Tezuka Osomatsu-san

Tezuka Osomatsu-san (手塚おさ松さん) is a collaboration that features a crossover between Osomatsu-san and various properties created by prolific mangaka Osamu Tezuka to commemorate his 90th birthday.

Each of the sextuplets is dressed as a different character created by Tezuka Osamu. Additionally, they are also given their own nicknames to match them, which are the following:

* Osomatsu as Astro Boy (アトム; lit. "Atom") - Otom (オトム)
* Karamatsu as Black Jack (ブラック・ジャック) - Karack Jack (カラック・ジャック)
* Choromatsu as Phoenix (火の鳥; lit. "Bird of Fire") - Choro of Fire (火のチョロ)
* Ichimatsu as Hyakkimaru (百鬼丸) from *Dororo* - Ikkimaru (一鬼丸)
* Jyushimatsu as Kimba (レオ; lit. "Leo") from *Kimba the White Lion* - Jyushio (ジュウシオ)
* Todomatsu as Sapphire (サファイア) from *Princess Sapphire* - Tottia (トッティア)

OverviewThe collaboration was first released as an April Fool’s Joke on April 1, 2018, when the official Osomatsu-san website was changed to feature the sextuplets drawn in Tezuka Osamu’s art style. The archived version of the website as it appeared on the day of can be viewed here. Later on April 6, 2018, an announcement was made that these designs would be part of a larger collaboration, with two additional designs being revealed: the sextuplets drawn dressed as some of Osamu Tezuka’s characters, and chibi versions of them. Merchandise and collaboration cafes were announced, which included those with Rakuten Collection, JMA Tokyo Tower, Animate Cafe, and Sweets Paradise.

The first merchandise released was with the second set of designs, which was sold through Rakuten Collection as an online kuji (lottery) prizes. The merchandise that was available as prizes included acrylic plates, plushies, acrylic stands, and badges. A Twitter campaign ran where three lucky winners could win an acrylic plate by following Rakuten Collection’s official Twitter account and retweeting the corresponding campaign tweet.

Later on, a second kuji was introduced, this time with the first set of designs in Tezuka’s art style being used. The prizes included canvas boards, hand towels, and keychains. Like the last kuji, a Twitter campaign was run where three lucky winners would win a canvas board by following Rakuten Collection’s official Twitter account and retweeting the corresponding campaign tweet. The first kuji ran from April 6 to April 20, 2018. The second kuji ran from April 23, 2018 to May 7, 2018.

The next set of merchandise released was through a collaboration with Tokyo Tower’s Animate JMA store, this time featuring both the designs of sextuplets dressed as Tezuka’s characters and them drawn in his art style. Available merchandise included clear files, badges, pouches, and lunch totes. If at least 1000 yen of merchandise was purchased, a free randomly chosen bromide was also provided. The merchandise was sold from April 23, 2018 to May 13, 2018.

The first collaboration café was held by Animate Cafe, this time featuring chibi designs. The menu included cream puffs, dessert dipping plates, and various drinks. The merchandise sold using these designs included acrylic stand keychains, badges, charms, phone cases, and lunch totes.

For every food or drink order, a randomly chosen badge was also included. A campaign was also run where depending on when the collaboration café was attended, different illustration cards depicting the sextuplets in duos based on age order were distributed. Additionally, stamp cards were provided where for every card completed and if at least 2000 yen worth of merchandise was purchased, an original illustration card with all of the sextuplets was included. The collaboration café was announced on April 6, 2018 and ran from April 23 to May 27, 2018.

Additionally, the second and last collaboration café was held by Sweets Paradise. The collaboration featured both designs of the sextuplets dressed as Tezuka’s characters. Various drinks, roll cakes, and cookies with the designs printed on them were available in all locations, featuring merchandise with chibi designs with alternative poses. The merchandise available included acrylic keychain stands, charms, badges, lunch totes, and phone cases. Additionally, at the Osaka and Ikebukuro locations, a special menu that included al ajillo, roast beef, omurice, parfaits, and cakes, was available to order from.

