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Book Compiles Osamu Tezuka's Shakespeare-Inspired Manga
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Many manga and anime fans know Osamu Tezuka was a prolific creator who became known as "The God of Manga." However, most people don't know that a few of his works included manga based on William Shakespeare's works. Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, Ltd. is celebrating those manga, and the publisher released them in a compiled book on Friday.
The Tezuka Osamu Shakespeare Mangakan (Osamu Tezuka's Shakespeare Manga House) book features "Hamlet," "Othello," and "Jajauma Narashi" (The Taming of the Shrew) from Tezuka's Rainbow Parakeet manga; "Macbeth" from "Sannin no Uranaishi" (The Three Fortunetellers) in The Vampires; "Robio to Robiet" (Robio and Robiet) from a Romeo and Juliet-inspired section of Astro Boy; and "Venice no Shōnin" (The Merchant of Venice). The book marks the first time that color manuscripts of the manga have been published.
In addition to manga, the book features introductions to Shakespeare's works that inspired Tezuka's creations. The volume also includes columns written by Tezuka.
Tezuka is not alone in using Shakespeare as the basis for manga. The famous 16th-century London actor, playwright, and troupe manager previously inspired full manga series based on his works. Both the Romeo x Juliet anime and COM's manga adaptation debuted in 2007. Aya Kanno launched the Bara-Ō no Sōretsu (The Rose King's Funeral Procession) manga based on Richard III in 2013. Harold Sakuishi began serializing the 7-nin no Shakespeare (Seven Shakespeare) manga about Shakespeare himself in 2009.
Source: Comic Natalie
