Phoenix

Overview

Phoenix is about reincarnation. Each story generally involves a search for immortality, embodied by the blood of the eponymous bird of fire, which, as drawn by Tezuka, resembles the Fenghuang. The blood is believed to grant eternal life, but immortality in Phoenix is either unobtainable or a terrible curse, whereas Buddhist-style reincarnation is presented as the natural path of life. The stories spring back and forth through time; the first, Dawn, takes place in ancient times, and the second, Future, takes place in the far future. Subsequent stories alternate between the past and future, allowing Tezuka to explore his themes in both historical and science fiction settings. Throughout the stories there are various recurring characters, some from Tezuka's famous star system. A character named Saruta appears repeatedly, for example, in the form of various ancestors and descendants, all of whom endure harsh trials in their respective eras.

Tezuka began work on a preliminary version of Phoenix in 1954, and the series continued in various forms until his death in 1989. As it progresses, the stories seemed to be converging on the present day. Due to Tezuka dying before the manga's completion, it is not known how this would have played out. Scholar and translator Frederik L. Schodt, who knew Tezuka in life, wrote that he fantasized about a secret ending, "waiting in a safe somewhere to be revealed posthumously". This was not the case, and Tezuka's final intentions with Phoenix remain unknown; its episodic nature leaves each volume highly accessible nonetheless. Many of the Phoenix stories feature an intensely experimental layout and visual design. For example, Universe tells the story of four spacefarers who are forced to leave their spaceship in separate escape pods. The panels of the story are organized such that each character has his own vertical or horizontal tier on the page, emphasizing the astronauts' isolation; the tiers combine and separate as characters join and split up. In an astonishing sequence after one character's death, he is represented for a number of pages by a series of empty black panels.

Tezuka was said to have been influenced to create the series after listening to the music of Igor Stravinsky. He also told that he created the image of Phoenix as he was impressed by the Firebird in director Ivan Ivanov-Vano's animation film Konyok Gorbunok (Soyuzmultfilm studio).

Arcs

After several aborted serialization attempts in the 1950s, in Gakudōsha's Manga Shōnen and Kodansha's Shōjo Club magazines, Tezuka began Dawn in 1967, serialized in COM. The serialization of Phoenix would continue throughout his career, moving to Asahi Sonorama's Manga Shōnen magazine after COM's closure in the mid-70s. The final volume, Sun, was serialized in Yasei Jidai.

Dawn (黎明編, Reimei-hen)

The first volume, originally serialized in 1967. This story takes place in 240–70 AD, in the era of Queen Himiko of the Yamatai. Using her army, led by feudal general Sarutahiko, to invade the Kumaso, she seeks the Phoenix and eternal youth.

Future (未来編, Mirai-hen)

The second volume, originally serialized in 1967–68. In Phoenix's chronology, this is the final story chronologically, taking place near the end of mankind. In 3404, the world has become super-modernized, but humanity has reached its peak and shows decline. A young man named Masato Yamanobe is living with his girlfriend, Tamami, a shapeshifting alien. Pursued by Masato's boss, Rock, they eventually take shelter at the isolated base of mad scientist Dr. Saruta, who attempts to preserve life on Earth with the assistance of his robot, Robita. Eventually, nuclear war breaks out.

Yamato (ヤマト編, Yamato-hen)

The third volume, originally serialized in 1968–69. This story takes place in 320–50 (Kofun period), and is based on the Yamato-takeru-no-mikoto legend. The decadent king of Yamato is trying to have his own version of Japan's history written. Meanwhile, a "barbarian" tribe, the Kumaso, is writing an unbiased history. The king of Yamato sends his youngest son, Oguna, to murder the barbarian chief, Takeru. On his journey, Oguna encounters the Phoenix.

Universe (宇宙編, Uchū-hen)

The fourth volume, originally serialized in 1969; also known as Space. The story takes place in 2577 AD, where four astronauts must escape their ruined spaceship in escape pods. The survivors eventually crash into a mysterious planet. Among them is Saruta, who contends with Makimura for the heart of their female companion, Nana. On this strange planet, they eventually meet the Phoenix.

