Amazon is now listing a new collection of merchandise based on Osamu Tezuka’s manga series Astro Boy, Princess Knight, and Black Jack in Japan, the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.
The items released at the end of April as part of the “Merch by Amazon” service. This Amazon-exclusive collection was first released in Japan, and with its surging popularity from fans, it’s now available to order in the US and Europe.
(C)Tezuka Productions
Information
Osamu Tezuka x Merch by Amazon
Released: April 22, 2021
Amazon Japan Product Page: https://www.amazon.co.jp/space_age_tezuka
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/
Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/
Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/
Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/
Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/
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Amazon Music’s first music entertainment show for kids and families to be released in Japan is here! Hee! Hee Hoo! premiered on Prime Video on January 26. The four-member vocal and dance group Atarashii Gakko! is also participating in the project.
Hee! Hee Hoo! is a body-themed four-episode series featuring surreal and psychedelic visuals along with Amazon Music Original music for young kids and their parents. This project was made to entertain and educate babies and children by using original images and music to address the physical changes they’ll experience from birth to death and to explain the sensations they feel.
The members of Atarashii Gakko! appear in the first episode, performing the song BABY which was written exclusively for the show.
<Comment from Atarashii Gakko!> “The theme for this show is so great–the four of us had so much fun coming up with ideas, writing lyrics, and making choreography! I hope even fetuses can enjoy it!!”
Information
Hee! Hee! Hoo!
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video (4 episodes total)
*Anyone with an Amazon.co.jp account can watch.Episode 1: Aren’t Toes Amazing?
Guest: Atarashii Gakko!
Song: BABY
URL: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0B8MSWK19 -
On July 29, AMBUSH® will launch some special collaboration items inspired by the legendary series Astro Boy! These items are available in extremely limited quantities. Astro Boy is a sci-fi hero manga set in the future starring the titular 100,000 horsepower character Astro Boy. A kindhearted robot, Astro Boy uses his strength to save people from danger, and the character’s more human-like qualities highlight the relationship between people and technology. AMBUSH® is looking to the future, using Astro Boy to highlight what they think the days ahead will bring. Astro Boy x AMBUSH Figure(Produced by Bait Inc) Only 50 Pieces Available
©︎TEZUKA PRODUCTIONS Astro Boy x AMBUSH Necklace (Produced by Bait Inc) Only 300 Pieces Available ©︎TEZUKA PRODUCTIONS This collection features an all-black Astro Boy figure by Bait and a necklace perfect for daily wear. Both show the character in his iconic pose and emphasize the heart detail carved into his chest, symbolizing his humanity. Don’t miss these exclusive items before they’re gone! Information
AMBUSH® x Astro Boy
Release Date: July 29, 2022
Where to Buy: AMBUSH®︎ Workshop, AMBUSH®︎ Workshop2, AMBUSH®︎ Hankyu Umeda
https://www.ambushdesign.com/ja-jp/storesOfficial Site: https://www.ambushdesign.com/ja-jp/
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AAAA Artists & Creators, a creative project aiming to connect people, has launched PROJECT [ATOM 2003-2023] under the supervision of Tezuka Productions. In Osamu Tezuka’s vision of the 21st century, Astro Boy was born in 2003. In the year 2023, the popular animated series will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The key graphic art for the project was influenced by street culture and was provided by Victor Kaito, who is largely active in Paris, France. PROJECT [ATOM 2003-2023] aims to collaborate with a number of companies and products and will continue celebrating Astro Boy through the next year and beyond. Looking towards the next 20 years, what will Tezuka Productions create next? Fans of this piece of Japanese pop culture history won’t want to miss out on what the project does next, so keep checking back here for more information.
