Tezuka Osamu Exhibition: Message for the Future

I have to admit, I have never watched any of his works except for some episodes of Blackjack on Animax. Even so, rightful anime fans who call themselves anime fans should pay their high respects to the great father of anime and manga, Tezuka Osamu.

Needless to say, he's a legend. Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion are just a notable few of his many great works that were way ahead of their time. I mean, seriously, a robot that has cannons for his ass really says something!

It comes to no surprise that it was Astro Boy that inspired the Honda research team to come up with Asimo. No doubt that his works have inspired many others, especially those in contemporary culture and art. I wonder what crazy stuff would he do now if he was alive today.



My cousins and I were free on one weekday holiday, so we decided to be a little, uh, educated and visit an art exhibition. After some research on the Tokyo Art Beat website, we found what we wanted: An exhibition dedicated to Tezuka's works, rightfully titled "Message for the Future".

So off we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum near Ryogoku station. The exhibition lasts till 21st June, so do visit if you're in Tokyo.

Btw, I bought that t-shirt in Malaysia, never guessed it would come in handy lol



Photography is not allowed in the exhibition, so had to take pictures like a ninja. Worse comes to worst, I'll play the gaijin (foreigner's) card:

Me (speaking in British-accented English): "Oh dear, I do not understand a word of Japanese..."
Security Guard: "The sign was in graphic form, you gaijin bast**d!"
Me: *lifts up monocle and points into the distance* "My word, Tezuka-san's alive!" *runs away*



The 3DCG movie of Astro Boy is coming out October this year. Let's pray that many childhood memories won't be f**ked up once again *cough*dragonball*cough*.



Oooh looks like the last scene of Astro Boy [/spoiler]

The theme of the exhibition is that Tezuka Osamu is delivering a message to future generations with every manga/anime he created. Astro Boy was about the message of hope, Kimba the White Lion was about family and Blackjack was about the importance of life and how we take it for granted.



Hey wallet, did I just hear you cry?



There were many art books and manga on sale. Too bad I had no monies :(



Had just enough money to decorate my room wall :)



What an inspiring message on a nice and simple eco-bag.



Daim actually bought a nice little medal keychain in which you can write a short message, using the above machine. Message mosaic-ed to retain its awesomeness.



"Bontot Meriam". Cannon Ass. All that nice bevel and glitter to bear those awe-inspiring words. Worries me to think what Daim's "message for the future" would be when he's famous enough to hold his own exhibition.



Climbing up the stairs of the museum, people would usually see a h-u-g-e space. We cousins of course saw opportunity.



I took the time to practice my hip-hop breakdance moves, break here referring to how my ankles were when trying to pose for the camera with one leg up. Sorhai-ness in its purest form.



And here we tried the Uniqlo dance. Graceful as a bear.



And another gay Uniqlo dance. I just realized, we're all wearing Uniqlo clothes! Coolz.



As the sun sets, we bid farewell to Tezuka Osamu and the Edo-Tokyo Museum. As I watch the next panty shot in a Hatsukoi Limited episode, I now realize that it all started with Tezuka's greatness! All hail God of anime!