Toshio Ban Author

Toshio Ban (b. 1953) was Osamu Tezuka's subchief of manga production for magazines at Tezuka Productions, the company founded by Tezuka and responsible for the development, production, merchandising, licensing, and distribution of his many manga and anime creations, including books, films, and characters. Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd., is the now-legendary company founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968 to produce his own manga and anime. In the wake of Tezuka's death in 1989, it has continued as a family enterprise, responsible for the development, production, merchandising, licensing, and distribution of his many manga and anime creations, including books, films, and characters. Frederik L. Schodt is a translator and author of numerous books about Japan, including Manga! Manga!, Dreamland Japan, and Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Might Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution. He often served as Osamu Tezuka's English interpreter in the U.S. and Canada and served as a consultant on one of his animated features and a TV series. In 2009 he received The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette for his contribution to the introduction and promotion of Japanese contemporary popular culture. He is also winner of the Asahi Shimbun's Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award in 2000.