Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix deserves a much larger audience among Western manga readers, according to Jason Andrew Cohn, director of the upcoming documentary Tezuka! God of Manga. During a roundtable interview with The Beat, Cohn described the ambitious manga as one of Tezuka’s most important works and argued that it should be essential reading for anyone interested in comics.
Cohn explained that only a small selection of Tezuka’s stories have become widely recognized in English-speaking countries. Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion gained visibility through television, while the animated adaptation of Metropolis introduced another part of his work to international audiences. Buddha also found readers through its English publication, but Cohn believes much of Tezuka’s wider catalogue remains difficult for Western readers to discover.
He singled out Phoenix as a particularly important work, describing it as a major example of the creator’s storytelling ability. Cohn said:
“It should be required reading for anyone who loves sequential art.”
The director also pointed to a major English-language re-release of Phoenix by Kodansha as an opportunity to bring the manga to a new generation of readers. The series spans 12 volumes and was never completed, but Cohn believes its scale and unconventional storytelling demonstrate the breadth of Tezuka’s imagination.
Tezuka’s storytelling goes beyond Astro Boy
Cohn’s appreciation for Tezuka developed after he moved to Sapporo, Japan, during the 1990s. While learning Japanese, he regularly read manga, and his Japanese roommate introduced him to Tezuka’s books. One of the first works he explored was Gringo, a seinen manga about a Japanese businessman caught up in industrial corruption in South America.
The story challenged Cohn’s assumptions about Japanese comics. He had previously associated much of the medium with children’s entertainment, but Tezuka’s work exposed him to more mature storytelling and encouraged him to explore creators such as Shigeru Mizuki, Sanpei Shirato, and Yoshihiro Tatsumi.
Cohn also named Buddha, Ode to Kirihito, Message to Adolf, and Dororo among the Tezuka works he particularly enjoys. He described the creator’s longer stories as immersive experiences that pull readers into his imagination.
Upcoming documentary aims to introduce Tezuka to Western audiences
Cohn’s upcoming documentary, Tezuka! God of Manga, shares that goal of expanding the creator’s international recognition. The project features conversations with notable manga and anime figures, including Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo, The Rose of Versailles creator Riyoko Ikeda, manga scholar Helen McCarthy, and author Frederik Schodt.
The documentary is currently raising funds through Kickstarter to complete production and potentially interview additional artists and creators. The roundtable also included artists Dave Baker, Samuel Sattin, and Nicole Goux, who discussed Tezuka’s influence on their creative lives.
While Tezuka remains a major figure in manga history, Cohn hopes the documentary and renewed interest in works such as Phoenix will encourage more Western readers to explore the creator beyond his best-known characters.
