Guest Post: Tezuka and the 108 Stars of Destiny

This is a guest post written by frequent Ani-Gamers collaborators Hisui and Narutaki from the Reverse Thieves anime blog. Thanks, guys!

Evan has dedicated the month of March on Ani-Gamers to the legendary "God of Manga" Osamu Tezuka, and while several of the writers at Ani-Gamers are contributing their thoughts and reviews, we at Reverse Thieves heeded Evan's call for guest posts as well! But what to do proved a little difficult; another review wouldn't be much help, so when Evan suggested an essay about some aspect of Tezuka, that really got us thinking. One of the artist's most famous aspects is what is lovingly referred to as Tezuka's Star System, in which his characters appear over and over in again in various works. This has become a unique trait to Tezuka that has gone on to influence a world of manga in various ways.

The Star System is a device that Tezuka uses to have characters appear in similar roles from series to series with the same character design but different names. A character like Duke Red will almost always be a villain, whereas Higeoyaji (a.k.a. Shunsaku Ban) might play a wide variety of middle-aged man roles. Tezuka often remarked on the system and likened it to a director reusing the same actors again and again after finding he liked their performances. Considering Tezuka's nigh-obsession with film and the theatre, and his frequent exposure to these media at a young age thanks to his parents, there is little doubt that they went on to not only inform the way he drew comics, but also the way he saw his characters.

At first you may think this is just a cleverly disguised way of recycling character designs, but it goes deeper than that. Ask most any writer and they will tell you that their characters are often very close to their hearts. Even take a look at yourself and how attached you may become to a character during the course of the story. There is a personal connection that occurs when someone creates a character, a history, and a story for them and Tezuka was no exception; in fact he might have felt it more strongly than most. Tezuka even went as far as writing up lists of the various "actors" he used in his Star System, with notes like how much each was paid. Tezuka fans love the Star System since it rewards readers for reading multiple series, giving them a silent wink and a nod when they notice Star System characters. It is a delightful reward when you spot, say, Rock Holmes in both Black Jack and Astro Boy.

As the "God of Manga," Tezuka's influence can be seen on almost all aspects of manga and anime, and this includes other people using the Star System. While Go Nagai would go onto influence manga in innumerable ways himself, you can see the traces of the Star System in his own manga. Numerous characters from The Abashiri Family and Harenchi Gakuen reappear in Go Nagai's Cutie Honey. Violence Jack is not only a sequel to Devilman but Go Nagai also repurposes characters from several other series for it. You can also look to the prolific Rumiko Takahashi's stories for nods to the Star System. Takahashi has stated that her main character can be seen as the same character viewed during different parts of his life from a child to a young adult.

The Star System also plays a big role in Naoki Urasawa's work. Urasawa makes no bones about him being a huge fan of Osamu Tezuka — made even more clear by his writing of Pluto — but long before that he was taking cues from the Star System. He almost always uses a character that looks like Kosaku Matsuda or Yawara Inokuma in his series as well as several other recurring actors. The Star System reaches beyond manga too, as some anime directors can even be seen using it. Yasuhiro Imagawa is famous for plucking characters from many of the creator's sources when adapting a manga into anime. In Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still, not only does he re-imagine Mitsuteru Yokoyama's classic, but he practically turns it into an homage as he pulls characters from Outlaws of the Marsh and Romance of the Three Kingdoms into the story. Imagawa went on to bring a similar feeling to Go Nagai's Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z Hen.

It is easy to mistake someone using the Star System for an inability to vary their character designs. Although some manga-ka (Ed. note: manga artists) use the Star System, it is hardly a universal staple of the world of manga. At times it might seem that a manga-ka is using the Star System but in is in fact just reusing character designs due to lack of ability, laziness, or time constraints. Much like the difference between homage and rip-off, it can be a tricky matter to determine which is going on without the manga-ka commenting one way or another. But it can also be a fun and insightful line of conversation, because it is no secret that Tezuka's influence runs quite deep indeed.

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This is merely an introduction and light examination of Tezuka's Star System. The system itself is more complex and its influence more far-reaching than this simple overview could give. If you wish to learn more about the Star System, you should track down the following books for more information about Tezuka himself and the many unique and influential traits of his manga:

• The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
• The Astro Boy Essays

You can also check out the following web sites, which are great resources for learning more about Tezuka:

• Tezuka in English
• The Official Tezuka Website

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Ani-Gamers Podcast #028a – The Greatest Podcast on Earth, Part I

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Frederik L. Schodt, Ed Sizemore
Topic: Comparison of all versions of the Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" (original manga, 60s anime, 1980 anime, 2003 anime, and Pluto manga)

In a last-ditch effort to release a podcast for Osamu Tezuka Month, I recorded this episode with manga translator Fred Schodt (author of The Astro Boy Essays, translator of Astro Boy and Pluto) and manga reviewer Ed Sizemore (Manga Worth Reading), featuring an in-depth discussion of the Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" and all of the adaptations thereof. The episode was quite long and I wanted to get something out before the end of the month, so this is only the first part of the show.

In it, we only get to two of our discussion topics: Astro's fateful decision to increase his horsepower and the dichotomy between the philosophies and depictions of Dr. Ochanomizu and Dr. Tenma. In addition, there's a quick announcement of an Ani-Gamers Podcast contest at the end of the episode, so stick around to find out how to win some fabulous Tezuka-themed prizes, courtesy of Vertical, Inc.

Show notes and links after the break.

DIRECT DOWNLOAD - RSS Feed - iTunes - Send us Feedback! - More episodes


(Runtime: 37 minutes)

[00:00] Opening Song: "R.O.D. OP" by Taku Iwasaki (Read Or Die OAV OP)

[00:16] Evan introduces our two awesome guests.

[02:07] We move on to some background and a plot synopsis of "The Greatest Robot on Earth."

[05:31] Our trio begins with a quite long conversation about Astro's decision to upgrade his horsepower from 100,000 to 1,000,000. In doing so, we also bring up the central themes of "The Greatest Robot on Earth" and get into the underlying characterizations of Astro, Dr. Ochanomizu, and Dr. Tenma.

[31:17] Continuing with our discussion of the two doctors, we begin with Evan's idea of the two as representing an angel/devil dichotomy. (In discussing the topic, Ed brings up an alternative model of the two as representing a yin-yang.)

[35:58] That's it for this half of the show. Evan announces the (late) Tezuka Month contest for the podcast.

[37:27] Ending Song: "Tetsuwan Atom" by Atoms (Astro Boy [1980] OP)

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries – Episode 49

Ani-Gamers staff writer Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Watch Episode 49 – Filial Affection

FMA2 continues to separate Ed and Al, this time employing the latter as babysitter for Pride inside a small soil dome. If you compare this to FMA1, when Al is kidnapped by Envy just after seeing his mother’s visage destroyed by Ed, a number of ways in which Al is a much stronger character in FMA2 is evident.

