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MANGA REVIEWS

Story and Art by Tezuka Osamu
Copyright © Shogakukan Comics
Two-volume hardcover set, 1997



—by Eri Izawa

Yes, this is the original, the basis of KIMBA THE WHITE LION in a form that most KIMBA fans have probably never seen. Consisting of over 500 black and white pages drawn by the famous Tezuka Osamu, JUNGLE TAITEI was begun in the late 1940's, published early the next decade, animated in color during the next decade, and then translated and broadcast in the US in the decade thereafter, the 1970's. Even two decades after that, its effects are felt: Rumors abound regarding the similarities between Disney's THE LION KING and Kimba/Leo.
  The Kimba story that most Americans know, simmered down to its basics, is about a young white lion who tries to bring order and civilization to his jungle kingdom. The manga brings much more into the picture: the adventures of Leo's father Panja, Leo's long months spent in civilization, the jungle adventures of a boy named Kenichi and his uncle "Hige-oyaji," the history of how Leo's family wound up in the jungle, the quest for "Moonlight Stones" on magical Mt. Moon, and the adventures of Leo's son Lune (who winds up in New York enslaved in a circus). Still, the backdrop for JUNGLE TAITEI remains the breathtaking vista of wild Africa. As Tezuka Osamu wrote in 1966, JUNGLE TAITEI is a drama of living creatures struggling within and against nature, as seen through the lives of its main characters (which Osamu named as Panja, Leo, and Lune).
  Expansive views of wild Africa open (and close) JUNGLE TAITEI. The story is quick to mention that lions don't normally live in the jungle, while at the same time dramatizing the swift and effective justice that white lion Panja metes out to those who disrupt his unusual kingdom. But even wise Panja can't escape human avarice, and, through white men goading on local tribesmen, he is slain and his lioness-wife is taken captive. As a reward for arranging Panja's death, the white men receive a mysterious gem, a Moonlight Stone, whose significance grows slowly throughout the story.
  While being transported on a ship bound for London, the lioness gives birth to a white lion she names Leo. She tells him of his birthright as a prince of a jungle kingdom, and, knowing that life in a zoo is not for him, sends him out of the ship and back toward Africa. (The ship is soon after lost in a storm.)
  Leo, after numerous adventures, winds up not in Africa, but a civilized country. There, he meets a likeable Japanese boy named Kenichi, along with his likeable uncle Hige-Oyaji ("old man whiskers"). In addition, Leo encounters Mary, an arrogant and megalomaniac girl, whose father happens to be the mastermind behind Panja's death. Through various events, all of these people wind up traveling back into the heart of Africa in search of more Moonlight Stones, which are said to contain vast power. By then, however, Leo has learned quite a bit about human civilization, to the point where he insists on wearing clothing and is disturbed by scenes of death. His first glimpse of dark jungle has him crying for houses and roads.
  Many adventures await Leo and his human friends, replete with shades of Egyptian myth, Tarzan stories, and cheesy B jungle movies. Eventually, though, a grown-up Kenichi, Mary, and Hige-Oyaji leave the jungle, and a grown-up Leo manages to bring a surprising amount of civilization to his now beloved domain. He and his animal friends have fought for peace, started a restaurant, learned to speak "in human," and later will build a pyramid-like castle for the royal lion family.
  But JUNGLE TAITEI LEO is also about the third generation of Panja's line: Lune, Leo's son. Hot-headed and naive, young Lune runs away from home to experience the human world he has heard so much about. Thus, much of the last quarter of JUNGLE TAITEI is devoted to Lune's adventures, which (not surprisingly) involve Lune learning the hard way about the good and bad sides of human nature. And though some of Lune's story is funny or even silly, it is a somber moment when one realizes that, having left on a whim, he never has a chance to say good-bye to his mother and father, both of whom are dead by the time he returns home.
  Lastly, the Moonlight Stones and their source, the mysterious Mt. Moon, are a continuing theme within the story. Like any coveted object, the Moonlight Stones bring out human ambition, folly, hope, courage, and greed; it was even one such stone that indirectly brought about Panja's death. In the end, the search for the Moonlight Stones upon the snowy peaks of Mt. Moon costs Leo his life as well. However, unlike with his father, it is a life willingly given. Those familiar with Buddhist myths may even find it faintly familiar, for Leo sacrifices himself so that his human friend Hige-Oyaji can use his meat and fur to survive the bitter cold.
  JUNGLE TAITEI bears the mark of the era and land in which it was written: within a once proud but now defeated nation, a place and a time where terrible stereotypes and attitudes, some imported from overseas, still held sway. Also at that time, tales of adventure had a certain B movie feel, and, of course, manga (and anime as well) were new on the scene and not yet mature art forms.
  Be warned, then: in JUNGLE TAITEI, there is a less than flattering portrayal of black people (there is even a note in the back of the book from the publishers regarding this). The arrogant girl, after a stint as queen of a native tribe, winds up a docile housewife in Japan. Kenichi for a while appears as a Tarzan look-alike and performs Tarzan-like stunts that look silly to the modern eye. Yes, the art and story-telling styles do look primitive, compared to modern manga. And a naiveté surrounds certain events in the story, such as New York's willing acceptance of a talking lion's request to send a whole boatload of animals back to Africa, including himself, with no strings attached.
  But there is much else that is done right (by our modern standards). The humor, though less subtle than in, say, BLACK JACK, remains classic Tezuka Osamu: for example, one seemingly innocent cityscape panel contains the anglicized message to find the hidden dramatic events occurring in the picture. Tezuka fans will also recognize his great talent for bringing complex emotions to life with a few simple pen strokes: grief, pride, regret, boundless joy. As for the "primitive" storytelling style, it may help to realize that JUNGLE TAITEI was likely one of the reasons for the great rise in popularity of the "story manga" art form in the first place. Modern manga and anime owe their much of their existence to JUNGLE TAITEI and to Tezuka Osamu's other works. And last but not least, Leo's sacrifice of his own life to save a friend—a human at that—summarizes the undercurrent theme of the story: that friendship, courage, and compassion are our greatest allies in life, and our greatest hope for the future.
  So don't read JUNGLE TAITEI if you will be too offended by its stereotypes to enjoy the story. Don't read it if you're looking for modern styles of manga storytelling, or for sex and violence, or for realism (such as where talking lions don't walk around in trousers). Don't read JUNGLE TAITEI if you can't put yourself in the shoes of a young Japanese reader of the early 1950's. But do read JUNGLE TAITEI if you want to glimpse the Japanese culture of that era, if you want to see Tezuka Osamu's early works, or if you want to see manga history in the making. Do read it if you want to experience a tale whose essence is powerful enough to have traveled successfully across half a century and around the world!
  JUNGE TAITEI LEO and its hero, for all the author's and characters' flaws, is meant to represent us—fallible, mortal living beings, bewildered by a world both welcoming and hostile, struggling to carve order out of chaos in the face of overwhelming odds. Is there hope for us? Leo, at least, seemed to think so, and that hope is what gives JUNGLE TAITEI its heart.


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