Creator of Astro Boy also had a knack for drawing sexy mouse ladies.
Two years ago, a Japanese woman was poking around in the desk of her deceased father, and came across a sizeable stack of erotic anthropomorphized animal manga sketches. For most families, this would be either an awkward or humorous development, depending on how open-minded they are about this style of artistic expression, but this specific case turned out to be a culturally significant discovery.
That’s because the woman in question is Rumiko Tezuka, eldest daughter of pioneering Japanese comic artist Osamu Tezuka, known as the God of Manga. While best known as the creator of science fiction classic Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy, medical saga Black Jack, and consciousness-spanning epic Phoenix, the elder Tezuka drew dozens of manga series during his lifetime, but it wasn’t until 25 years after his death that Rumiko uncovered the collection of erotic artwork he farther had stored in his work desk drawer and a locker.
Upon finding them, Rumiko shared a few photos of the sketches on social media. Now, after sifting through the roughly 200 pieces of artwork that were found, Tezuka’s erotic sketches have been published for the first time. 29 illustrations appear in the current issue of Japanese literary magazine Shincho, along with an accompanying article titled “Osamu Tezuka’s Erotica.” “You can tell he had a lot of fun drawing these,” comments Rumiko regarding the published pieces, which include sketches of a voluptuous mouse and a naked woman transforming into a koi (Japanese carp).
There are currently no plans to release the artwork in a stand-alone book, so manga fans and scholars keen to see this unique application of Tezuka’s talents will want to pick up the December issue of Shincho, which went on sale November 7, is priced at 1,030 yen (US$10), and can be ordered online here.
Source: Yahoo! News Japan/Asahi Shimbun Digital, Shinchosha
Top image: Shinchosha (edited by RocketNews24)