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'How Osamu Tezuka Created His Black Jack' Manga to Resume

Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine announced that the acclaimed manga Black Jack Sōsaku Hiwa - Tezuka Osamu no Shigotoba Kara (The Untold Story of How Osamu Tezuka Created His Black Jack), written by Masaru Miyazaki and drawn by Kouji Yoshimoto, will resume its serialization in the 42nd issue of the magazine on September 19.

In Black Jack Sōsaku Hiwa, Masaru Miyazaki and Kōji Yoshimoto recount the true story of how manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy/Mighty Atom, Kimba the White Lion/Jungle Emperor, Phoenix) created Black Jack, his classic tale of a brilliant maverick doctor. Miyazaki and Yoshimoto used firsthand accounts from people who were actually at Tezuka's studio to give their behind-the-scenes account.

SMAP band member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Ballad: Namonaki Koi no Uta, The Diary of Anne Frank, Yume o Kanaeru Zō) was cast as Osamu Tezuka in this fall's live-action television adaptation. Kōichi Satō (Sukiyaki Western Django, Kamui Gaiden) will play Taizō Kabemura, Tezuka's acclaimed editor-in-chief at Weekly Shōnen Champion. Fuji TV's television series will follow a modern-day rookie editor (played by AKB48 idol Yuko Oshima ) who travels back in time to Tezuka's lifetime.

Black Jack Sōsaku Hiwa ranked #1 among the "Top 10 Manga for Male Readers" in the 2012 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook. The manga ran in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion, the very same magazine that serialized the original Black Jack manga from 1973 to 1978. The magazine has also run several revivals of Black Jack, including Yū-Go Ōkuma's 2011 Young Black Jack prequel and last year's version based on real-life medical stories.

Black Jack not only inspired several anime projects, but also live-action versions with Yūzō Kayama, Daisuke Ryū, and Masahiro Motoki as the titular doctor. Most recently, Masaki Okada (Hana Zakari no Kimi-tachi e, Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu, Space Brothers) starred as Young Black Jack in 2011. Anime Sols reached its crowdfunding goal for a North American DVD release of the first Black Jack television anime series in July on Wednesday.

Vertical publishes the original Black Jack manga, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, in North America.