writer and producer, known for Gekijô ban Tottoko Hamutarô: Hamu hamu hamu~jya! Maboroshi no prinsesu (2002), Hamtaro (2000) and Gekijô ban Tottoko Hamutarô: Hamu hamu paradaichu! - Hamutarô to fushigi no oni no ehontô (2004).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nana Ozaki was born on 28 July 1948 in Toyonaka City, Osaka, Japan. She is an actress, known for Sanshiro Sugata (1970), Tatsu in the Storm (1968) and Challenge at Dawn (1971). She has been married to Shigeru Ishihara since December 1973.- Actor
- Executive
Sanshirô Takagi was born on 13 January 1970 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan. He is an actor and executive, known for The Momotaroh (2017), The Best Divorce (2013) and Keizoku 2: SPEC - Keishichou kouanbu kouan daigoka mishou jiken tokubetsu taisakugakari jikenbo (2010).- Masashi Oguro was born on 4 May 1980 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan.