Apollo's Song

by Osamu Tezuka

Overview

Apollo's Song follows the tragic journey of Shogo, a young man whose abusive childhood has instilled in him a loathing for love so profound he finds himself compelled to acts of violence when he is witness to any act of intimacy or affection whether by human or beast. His hate is such that the gods intervene, cursing Shogo to experience love throughout the ages ultimately to have it ripped from his heart every time. From the Nazi atrocities of World War II to a dystopian future of human cloning, Shogo loses his heart, in so doing, healing the psychological scars of his childhood hatred.

Master storyteller Osamu Tezuka's Apollo's Song is a lyrical tour-de-force on the human spirit, the destruction of hate, and the triumph of love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941220689
Publisher:	Kodansha USA
Publication date:	12/17/2014
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	540
File size:	374 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Osamu Tezuka (1928-89) is the godfather of Japanese manga comics. He originally intended to become a doctor and earned his degree before turning to what was then a medium for children. His many early masterpieces include the series known in the U.S. as Astro Boy. With his sweeping vision, deftly intertwined plots, feel for the workings of power, and indefatigable commitment to human dignity, Tezuka elevated manga to an art form. The later Tezuka, when he authored Buddha, often had in mind the mature readership that manga gained in the sixties and that had only grown ever since. The Kurosawa of Japanese pop culture, Osamu Tezuka is a twentieth century classic.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"More than telling a multifaceted story, Apollo’s Song inspires. When the dust settles and the back cover is closed, Tezuka’s intent is laid bare to the reader and it’s a noble one. Shogo doesn’t merely learn a lesson about love and life — he transcends the agony of both." - MangaLife

"Tezuka’s work is about as essential and far-reaching as manga gets, and Apollo’s Song only adds that much more weight to an already massive reputation. Start here, and if you’re intrigued, Ode to Kirihito and Buddha also await you. There’s never been anything like Tezuka’s body of work, and there probably never will be again." - Serdar Yegulalp Anime Advanced Media Network

Editorial Reviews

In this 1970 work by influential manga giant Tezuka (Astro Boy), Shogo Chikaishi is the son of a prostitute and an unknown member of her clientele. Derided by his mother and beaten when he sees her in bed with a customer, he comes to despise all lovemaking. Under psychiatric care, during electroshock therapy, he sees a goddess who curses him for disdaining love; he will be endlessly reborn to fall in love with the same woman, but one of them will always die before their love is consummated. In his visions, this story plays out in Nazi Germany; in an isolated, peaceable kingdom of animals; and on a near-future Earth ruled by artificially created humanoids who know nothing of love. In the real world, Shogo becomes a fugitive, but a woman shelters him, and his capacity for love is gradually awakened. This is no dewy-eyed paean to love's transcendent power, however; for Tezuka, love ennobles humans, but it also torments them. Tezuka's cartoony artwork here is similar to that in Buddha(LJ1/04), and there is little of the characteristic goofy humor that can seem out of place in Tezuka's more serious works. With nudity and sex, this is recommended for adults.
—Steve Raiteri

Library Journal

A marvelously screwed-up paean to the power of love and sex […] The story is as emotionally manipulative as a classic Disney movie, and just about as unstoppable"—Salon.com

“Maybe it’s a good thing Apollo’s Song wasn’t published in the West until now. Had it appeared there when it first came out, its peculiarity would surely have been dismissed. But now comics sit at the table with the grown-ups, and we should clear a space at the head for Osamu Tezuka and his masterpiece.” —Newsweek

From the Publisher