In FMA1, a bound Al finds himself a hostage of the homunculi and does absolutely nothing aside from throwing a slight tantrum trying to turn Envy against Dante (FMA1’s “Father/Dwarf in a Flask”). As a psychological attack, this holds true to the head-game nature of that series. It is here that Al ruminates about all of his near-death encounters as well as the souls he now embodies as the Philosopher’s Stone, almost resigning himself to the death which he thinks he’s facing. Again, this plays to the dramatically emotional nature sustained throughout this series. Al is constantly portrayed as the weakest link in the hero chain, so making him the damsel in distress is fitting. That does not stop the situation from being disappointing when compared to the wonderfully (comparatively) three-dimensional FMA2 Al.

FMA2’s Al comes up with a plan, with an assist from Hohenheim, to hold Pride hostage so that he will be isolated from the big battle on The Promised Day. During playtime with Pride, Al also has the courage to lecture the homunculus on denigrating humans. This holds true to the sociological themes running throughout the series pertaining to species dominance. One must also point out an inner strength exhibited by Al, whose very consciousness is slipping in and out, of using his own (self-viewed) handicap — the absence of a real body — as the wining factor in the “test of endurance” that he’s locked into with Pride.

Not only are the situations reversed in terms of who captures whom, but the nature of homunculus nomenclature lends a bit of fascinating diversity as well. In FMA1, Envy — Hohenheim’s bastard son — captures Al and no doubt enjoys every second of lording over him that he’s enduring the emotional pain of being separated from his brother and can do nothing to avoid being subject to the master’s whim as a simple usable ingredient. In FMA2, Al cuts Pride down to size by lording the fact that mere humans have managed to interfere with homunculus plans and decisively trap him. Adding to FMA2’s impressiveness is the fact that Pride is dumbfounded by the Fuhrer’s wife’s sense of selflessness (personifying his name so to speak).

Similarities are not absent however. In both series, Al cannot not be mortally threatened by the homunculi because he is either the fabled Philosopher’s Stone (FMA1) or an important sacrifice that will go into making one (FMA2). On the funny side of things, in each of the Al-captured scenarios, the homunculus confined with Al loves playing with his empty head, either by kicking it off (Envy, FMA1) or beating it ominously like a rhythmic drum in a Japanese play (Pride, FMA2).

Lastly, one cannot overlook the difference of Mustang’s staged coup, which is more guerilla in nature as opposed to FMA1, where he turns a portion of the Fuhrer’s factions back on Central. Of course this is still possible with Ms. Armstrong sitting amongst the Fuhrer’s former cabinet in presence of Father and the Eastern forces still loyal to Mustang (as alluded to by Wrath before his train went boom). As FMA1 is concentrated on the Elric’s struggle, the political strife of the state, as mentioned previously, serves as more of a backdrop or convenient plot device than any statement in and of itself (especially taking into account how glossed-over the re-alignment with rebel forces is). FMA2 has spread its rebels thin and depicts each faction thusly, making for one hell of a believably risky coup d’etat.

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Guest Review: Nextworld, vol. 1 (Manga)

Medium: Manga (2 volumes)
Genres: Drama, Science Fiction
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Publishers: Various (JPN), Dark Horse Manga (NA/UK)
Release Dates: Jan. 10, 1951 – Feb 10, 1951 (JPN), 2003 (NA/UK)
Age Rating: Unknown

This is a guest review written by Phillip of the Eeeper's Choice Podcast. Thanks, Phillip!

Part of Osamu Tezuka’s "Science Fiction Trilogy," comprised of Nextworld, Lost World, and Metropolis, Nextworld serves as a cautionary tale of using science for the wrong reasons and what unchecked warring could do to the human race. First published in 1951, the two-volume series begins when Professor Yamadano ("played" by Tezuka stock player Dr. Hanamaru) explores Horseshoe Island, an island that the Nation of Star (it’s America, folks) has used as a testing ground for nuclear weapons. After finding a fantastic menagerie of creatures (which he describes as Verderungen, a German word which basically means ‘changed’) that are not part of the natural order, he discovers a small humanoid creature, which he decides to bring to the Nation of Star’s international conference on atomic energy to prove that atomic weapons are wrong to use. Unfortunately, due to interference from a certain Detective Mustachio (Tezuka stock player Higeoyaji), the creature escapes, an invisible hand carries off Mustachio, and Yamadano is left alone. Meanwhile, at the conference, the Professor’s attempt to warn the world is all for nothing as the Nation of Star and the Uran Federation (it’s Russia) squabble and bicker about whether or not nuclear weapons are necessary.

It is into this world we are thrown headfirst by Tezuka from his 50’s output, marked for its exploration of the themes of science versus man and identity exploration. Reading the first volume, you would never assume that the childish squabble that breaks out at the conference could be matched by the sight of enormous battleships trying to level one another, but maybe there’s a weird parallel between the two concepts. The two big nations fight and bark at each other like a pair of spoiled children, so their encounters with each other really are the same only magnified. As with Metropolis, the different strands of the story are initially taken at face value with no real significance as to the gravity of the situation the characters find themselves in. Only as the volume closes do we realise the magnitude that some characters’ choices have on people. Now, you can read as much or as little as you like into the story, but I always suspect that the author has more going on than simple gags or people behaving irrationally (even though the former does happen).

Nowhere is Tezuka’s ability to throw you off more highlighted than the character of Poponyo. A childhood friend of Ivan Redonov, the son of the Uran Federation’s ambassador to the Nation Of Star, she is — on first inspection — a happy go lucky sort of girl with nothing but love for her friend. Too bad she works as the manager of the Underground Factory, a facility run in the Uran Federation by the Ministry of Science with prisoners as slave labor. Working people into the floor, she sees no reason to go easier on the prisoners except when Ivan makes her do it. Here is a character that should be living life to its fullest, and in fact Tezuka inserts another character called Cocoa who does live the life that Poponyo should have, but who will never know anything except how to hurt other people. But Dr. Tezuka doesn’t simply make his heroes heroic and his villains villainous. One of the manipulators of the story, Ambassador Redonov, is seen writing poignantly to his son Ivan on the boy’s fifteenth birthday to let him know that he is thinking of him and that he loves him. Redonov knows what asking the boy to go to the underground factory will mean to Ivan but he asks nevertheless because he only wants what is best for him.

Tezuka would again visit the idea of nations having weapons that should never be deployed against anyone on a more personal level with 1976’s MW and in a more general way with 1949’s Metropolis with scientific progress for scientific progress’ sake. But here, instead of us doing it to ourselves, we are doing it to others first.

As the manga draws to a close Tezuka invokes the Bible and the story of Noah as the world of the Fumoon, the creatures Yamadano found on the island, and the world of humans come crashing into one another. As the two groups prepare to fight, it is clear that humanity is hopelessly outmatched even before the fight has begun, and this is not an underdog kind of fight we are witnessing. Using a simple peasant village people as his example, the villagers ask their priest why their world will be washed away in God’s final judgment when they themselves were a peaceful people and had never done any harm to anyone. Maybe this is Tezuka’s way of saying that when men play God in life and death decisions with the world in the balance, it’s the little people who ultimately pay the highest prices.

