April 7th

[Novacain]

The year always differs depending on whether it is the original Manga comics, or any of the TV series. The only thing that remains consistent through out is the date of Astro's birth - April 7th. What I am curious to know is what was so significant to Osamu Tezuka about this day? I discussed this briefly with a fellow member of this site and it was found (through Wikipedia) that the first Astro Boy story was published in April of 1951 . . . so it might be the date of publication. The only other thing I managed to find out about it was at this site:

http://blog.weigy.com/2010/04/happy-birthday-astro-boy-tetsuwan-atom/

but this still does not come out and directly say that this was the exact day Tezuka published Astro. I'm curious to know what everyone else thinks, or if anyone knows more about it.

[Dr. Jerk]

Atom begun his 'days' with the publication of a manga called Captain Atom. Originally the term 'Atom' was meant to refer to the setting's environment, but Tezuka decided that the name would be more befitting as a character name instead... And it works well for a robot, considering that the fear of atomic bombings were still present even after the end of WWII.

http://tezukaosamu.net/en/manga/13.html

Captain Atom received many different version remakes. One version was included in the actual Tetsuwan Atom manga, which Dark Horse entitled "Ambassador Atom". The first "actual" Tetsuwan Atom chapter was "Atom's Parents", which debuted one year later... also on an April.

I personally just think that they were published on April just because it was April when they were ready to be published. I don't think there was anything special about it back then.

[ASTROBUDDY]

I believe that the date of his birth does have something to do with the publication of the first installment of the manga serial that introduced him. April was the month the first installment of "Atom Taishi" was released for sale. That may be its only significance because Atom was not introduced in the first installment, but actually in the fourth installment which saw publication in July of 1951. His story was begun in April, ergo that is the month of his birth. I believe I remember reading that his "fan club" celebrates his birthday on "April 1st". Of course that was in an article from when Tezuka's own actual birthday was in question. Older source material have his year of birth as 1926. It has since been revealed that he had lied about his actual year of birth so he could represent himself as older. [He is now known to have been born in the year 1928.] While that does not tell us how it came to be the seventh, it could be something as simple as that could be the date of each month when the manga was released. It is known that the year 2003 was chosen because the year is exactly 40 years in the future from the year his classic anime show first aired, 1963.

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[Novacain]

Thanks for your insight! I'm learning so much new stuff from this site
Everyone I've asked seems to agree that it has something to do with the release of Manga comics, still doesn't explain the 7th but it probably is as simple as the date each month the Manga was released. There is just so much emphasis on the date. For example in the movie, the scene where he gets tagged in photo radar - that is the date on the photo. Weird, huh?

[Fauna]

Oh wow, I almost forgot about Astro's birthday. I'll be going to Japan on April 14th, so I'll only be catching the leftovers of any Atom birthday celebrations. :d oh:

[wing area]

Actually, I'll be studying abroad in Tokyo from April 1 to the beginning of August. The first two weeks seem like they'll be busy according to the schedule I just got, but April 7 (Thurs.) is a random day off~

I'm planning on hitting up Takadanobaba in Shinjuku, where Astro was supposedly born. Does anyone have any other ideas of how I can geek out over there? (The Tezuka Museum is totally gonna happen--but not that soon.)

[Novacain]

Actually, I'll be studying abroad in Tokyo from April 1 to the beginning of August. The first two weeks seem like they'll be busy according to the schedule I just got, but April 7 (Thurs.) is a random day off~

I'm planning on hitting up Takadanobaba in Shinjuku, where Astro was supposedly born. Does anyone have any other ideas of how I can geek out over there? (The Tezuka Museum is totally gonna happen--but not that soon.)

Sorry, can't help you with that one, but I wish you an awesome time! So Jealous!

[Dr. Jerk]

Actually, I'll be studying abroad in Tokyo from April 1 to the beginning of August. The first two weeks seem like they'll be busy according to the schedule I just got, but April 7 (Thurs.) is a random day off~

I'm planning on hitting up Takadanobaba in Shinjuku, where Astro was supposedly born. Does anyone have any other ideas of how I can geek out over there? (The Tezuka Museum is totally gonna happen--but not that soon.)

Try taking a train in the Takadanobaba Station. The Tetsuwan Atom theme plays as the doors closing jingle.

Other than that, I'm not quite so sure. I guess there might be some shops somewhere selling merchandise, but none that I know of that are close to Shinjuku.

[Astro Forever]

Welcome to the forum, wing area!

I can't wait to read both your and Fauna's travel stories. If you want to share, of course!

[wing area]

Thanks for the welcome!

Yes, I will totally let you all in on my Japan shenanigans! I'm really glad that I developed an appreciation for Tezuka's works before leaving.

Also, I know about 's theme playing at Takadanobaba Station--that's totally on my list. According to wiki, the area has some Astro themed decorations and a Tezuka mural. I'm hoping for some merchandise... ahaha.