• +

●BOOK● OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 12: AKIRA 1

  


The twelfth volume of OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS features the first volume (out of eight) that will collect the manga AKIRA. This first volume includes episodes 1-14 (up to page 279 of AKIRA vol. 1) covering the period  when  Katsuhiro Otomo was 28-29 years old in 1982-1983.

When AKIRA was collected in book format for the first time, Otomo gave it a lot of polish; he completed it through additions, corrections, deletions, replacements, rearrangements of pages and frames, he also added finishing touches, new drawings and illustrations. In addition to all that, the title pages of each episodes were also deleted from the book version and they were all collected in the 1995 published book AKIRA CLUB.

This new edition presents AKIRA in the closest way to its original serialization in Kodansha's YOUNG MAGAZINE . In accordance with the purpose of "arranging all of Otomo's works by era and tracing how he has changed as an author," everything, including the title pages, has been restored as much as possible to the way it was when it was serialized for the first time. However, There are some parts where the original illustrations no longer exist, and some parts cannot be restored to the way they were when they were serialized in the magazine because the manuscript was directly edited, but the goal of this new edition is to restore AKIRA to their original state as much as possible.

The original color spread of the first issue, which is different from the book version, and the color pages from the serialization are all reprinted the same way they were first published in magazines but this time with a pristine printing quality. 


BOOK DETAILS
Publisher: Kodansha (講談社)
Release date: 2024-VIII-30
Language: Japanese
Number of pages: 320
Size: 248 x 172mm 
Retail price: ¥3,500
ISBN-10: 4065367859
ISBN-13: 978-4065367858

AVAILABILITY
Amazon US: 
Amazon CA: 
Amazon UK: 
Amazon DE: 
Amazon FR: 
Amazon IT: 
Amazon ES: 

EPISODES
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.24
12・20 | 1982-XII-6 | 26 pages | B&W + Color

●AKIRA part 2
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.1
1・3 | 1982-XII-20 | 20 pages | B&W + Color

●AKIRA part 3
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.2
1983-I-17 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 4
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.3
1983-II-7 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 5
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.4
1983-II-21 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 6
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.5
1983-III-7 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 7
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.6
1983-III-21 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 8
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.7
1983-IV-4 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 9
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.8
1983-IV-18 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 10
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.9
1983-V-2 | 20 pages | Color & B&W

●AKIRA part 11
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.10
1983-V-16 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 12
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.11
1983-VI-6 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 13
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.12
1983-VI-20 | 20 pages | B&W

●AKIRA part 14
Young Magazine (ヤングマガジン) No.13
1983-VII-4 | 20 pages | B&W
Ad by AA&NN Ltd.

●BOOK● OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 6: G.....

 


The sixth volume of OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS collects two seven short manga works and a series of short manga spreads, centered around two medium-length series that Katsuhiro Otomo created between 1979 and 1980 when he was 25-26 years old.

This volume collects in book format for the first time the work, "G...."  illustrated by Otomo and written by Nobuyuki Shirayama (白山宣之). This unfinished  four chapter manga was only published  in magazine format in the late 70's. This volume also includes the four part manga SEIJAGA MACHINI YATTEKIRU  (聖者が街にやって来る) from the same period that was later collected in the book SAYONARA NIPPON as well as the thirteen episodes of the two-page spread comics titled OTOMO KATSUHIRO NO EIYOO MANTEN (大友克洋の栄養満点) only published in Rockin' On  Magazine back in the day and never collected in a book before.

The other short stories included are EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON（原案/狩撫麻礼) and A GYAKUSATSUNIN JINKEN (Ａ荘殺人事件) collected in the book SAYONARA NIPPON in the past,   SOUND OF SAND and FLOWER  originally collected in Kodansha's book OTOMO KATSUHIRO ANTHOLOGY vol.1: KANOJO NO OMOIDE (彼女の想いで…), and RUN and ABUNAI! SEITO KAICHOO (危ない！生徒会長) collected in the second volume: SOS TAITOKYO TANKENTAI (SOS 大東京探検隊)

Finally the manga DON QUIJOTE collected in the book HANSEL & GRETEL (ヘンゼルとグレーテル) has been published this time in the original manuscript format, with the story opening from the end of the book to be read from left to right, because when it was  collected in a book for the first time, the left and right frames were swapped and it was altered to open from the right.

