Author and Japanese manga expert Frederik L. Schodt talks with Frederick W. Marrazzo about manga, anime, Osamu Tezuka and a host of other issues surrounding Japanese popular culture. With classic modesty, he says that he doesn’t pretend to know everything about manga, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Schodt’s latest book is “The Astro Boy Essays”, a tribute to Osamu Tezuka, Japan’s ”God of Manga”.
In fact, Fred was befriended by Osamu Tezuka in the late 1970s and maintained a close relationship with him until his death in 1989. Fluent in spoken and written Japanese, Fred frequently served as Tezuka’s interpreter and is the translator of several of Tezuka’s manga, including the 23-volume Astro Boy series. He is also the author of several acclaimed works on Japan and Japanese culture. Fred won the Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 2000 for helping to popularize manga overseas. He lives in San Francisco.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: anime, astro boy, Frederik L. Schodt, japanese manga, osamu tezuka
It’s somewhat eery to watch this video, because I had forgotten all about it. In case any friends are confused by how young (?) I look, it’s from October, 2004. It was a lot of fun to be interviewed by Frederick W. Marrazzo, who spells his first name only slightly different from mine.
Fred