Comment from Kaito
“Anime and manga are representative of Japanese pop culture, and they are both incredibly popular with French youth as well. I’ve been reading Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy since I was a small child, and the character, who was born in 2003, is turning 20. I feel like the world depicted in the Astro Boy series has become a reality. Looking back over the last two decades and looking 20 years into the future, how will science and technology be used to help the environment? How will it make life better for people? I tried to think like Astro Boy when I pondered these questions, and that’s how my art came to be.”©Tezuka Productions ©GLOBE. VICTOR KAITO -
The first Japanese Amazon Original movie HOMESTAY, a live-action adaptation of Eto Mori’s classic novel ‘Colorful,’ will be released worldwide to Prime members on February 11, 2022. The film is a moving mystery following a dejected soul reaching the train station to death. He is told that he is ‘lucky’ and will have another chance at life, and is then placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Makoto Kobayashi who has just committed suicide. Watched over by a neutral spirit, the soul must figure out what his greatest sin and mistake was in his former life before his 100-day time limit in Makoto’s body runs out. He also wants to find out why Makoto decided to end his life in the first place. Japanese rock band ZUTOMAYO has been chosen to perform the film’s theme. Debuting in 2018, the group is known for being secretive, never releasing a full member list, and crediting different people for music, arrangements, and music video production after each release. The only recurring member, an unidentified woman named ACA-Ne, wrote the song Sode no Kiruto exclusively for the film. With a clear voice and powerful lyrics delicately describing the subtleties found in a young man’s heart, the music adds to an already emotional story. ACA-Ne commented on the film. “The original novel was a big influence on me when I was in school, so I’m so thankful to have been chosen to provide music for the film. I wanted to really write something for those struggling–to bring out all of those difficult feelings. Please enjoy the song!” Be sure to watch the film on February 11!
©2022 Amazon Content Services LLC Information
HOMESTAY
Streaming Release Date: February 11, 2022
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Tezuka Productions has officially started an auction for the company’s first NFT project starting on December 1, 2021. These will feature the beloved character Astro Boy, an intrinsic part of Japanese popular culture.
Manga is a huge part of Japanese pop culture and has impacted people and industries around the world. Osamu Tezuka laid the foundation for the medium’s popularity, and is still called “the Godfather of Manga.” He studied medicine at Osaka University in his early years but soon decided to become a manga creator, making his debut in 1946. His works had a major impact in postwar Japan, appealing to readers of all ages with easy-to-read dialogue and many themes that spoke to the people, including dignity, the destruction of nature, and the harm of war. In his lifetime, he drew over 150,000 manuscripts and worked on over 700 titles. This new NFT project features many of Tezuka’s beloved works and will be offered in two forms: Mosaic Art NFTs and Generative Art NFTs. While Astro Boy takes center stage for now, Black Jack and Phoenix will be coming soon. In his later years, Tezuka wrote for boys’ magazines creating beloved children’s stories. It’s hard to imagine how the author would have handled the current pandemic sweeping the globe. Certainly, he would have tried to help cheer up the children of the world, and with this in mind, Tezuka Productions will donate 20% of each NFT sold to donate to UNICEF and other organizations benefiting children in Japan. 840 colorful original Tezuka works are available, with the original texture of these creations kept intact. Osamu Tezuka left behind a massive number of manuscripts, with 95% of them being in black and white. Many of these images are very rare and have never been included in any books or magazines. How would you like to own one of these one-of-a-kind tokens? © 2021 Tezuka Productions, All Rights Reserved. Produced by double jump.tokyo Inc. Information
From the Fragments of Tezuka Osamu（手塚治虫のかけらたちより）
オークション開始：2021年12月1日（水）から
Official Site：https://tezuka-art.nftplus.io
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Currently-running anime series takt.op Destiny now has a dedicated playlist on Amazon Music! The series, available to stream in the west on Crunchyroll, tells the story of a world shaken by a black meteorite. Monsters appear from the crater, and those who hold the power of the “Musicart” can use the power of music and sound to defeat the beasts. The soundtrack features a selection of tracks used in the series and was made possible by Universal Music, which owns the world’s oldest classical label Deutsche Grammophon. The playlist also features commentary on each piece of classical music by Kouki Uchiyama, who plays the role of Takt Asahina in the series. Featuring pieces by Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein, this is a great way to learn more about classical music through anime!
Information
takt op.Destiny Anime Songs
https://music.amazon.co.jp/playlists/B09HKK2ZCV
*The soundtrack is now available on Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Music Prime.
*The playlist does not include the opening or ending tracks.