As in the previous volumes, the manuscripts that had colors are reproduced in color, the same way they were first published in magazines but this time with a pristine printing quality. 


BOOK DETAILS
Publisher: Kodansha (講談社)
Release date: 2024-VIII-30
Language: Japanese
Number of pages: 320
Size: 248 x 172mm 
Retail price: ¥3,500
ISBN-10: 4065367867
ISBN-13: 978-4065367865

AVAILABILITY
Amazon US: 
Amazon CA: 
Amazon UK: 
Amazon DE: 
Amazon FR: 
Amazon IT: 
Amazon ES: 

COLLECTED STORIES
Weekly Manga Action (週刊漫画アクション)
3・8 | 1979-II-22 | 24 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点！１：腸の陰干)
Rockin'on (ロッキング・オン) No. 4
1979-III-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点！2) 
Rockin'on (ロッキング・オン) No. 5
1979-V-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点３ - 赤頭巾)
Rockin'on (ロッキング・オン) No. 6
1979-V-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点４- 狼と七匹の子やぎ)
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No. 7
1979-VI-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点５ - オオカミ少年 )
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No. 8
1979-VII-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点６ - ３匹の子ぶた )
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No. 9
1979-VIII-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点７ - ジャックと豆の木)
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No.10
1979-IX-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点８ - 金の斧、銀の斧 )
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No. 11
1979-X-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点９ - 牛とカエル )
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No. 12
1979-XI-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点10 - マッチ売りの少女 )
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No. 2
1979-XII-26 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点11 - 白雪姫)
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No.3
1980-II-1 | 2 pages | B&W

(大友克洋の栄養満点！12：ガリバー)
Rocking On (ロッキング・オン) No.4
1980-III-1 | 2 pages | B&W

●OTOMO KATSUHIRO NO EIYOO MANTEN 13 - ROBINSON KURUSOO HYOORYUU SHIRU (大友克洋の栄養満点13 - ロビンソン・クルーソー漂流記 )
Rockin’on (ロッキング・オン) No.5
1980-IV-1 | 2 pages | B&W

Weekly Manga Action (週刊漫画アクション)
5・10 | 1979-IV-26 | 26 pages | B&W

Weekly Manga Action (週刊漫画アクション)
5・17 | 1979-V-2 | 12 pages | B&W

Weekly Manga Action (週刊漫画アクション)
5・24 | 1979-V-9 | 20 pages | B&W

Weekly Manga Action (週刊漫画アクション)
5・31 | 1979-V-16 | 20 pages | B&W

●RUN
GORO（ゴロー）
6・28 | 1979-VI-14 | 24 pages | B&W

Young Comic (ヤングコミック)
8・8 | 1979-VII-25 | 25 pages | B&W and color

Young Comic (ヤングコミック)
8・22 | 1979-VIII-8 | 17 pages | B&W

Young Comic (ヤングコミック)
9・12 | 1979-XIII-22 | 12 pages | B&W

Young Comic (ヤングコミック)
9・26 | 1979-IX-12 | 25 pages | B&W

SF Hōseki (SF宝石) No. 10
1979-X-25 | 6 pages | Color

Kisōtengai (奇想天外) No. 11
1979-IX-25 | 8 pages | B&W

Comic Again (コミックアゲイン) No. 11
1979-X-7 | 24 pages | B&W

Weekly Manga Action (週刊漫画アクション)
2・28 | 1980-II-14 | 20 pages | B&W + Limited Color

Vampirella (月刊スターログ別冊 バンピレラ) No. 1
1979-IX-15 | 12 pages | B&W

Ad by AA&NN Ltd.

●CD● AKIRA REMIX

Victor Entertainment has released the album AKIRA REMIX that collects the background music that was only played at the AKIRA CEL ART EXHIBITION that was held at Ikebukuro Mixalive Tokyo and Osaka Parco Gallery in August and October 2023.

The album produced entirely by Otomo himself features the remixes by Makoto Kubota (久保田麻琴), Yasuharu Konishi (小西康陽), and Kuniaki Hiijima (蓜島邦明) of the iconic soundtrack created by Shoji Yamashiro (山城 祥二) and the Geinoh Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組) group for the animation film AKIRA. The cover art features a completely new original design illustrated by Otomo.