On a personal note, Dark Horse have included an explanation for how certain "people from Africa and Southeast Asia," as depicted by the author, are presented without changes. They claim that they understand how people could be upset by such depictions, but they have released it unchanged so that people can get an understanding of how the world viewed certain groups in that era. I find it ironic that Tezuka and Tezuka Productions, people who the larger manga/anime audience have ignored, would go to the trouble to explain themselves when there are a slew of popular artists and writers working today who depict people from other countries any way they chose (for example, all blonde girls from America are presented as being somehow "easy") and don’t apologize for it. Were there more like Tezuka, the experience we have as readers and viewers would be greatly enriched.

[Recommended]

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This review is based on a retail copy of the Dark Horse manga purchased by the reviewer.

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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Metropolis: Taking a Stroll Through the "Tezuka Backlot"

Warning: The following article discusses important plot points in the Metropolis manga and anime. Don't read it if you're avoiding being spoiled for a manga that came out over fifty years ago or an anime that came out nearly a decade ago. If you're not a wimp, however, then read on!

One of the most amazing things about reading and watching Tezuka manga and anime is the incredible depth of the world that his works maintain amongst themselves. Beyond the universes and stories created for each anime and manga, Osamu Tezuka constructed an entire backbone to his stories, a meta-story of sorts revolving around his "Star System," a so-called acting troupe filled with the familiar faces from his manga series. In a way, he has left other manga artists and animators with more than the backbone of the anime and manga industries and aesthetics; he has left behind what might be called the "Tezuka Backlot": a universe behind the stories that opens up pathways for newcomers to work with his actors and environments to create new stories from the old. Let's take a walk through director Rintaro's unique vision of this backlot, as I analyze his 2001 film, Metropolis, through the lens of Tezuka's original 1949 manga version of the story.

It is important to note that Rintaro's vision of the backlot is distinctly different from Tezuka's manga, which, legend has it, was the artist's least favorite creation. What makes the movie so interesting is that the director takes a pre-Astro Boy Tezuka manga that was admittedly not very good to begin with (due partly to cuts forced by Tezuka's editors) and infuses it with the knowledge of Tezuka's entire canon. Thus, it serves as a powerful tribute to the life and work of its original creator just as it is a technical and emotional achievement of its director.

Both stories begin, delightfully, with a scientific conference held by the greatest minds in the world in the greatest city in the world, the futuristic Metropolis. Tezuka's vision holds a distinct charm with its fifties-era kitschy sci-fi look, but Rintaro makes an interesting choice: Metropolis looks (at least partially) like the futuristic world foretold in Fritz Lang's seminal 1926 science fiction film of the same name. Even though Tezuka "hadn't seen the movie and [...] didn't even know what it was about", and his idea for the manga came only from a single promotional shot of "the female robot [Maria]'s birth scene," the choice to integrate this aesthetic into the adaptation shows a fascinating reverence to not just Tezuka, but his influences as well (Tezuka 164). In fact, the "Ziggurat," a giant tower that serves as a primary visual and narrative cue in the film, is itself based on the tower in Lang's movie, and it also never actually appeared in Tezuka's manga.

It is into the bustle of this city, filled with excitement spurred by the completion of the Ziggurat's construction, that antagonist Duke Red steps into the spotlight. Seen only as the shadowy leader of the "Red Party" in the manga, Duke steps up his position in the anime, becoming not just a nobleman (as his title implies), but the most powerful man in Metropolis, with the political and economic clout to control the mayor and president, not to mention privately fund the construction of the Ziggurat and maintain a private army called the Marduks. While Duke Red was at the beginning of his career in the manga, this depiction shows him after his many roles shaped him into a far richer, more powerful figure in Tezuka's stories. But Duke Red also gained something far more meaningful through his years as a Tezuka character: a son.

Rock Holmes, a boy hero who made his first major appearance a mere sixteen days after the publication of Metropolis in Detective Boy Rock Holmes (1949), shows up as a villain in Metropolis (EDIT: the movie version), reflecting his evolution from an innocent child to a dark, charismatic villain later in Tezuka's career. However, Rock notably does not appear in the original manga. Here Rintaro truly expresses his attention to the backlot, as he brings in a longtime actor and all of his emotional baggage to fill a spot in a story that didn't originally feature him. Rock is often depicted as the son of Duke Red (just take a look at the first chapter of Black Jack), so his dedication to his (adopted in this case) father fits in perfectly with his character. However, the Duke denies his familial love, treating him instead as nothing more than a pawn in the Marduk Party.

From the earliest moments of the story, Rock takes out his frustration with this situation out on the people around him. Most notably, he hates robots — an act of discrimination that firmly casts him as the villain in Tezuka's meta-universe — and dedicates himself to destroying any that go out of line in the city. At the very beginning of the story, he even tries to destroy the robot girl Tima (the anime's replacement of the manga's gender-changing "Michi") commissioned by Duke Red, and his final act of the film is to make a desperate stab at the robots encircling him and his father. His deep hatred of robots replaces Duke Red's nonchalant mistreatment of such in the original manga, and provides a perfect counterpoint to the embracing philosophy upheld by the anime version of the story's protagonist, Kenichi.

In the manga, Tezuka definitely explores the themes of culture clash that he would later expand upon in Astro Boy, but they are shown in a distinctly different light than the movie version. The clash is between Detective Shunsaku Ban, who is trying to unmask the Red Party's activities, and Duke Red. While Duke Red creates robots and drives them to work without a care for their well-being, Ban befriends one of the workers, who is quickly melted down by the Duke. Later, Tezuka transfers this robot friendship to active hostility, as Michi discovers that she is an artificial being and decides to join with the robots to tear down Metropolis, the pride and joy of the race that created and subjugated them.

Meanwhile, the Metropolis anime, for all of the subtlety that it infuses into Tezuka's original (which is quite blunt in how it states the moral about humans "destroying themselves with their own science"), squanders this in some ways by explaining exactly what moral it is trying to get across. The human rebel Atlas — yes, a human reincarnation of Astro Boy's rebellious robot brother — monologues to a stoic robot detective about the purpose of emotions in motivating humans to violence, and when Tima finally joins with the Ziggurat's systems and takes control of the hidden weapons inside, she lets everybody know that "this is punishment for toying with robots."

However, despite the sheer number of new cast members and set pieces that it adds, the Metropolis anime winds up being far more personal than its source material. Tezuka's manga jumps all over the place, focusing on a variety of characters and never stopping long enough to develop any of them. Kenichi and Michi are only given brief moments to show their personalities: Kenichi is a cocky yet intelligent kid and Michi is, well ... just a nice little boy I guess. In the anime, Rintaro is given a chance to show Kenichi in the grand scheme of things by contrasting him with Rock, as mentioned earlier. In doing so, he focuses less on the sprawling city of Metropolis and more on the interactions of its characters. Rock and Kenichi's brief battle on the steps in the snow is a particularly poignant struggle between two Tezuka boy heroes, forced to fight by their differing ideologies. Rock also tries to kill Tima, who is essentially "taking the place of Astro [Boy] as the robots' champion" (Palmer), though such unforgivable murders of revered characters are old hat for Rock, who already attempted to kill Osamu Tezuka himself in the Vampires manga.

