osamu tezuka will always be a huge inspiration for me and so many others
he gave us furries and anime, what a resume.
i like to think he'd be happy with himself

There is a story about Osamu Tezuka who, moments before he died, while his nurse was putting away his drawing materials, said this phrase to him: “Let me work a little more” and then cried like a child. I like to say this: that despite his age, Tezuka was always inspired because he was always a child. And I think like that sometimes too.

he died at only 60, and theres a documentary on him a couple years before he died where he said he had barely used any of his good ideas yet. its just too sad, but wow, he was a really interesting guy. i wish more furries were aware of him

He's best remembered for his manga and anime! But Kimba the white lion was furry!!!

well the influence goes deeper than that, in early american groups which were translating and sharing in their love for anime like the cartoon/fantasy association and others (which tezuka was aware of, and made visits to in his life), the organizers would also be the ones to organize the first furry conventions, and tezukas work was obviously shown in both communities. his anthropamorphic animals were extremely cute and appealing for the time. tezuka was also an extremely avid tansformation fetishist (youve probably seen the pornography that was discovered by his daughter after his death but if youre familiar with most of his work, its not surprising at all.) people constantly transforming into animals across his work. Bagi: beast of mighty nature, Vampires, Bander Book, jungle emperor leo, one hundred tales, ode to kirihito, princess knight, too many to count, but all works that i think show how obsessed he was with animal transformation and anthropomorphism. when i read him its sometimes hard to believe how old his stuff is, it feels really ahead of its time, or at least it does to me, as a furry, because it feels like hes approaching anthro art in the same way i and many other are today. the thing im mostly struck by is just how insanely weird his comics really are, and how extremely horny and full of out-there kinks and how many gender/sexuality lines he crosses freely, and how somehow it was that man who influenced everything that came after him.

I certainly didn't know how pornographic he became, but I do know about the transformations he was used to exposing.. Still, the themes he touched on in his stories, tended from the comical to the terrifying, with philosophical plots, ahead of his time.. Tezuka was certainly a genius at this!!!

Post Scritum: I don't know if I consider myself a furry.. but I love drawing my characters in this style.