TRACK LIST
DISC 1
1. KANEDA [金田]
2. BATTLE AGAINST CROWN [クラウンとの闘い]
3. WINDS OVER THE NEO-TOKYO [ネオ東京上空の空]
4. DOLLS' POLYPHONY [ぬいぐるみのポリフォニー]
5. EXODUS FROM THE UNDERGROUND FORTRESS [ケイと金田の脱出]
6. ILLUSION [回想]
7. MUTATION [変容]
8. REQUIEM part1 [未来 part1]
9. TETSUO [鉄雄]
10. SHOHMYOH [唱名]
11. REQUIEM part2 [未来 part2]
12. SHOHMYOH2 [唱名2]
13. TETSUO2 [鉄雄2]

DISC 2
1. WINDS OVER THE NEO-TOKYO [ネオ東京上空の空]
2. DOLLS' POLYPHONY [ぬいぐるみのポリフォニー]
3. REQUIEM [未来]
4. KANEDA [金田]
5. SHOHMYOH [唱名]
6. ILLUSION [回想]


CREDITS
Lyrics and composition: Shoji Yamashiro (山城祥二)
Performance: Geino Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組)

DISC 1:
Remixed, programmed, recorded and mastered by Kubota Makoto (久保田麻琴)
Guitar on track 1: Takashi Mizutani (水谷　孝)
by courtesy of The Last One Musique
Drums on track 5: Daichi Itō (伊藤大地)
MK thanks to Ryo Takahashi (高橋亮) from Media Integration

DISC 2: 
Tracks 1～3
Remixed by Konishi Yasuharu (小西康陽) 
Programming: Yukihiro Fukutomi (福富幸宏)
Drums, Pandeiro: Ryusuke Kakizawa (柿澤龍介)
Recorded & Mixed by Osamu Hirose (廣瀬 修)
Assistant Engineer：Riko Araya (荒谷莉子), Suzu Kasukawa (粕川鈴) (MIT STUDIO)
Recorded & Mixed at prime sound studio form Daikanyama, STUDIO MECH, MONOGRAM SOUNDS, MIT STUDIO
Coordinator：山崎弘崇 (readymade entertainment inc.), 白石成識 (STYRISM INC.)

Tracks 4～6: 
Mixed by Noriyoshi Murase (村瀬 範恭)



ALBUM DETAILS
Label: Victor Entertainment (ビクターエンタテインメント)
Release date: 2024-VIII-21
Format: Double CD
Duration: 83 min 
Reatil price: ¥4,400
Catalogue number: VICL-65922～23





AVAILABILITY
Amazon JP: https://amzn.to/3XTtEf8
Amazon US: 
Amazon CA:
Amazon UK: 
Amazon DE: 
Amazon FR: 
Amazon IT: 
Amazon ES: 

The album will also be available in:
Apple Music, LINE MUSIC, Amazon Music Unlimited, AWA, KKBOX, Rakuten Music, TOWER RECORDS MUSIC, Spotify, YouTube Music


Ad by AA&NN Ltd.

●BOOKLET● ŌTOMO KATSUHIRO ZENSHŪ KAISETSU 5 FIRE-BALL (大友克洋全集解説 5 FIRE-BALL )

   

Independent Katsuhiro Otomo researcher and archivist Jun'ya Suzuki (鈴木淳也), who in 1999 started the website Apple Paradise: Otomo Katsuhiro Data Base has published the sixth of a series of booklets to accompany the KATSUHIRO OTOMO COMPLETE WORKS collection that is currently being published by Kodansha. This booklet commentaries correspond to Otomo's early manga works collected in the book OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 5: FIRE-BALL.

These COMMENTARY SERIES booklets scheduled to be produced for all volumes will include commentaries regarding each volume and as they have the same size as the books that will accompany, they will work  perfectly as dividers since they  prevent vinyl covers from sticking to each other.

The booklet was sold for the first time today in COMITIA 149 (コミティア149) in the stand KO18b ŌTOMO KATSUHIRO KENKYŪ (こ18b 大友克洋研究). An expanded and revised edition of the first booklet ŌTOMO KATSUHIRO ZENSHŪ KAISETSU 8 DŌMU (大友克洋全集解説８童夢) was also presented in this event. You can follow and contact Jun'ya Suzuki on Instagram and Twitter.


