Rainbow Parakeet

Rainbow Parakeet (七色いんこ, Nana-iro Inko) (German: Regenbogenfarbener Papagei) is a manga series created by Osamu Tezuka dealing with the adventures of the eponymous phantom thief. Collected in seven volumes, it has been published in France by Asuka.

Rainbow Parakeet
The cover for Rainbow Parakeet volume 1 from the Osamu Tezuka Manga Complete Works edition.
七色いんこ
(Nana-iro Inko)
Manga
Written byOsamu Tezuka
Published byAkita Shoten
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Champion
DemographicShōnen
Original runMarch 20, 1981 – May 28, 1983
Volumes7

Plot

Rainbow Parakeet is a genius as an actor, and a thief at the same time. As he is not a full-time thespian, he is usually hired as a replacement.[1] During the performance, he steals from the wealthiest members of the audience or even actors, depriving them of the contents of their purses or their jewelry.[2][4] True to his alias name "Rainbow Parakeet", he can assume the role of almost any part and change into any costume, and his repertoire is immense.[1]

His methods are a mystery, even to the detectives charged with apprehending him: Police Inspector Senri and his daughter, Police Detective Mariko Senri.

Characters
Rainbow Parakeet

A thief who is also a professional mimic (although he called himself a layman in acting), he usually steals from the rich among the audience, causing Detective Senri and her daughter Mariko to pursue him.

Police Inspector Senri
Police Detective Mariko Senri

Inspector Senri's daughter. While she is passionate about capturing Rainbow Parakeet, she is also in love with him.

Tamasaburō

A dog who is as good at disguising himself as Parakeet. Tamasaburo soon joins Parakeet in his work.

Chochin Odawara
Mozuku Tengusa
Clown Tommy

General remarks

The work was serialized in the Weekly Shonen Champion and ran from 1981 to 1982.[5]

Each typical episode adapted or paid homage to a play from the West, or from the Japanese theater, both traditional and modern.[5] Examples include Ibsen (Episode 3. Doll's House) and Shakespeare (Episode 35. The dog Tamasaburō faces the threat of being fed to a lion named Shylock).[6][3][7]

Appearances in other media

Astro Boy (1980 TV series)

Parakeet appeared as detective "Sherlock Homespun" in an episode of the 1980s series, where he was an English cyborg private detective who helps Astro Boy recover an artificial sun created to help exploration in Pluto.

Astro Boy (2003 TV series)

Parakeet is featured in several episodes of the 2003 TV incarnation of Astro Boy as the terrorist Kato.

See also

References
  1. Schmitz-Emans, Monika (2012), Literatur-Comics: Adaptationen und Transformationen der Weltliteratur, Tezuka Walter de Gruyter, p. 109, ISBN 9783110266764, die Protagonistenfigur ist ein Dieb, der als perfekter Verstellungskünstler zwar nicht hauptberuflich als Schauspieler arbeitet, aber immer wieder als Ersatzdarsteller ISBN 9-783-1102-6676-4
  2. Shūkan shinchō, 43 (40–44), p. 120: "..代役専門の天才的俳優で金持ちだけを狙う怪盗でもある。(..brilliant actor specializing in substituting, and a thief who preys only on the rich)".
  3. Tezuka, Osamu (2013), "Ningyō no ie" 人形の家 [Episode 3: Doll's House], Nanairo inko, Tezuka Production, 1
  4. See for example, Episode 3, where he leaves his calling card and steals a piece of jewelry called "Stella Blanca" from an eminent actress.[3]
  5. Schmitz-Emans, Monika (2013), "Graphic Narrative as World Literature", From Comic Strips to Graphic Novels, Tezuka Walter de Gruyter, pp. 401–402, ISBN 9783110282023 ISBN 9-783-1102-8202-3
  6. Palmer, Ada. "Film is Alive: The Manga Roots of Osamu Tezuka's Animation Obsession".
  7. Tezuka, Osamu (2013), "Benisu no shōnin" ベニスの商人 [Episode 35: The Merchant of Venice], Nanairo inko, Tezuka Production, 5
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