Finally, both stories provide interesting viewpoints on the relationship between Kenichi and Michi/Tima. In the manga, it was little more than a brief friendship, erected mostly for the purpose of indulging children in the fantasy of how awesome it would be to have a best friend with superpowers. The anime softens Kenichi's slightly arrogant personality, necessarily making him the nice guy to Rock's mean guy, and adding much needed philosophical tension to their single face-to-face confrontation (which is, by the way, the only time Kenichi attacks anyone in the whole film).

Nevertheless, it is in the final moments that the movie shows the deepest change in Kenichi's character. When faced with being thrown off of the top of the Ziggurat by a malfunctioning Tima, Ken does not choose, as he does in the manga, to fight her in order to stop her rampage against all of humanity. No, this softer Kenichi calls her name, trying in vain to get her to return to her senses. In the end, just like his manga namesake, the boy is unable to save the girl, but her loss is made even more emotional for viewers with a knowledge of the manga.

The two stories of the anime and manga, when combined, form a tale of the futility of escaping death that Tezuka surely would have appreciated. That is to say, when Kenichi uses force to stop Michi/Tima from destroying mankind, he cannot save her from death, and when he uses kindness, he again cannot save her. To a viewer experiencing both versions of the story, it feels like Michi/Tima has died twice, and no matter what way we might want Kenichi to try to help her, he will never be able to.

When it comes down to it, Metropolis is much more than a visually stunning, dramatically powerful movie. On its own, it certainly might have wowed audiences, but as a capstone to a readthrough of Tezuka's broad body of work, the film is unbelievably poignant. Simply reading some of Metropolis, Astro Boy, and Black Jack can be enough to provide a simple education in Tezuka's Star System that will greatly enrich a viewing of the Metropolis movie. As with most any Tezuka adaptation, this is a movie that absolutely must be experienced alongside the original version to achieve the full effect.

Quotes, dates, and facts cited from:

• McCarthy, Helen. The Art of Osamu Tezuka. New York: Abrams, 2009. Print.
• Palmer, Ada. "Rock Holmes: Transformation." Tezuka In English. N.p. 23 Mar. 2010. Web. <http://tezukainenglish.com/?q=node/124>.
• Tezuka, Osamu. Metropolis. Trans. Kumar Sivasubramanian. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Comics, 2003. Print.

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Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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Ode to Kirihito contest extended to March 31

It would seem that, for some reason, we didn't get enough entries (that is to say, any entries) for our second contest, which gave four lucky readers a chance to win a copy of Vertical, Inc.'s new two-volume release of Osamu Tezuka's Ode to Kirihito. So, to open up this contest to more people, I've decided to extend it. From now until 11:59pm on March 31st, any comment on any article labeled "Theme Month – Tezuka" (including this one) will enter you for a chance to win both volumes of Ode to Kirihito.

Oh, your comment will have to be on the actual Ani-Gamers site, not on any re-posted version, like Facebook. Also, make sure you either include an e-mail address in your comment or keep an eye on the site for an announcement of the winners, or else I will have trouble tracking you down to send the prize. And nobody wants that, right?

With that, I wish everybody luck in winning Ode to Kirihito. Now comment away, and enjoy the remainder of the Theme Month!

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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Review: Astro Boy – Omega Factor (GBA)

Medium: Video Game (Game Boy Advance)
Genre: Action
Designer: Tez Okano (Director/Game & Visual Concept/Story)
Developers: Treasure, Hitmaker
Publisher: SEGA
Release Date(s): Dec. 18, 2003 (JP), Aug. 18, 2004 (US), Feb 18, 2005 (EU)
Rated: E for Everyone

I bought this game in early 2005 and, to be utterly blunt, I would have passed it by entirely if it had not been for the prominent logo of the developer on the box. Gunstar Heroes on the Mega Drive/ Genesis is a cornerstone of my youth and as a result I have a rather shallow policy of buying any Treasure game I see.

At the time of Omega Factor’s release I was starting to get into anime in a serious way. Instead of just passively watching, I was starting to do background research — finding names of directors, checking the Internet, crawling about for more information on what to watch.

In its own way this game was a massive help as an introduction to Tezuka's work as it incorporates a great number of the Star System of characters, and even includes a barebones mini-reference guide in the options screen. Some of the characters are flat-out obscure even now, but if you know who they are it is endlessly gratifying to see them all line up and take part in the plot. Hell, one of the pivotal moments in the plot has you protecting Black Jack while he operates on someone — an honestly badass moment.

Omega Factor puts you in the role of Astro Boy (bet you didn't see that coming), and follows a complete storyline from his initial activation onwards through a series of discrete stories that are initially independent but slowly coalesce into a single, larger plot. The storyline is well-paced and simply presented, told primarily through static cutscenes with text dialogue. The storyline sucks you right in, however is deeply marred by the fact that the entire story arc requires you to play the bulk of the game's levels twice in order to complete it. However, so engrossing is the gameplay that even on my recent playthough it took a good long while to actually notice that I was replaying the majority of the levels for a second time with very little change apart from the toughness of the enemies.

Towards the end there are one or two easy-to-miss links in the storyline, particularly if you are ham-handed and accidentally skip past some key dialogue like I did. These small slip-ups required me to go scurrying to GameFAQs in order to find out how to continue. I also experienced a rather irritating glitch where a plot event would not fire properly and so I had to reset the console and re-do some earlier events in order to make the game progress.

But these small issues do not detract from the games very satisfying resolution — it is (surprisingly) emotionally powerful, especially for an action game.

The moment-to-moment gameplay comes generally under one of two main types — some stages are laid out like a side scrolling beat ‘em up and others like a shoot ‘em up. Both modes share the same controls and attacks, allowing the gameplay to shift quickly and frequently between the two without needing to explain the change each time. Neither play style is outstanding on its own but the frequent switching helps to keep the game fresh, especially as levels will often drag on a lot longer than is enjoyable, with too many waves of enemies showing up to the party. The same can be said of the game's bosses — due to a quirk of the storyline you will end up fighting all of them at least twice, each time more difficult than the last. The endgame boss rush event is difficult to the point of wanting to throw your console at the wall; I have only ever completed it once on Normal mode, no matter how often I try. Still, it was an amazing feeling when I finally managed it.

Another complaint to level against the game is that it contains a particularly aggravating quick-time event — they were a lot more novel in 2005, but even then the idea of pressing the "A" button 12 times in succession without missing once to progress the plot must have seemed bonkers.

The game shoves a remarkable amount of action onto the Game Boy screen, causing rampant slowdown in some places due to the number of enemies that are visible on the screen at one time — the fact that each time you strike an enemy a collection of stars fly out to show the damage doesn't really help this.

The different difficulty modes Omega Factor offers are very well-made, with each mode feeling like an entirely different game and providing a nice chunk of re-playability. Just don't try playing on Hard mode the first time around; otherwise you are going to sound silly when you have to explain to the doctor that a fight against your asshole robot brother on the moon is the cause of your sudden high blood pressure.

The game includes a very light RPG-style element with the application of an upgrade system over the course of the game. This is nothing outstandingly original, but the source of the upgrades is rather inventive and in keeping with the general "feeling" of Astro Boy — as you meet and understand the motivations of other characters in the story you are awarded extra points to upgrade your abilities. By the end you will have everything maxed whether you go looking for additional characters or not, so there is no need to worry about having to trawl through an FAQ to avoid being horribly gimped for the later game stages.