BOOKLET DETAILS
Author: Jun'ya Suzuki (鈴木淳也)
Release date: 2024-VIII-18
Language: Japanese
Number of pages: -
Size: 248 x 172mm 
Retail price: ¥1,000

●ANNOUNCEMENT● OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 2nd period

 

The poster announcing OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS second period was revealed today in Otomo Zenshu X account and the OTOMO-COMPLETE Official website accompanied by some announcements.

The first is that the publication date  of the seventh batch of the first period consisting in the book   "Animation AKIRA Layouts & Key Frames 3" has been moved from June 2024 to November 2024 due to complications in the production process.

The second announcement is that the start of publication of the second period will start on August 30, before the end of the first period and will consist in these two books with a price tag of ¥3,500 (tax included) each:

★Vol.6:  G..... (short manga works from the late 70's and early 80's that follow Vol.5)
Available in Amazon JP: http://amzn.to/3VRvc6u

★Vol.12: AKIRA 1 (The manga as serialized in Young Magazine)
Available in Amazon JP:  http://amzn.to/45T5OSG

AKIRA was originally published in 120 parts of about 20 pages from 1982 to 1990  in Kodansha's Young Magazine. During that same period it was also collected in six books in which the chapters were lost and the story could be read as a continuum. The chapter title pages were later collected in the art book AKIRA CLUB published in 1995. Otomo also made many substantial changes, corrections and redraws for the final version collected in the books, this versions have been used for every international version ever since. Finally, AKIRA will be available in the same fashion in which it was published when serialized in Young Magazine for the first time, but this time with pristine print quality.

The poster also revealed the rest of the books that will complete the second period:

★Vol.20: Animation AKIRA
★Vol.7: APPLE PARADISE (short manga works from the early 80's that follow Vol.6 )
★Vol.13: AKIRA 2 (The manga as serialized in Young Magazine)
★Vol.31: STEAMBOY Storyboards 1
★Vol.14: AKIRA 3 (The manga as serialized in Young Magazine)
★Vol.32: STEAMBOY Storyboards 2
★Vol.28: MEMORIES
★Vol.33: STEAMBOY Layouts & Key Frames 1

TWEETS by OTOMO (June 26, 2024)
■A poster announcing the start of pre-orders for the second series of the complete collection has been made. Pre-orders will probably start next month. This image is my own pre-order. Please don't criticize me.

■These are some of the things I was influenced by when I was a high school freshman in 1970, until I was around 20 years old. Even though I only drew pictures, the rights issues were a real pain... 

■(On the meaning of ELSINORE that it's written in the back of his shirt) This is a Honda off-road bike. This is the series that became a hot topic because it was the first time Steven McQueen appeared in a commercial. I wanted this T-shirt so I went to a motorcycle shop in Ueno to buy one. 

■(Regarding the poster of BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA) It is amazing! I remember being deeply influenced by this film that I saw in Sendai when I was a high school student.

■(Regarding the third image starting from the bottom left) This is THE RITE OF SPRING conducted by Leonard Bernstein. This is the record version.

■(On the mention made to THE DAY THE FISH CAME OUT  in the afterword of the complete collection) Michael. Cacoyannis was great in ZORBA.  And the music by Mikis Theodorakis, who did the music for Z  is also great. 

■ (On filmmaker Yoshishige Yoshida  (吉田喜重)) I didn't really understand Yoshishige Yoshida's EROS+ MASSACRE (エロス+虐殺), but I found the TV Man Union's (テレビマンユニオン) THE EMPEROR'S CENTURY (天皇の世紀) interesting.

●ANNOUNCEMENT● AKIRA REMIX CD


Katsuhiro Otomo has announced in X that the AKIRA Cel Art Exhibition Music CD will be released this summer. AKIRA REMIX produced entirely by Otomo himself features the remixes by Makoto Kubota (久保田麻琴), Yasuharu Konishi (小西康陽), and Kuniaki Hiijima (蓜島邦明) of the iconic soundtrack created by Shoji Yamashiro (山城 祥二) and the Geinoh Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組) group for the animated film AKIRA that celebrated it's 35th anniversary last year.

As part of OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS that it's beeing published by Kodansha, the AKIRA CEL ART EXHIBITION was held at Ikebukuro Mixalive Tokyo and Osaka Parco Gallery in August and October 2023, and AKIRA REMIX was created to be played at the background of these two events. 

