

Story and Art by Tezuka Osamu
Copyright © Shogakukan Comics
Two-volume hardcover set, 1997 |
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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 frienda human at thatsummarizes 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 usfallible, 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
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