Hong Kong Comic Master

One day in February 1980, a convoy drove through the streets of Tokyo. After a long journey, it finally drove into the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

This art museum, which opened in 1926 and has a history of more than 50 years, should have been shabby, but today it has been cleaned up and looks brand new. The lights and decorations are obviously to welcome the distinguished guests.

"Hua La Hua La..."

When the car stopped, a group of people who had been waiting outside the main hall of the art museum for a long time burst into warm applause.

Amid the applause, a group of people wearing cheap and outdated suits and looking rustic got off the car. Although their clothes and dress were not fashionable enough, everyone had a bright look and behaved generously. Their spirit did not look like they had been beaten by capitalism at all.

Although the leader did not look very flattering and did not even look like a good person, his temperament was well controlled and his behavior was extremely free and easy.

This person is called Tewei, a famous Chinese animation director. His current position is the director of the Magic City Film Art Studio. The reason why he appeared in Tokyo this time was that he was invited by the Neon Animation Association to visit.

Accompanying him were a large number of top domestic animation practitioners such as Yan Dingxian, the animation director of the factory, and Duan Xiaoxuan, the photographer.

Seeing Tewei and others coming, the person who came up on the other side was also famous, and it was Osamu Tezuka, the "God of Comics" in Neon.

This event was strongly promoted by Osamu Tezuka. Zhiren Mochinaga, who had fought side by side with Chinese animators for many years, took on a lot of organizational and negotiation matters, and Furukawa Tou and Suzuki Shinichi participated in the preparatory work.

Finally, the Neon Animation Association, which was established less than three years ago, took the lead and was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

As the first time that Chinese animators represented the official collective visit, the honeymoon period between the two countries at such a time period can be said to be of great significance.

"Mr. Te, I have heard of you for a long time!"

"Mr. Tezuka, thank you for your hard work!"

The handshake between the two animation masters of the two countries also represents the beginning of an era.

Mori Kawayo, who served as the translator for the Chinese side, was a member of the art film group of the Shanghai Film Studio (the predecessor of Shanghai Animation Studio) like Mochinaga, and was considered half of his own.

"Mr. Te, please come in!"

"Mr. Tezuka, please!"

For this exchange activity, China brought 16 selected Chinese cartoons, and animators from the two countries had face-to-face exchanges.

Although China's animation is still at the world's top level, the degree of commercialization is not enough. Although this also depends on the national conditions and different production methods, it must be said that with the advancement of marketization, there is not much time left for Director Tewei.

"I have always been very interested in Chinese culture and animation! I started my animation career after watching Mr. Wan's "Princess Iron Fan"! I have always hoped to go to China and communicate with Mr. Wan in person!"

"Of course, there is no problem. We welcome Mr. Tezuka to visit China! In addition, we also thank Mr. Tezuka for his efforts this time. Not only can we successfully come to Neon, but we can also release our new movie "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" in Neon!"

This time, Tewei came to Neon not only for the exchange of animation between the two countries, but also for an important task, which is to sell movies.

Last year, in order to celebrate the 40th birthday of the motherland, the Magic Beauty Factory assembled the most powerful production team of the entire factory and even the entire Chinese animation industry at that time. It took a year and three months to draw more than 58,000 pictures and produce this 60-minute animated film.

Later, this animated film was also collectively called "the twin pillars of Chinese hand-painted animated films" with "Havoc in Heaven".

And this time, with the help of the Neon Animation Association, this artistic masterpiece was also released in Neon.

"Mr. Te is too polite. I have always believed that Japan should not be complacent. Whether it is animation or comics, they should communicate well with China. Otherwise, Dragon Ball would not be so popular in Japan!"

"Dragon Ball? What Dragon Ball?"

Tew looked at Tezuka Osamu with a puzzled look.

Seeing Tewe's bewildered look, Tezuka Osamu further explained: "It is the work of the cartoonist Wansui from Hong Kong Island in your country. Mr. Te doesn't know?"

Tew shook his head.

Osamu Tezuka saw this and immediately understood that the other party must be due to national conditions, so he immediately changed the subject and started talking about other Chinese works, and kept silent about this matter.

For China's modern history, Tezuka Osamu and other older generation cartoonists in Japan are almost all left-leaning in thought, and are full of guilt for this period of history, so China feels ashamed.

Some of them even think that the blood flowing in their bodies is the blood of invaders, which is sinful, so they decide to remain unmarried for life and not let this bloodline continue to pass on!

However, although Tezuka Osamu no longer talked about this matter, Tevye secretly remembered it in his heart.

After today's exchange activities ended, on the way back to the hotel, he asked Morikawa Kawayo, who served as the translator, in the car: "Morikawa, have you heard of "Dragon Ball"? "

"Of course, this comic can be said to be one of the most popular comics in Japan this year."

Morikawa, who served as the translator throughout the whole process, of course knew why Tevye asked this question, so he further explained to Tevye.

"This comic is the work of your country's Hong Kong cartoonist Long Live. It is based on your country's famous work "Journey to the West". It was serialized in our country's "Weekly Shonen Champion" last year. It is now ranked among the top two in the magazine in terms of popularity. , and the other one is "Black Jack" by Mr. Tezuka!"

Although "Dragon Ball" continues to be serialized, the plot progresses very quickly.

At the World's No. 1 Martial Arts Tournament, Wukong made it through the top eight and reached the finals. Faced with Cheng Long in the disguise of Kame Sennin, a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

Wukong even turned into a gorilla when he saw the moon. Fortunately, Kame Sennin used a turtle style Qigong to blow up the moon and successfully restored Wukong. Otherwise, the audience present might not have survived.

Afterwards, although Wukong recovered and faced the over-exhausted Kame Sennin for a long time, he lost in the end.

The battle between the two lasted for seven episodes, allowing readers to feel the charm of the ring competition for the first time. The popularity soared, even surpassing "Black Jack" to become the most popular magazine in "Champion".

Now the plot has entered the Red Silk Army. Although the popularity has declined, the story is still exciting and has been sought after by readers throughout Neon.

After hearing Morikawa's explanation, Tevey was very surprised. There are actually works by cartoonists in his country, and their popularity in Neon is comparable to the works of Osamu Tezuka. This is simply incredible.

Ever since, Tevi was very curious about "Dragon Ball" and the author of this comic!