Shortly after I agreed to write this review, I was hit by a sudden worry. "Oh crap," I said to myself, "It's going to be a kick in the pants to the reader if I review this and it turns out you can no longer get a hold of it." A quick bit of searching shows that you can quite easily nab a copy, even so many years after its release date. Hell, you may have walked past a used copy in your own local games store before. Despite my many gripes, the core of Astro Boy: Omega Factor is solid gold. I would honestly recommend picking up a copy if you see one.

[Recommended]

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This review is based on a retail copy of the DS game purchased by the reviewer.

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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Nintendo announces 3DS, 3-D capable DS successor

According to a press release on Nintendo's Japanese site, the company has just announced a successor to their Nintendo DS handheld, which has sold over 125 million units in the nearly six years of its lifespan. The new system, tentatively called the "Nintendo 3DS," will be a ... wait for it ... a 3-D DS!

The release specifically points out that with the new 3DS, "games can be enjoyed with 3D [sic] effects without the need for any special glasses," quite an exciting prospect considering the present ubiquity of polarized glasses in the 3-D media landscape. Additionally, even though the 3DS is set to "succeed 'Nintendo DS series' [sic]" (it's not a simple hardware revision like the DS Lite or DSi), the handheld will be able to play games from the Nintendo DS and DSi, though Gameboy Advance backwards compatibility (not mentioned in the press release) is almost certainly out of the question.

There has been some talk lately of evolving 3-D technology to not require those silly glasses, and the spurious spectacles are still a roadblock for many consumers (myself included) who remain hesitant to embrace 3-D technology. Whatever Nintendo uses in the 3DS has the potential to cause a paradigm shift in the way that 3-D is used in and outside games, much like the Wii has done to motion control in the gaming sphere. (Then again, it also has the potential to be really gimmicky. Again, like the Wii.) Nintendo is set to provide details about the handheld at E3 in Los Angeles this June.

[via Nintendo via Joystiq]

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries – Episode 48

Ani-Gamers staff writer Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Watch Episode 48 – The Oath in the Tunnel

I don’t think any episode of either series has ever gone by as quickly for me as this one. I regret each blink, because every shutter-like moment means I missed something awesome somewhere.

Wrath’s murder of Lust in FMA1 can be likened to Gluttony’s death at Pride’s dark hands in FMA2, but only regarding its homunculus vs. homunculus nature. FMA1’s scene is one fought over issues of betrayal, whereas FMA2’s scene comes out of a desperate move to combine resources in order to win a fight. That being said, FMA1 never directly combined homunculi, but FMA2 makes a fearsome enemy out of the new mega-Pride who, to supplement his own fantastic shadow puppetry and life force, absorbs Gluttony’s sense of smell and ravenous hunger as well as his remaining life, which was whittled down via relentless attacks from Lan Fan and Ling.

What the differences so readily point out is the inherent values behind each series: the varying consequences of individuality. In FMA1, a cohesive bond between people was seen as the epitome of strength, whereas it always painted individuality as pointed towards trouble or death. FMA2, however, has been rather centered around the separation and building of characters outside of the comfort zone of trusted alliances. This brings us to the namesake scene for this episode.

The rather understated reunion of Mustang and his trusted elite manages to be rousing and heartening through an overwhelming sense of conviction in the name of faith for comrades. (A sly visual metaphor for this can be seen in the warm reaction of Black Hayate to Mustang’s hand.) This kind of “absence makes the heart grow fonder” could not have been possible without FMA2’s dedication to growing characters’ individualities, and now that unspoken emotional cohesion can be effectively and believably put to use in solidifying resolve to stage a political coup. This starkly contrasts FMA1, wherein Mustang and company were never separated and always acted as a cohesive cell. By setting up the coup in this manner, FMA2 makes the whole situation a much more three-dimensional event than FMA1, which more or less used it as a backdrop or setting for the forging of a solid relationship between Ed and Mustang.

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Quick notice re: Metropolis article

I mentioned this on Twitter, but I would like to let the rest of the readers know so nobody is confused about this. My Metropolis anime-manga comparison article planned for this past Friday has been postponed. I've had a lot of non-site work in the past few days that got in the way. Rest assured, we've got a bunch of other articles drafted up for the rest of the week, and I'm going to do my best to get my own article done for publication either in this week or next.

I hope everybody's enjoying Tezuka Month!

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Review: Adolf (Manga)

Medium: Manga (5 volumes)
Genres: Drama, Historical
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Publishers: Bungei Shunju (JPN), Cadence Books/Viz Media (NA/UK)
Release Dates: Jan. 6, 1982 – May 30, 1985 (JPN), 1997 (NA/UK)
Age Rating: Unknown

Due to Japan’s strict policies against fictionalizing the events of WWII, Osamu Tezuka had to wait nearly forty years after the war before setting a story in that era that did not rely heavily on metaphor and robots. Released in the mid-1980s, Adolf is a complex story about three young men all sharing the same name: Two of their tales span the entire war as a young German Jew and a young German Aryan who grow up as friends, then become enemies as the war develops. The third Adolf is easy enough to guess in a story about WWII.

The massive tale begins at the Olympics in Berlin, where reporter Sohei Togi searches for his missing brother only to uncover a murder conspiracy. While his journey spans across both Germany and Japan, Adolf Hitler’s influence spreads as the Hitler Youth rises like an approaching drum line. His investigations discover a pinnacle secret about Hitler upon which the decade-long story pivots. This makes him the target of many assassination attempts until he can slip away into secrecy.

Meanwhile, as one race rises to superiority, Adolf Kaufmann uses his diluted Aryan background as grounds to feel superior to previous childhood friend Adolf Kamil. In the fifth volume, their parallel return to their hometown is a dark blessing at best, especially once Kaufmann discovers his mother has remarried to Japanese reporter ... Sohei Togi!

Having spent last month reading Tezuka’s Buddha and Phoenix, the stark, serious nature of this story came as a surprise. There are very few moments of comedic relief, and almost no chibi exaggerations from Tezuka’s earlier works. Even the drawing style has very detailed character design and backgrounds that emphasize the brutal nature of the environment. It is also necessary to note that Tezuka did not use any of his cast of stock characters (Ed: the "Star System") when composing this piece: every character in Adolf is designed and used solely for Adolf. When metaphor is used, however, it is vivid and striking. The most memorable moments for me in this five-volume epic are the depictions of rape: Tezuka streaks the feminine form in heavy shadows that contort into barbaric teeth and animal fangs to deliver his point across. As with most of his works, this is a testament to humanism and the flawed raison d’etre of nationality. Tezuka is unrelenting in his portrayal of pettiness driven by race and man’s need to rise higher than his peers.

Adolf’s message and story have no place remaining in obscurity for all but the fans who find the graphic novels translated by Cadence Books (a former division of Viz Media). Tezuka’s lack of Jewish perspective is compensated by his intimate knowledge of Japan’s unsettling cultural reset at the war’s end. He is able to translate that fear and instability flawlessly in the Adolf’s western Germany community. In a poignant moment, both Adolfs and their cultural groups are huddled in darkness in a single bomb shelter. The irony and the misery are captured by Tezuka’s honed sense of lighting and composition. You feel pressed against the sweating shoulder of your enemy while, above, the town you both deserve is being blown to fiery debris by America.

