This morning my car (which has a “car navi” that greets me and tells me interesting trivia) reported that today, February 9, was Manga no Hi or “Manga Day.” The day was chosen because it’s the meinichi (the anniversary of the death) of the man who gave us manga as we know it, Tezuka Osamu. Tezuka-sensei created pretty much every famous old-school manga work, including Astroy Boy and Jungle Emperor Leo (aka Kimba the White Lion), illustrating 150,000 pages in his lifetime and inventing the “big eye” character designs that define manga and anime today. He also showed that the medium of comics was perfect for deep literary works (Buddha, Adolph, Hi no Tori) as well as entertainment. In addition to being a great day to pick up a manga comic and raise a glass to the “God of Manga,” February 9 also happens to be “Meat Day,” since 2-9 can be read as niku meaning “meat.” If you want to enjoy a good Korean BBQ meal, the meat is half priced today.
This is the bus stop I would like to find myself at.
