RAW VIDEO: Tokyo Exhibition Honors Manga and Anime Pioneers
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- August 27, 2013
Tokyo's Contemporary Art Museum pays tribute to two of Japanese manga and anime's most important figures: Osama Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori. The exhibition has opened at a time marked by the industry's attempts to leave behind a creative crisis that has plagued it for years by taking advantage of new technology. The museum has chosen the summer of 2013, 15 years after Ishinomori's death and nearly 25 after Tezuka's, to present "Manga no chikara" ("The Power of Manga"), which offers visitors a complete recollection of the artists' works as well as the professional and personal bonds shared. The exhibition, however, centers on the unique narrative touches they gave their work. Their creativity helped transform manga and anime into a multimillion dollar industry that, sadly, is currently withering due to lack of risk-taking and declining working conditions. Ishinomori began working for Tezuka when he was only 17 years old after sending him a few pages of his work in 1955. Tezuka offered him a job as his assistant in "Atom Boy," an incredible success which helped seal the senior artist's reputation as "The God of Manga." The exhibition will be open to the public until September 9.
