The Film Lives On
1958/04-1959/08
STORY
This work features a young enthusiastic man who tries to realize his dream of becoming an animator.
Miyamoto Musashi, coming to the big city with a dream of making animation films, visits an animation studio. But he is refused curtly by a veteran animator by the name of Danmatsuma. Musashi is told his drawings are lifeless. Just then, Musashi meets Sasaki Kojiro who also aspires to be an animator. He clicks with him instantly. But they split up after having a quarrel and come to contend each other. After a while, Musashi, tangled with a gang by chance, gets to know a daughter of the gang family, Otsu. She leaves her family to support Musashi, but the gang sets fire to Musashi’s house in retaliation. Eventually Musashi injures his eyes and loses his 50,000 drawings together with his shooting equipment in fire. Musashi is devastated, yet encouraged by the memory of Ao, his beloved horse he left in his hometown. Collecting his courage again, Musashi undertakes the production of an animation film featuring Ao.
DESCRIPTIONS
April 1958 to August 1959
Appeared serially in "Chu-ichi and Chu-ni Course" (Gakushu Kenkyu Sha)
While active as a cartoonist, Tezuka Osamu had a great interest in the works of Disney, and always dreamed of producing animated films.
Around 1958 to 1959, when this work was published, the world of animation in Japan was undergoing major changes. In 1956 Toei Doga (currently Toei Animation) was established, and Tezuka Osamu became involved in producing a long animated film "Hsi Yu Chi or Monkey" (1960). The film was written and supervised by Tezuka Osamu while this work was also being published serially.
At the time when this work was published, animation was called "Manga film" or "Doga (animated cartoon)." It is now more commonly called "animation" or simply "anime."