For every food or drink order, a randomly chosen coaster was provided. A campaign was also run where depending on when the collaboration cafe was attended, different illustration cards depicting the sextuplets in duos based on age order were distributed. Like the first collaboration cafe, a stamp card rally was held, where for every card completed and if at least 2000 yen worth of merchandise was purchased, an original illustration card with all of the sextuplets was included. An additional bonus bromide was available for those who attended the collaboration cafe on Fujio Akatsuka’s birthday starting on May 22, 2018.

The collaboration cafe ran in Akihabara and Shinjuku from April 23 to May 31, in Osaka from April 23 to May 9, and in Ikebukuro from May 7 to May 31, 2018.

Finally, the last part of the collaboration was a set of merchandise featuring all of the designs sold as part of the “Matsuno Shop: There’s Tezuka Osomatsu-san Merch Too!” (松野商店＼手塚おさ松さんグッズもあるよ／) event. The merchandise sold included towels, patches, badges, rubber straps, masking tape, mini clear files, stickers, and pouches. For every purchase of at least 1,500 yen, a randomly chosen postcard was also provided. The event was announced on May 31, 2018 and was sold from June 15, 2018 to July 8, 2018.

Trivia
* Fujio Akatsuka took great inspiration from Tezuka and became a mangaka because of one of Tezuka's earliest works, *Lost World.* The two became affiliated with each other due to the fact that they lived in the same mangaka share house and maintained a mentor-student relationship. Akatsuka himself and references to his work, have even appeared in Tezuka's manga.

Gallery
Tezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Style DesignsTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka OsomatsuTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka KaramatsuTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka ChoromatsuTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka IchimatsuTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka JyushimatsuTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka TodomatsuTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Character Cosplay DesignsTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Kuji Acrylic PlatesTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Kuji PlushiesTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Kuji Acrylic StandsTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Kuji BadgesTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Kuji 2 Canvas BoardsTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Kuji 2 Hand TowelsTezuka Osomatsu-san - Tezuka Kuji 2 KeychainsTezuka Osomatsu-san - Animate Event Main ImageTezuka Osomatsu-san - Animate Clear FilesTezuka Osomatsu-san - Animate BadgesTezuka Osomatsu-san - Animate PouchesTezuka Osomatsu-san - TotesTezuka Osomatsu-san - Animate Cafe Main ImageTezuka Osomatsu-san - Animate Cafe MenuTezuka Osomatsu-san - Animate Cafe MerchTezuka Osomatsu-san - Sweets Paradise Menu 1Tezuka Osomatsu-san - Sweets Paradise Menu 2Tezuka Osomatsu-san - Sweets Paradise MerchandiseTezuka Osomatsu-san - Sweets Paradise CoasterTezuka Osomatsu-san - Event MerchandiseTezuka Osomatsu-san - Event Postcards

General References:

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu\_Tezuka
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/Rcollection\_PR/status/982181722321141761?s=20&t=Bs8haK-UZmNzgRETKyALTQ
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/Rcollection\_PR/status/985790464539246592?s=20&t=RV-WN-8\_DD\_FBgNivj0PcA
4. ↑ https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%89%8B%E5%A1%9A%E6%B2%BB%E8%99%AB
Gallery Image Sources:

1. https://twitter.com/osomatsu\_PR/status/982181375406034945
2. https://osomatsusan.com/2nd/news/detail.php?id=1060260&tag=243
3. http://osomatsu-info.blog.jp/archives/30885813.html#more
4. http://osomatsu-info.blog.jp/archives/31079028.html#more
5. https://twitter.com/osomatsu\_PR/status/986817552885022720
6. https://twitter.com/osomatsu\_PR/status/1002112448613175296
7. https://twitter.com/osomatsu\_PR/status/986817552885022720
8. https://twitter.com/osomatsu\_info/status/982190004939051015
9. https://twitter.com/osomatsu\_info/status/985812107923832832
10. https://www.sweets-paradise.jp/collaboration/2018/04/5447/
11. https://twitter.com/osomatsu\_PR/status/1006391886599225344