The Complete Works of Tezuka Osamu
The Ant Colony
STORY
Having lost his way in the remote corners of Tibet, an explorer scales a rock wall in search of water to discover a very strange colony controlled by non-human creatures. Indeed, these are a race of ant people. Our explorer is deeply impressed with the highly advanced society that has been created by the ant people, which is organized around a queen. He begins to think that if official relations are to be had with the ant people, that they should be approached with respect and friendship by a representative of the human race. But the hopes of the explorer are soon dashed when humans discover that the ant people are digging up an inexhaustible treasure under the ground. Then, our explorer, who has taken an egg-shaped cocoon used by the ant people for hibernation back to Japan with him, is murdered by a villain hungry for the jewels. The villain then joins forces with the ant people, who are planning to build a colony under the land of Japan, plotting to get for himself the ant peoples' precious jewels in return. If the ant people are successful, the city above will be exposed to attack from below and destroyed. The story continues to unfold as Akira, a junior high school student, and Ootori Shunsaku, a private detective, become involved in the fight to protect Japan from invasion by the ant people from deep beneath the earth.
DESCRIPTIONS
Published by Kodansha, 1996, in "The Complete Works of Tezuka Osamu Volume 384, Separate Volume 2." Appeared in The Mainichi Newspapers, 1983. Right from the opening scene, where a taxi driver cruising a remote mountain area is taken by surprise by an odd-looking humanoid figure that suddenly jumps out onto the road, this is a very visually impressive work that everyone can agree is perfect Manga material. With tantalizing elements like adventure scenes played out in underground caverns that will make you sweat, battles between the Self Defense Forces and the ant people, plus the annihilation of Tokyo, this is the kind of entertainment only possible with science fiction aimed at younger audiences. Yet in the guise of a simple children's story, the work serves to point out that disaster may strike Japan if nothing is done about the current sorry state of urban planning. Readers can get a good taste of Tezuka Osamu's philosophy as he winds up the story with a condemnation of what he views as the government's destruction of the country through disorganized public works.
Illustration: Fumio Shimizu
The Happy Guinea Pigs
STORY
One day, five very average men and women are called upon by one man. These people-a housewife, junior high school student, singer, newspaper reporter, and an examiner at the National Tax Administration Agency-have nothing in common, except that they never leave the city they live in, they blindly follow information they hear from the mass media, and they are all somewhat happy in a boring sort of way. But the man tells the people the unexpected truth: the place they are living in is not the earth, and that all the people of the town were taken away to another planet as they slept one night. The man urges them, "Let's go home to earth together," and has the five surprised individuals board a spaceship.
DESCRIPTIONS
Published by Kodansha, 1996, in "The Complete Works of Tezuka Osamu Volume 384, Separate Volume 2." Typical of the short-short story, this works leads to a surprise ending. The people in the story are somehow bored, yet somehow happy in a dull way....the work expresses Tezuka Osamu's indignation at people who live this kind of life, and urges us to "wake up from our lives of slumber."
The Presence
STORY
The central character of the story is an average housewife living an average life with her husband, who dutifully reports to work every day, and her children. But the place where they reside is not the world that we know: it is actually the world of "life after death." The family was involved in a tragic accident where everyone died and passed over to the other world. Even though the inhabitants have departed to the "world of the dead," their lives continue on as they did in this world; there is, however, no production, no consumption, no development, and no vitality. In the "other world" they look forward to hearing news about our world-the land of the living-from new arrivals. The people in the world of the dead can go on "living" only because they have memories of this world, and their only fun is to hear news from the world of the living.
DESCRIPTIONS
Published by Kodansha, 1996, in "The Complete Works of Tezuka Osamu Volume 384, Separate Volume 2." The existence of the world of the dead hinges on the existence of the world of the living: death exists because life exists, just as it is true that people who meet will have to eventually separate. This story serves to help us remember that in order to make the "other world" a better place, this world of ours should also be more spirited, more energetic. Looking around us, we might notice that our world has lost its vitality, becoming like their world-the world of the dead. Tezuka Osamu may be trying to tell us that we should enjoy this life on earth fully if we really want a life in paradise after death.
The End of the World Beyond
STORY
The central character of the story is an average housewife living an average life with her husband, who dutifully reports to work every day, and her children. But the place where they reside is not the world that we know: it is actually the world of "life after death." The family was involved in a tragic accident where everyone died and passed over to the other world. Even though the inhabitants have departed to the "world of the dead," their lives continue on as they did in this world; there is, however, no production, no consumption, no development, and no vitality. In the "other world" they look forward to hearing news about our world-the land of the living-from new arrivals. The people in the world of the dead can go on "living" only because they have memories of this world, and their only fun is to hear news from the world of the living.
DESCRIPTIONS
Published by Kodansha, 1996, in "The Complete Works of Tezuka Osamu Volume 384, Separate Volume 2." The existence of the world of the dead hinges on the existence of the world of the living: death exists because life exists, just as it is true that people who meet will have to eventually separate. This story serves to help us remember that in order to make the "other world" a better place, this world of ours should also be more spirited, more energetic. Looking around us, we might notice that our world has lost its vitality, becoming like their world-the world of the dead. Tezuka Osamu may be trying to tell us that we should enjoy this life on earth fully if we really want a life in paradise after death.
The Deadly Mushroom
STORY
The main character of the story is a man over forty living in an apartment all alone, whose work consists of coming up with product ideas for a toy manufacturing company. Recently, however, he has run somewhat dry of ideas, and has been spending the days idly. He thinks to himself, "This is really not the way I should be spending my time," and heads for the mountains to pursue his hobby of bug-collecting. He would appear to be an idiot to go insect-hunting in late November....in any case, this character serves as our storyteller. And in the mountains he discovers something quite out of the ordinary: a new kind of mushroom, something which he has never seen before. To take even one look at this mushroom is an unpleasant experience. The man instinctively crushes the ugly mushroom. His action will affect not only himself but will wreak havoc, the likes of which has never been before witnessed, on the whole of Japan.
DESCRIPTIONS
Published by Kodansha, 1996, in "The Complete Works of Tezuka Osamu Volume 384, Separate Volume 2." Kobunsha Co., Ltd. 1976, as "The Mysterious Mushroom" The mushroom that the main character of the story finds on his off-season bug hunting expedition is described by Tezuka Osamu himself as follows, "It has slippery smooth skin with two dents to the top, and the whites of what appear to be eyes roll up in an unpleasant way: it seems to look at you as if holding a grudge. The head is supported-neatly pierced-by a swollen stalk, and it has something that looks like a pig's nose under the eyes...". Does this all sound familiar? Yes, what the 40-something man found in the mountains is none other than the famous Hyotantsugi! Though this character appears in many of Tezuka Osamu's works, this is the only one where he is actually a main component of the story. Tezuka Osamu goes on to say, referring to Hyotantsugi, that "There has never before been a goblin with such extreme destructive power." Because of the element of Hyotantsugi, this work is considered irrepressible fun for Tezuka Osamu's fans. The story proceeds with a frightening plot: the main character, having been exposed to Hyotantsugi's spores, returns to Tokyo, where the spores multiply and envelop not only Tokyo but the whole country. This short-short story, which even touches on the circumstances of the birth of Hyotantsugi, is an absolute must for fans!
