The Gurihiru team reinvents Osamu Tezuka's “Unique” manga

Gurihiru (the Eisner Award-winning team of artists behind Superman Smashing the Klan and the highly anticipated Ultraman: Another Gene) and Samuel Sattin (the acclaimed novelist and co-writer of Crunchyroll's Essential Anime) are reinventing Osamu's beloved character. Tezuka, Unique, for a new generation of readers with a brand new 162-page manga, titled Unique: Awakening (ユ ニ コ: 目 覚 め の お は な し).

Octas Inc.'s ambitious Kickstarter campaign for Unique: Awakening launched on May 1, and fans can rest assured that the book will soon be available in both English and Japanese, having quickly surpassed the project's $ 50.000 goal with over 500 backers. Rapidfire's donations were fueled by beautiful prize items created by acclaimed artists.

Unique by Osamu Tezuka is the fascinating story of a young unicorn who infuriates the Greek gods when he inspires humans with his hope and positivity. The gods punish Unique by banishing him through space and time until he forgets everything he once was. Unico remains constantly in motion, transported from one era to another, where he must escape the gods again and again, only to see his memory erased again. The only thing that saves Unico from oblivion is the mysterious West Wind Spirit, who feels sorry for Unico and does his best to protect him.

"Unique has the power to make a person happy when they are loved," said Gurihiru. “I would like to share with others the kindness and strength of Unico, that he will never change even if times change”.

Unique: Awakening is inspired by the plot of Tezuka's “Cat with a Broom” from the original 1974-76 manga. Gurihiru, who illustrated Avatar: The Last Airbender and It's Jeff, and Sattin are working in close coordination with Tezuka Productions in Japan to advance their new vision:

In this retelling, Unique befriends a stray cat named Chloe, and the two new friends help out an old woman who Chloe mistakes for a witch. When Chloe realizes that Unique can do real magic, she begs him to turn her into a human for a few moments each day. Unico agrees, as long as Chloe doesn't lose touch with her feline identity. When a dangerous man and the goddess Venus set out to destroy Unico, the Spirit of the West Wind must seek a way to end Unico's eternal cycle of suffering.

"Our hope is that, in modern times when the world can sometimes seem bleak, we can offer a story of resilience in homage to the original message of social well-being and eco-conscience from the Manga God," Sattin said.

The Kickstarter campaign offers a variety of incredible rewards, including rare 16 x 24 collectible prints of Akira Himekawa (The Legend of Zelda), Junko Mizuno (Ravina the Witch), Soo Lee (Ash & Thorn), Katie Longua (Rok), Peach Momoko (Demon Days) - who contributed three different prints, Kamome Shirahama (Witch Hat Atelier), tokitotokoro (For A Good Man) and Oscar-nominated animating director Tomm Moore

"Our hope is that, in modern times when the world sometimes seems desolate, we can offer a story of resilience in homage to the original message of social well-being and eco-conscience from the Manga God," Sattin said.

The Kickstarter campaign offers a variety of incredible rewards, including rare 16 x 24 collectible prints of Akira Himekawa (The Legend of Zelda), Junko Mizuno (Ravina the Witch), Soo Lee (Ash & Thorn), Katie Longua (Rok), Peach Momoko (Demon Days) - who contributed three different stamps, Kamome Shirahama (Witch Hat Atelier), tokitotokoro (For A Good Man) and Oscar-nominated animating director Tomm Moore

(Wolfwalker).

Also, fans can collect Unique: Awakening Artifacts, a series of limited edition collectibles created by acclaimed American cartoonists, including:

Postcard

A Unico and Chloe felt postcard by Amber Padilla (The Secret Garden on 81st Street);

A card from the Tarot of Temperance by Julia Reck

A 5 "X 7" mini-comic by Steenz (Heart in the City)

Octas Inc. also offers a number of exclusive rewards, including a Junko Mizuno Unique design t-shirt and original designs by Gurihiru shikishi.

For updates, follow the official Twitter account of Unique: Awakening.