A Legend of the Manga World: Osamu Tezuka's War Memories Come to the Screen: "Tezuka Osamu no Sensō" Announced

The life of Osamu Tezuka, the founding father of the manga and anime world, nicknamed the "God of Manga," is being brought to the screen once again. The Japanese broadcaster NHK has announced a live-action special titled Tezuka Osamu no Sensō (Osamu Tezuka's War), adapted from the legendary artist's autobiographical manga Paper Fortress (Kami no Toride). Scheduled to air in August 2026, this special production will not only be a biography but also an emotional account of the deep scars that war left on an artist's soul.

At the center of the production is the Paper Fortress manga, which Tezuka wrote in 1974, recounting his own youth. The story follows middle school student Tetsurō Osamu (Tezuka's alter ego), who tries to practice his art in secret during the final years of World War II, a time when drawing manga was prohibited. The artist was forced to work in an ammunition factory during the war and survived the horrific Osaka bombing in 1945. These experiences formed the foundation of the strong anti-war messages and humanist perspective present in all of his later works.

Tezuka Osamu no Sensō will not only focus on the war years but will also shed light on the 1970s, one of the most painful periods in Tezuka's career. Having experienced a major creative crisis in 1973 following the bankruptcy of his studio, Mushi Productions, and the cancellation of some of his series, the master artist turned back to his past during this very period to write Paper Fortress. In the special, Osamu Tezuka will be portrayed by the famous actor Kengo Kōra, while the character of his younger self, Tetsurō Osamu, will be played by...