The double CD  featuring an original new illustration by Otomo as a cover will be available on August 21 with the catalog number VICL-65922～23 and a retail price of ¥4,400 (tax incl.) 

Available for pre-order in Amazon Japan: https://amzn.to/3XTtEf8


TWEETS by OTOMO (June 25, 2024)
■I was finally able to announce the release of the CD. The event was in August last year... It took a whole year to make a CD contract. I can't believe Kodansha pays high salaries to people that don't know if they're working or not. How can I work with a company that does this kind of work?

■(regarding the release of the last batch of the first period of OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS) Please wait a little longer for that. I am sorry to have kept you waiting.

■(On the same subject) Tomorrow…

■(Regarding the creation of T-shirts based on the CD cover design) It's okay. I can't go into too much detail though. Please wait.


●BOOKLET● ŌTOMO KATSUHIRO ZENSHŪ KAISETSU 4 SAYONARA NIPPON (大友克洋全集解説 4 さよならにっぽん )

  

Independent Katsuhiro Otomo researcher and archivist Jun'ya Suzuki (鈴木淳也), who in 1999 started the website Apple Paradise: Otomo Katsuhiro Data Base has published the fifth of a series of booklets to accompany the KATSUHIRO OTOMO COMPLETE WORKS collection that is currently being published by Kodansha. This booklet commentaries correspond to Otomo's early manga works collected in the book OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 4: SAYONARA NIPPON (さよならにっぽん)

These COMMENTARY SERIES booklets scheduled to be produced for all volumes will include commentaries regarding each volume and as they have the same size as the books that will accompany, they will work  perfectly as dividers since they  prevent vinyl covers from sticking to each other.

The booklet was sold for the first time today in COMITIA 148 (コミティア148) in the stand TO13b ŌTOMO KATSUHIRO KENKYŪ (と13b 大友克洋研究). You can follow and contact Jun'ya Suzuki on Instagram and Twitter.


BOOKLET DETAILS
Author: Jun'ya Suzuki (鈴木淳也)
Release date: 2024-V-26
Language: Japanese
Number of pages: -
Size: 248 x 172mm 
Retail price: ¥1,200


●BOOKLET● ŌTOMO KATSUHIRO ZENSHŪ KAISETSU 3 HIGHWAY STAR (大友克洋全集解説 3 ハイウェイスター )

 

Independent Katsuhiro Otomo researcher and archivist Jun'ya Suzuki (鈴木淳也), who in 1999 started the website Apple Paradise: Otomo Katsuhiro Data Base has published the fourth of a series of booklets to accompany the KATSUHIRO OTOMO COMPLETE WORKS collection that is currently being published by Kodansha. This booklet commentaries correspond to Otomo's early manga works collected in the book OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 3: HIGHWAY STAR (ハイウェイスター )

These COMMENTARY SERIES booklets scheduled to be produced for all volumes will include commentaries regarding each volume and as they have the same size as the books that will accompany, they will work  perfectly as dividers since they  prevent vinyl covers from sticking to each other.

The booklet was sold for the first time today in COMITIA 147 (コミティア147) in the stand CHI42a ŌTOMO KATSUHIRO KENKYŪ (ち42a大友克洋研究). You can follow and contact Jun'ya Suzuki on Instagram and Twitter.


BOOKLET DETAILS
Author: Jun'ya Suzuki (鈴木淳也)
Release date: 2024-II-25
Language: Japanese
Number of pages: 39
Size: 248 x 172mm 
Retail price: ¥1,000


●FOREWORD● RINTARŌ's MA VIE EN 24 IMAGES PER SECONDE

  

Katsuhiro Otomo has written the foreword to the first comic written by his friend and animation director RINTARŌ (りんたろう) with whom he has collaborated many times in the past. The book was first released in French language by KANA and was presented in this year's 51st edition of ANGOULÊME FESTIVAL where several screenings and meetings were devoted to him.


MA VIE EN 24 IMAGES PER SECONDE narrates Rintarō's  journey from post-war Japan to 2001 and the release of the film METROPOLIS, based on Osamu Tezuka's (手塚 治虫) manga and with screenplay by Otomo himself. This journey is made of meetings, opportunities, endless evenings, jazz, cigarettes, but above all cinema, a passion that was passed on to him by his father and which gave him the desire to become a director very early on. And it is animated cinema that offered Rintarō this opportunity. 

