‘TEZUKA! GOD OF MANGA’ HEADED TO KICKSTARTER
The Feature-length Documentary TEZUKA! God of Manga is Headed to Kickstarter! It’s hard to overstate It’s hard to overstate Osamu Tezuka’s influence on manga and anime in Japan and comic book and animation storytelling around the world. Before there was Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen, there was Tezuka’s Astro Boy: the iconic, atomic-powered robot boy. Known in Japan as Tetsuwan Atom, this loveable hero sprang fully formed from the imagination of Tezuka-sensei, AKA the “God of Manga.” In 1963, Tezuka broke new ground by introducing Astro Boy — the bestselling manga of its time — as Japan’s first weekly animated TV program. Now, Peabody Award-winning director Jason Andrew Cohn and the Bread & Butter Films production team (Camille Servan-Schreiber, Jinko Gotoh, Glen S. Fukushima, and Roland Kelts) —will spotlight Tezuka’s life and legacy with TEZUKA! God of Manga, an all-new, feature-length documentary being funded on Kickstarter.
Though he’s sometimes compared to Walt Disney, Tezuka was arguably a much greater cultural force. His incredible storylines — including Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and hundreds of others — ignited a post-war explosion of creativity that positioned Japan as a global leader in comics and animation to this day and influenced generations of creators around the world.
TEZUKA! God of Manga features interviews with legendary manga and anime creators including Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), Riyoko Ikeda (Rose of Versaille), Naoki Urasawa (Monster), Go Nagai (Devilman), Toshiyuki Tomino (Gundam), MADHOUSE co-founder and anime producer Masao Maruyama (Tokyo Godfathers), anime director Rintaro (Metropolis), best-selling fantasy author Ada Palmer (Too Like the Lightning), Samuel Sattin (Unico Awakening), Jorge R. Gutierrez (The Book of Life), Helen McCarthy (The Art of Osamu Tezuka), Natsu Onoda Power (God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the creation of post-World War II Manga), and the dean of English language manga scholarship, Fred Schodt (Manga! Manga!). Once funded, the producers will schedule additional interviews with artists including Paul Pope (THB) and Ron Wimberly (Prince of Cats). ka’s influence on manga and anime in Japan and comic book and animation storytelling around the world. Before there was Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen, there was Tezuka’s Astro Boy: the iconic, atomic-powered robot boy. Known in Japan as Tetsuwan Atom, this loveable hero sprang fully formed from the imagination of Tezuka-sensei, AKA the “God of Manga.” In 1963, Tezuka broke new ground by introducing Astro Boy — the bestselling manga of its time — as Japan’s first weekly animated TV program. Now, Peabody Award-winning director Jason Andrew Cohn and the Bread & Butter Films production team (Camille Servan-Schreiber, Jinko Gotoh, Glen S. Fukushima, and Roland Kelts) —will spotlight Tezuka’s life and legacy with TEZUKA! God of Manga.