Graphic novels like Adolf offer so much political and historical context, it is a shame that the current generation will lose it amid their Hetalia hug pillows.

Read Adolf. Plaster its images above your bed. Organize the youth of your communities and march in the streets until Tezuka’s banner becomes the only banner this nation reads ... uh-oh ...

(Ani-Gamers does not condone the use of Osama Tezuka’s works as propaganda or prejudice against Axis Powers Hetalia nor its creator. We would just encourage you to read more Tezuka if given the opportunity.)

[Recommended]

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This review is based on Cadence Books graphic novels purchased by the reviewer.

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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Review: Black Jack, vols.1-9 (Manga)

Medium: Manga (17 volumes total, 9 released in US/UK at the time of writing)
Genres: Drama, Medical
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Publishers: Shōnen Champion (JPN), Vertical Inc. (NA/UK)
Release Dates: 1973 – 1983 (JPN), Sept 2008 – ongoing (NA/UK)
Age Rating: Unknown

Sometimes, when I have a spare moment, I wonder what would have been if I had followed a different path in life. Maybe I could have become a concert pianist, or a doctor. The thing is, even if I had trained to be a doctor, I would certainly have turned nowhere near as awesome as Black Jack is.

Black Jack, the titular character of Osamu Tezuka's manga, is a roguish, outcast surgeon who scorns the medical establishment and instead follows his own personal code of honor as he goes around fixing people up and then charging outrageous sums of money for his services. Black Jack is, like his scarred body, a patchwork character with many interesting facets to his personality — he can be comfortably introduced as a rude, blunt dick but is set apart by his endless drive to preserve life. Thankfully his character is free from many dull tropes; he does not have a "Heart of Gold" by any stretch of the imagination, nor does he neatly fit into the mold of a typical "anti-hero".

You may remember Ani-Gamers Podcast #016, in which we discussed Black Jack and talked quite a bit about how we disliked Pinoko, the other main character in the series who for some will be an absolute turn-off. To give you a brief introduction, Pinoko is a girl "born" of a Teratoid Cystoma who believes she is Black Jack's wife. She is generally very immature, speaks a lot of garbage with a comedic lisp and is very disruptive when involved with the story. While I am still not her greatest fan by any stretch of the imagination, I have warmed to the character with her repeated appearances, as she is a genuinely interesting character.

The art leaps seamlessly from clean character art and background to hyper-detailed shots of surgery — Tezuka's own medical training no doubt shining though. I am rather squeamish to be quite honest, and thankfully any internal body shots or injuries are shown very matter-of-factly.

One of the wonderful things about Black Jack, at least for me, is that almost every story is completely self-contained, even those that reference older events.

This length is a major strength of the series — each self-contained chapter is only around 20-25 pages all told. Should you find yourself disliking a story for whatever reason, in a few pages you can simply move on to the next. This also allows each tale to have it's own individual impact, with brevity bringing the best out of the storytelling. The individual tales waste no time in getting to the point and setting things out — sadly this can lead to very abrupt endings, but this pace is a nice way to present the story. Most importantly, it prevents the story from getting bogged down in details, hanging plot threads, or an overarching plot. There are distinct themes throughout the manga, which are usually tied to supporting characters, but these are used sparingly and are a treat when they appear. This short format also helps out with the dialogue — no one ever minces words and everything said is important to your enjoyment of the story.

Overall the stories have a great mix of tone; the subject is grave, life-or-death indeed, but it retains a playful air. The use of lighthearted elements is especially effective at helping to maintain suspension of disbelief for the more outlandish or flat-out crazy situations. (Like the time Black Jack operated on a supercomputer! Or the time he had to excise a talking facial deformity! Or when he had to hunt down and operate on a super-intelligent stag!)

Normally in reviews you would now expect the line of "Oh, one of those is fake, but I bet you can’t guess which one!" No, all of the above happen at some point in Black Jack.

Some of my personal favorite stories are, quite simply, ones where the ending is a downer. Sometimes a case is beyond even Black Jack, or external pressures interfere, and so for whatever reason things don't turn out for the best. It’s honestly great that not every chapter ends positively — it keeps you on your toes while reading. These conclusions are often quite arresting — more than once I found myself putting the volume down to process what had just happened because it had emotionally effected me.

Meanwhile, the main thrust of the manga's varied messages deal with the sanctity and importance of preserving life above all else as well as scorning the established medical community (one of the reasons Tezuka himself never applied his medical training directly) and other confounding variables that can get in the way of saving life.

One of the facets of this overarching philosophy is in regards to euthanasia, and is one of my personal issues with the series. Without getting too political or turning this review into a soapbox, I am a personal proponent of euthanasia and assisted suicide, whereas Tezuka (via Black Jack) is dead set against the idea in any form. One of my favorite characters, Dr. Kiriko, assists those who wish to die and has his own back-story and issues to grapple with as he does his grisly duty. Sadly all the stories that involve him end up becoming one-sided lectures with those who suggest euthanasia coming off as straw men whom Black Jack successfully discredits by the end. After a while this begins to feel rather immature as the larger issue is stunted by the short format of the series.

To be frank, the first volume is probably the most uneven out of the volumes released thus far. The selection varies wildly between some great stories, most of which are vital in filling in back-story or introducing the few principal cast members, and other lesser chapters that left me skimming the page waiting for the story to end. As the series has continued, and I have become more familiar with the cast, the overall quality of the stories (and perhaps my appreciation for them) has definitely increased. The last two volumes I purchased I read voraciously over the course of a single weekend.

Despite its (admittedly few) flaws, I would not hesitate to recommend Black Jack to almost anyone. Not just those who like manga, but anyone who wants to read a succinct, clear, medically themed drama and isn't afraid of having it displayed pictorially. In order to write this review I had to recall some volumes that I had lent to various friends I was trying to introduce to the series — a task more difficult than it sounds as some did not wish to return the books.

[Highly Recommended]

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This review is based on Vertical, Inc. graphic novels purchased by the reviewer.

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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Tezuka Contest #2: Ode to Kirihito

The prizes just keep rolling in this month, as we move on to our second contest of Osamu Tezuka month. This week we'll be giving away four copies of Vertical, Inc.'s new two-volume release of Ode to Kirihito. However, this week we're switching up the way to enter. Instead of just commenting on this post, you'll be entered into the contest simply by commenting on any Tezuka Month post during this week (including this one).

If possible, please include your e-mail address so we can get in contact with you to send you the prize. We'll randomly pick four winners next Sunday at 11:59pm. Watch the site next week on Monday for a post announcing the winners.

I'll start us off with a conversation topic in this post: Personally, I have found that Tezuka is particularly good at evoking strong emotions in simple yet memorable single panels. What are some of the most memorable "Tezuka moments" that you have seen in his anime and/or manga? One of my personal moments is in Ode to Kirihito, where Dr. Urabe gets a startling call about the fate of his former patient. Torn apart by this new information, he slowly turns from the phone, and on the next page, we see his face up close, a grotesque mask of anger and guilt. Though he is entirely human, Urabe looks far more beast than man in that single moment.

