What is that weird pig-face thing that pops up sometimes in Kimba?
This is seen in many of Tezuka’s anime and manga, such as Astro Boy, Amazing 3 and, of course, Kimba. This “pig thing” is a “hyoutan-tsugi” or sewed gourd. It looks like a pig-faced patchwork creature that sometimes puffs out smoke. Tezuka wanted to keep his works cartoony, so when serious events happened he would throw in a gourd, have one bounce off the hero’s head, have a bunch of them rain down from the sky, or even have a character’s face turn into one, to cool things down. It wasn’t meant to be a character, just a joke. Sometimes called a gourdski, the use of it became a big hit with Tezuka’s fans. Tezuka came up with it when he was young; he based it on one of his little sister’s drawings. More information and pictures can be found on the Tezuka World web site.
This is seen in many of Tezuka’s anime and manga, such as Astro Boy, Amazing 3 and, of course, Kimba. This “pig thing” is a “hyoutan-tsugi” or sewed gourd. It looks like a pig-faced patchwork creature that sometimes puffs out smoke. Tezuka wanted to keep his works cartoony, so when serious events happened he would throw in a gourd, have one bounce off the hero’s head, have a bunch of them rain down from the sky, or even have a character’s face turn into one, to cool things down. It wasn’t meant to be a character, just a joke. Sometimes called a gourdski, the use of it became a big hit with Tezuka’s fans. Tezuka came up with it when he was young; he based it on one of his little sister’s drawings.
