Shunsaku Ban 伴俊作

Easily recognizable by his huge, bristly mustache, Shunsaku Ban, also affectionately known as “Higeoyaji” and/or “Mustachio”, is one of Tezuka’s longest-running characters. Most often cast in the role of a spirited, if not particularly sophisticated, middle-aged man, he has appeared in many of Tezuka’s most important series, including (but not limited to): Lost World (1948), Metropolis (1949), Next World (1951), Astro Boy (1952-68), The Adventure of Rock (1952-54), Lion Books (1956-57), Black Jack (1973-83), The Three-Eyed One (1974-78), MW (1976-78), Rainbow Parakeet (1981-82), among many others. Short-tempered and rough, he is also warm-hearted with a burning sense of justice – perfect for his usual occupation as a plucky detective.

It is interesting to note that, even though Shunsaku Ban appears in so many of Tezuka’s series, he didn’t really create him. As Tezuka confesses in his book I am a Manga Artist, Higeoyagi’s character design is in fact based on a doodle that a good friend of Tezuka’s drew of his own father, when both were in middle school. Tezuka swiped it and used it in Old Man Detective, one of his early amateur works, and he soon became an indispensable part of Tezuka’s work.