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries – Episode 47

Ani-Gamers staff writer Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Watch Episode 47 – Emissary of Darkness

The most obvious similarity and difference this episode showcases is the use of Al as a host for a homunculus. In FMA1, it is the mist-like Sloth who invades Al’s armor while wearing his mother’s face to control him emotionally and physically in order to defend herself against Edward’s attack. FMA2 has Al permeated by the shadow-lurking Pride, who attempts to use the suited brother to lure Ed into the forest for capture.

One could draw parallels between the forms of said infesting homunculi and the nature of both series. FMA1’s Sloth is water-based and motherly, reflecting the FMA1’s focus on family and emotion, whereas FMA2’s Pride reflects the predatory nature of night itself, bringing about a sense of danger which makes this series so much fun. Neither instance is one-sided. FMA1 leverages the conflict of family bonds to forge Ed’s resilience to emotional trickery as well as take responsibility for their original sin, and FMA2 uses brotherly bonds to create an air of desperate concern for Al’s future well-being by Ed within a homunculus-devised stratagem.

Treatment of Hohenheim of Light also evokes some major differentiation. FMA1, as previously stated, never gave him much in the way of a back-story. This was appropriate. His relative absence from the series forced concentration on the brothers’ issues, most of which (if not all) stemmed from Hohenheim or his desertion. He shows up in the brothers’ lives and then disappears again, keeping in line with what we know of his character and then ends up being nullified as any sort of threat by the homunculi in a showdown that reaped nothing for the brothers (he was trying to get the evil being to leave his sons alone) but filled viewers in one some details.

FMA2 not only gives Hohenheim a more complete back-story, but also ironically makes his character more believably human. Why ironically? Because FMA2 Hohenheim is a Philosopher’s Stone, and this sets up a moral quandary for Ed (though one that is quickly dismissed as even a remote possibility ... at least for now). Possibly breaching its own formerly stymied emotional tract, this advantageous possibility — forcing Ed/Al to use their father as an ingredient in an attack on Father (dwarf in a flask) — speaks volumes as to where the themes come from which are at the center of this series: allegiance, duty, sacrifice … BROTHERHOOD. It would not be off-track in the slightest then to say that FMA1 is most definitely maternally driven, while FMA2 shows its paternal allegiance. Respectively, FMA1 and FMA2 aggrandize emotions we could generalize as stereotypically female and male, but if Hohenheim is to be used by Ed and Al, FMA2 will have managed to leverage both gender-generalized emotional impacts.

And last but not least, seeing as this episode contains not one, but two mentions of reasons not to attempt to regain an original body — possibility of depleting Hohenheim as a source and the chimeras’ fondness for the advantages of their laboratory-contrived forms — FMA2 might be heading for an end where Ed and Al do not get their original bodies back as per FMA1, but learn to live as they are … accepting their sins so to speak. This is only far-fetched when the threat of Al’s slipping consciousness is taken into account, but it would be a great end to the series.

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Review: Astro Boy, vol.3 (Manga)

Medium: Manga (23 volumes)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Publishers: Kodansha (JPN), Dark Horse (NA/UK)
Release Dates: Apr. 1952 – Mar. 1968 (JPN), Mar. 15, 2002 (NA/UK)
Age Rating: Not Rated

To be honest, much of Tezuka's work is old. We can talk about how influential his series are on anime and manga, and we can discuss the depth of his themes, but the fact remains that many of his early works, including Astro Boy, just don't age very well. Astro Boy volume three, a Dark Horse release that compiles two stories from the Astro Boy universe, is no exception, but it is still completely worth reading for a quite unexpected reason.

Specifically, this volume is a treasure trove for fans of Tezuka adaptations. The bulk of the book's 208 pages is filled with a story called "The Greatest Robot on Earth," which pits Astro against Pluto, a giant, horned robot programmed to destroy the seven most powerful robots in the world (including Astro), thereby making him king of the robot world. The kindly Dr. Ochanomizu tries to keep the boy robot from fighting Pluto, as the colossal enemy proves time and again that Astro's 100,000 horsepower isn't enough to defeat Pluto's own one million. Meanwhile, Pluto forms his first and only friendship with Astro's robot sister Uran, and faces a fundamental moral dilemma: to destroy Astro would be to rob his only friend of the most important person in her life.

"The Greatest Robot on Earth" is, according to Tezuka's brief introduction at the beginning of the book, among his most popular Astro Boy story arcs, and its popularity has even spawned Naoki Urasawa's fantastic seinen retelling, Pluto. However, readers expecting the dark murder mystery tones of Pluto will be sorely disappointed to find a comic squarely aimed at children, as this was naturally the demographic for which Tezuka wrote Astro Boy. The pacing is also brutally fast, forcing much-needed exposition into a mere two speech bubbles in a single tiny panel.

The truth is that this story has simply not aged well. It is often hard to understand what's going on as Tezuka barrels through the story at a breakneck pace, and many of the robots that Pluto destroys are barely given more than a page for character introduction before they are wiped out. Even the fight scenes, which Tezuka builds up with commendable tension in so few pages, are tragically brief, a shame considering the exciting style with which the artist depicts them.

Despite all this, "The Greatest Robot on Earth" is worth it because, despite the shortcomings of the storytelling style, Tezuka has important things to say about love, friendship, family, and most of all duty (in Pluto's case) and self-acceptance (in Astro's case). Pluto faces a classic military conundrum: to obey a corrupt order or to do what you believe is right, while Astro must choose to raise his horsepower from 100,000 to one million, even though Dr. Ochanomizu insists that being the greatest robot in the world is all about his heart, not his horsepower. In the end, even though Pluto chooses to do the right thing, it is Astro's decision to embrace the philosophy of "might-makes-right" that leaves an appropriately unsatisfying conclusion to the tale.

With so much going on between the lines, it is no wonder that this one story has been adapted into arcs in all three Astro Boy anime series as well as Urasawa's Pluto. Each of these four adaptations provides an entirely different look at the same themes. For example, Urasawa's manga delves into the private lives of each of Pluto's robot victims, while the 1980 Astro Boy anime reverses Astro's decision regarding his horsepower, painting a much less grim picture than Tezuka does at the end of this manga arc. The 2003 anime takes the story a step further, casting Dr. Tenma (Astro's father) as the scientist behind Pluto's creation.

After such an adaptation-friendly chapter, it is only natural that the balance is taken up by "Mad Machine," a brief story about a machine craeted by Dr. Fooler (a regular character in Tezuka's "Star System") that causes every robot in Tokyo to go haywire. Dr. Ochanomizu manages to take Astro Boy apart before the Mad Machine is turned on, and sends the boy to destroy it as it takes a three-minute break to recharge. Keen readers will remember that a similar machine is used by Duke Red in Rintaro's Metropolis to fry the circuits of all of the robots in Metropolis. Unsurprisingly, the scientist at the helm of Rintaro's Mad Machine is the very same Dr. Fooler.

