Despite its reputation for creating children’s manga with universal appeal, Unique: Awakening—a manga inspired by Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka-‘s previous work was recently banned by the Richmond County School District in North Carolina after a local parent complained that it contained material unsuitable for children.
As reported by Mogura manga according to The Richmond Observerthe local North Carolina newspaper that broke the story, when Nikki Fletcher’s six-year-old son expressed interest in purchasing Unique: Awakening at a Scholastic Book Fair, she didn’t think twice before buying the book. She assumed the content was suitable for children. However, upon reviewing the manga at home, she was shocked to discover depictions of animal cruelty and gun violence. Disturbed by the availability of the content for children, Fletcher complained to the school board, who promptly removed the manga from circulation.
All Unico wants is to help the people he knows be happy
Unico’s personality cannot stop him from doing good wherever he goes
Commonly known as the grandfather of manga, few figures have played a greater role in shaping manga and anime as popular entertainment and influential global subcultures than Osamu Tezuka. Throughout his career, which began in the 1940s and lasted until his passing in 1989, Tezuka created numerous works, including Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lionwhich have become award-winning and enduring classics of children’s literature.
While Gurihiru and Samuel Sattin Unique: Awakening is not a work by Osamu Tezukais a remake based on Single manga series, authored by Tezuka and published by Sanrio from 1976 to 1979. This series follows Unico, a cheerful unicorn blessed with the power to spread joy, happiness, and love. However, Unico’s uplifting personality and ability to help people overcome negative emotions threatens the gods who thrive on hatred and sadness, making him the target of their heavenly wrath.
To protect Unico from danger, the gods who supported him devised a plan to relocate him to different times and places while erasing his memories. Despite these restrictions, Unico’s inherently positive nature always shines throughfor he cannot help but help those in need wherever he goes. Unfortunately, this makes it easier for your enemies to track you, forcing your friends to repeatedly move you and erase your memories again.
For Unico to fulfill its mission, something bad must happen
Unique: Awakening was written by Samuel Sattin, with art by Gurihiru
Gurihiru and Sattin’s reinterpretation of Single combines several elements from Tezuka’s classic while maintaining the central narrative. Unico continues to help those in need in his new locations, inadvertently alerting his enemies to his whereabouts. Your assistance is triggered by observations of individuals facing challengessuch as intimidation or injury. While conflict and violence are necessary to the story, providing Unico with a reason to use his powers, they are presented tastefully and in context. The narrative balances action and drama, avoiding gratuitous violence and instead using it judiciously to advance the plot.
It is not clear The Richmond Observer story if Ms. Fletcher read the entire manga to understand its context before filing her complaint. However, the Richmond School Board stated that the ban is currently temporary while they consult with the publisherScholastic, to get a better understanding of the story. Hopefully this process will resolve any misunderstandings. Otherwise, children in the Richmond School District risk missing out on the opportunity to experience a classic Osamu Tezuka-Inspired story that’s filled with timeless elements designed to help kids grow, not hold them back.
Sources: Mogura manga, The Richmond Observer