When Astro Boy hits local cinemas this week, it'll be another milestone for the Japanese character. Created in 1951 by late artist Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy originated as a manga series following the adventures of a robot in a futuristic world where humans and robots coexist.
With elements of action, drama and a strong emotional core based on the father-and-son bond between the robot and the scientist who created him, Astro Boy is credited with spawning the first anime in the 1960s and subsequently introducing manga and anime culture to audiences in the West.
After Sony Pictures acquired the film rights in 1999, the film was stuck in development hell for most of the decade until Hong Kong-based Imagi Animation Studios took over the project in late 2006. The first thing it did was hire a creative consultant for the adaptation: Tezuka's son, Macoto Tezka.
To the outsider, Tezka has big shoes to fill. Having a father considered 'the god of manga' and the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney would probably cast a gigantic shadow over anyone, let alone one following a similar career path. But the 48-year-old live-action film director and anime producer doesn't feel the pressure.
'I see my father as a peer in the same field but with more experience and seniority,' he says.
Tezka, who has directed more than a dozen live-action shorts and several features, is confident of his own ability.
'There's really only two proper ways to adapt manga onto film,' he says. 'You either keep the story faithful and find new ways to express the meaning or you can change the story, but then you must keep the original's expression.'