On its own, volume three of Astro Boy is hardly enjoyable for anyone but Tezuka addicts and children, but in the context of the adaptations that it has spawned, this particular volume just might be one of the most important in the whole series. If you haven't read any adaptations of "The Greatest Robot on Earth" yet, the original manga version is easily the best one to start with. It will provide a basis of comparison as well as a few interesting themes to toy around with before you move on to Pluto or any of the anime story arcs.

[Recommended]

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This review is based on a Dark Horse graphic novel purchased by the reviewer.

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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Ani-Gamers Podcast #027 – Sucks? Or Is Spectacular?

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer, "Knuckles Dawson"
Topic: What'cha Been Doing?

This just might be the silliest, most off-topic episode of the Ani-Gamers Podcast, as Mitchy and I discuss anime and video games (mostly the latter) with gaming journalist Knuckles Dawson. Just when you thought our discussion of the dubs for Dragonball Z and presence of robot dragons in Escaflowne couldn't get any more sidetracked, we include gems like an in-depth analysis of our favorite flavors of egg nog. So listen away ... at your own risk.

It's also worth noting that, this time, I attempted to bleep out Mitchy's uses of the F-bomb, though I just gave up when it came to censoring "shit." Hopefully this will keep Apple secret agents from busting down my doors and arresting me for not putting an Explicit tag on our podcast.

(P.S. The picture on the right is a Photoshop of Mitchy, made by some jerks on a forum who think that he is the worst video game journalist on the face of the planet. The maturity of their critique is easily apparent.)

Show notes and links after the break.

DIRECT DOWNLOAD - RSS Feed - iTunes - Send us Feedback! - More episodes


(Runtime: 48 minutes)

[00:00] Intro: Why can't we just do a clap like normal people?

[00:26] Opening Song: "Opening Theme" by Tsuneo Imahori (Trigun OP)

[00:44] Barad-dur in "eye-definition." We personally apologize for this terrible pun. Also it was Knuckles' fault.

[02:04] Evan talks about Tezuka month, forgetting to mention that he's speaking from the perspective of a week and a half ago. Whoops.

[03:00] Knuckles discusses his limited experience with anime, which includes Noboru Ishiguro's 1980 Astro Boy remake (the color one), some Dragonball manga, the Dragonball Z anime, Escaflowne, and Appleseed.

[09:47] Evan is watching Zeta Gundam. Knuckles cites some limited Gundam experience, which probably means he's talking about Wing.

[12:45] Evan is watching Code Geass, but Knuckles and Mitchy are too busy chatting on Skype text chat to pay any attention to him. At around 14:00, Knuckles brings up "Over 9000" and the Dragon Box release from FUNimation.

[20:43] Evan is watching Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, which he hates very much.

[21:34] Mitchy is playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

[35:42] Knuckles is going back to get the multiplayer achievemnts for Lord of the Rings: Conquest.

[36:28] Knuckles is also playing the Bioshock 2 multiplayer. Most important fact: "Capture the Sister" mode.

[41:48] Knuckles is going back to play Beautiful Katamari. Meanwhile, Evan has Super Star Wars and Super Empire Strikes Back on SNES lying around, and he's hoping to get down to playing them soon.

[43:57] Knuckles is playing Borderlands.

[46:22] In trying to talk about Heavy Rain, Mitchy ends up describing the "ApocalyPS3" that screwed up a bunch of people's PS3 data on March 1.

[49:17] Heavy Rain is kind of like Egg Nog. We talk about this for two minutes or so. Professionalism!

[50:53] Finally, Evan finished Mass Effect and is looking forward to playing Mass Effect 2. (He ended up buying it not long after this episode

[51:25] Outro time. Check out AchievementHunter.com, read Mitchy's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 review on GamePro, and follow us on Twitter (Mitchy, Evan, Knuckles, Ani-Gamers).

[48:03] Ending Song: "WORLD END Instrumental" by FLOW (Code Geass R2 2nd OP)

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Review: Black Jack – The Movie (Dub)

Medium: Anime Film
Genres: Drama, Medical, Suspense
Director: Osamu Dezaki
Studio: Tezuka Productions
Release Dates: 1996 (Japan), Apr. 24, 2001 (Palm Pictures–N.America)
Rated: R

Black Jack centers around a uniquely skilled surgeon who’ll attempt to and eventually (successfully) resolve any proposed medical emergency ... for the right price. This particular movie focuses on a publicly unexpected explosion of talent by formerly milk-toast members of society involved in the fields of athleticism, art, and science, and Black Jack’s subsequent involvement as detective and savior in their rehabilitation in the midst of a medical and commercial conspiracy. Black Jack is hired to basically fix an unforeseen defect in the genetic engineering of “superhumans” and, in time, comes to realize that his employers are *gasp* the deviants behind the medical mystery.

Although released in 1993, Black Jack (written and directed by Osamu Dezaki, Osamu Tezuka’s protégé) is beautiful in the way vinyl is authentic and 35 mm film should never be abandoned for digital. It’s a bit of a throwback in style and noir-ish in execution but remains very effective for the story told. Appropriately dominated by dark colors and lack of light, each frame, even those frozen in Dezaki’s characteristic “postcard memories,” infers a sense of haplessness, an underground mindset, and the uncertainty named boogeyman hiding beneath every young child’s bed.

The movie works within a theme of capability vs. morality, which is formally and effectively portrayed by the main character’s non-existent Hippocratic oath, and examines three prevalent opinions: that of the optimist, the independent, and the corrupt.

The optimist is wisely not the main character. Fantastically, it is the villain. She who hopes above all to push through a drug capable of advancing mankind but is so focused on the end that she does not concern herself with the means being undertaken in the process of getting there. In a likewise bit of genius, the corrupt is not the villain mentioned formerly, but the test subjects: ordinary people who volunteered to be artificially altered to obtain a greatness undeserved and who pay the ultimate price for their greed, either at their own hands or those of the addictive drug’s eventually mortal side-effects of fortune and fame.

Black Jack falls nicely in-between, serving as a polished stainless steel scalpel reflecting both sides as he cuts away the infection. In such a position, Black Jack is free to perform the surgeries necessary to save lives while standing the moral ground of not being involved in an experiment. He’s got abundant natural talent but never lets it exceed his own purpose in life, which he regards with the determination of an uncompromised licensed physician. He exists as a neutral tool himself, tasked with the duty of doing whatever legally possible to save the life in his hands.

Just because all three types of characters are complex doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had. There’s the hyper-energetic comedic relief of Pinoko, Black Jack’s sidekick, and allusions via her puzzles to Osamu Tezuka characters. There is also some decently dry humor sparsely threaded into some of the less tense moments of the movie.

All things considered, Black Jack is a wonderful anime deserving of your indulgence. The art may look retro and the character designs may look a bit antique, but this is a labor of love by student for teacher that manages to retain many facets of his talented sweat. As long as you’re into well-rounded characters, distinctive visual storytelling, and an engaging (albeit predictable) plot, this movie is recommended to all adults.

[Recommended]

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This review is based on a Netflix video stream paid for by the reviewer.

Check out more articles about Osamu Tezuka in our March 2010 Tezuka Theme Month!

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