Death and Legacy
On 9 February 1989, Tezuka died of stomach cancer in Tokyo, coming about one month after the death of Hirohito, who had been the Shōwa Emperor of Japan, including during World War 2. His last words were: "I'm begging you, let me work!"
The city of Takarazuka, Hyōgo, where Tezuka grew up, opened a museum in his memory. Stamps were issued in his honor in 1997. Also, beginning in 2003 the Japanese toy company Kaiyodo began manufacturing a series of figurines of Tezuka's creations, including Princess Knight, Unico, the Phoenix, Dororo, Marvelous Melmo, Ambassador Magma and many others. To date three series of the figurines have been released. A separate Astro Boy series of figurines has also been issued, and continuing popularity for fans throughout Japan are annual Tezuka calendars with some of Tezuka's most famous artwork.
Tezuka's legacy has continued to be honored among Manga artists and animators and many artists including Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away), Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball), and Kazuki Takahashi (Yu-Gi-Oh!) have cited Tezuka an inspiration for their works.
Tezuka was a personal friend (and apparent artistic influence) of Brazilian comic book artist Mauricio de Sousa. In 2012, Mauricio will publish a two-issue story arc in the Monica Teen comic book featuring some of Tezuka's main characters, such as Astro, Sapphire and Kimba, joining Monica and her friends in an adventure in the Amazon Rainforest against a smuggling organization chopping down hundreds of trees in the jungles of the Amazon. This is the first time that Tezuka Productions Co. has allowed overseas animators to use Tezuka’s characters. Rock Holmes, another character created by Tezuka, will apparently be featured as a villain in the story arc.
A beret-wearing member of the faculty, "Kezuka-sensei", appears in episode 73 of the Sket Dance anime.
Read more about this topic: Osamu Tezuka
Famous quotes containing the words death and, death and/or legacy:
“You stars that reigned at my nativity,
Whose influence hath allotted death and hell.”
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)
“Human life consists in mutual service. No grief, pain, misfortune, or “broken heart,” is excuse for cutting off one’s life while any power of service remains. But when all usefulness is over, when one is assured of an unavoidable and imminent death, it is the simplest of human rights to choose a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible one.”
—Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935)
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)