1930, eight years before Superman. Another similar Japanese Kamishibai superhero was , who debuted in the early 1930s, also years before Superman. After World War II Manga artist Osamu Tezuka, who debuted in 1946, was a major influence on the later science fiction authors. Lost World (1948), Metropolis (1949), and Nextworld (1951) are known as Tezuka's early SF trilogy. Avant-garde author Kōbō Abe wrote works that are within science fiction genre, and he later had close relationship with SF authors. His Inter Ice Age 4 (1958-1959) is considered the first Japanese full-length science fiction novel. The era of modern Japanese science fiction began with the influence of paperbacks that the US occupation army brought to Japan after World War II. The first science fiction magazine in Japan, , was created in 1954 but was discontinued after only one issue. Several short-lived magazines followed Seiun in the Japanese market, but none experienced great success. Science fiction in Japan gained popularity in the early 1960s. Both the (since 1959) and the science fiction coterie magazine Uchūjin (1957–2013) began publication in this decade. The first Japan SF Convention was held in 1962. A writers' association, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan (SFWJ) was formed in 1963 with eleven members. Notable authors like Sakyo Komatsu, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Taku Mayumura, Ryo Hanmura and Aritsune Toyota debuted at the Hayakawa SF Contest (1961–1992, restarted since 2012). Other notable authors, such as Shinichi Hoshi, Ryu Mitsuse, Kazumasa Hirai, Aran Kyodomari and Yoshio Aramaki, were also published. Though influenced by the West, their work was distinctively Japanese. For example, Kazumasa Hirai, Aritsune Toyota and Takumi Shibano wrote novels as well as plots for SF-anime and SF-manga, which are some of the most prominent examples of Japanese contributions to the genre of science fiction. The contributions of excellent translators such as Tetsu Yano, Masahiro Noda, Hisashi Asakura and Norio Ito introduced English science fiction to readers in Japan, and greatly influenced public opinion of science fiction. SF Magazine'''s first editor, Masami Fukushima was also an excellent novelist and translator. In visual media genre, film studio Toho spawned the Kaiju film genre in 1954 with Godzilla. Eiji Tsuburaya who directed the special effects for Toho's film formed his own studio and created Ultraman in 1966. Tezuka's manga Astro Boy (1952-1968) became the first Japanese TV animation series in 1963. Infiltration and diffusion Public interest in science fiction had risen