Osamu Tezuka. This name spells out almost all of anime's history, background, and style in its first years. Known as the "Walt Disney of Japan.", "The god of comics" , and "A legend in his own time," he produced enough material to fill several warehouses. According to Tezuka, "My animation career began at the age of three when I copied a picture of popeye. My house was full of comics when I was a school boy. Because we were able to obtain a projector and several films, I was able to see Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, Chaplin, and Oswald Rabbit at home. When in the third grade, I drew comics in my my note book which, was immediately taken away by the teacher. Later, however he encouraged me with praise . . ."

Tezuka was born in 1926 in Osaka, Japan. He was the son of a doctor. He came up with several manga. His most famous was Tetsuwan Atom (Mighty Atom). In 1957 Toei animation was formed. Its goal was to create animated movies based on Tezukas manga. In 1962 his contract expired and he created his own company-Mushi productions. Its first production was Tetsuwan Atom. Although he stepped down from acting director in 1970, he again created another company because he was bit by the "animation bug." His new company, Tezuka Productions Co., produced one of his most important pieces of works- Space Firebird 2772. This is a story about a boy's quest to catch the eternal bird of fire, the Phoenix. He finally left animation in 1982. Sadly, he died in 1988.