Osamu Tezuka remains one of the most recognizable names in manga history, with his most famous work being 1952's Astro Boy, or Tetsuwan Atomu in Japan. Countless creatives, including Western manga authors and illustrators, have been inspired by Tezuka's unique characters and art style for nearly seven decades. In 2022, Tezuka Productions announced a Kickstarter to fund a revival of Osamu Tezuka's Unico manga, first published in 1976, called Unico: Awakening.
Unico: Awakening features writer Samuel Sattin, from California, and the award-winning art team, Gurihiru, based in Saitama, Japan. This reimagining combines Western and Japanese manga styles to create a modern and fun story, perfect for kids and adults to enter the world of Osamu Tezuka's characters for the first time.
A Friend Named Unico
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Unico is a small unicorn who brings joy and happiness to everyone he meets, including a young girl named Psyche, whom he meets by chance in an ancient Greek garden. Unfortunately, the jealousy caused by Unico and Psyche's friendship and positive influence overwhelms the goddess Venus, and she sends her minion, Zephryus, to eliminate Unico by transporting him to other worlds. In the process, Unico's memories of Psyche are erased, and Zephyrus takes pity on him, transporting him one last time to a world where the goddess Venus – the modern world – cannot find him.
Unico quickly makes friends in his new world, but friendship comes with trust, responsibility, and encounters with dangerous people. Unico has special powers that he can use to help people. However, with a powerful goddess looking to eliminate his positive influence, he is easily put in danger throughout the adventures he will face.
Tezuka-inspired art and storytelling
My favorite part of Unico: Awakening is the colorful art that we don't often see in traditional Japanese comics. The illustrations are modern in style and still pay homage to Tezuka while still feeling fresh and new. While Osamu Tezuka is considered one of the most iconic and innovative manga artists, it's fair to say that going back to his original works can be difficult for younger audiences to accept. While I'm a huge fan and owner of the original Astro Boy manga, I understand the need and market for remakes/reimaginings of older series to appeal to people today. I enjoyed the artwork in this volume so much that I hope to see other Tezuka works like Astro Boy and Black Jack get the same treatment.
The illustrations for Unico: Awakening evoke the facial expressions that I think Tezuka mastered in his works. The Gurihiru team seems to have carefully captured Tezuka's attention to every emotional detail in his characters in this recreation. From humanoid to animal-like characters, the art team captures every subtle emotion and expression beautifully.
Admittedly, the story isn't my personal favorite of Tezuka's works, but Samuel Sattin writes fun and engaging characters to follow throughout Unico's adventures. The dialogue is modernized to a level that's easy for kids to read and understand, while also keeping adults interested in the story. The characters are also interesting for those interested in Greek mythology, but the subject matter isn't overwhelming for those unfamiliar with the subject. With a careful balance between slow pacing and whimsical action, Unico: Awakening builds engaging characters and keeps the suspenseful moments coming.
Unico is a thoughtful and logical character despite his innocent and sweet appearance. Often times, characters who look like him can be annoying and predictable, but Unico gives sound advice to those he befriends and genuinely wants to help people with his powers when they need it most. Unico is a strong protagonist and I look forward to seeing how he develops and uses his powers responsibly in the future.
Unico: Awakening releases on August 6 in the US, and whether you're a longtime fan of Tezuka's work or just starting to get interested, this reimagining is a fun way to get started with a modern take on one of his worlds.
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Anime Corner received a free copy of Unico: Awakening for review purposes.
