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Hand-drawn, unpublished Osamu Tezuka manga found in second-hand bookstore

8 Comments

An unpublished 19-page manga drawn by the late legend Osamu Tezuka has been found in second-hand bookstore in the capital.

Tezuka, responsible for such enduring manga as "Astro Boy," "The Phoenix," and "Black Jack," is thought to have drawn the manga in his teens, TBS reported Saturday. It was reportedly kept by one of Tezuka's junior high school friends for over 60 years before being discovered by Tezuka's estate in April on display at a Tokyo bookshop.

Tezuka died in 1989.

The manga, the existence of which was previously unknown to even Tezuka Productions Co, is believed to have been drawn by Tezuka shortly before he made his debut as a professional manga artist in 1946 with the release of "Diary of Ma-chan."

Tezuka Productions Co, which bought the book for 3 million yen, has since authenticated the work, TBS reported. The company said the book is a very important find in the history of manga.

The manga takes a humorous look at life in Japan after the end of World War II, including the black markets and food shortages that pervaded Japanese society at the time.

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8 Comments
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Ahhh the "Father of Anime". All Otakus praise this man! His work is priceless. Lucky enough they were able to find some of his work. Put it in a museum! Some of his work which I truly enjoyed when I was young were "Astroboy", and "Kimba the white lion" and my fav "Metropolis".

3 ( +3 / -0 )

What a find!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I'm not familiar with this type of find in Japan. Was ¥3,000,000 a fair price? Seems low to me.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I guess it might be low, but you should realize that even though it was lost for a long time, it does not make the manuscript more valuable. Owning the manuscript does not give you the intellectual property either. In the end because it was not published, the original drawing's price might be not that high.

However finds like these never tend to go down in value so I guess if I would have found it, I would have held onto it a little longer.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

If I found it I would have instantly handed it over to the Tezuka Museum or Tezuka productions. A treasure like this is worth more than money. True Tezuka admirers would feel the same.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

what wonderful news! thanks for sharing that.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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0 ( +0 / -0 )

I think it low becuse the work was not verified and no one knew it existed. I could have been anything. They bought it on a hunch it could be something priceless. I am sure now that it is verified and we know the story behind you can possibly add two more zeros to that number.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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