Utopia the Final World War
The Science Fiction as the Start Point of Fujiko Fujio

Date：21, Feb, 2013
Investigated and Written by Misaka Youhei
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Famous as an author of Doraemon, Perman, Esper Mami and so on, Fujiko F. Fujio is. On the other hand, Fujiko Fujio A is well-known as an author of Warau Salesman, Pro-golfer Saru, Kaibutsu-kun and the like. In old days, the two great masters were in combination as Fujiko Fujio and created several manga works.

Among the works, what you should read firstly is Utopia the Final World War published in 1953. It is their first published comic book in their early time. By the way, Ashizuka Fujio was firstly printed as its author in a name. Ashizuka was from Tezuka Osamu the master of manga both of Fujiko Fujio sincerely respected, and who helped it published. Ashi means feet and Te means hands in Japanese. With extreme reverence, they had named themselves Ashizuka Fujio at the time.

Like its cover was not illustrated by the two or it included the manga written by another nameless author, Utopia the Final World War might not have been a pure part of works by Fujiko Fujio. There was no help for it because the two were no one knows who.

Well, its content is a satire on war and science. Their later works are kind of similar to the early manga as we cannot help thinking they developed this and wrote the later works

21st century is its stage. World war III occurred and imprisoned is a man who took objection to the war. Improvement of science straightly means their arms improved. All creatures, not only mankind, suffer from the war. Man is on the verge of eradication. By chance, the imprisoned man and his son were in a shelter for its experiment.

The son wakes up one day and his father never moves. He tries to go out from the shelter. When he gets out, the war was ended and he sees the world completely managed by a machine civilization.

Japanese economic white paper said 'no longer be termed postwar' 3 years later from they published Utopia the Final World War. In other words, they created this manga on the way of postwar rehabilitation. They would have let the manga have doubt about Japanese revival centering on the growth of a capitalist economy and technology.

Can't development of civilization become development of mankind? Can't we prosper without having managers and the managed? For what does science exist? Can't we go valuing the difference between men and machines? Its theme still shakes us although it is a comic book firstly published in 1953. The young great master had sent a letter to the present people.