You can read Otomo's foreword in French and the first pages of the comic here. 


FOREWORD by KATSUHIRO OTOMO
It was in 1958 that HAKUJADEN (白蛇伝 ), the first Japanese animated feature film in color, was made. Then came SHŌNEN SARUTOBI SASUKE (少年猿飛佐助 ), then, in 1960, SAIYUKI (西遊記) adapted from BOKU NO SON GOKU (ぼくのそんごくう) manga by Osamu Tezuka, who was credited in the film as "Original author responsible for the narrative structure'. Indeed, knowing that Tezuka was very influenced by the Disney animations that he loved, TOEI ANIMATION (東映アニメーション) , which wanted to become the Disney of Japan, had asked the mangaka to participate in the pre-production, writing and directing of the film .

Unfortunately, things didn't go the way Tezuka hoped. It's easy to imagine how difficult it was for a young, popular and promising mangaka to get along with the artisan blacksmiths of animation. He must have felt immense frustration and bitterness. At least that's a figment of my imagination. Apologies if I extrapolate!

But isn't Osamu Tezuka a man who uses failure to bounce back? This is how he created his own company, MUSHI PRODUCTION (虫プロダクション), in 1961, just a year after Sayuki. Was he very angry? Had this harsh ordeal triggered a real trigger in him? Still, the following year, he directed ARU MACHIKADO NO MONOGATARI (ある街角の物語) and the first episode of TETSUWAN ATOM (鉄腕アトム ).

From the start, Mushi Production operated recklessly, since, in the event of a financial deficit, Tezuka drew his mangas to cover debts.

The first Japanese television animation, Tetsuwan Atom, was created from Tezuka's own manga, so it was not subject to adaptation rights. It even ultimately generated revenue through the sale of derivative products, and this success led to the proliferation of animated television series. Rintarō's comic strip clearly shows that at the time, at the dawn of this flourishing industry, Mushi Production even ensured human resources devoid of any experience because its production system seemed attractive to certain young people. Unlike Toei animators, endowed with a real educational background and solid technical training, those of Mushi Production launched into the adventure simply being pushed by the spirit of entrepreneurship: the one who has the greatest passion is capable of doing for the best.

How exciting it was to acquire the know-how alongside older animators or the same age, despite the pressure of deadlines and the mountain of work that was piling up! In Japan, this spirit still seems to prevail in this industry.

Mushi Production faced some criticism because its preferred themes were neither educational nor emotion-based, but rather entertainment-oriented. The fact remains that society has enabled previously unknown artists to flourish. And, quite naturally, Japanese animation has moved towards the adaptation of popular manga, since young artists have naturally followed the example of Tezuka, the founder of Mushi Production, who himself adapted his own manga. one after the other. Of course, there were successes and failures!

In the 1970s, television animation therefore developed alongside the rise of manga. Japan was probably the only country experiencing such a phenomenon at the time. Rintarō, too, began directing within Mushi Production, directing works such as JUNGLE TAITEI SUSUME LEO! (ジャングル大帝 進めレオ！) or SABU TO ICHI (佐武と市), before leaving the company to become independent. His series JETTER MARS (ジェッターマルス) , GRAND PRIX NO TAKA (アローエンブレム・グランプリの鷹) and UCHŪ KAIZOKU CAPTAIN HARLOCK (宇宙海賊キャプテンハーロック)  attracted the attention of the president of TOEI so much so that he entrusted Rintarō with the direction of the feature film GINGA TETSUDO 999 (銀河鉄道９９９)  which was a huge success. This is how animated television series reached the level of quality of a feature film. Subsequently, feature films were screened in international festivals, then occupied a dominant place with the arrival of video cassettes, laserdiscs and DVDs. And it is therefore thanks to the influence of these precursors that today young people are creating original animations all over the world.

By reading this comic, which closely combines the history of animation with Rintarô's personal life, from his childhood to his adolescence and adulthood, I realize how much I owe to my elders, the "anarchists" from the Showa era (1926-1989), which I warmly thank.

大友克洋



BOOK DETAILS
Publisher: KANA
Release date: 2024-I-26
Language: French
Number of pages: 256
Size: 22.8 x 2.8 x 30 cm
Retail price: 27.9€
ISBN-10: 2505076383
ISBN-13: 978-2505076384

AVAILABILITY
Amazon JP: -

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)