Characters

Hi no Tori: Keiko Takeshita/Suzanne Gilad

Saruta: Tetsuo Komura/Danny Burstein

Narrator: Akira Kume/Robert O'Gorman

Dawn

Nagi: Takeuchi Junko/Michelle Newman

Sarutahiko: Tetsuo Komura

Himiko: Ryōko Kinomiya/Fiona Jones

Hinaku: Sakiko Tamagawa/Carrie Keranen

Susanoo: Eizo Tsuda/James Urbaniak

Guzuri: Michio Nakao/Jay Snyder

Ama no Yumihiko: Masaki Terasoma/Addie Blaustein

Ninigi: Akio Ōtsuka/Richard Epcar

Shaman: Hikaru Miyata

Soldier: Yousuke Akimoto

Uzume: Yumi Nakatani/Erica Schroeder

Uraji: Yūsaku Yara/Marc Diraison

Ojiji: Eisuke Yoda/Richard Springle

Obaba: Natsuko Sebata

Soldier: Dai Matsumoto

Kumaso Takeru: Daisuke Namikawa

Yazuchi: Hirofumi Nojima

Fuki: Akiko Nakagawa

Tajikarao: Toshihide Tsuchiya

Publication

English edition

Phoenix is currently published in English by Viz Communications. Although the second volume was initially published by the now defunct Pulp manga anthology in a larger edition, in 2002, Viz took over the rest of the manga series, and re-released the second volume. Frederik Schodt, Jared Cook, Shinji Sakamoto, and Midori Ueda, members of a Tokyo group called "Dadakai", had already translated the first five volumes of the series around 1977/78, but after handing these translation to Tezuka Productions, they collected dust for nearly twenty-five years. Finally, Schodt and Cook finished translating the rest of the series and Viz published the entire series in English, starting in 2002 and completing it in March 2008. It has been criticized for being a dumbing-down, including overlapping artwork with unnecessary new narration, and altering character names (such as Sarutahiko to Saruta) to make their reincarnations more obvious to the reader. However, Tezuka was known to update his manga every few years, so the U.S. version could reflect the last known edition of the series.

The Viz editions are released "flipped" (the original right-to-left orientation is reversed for easier reading in English). Some of the shorter stories have been consolidated into one book (based on the Japanese publication), and Troubled Times has been split across two; this resulted in each Viz book having a similar page count. While many of the actual Viz books are out of print, they became available again through digital purchase on Kindle. Viz later offered the digital version of Phoenix manga in 2014.

Vol. 1 – Dawn

Released March 2003.

Vol. 2 – A Tale of the Future / Future

This volume was released first, in May 2002, as a stand-alone graphic novel; Dawn was released a year later, as Vol. 1, followed by the rest of the series. A Tale of the Future was initially released in a larger size; the series releases, starting with Dawn, are digest-sized. A Tale of the Future was reprinted in the smaller size in 2004, titled Future, with Vol. 2 appended to the title.

Vol. 3 – Yamato / Space

Collects Yamato and Space in one book; released November 2003.

Adaptations

Live-action film

A live-action film based on the Dawn storyline, directed by Kon Ichikawa and including some animated sequences directed by Tezuka, was released in 1978. The cast included Tomisaburo Wakayama and Tatsuya Nakadai. It was released in the United States on VHS by Video Action under the cover title The Phoenix (Hinotori) in 1982, using a subtitled print, letterboxed only in the split-screen sequence. To date, the film is available on DVD only in Spain, where it is titled Fénix. The film included a brief appearance by Astro Boy, substituting for another character to illustrate his attempts to get on a horse. The score was co-composed by Michel Legrand and Jun Fukamachi.

Anime

Most volumes of Phoenix were adapted into anime. The best-known feature film, Phoenix 2772, loosely adapts elements from various Phoenix volumes and other Tezuka works into a complete whole cloth scenario. A second animated feature, Phoenix: Karma Chapter was released on December 20, 1986, and was later succeeded by two sequel OVAs, Yamato Chapter and Space Chapter, in 1987.

A 13-episode anime television series aired in 2004 in Japan, and was released in English in October 2007 by Anime Works. The anime premiered in Jamaica on CVM Television in June 2017. A short film by the same staff as the TV series, Phoenix: Robe of Feathers, was released on July 17, 2004.

Dōgo Onsen hot spring bathhouse released a three-episode net anime collaboration with Phoenix in 2019–2020.

A four-episode anime ONA adaptation by Studio 4°C, titled Phoenix: Eden17, premiered worldwide on Disney+ (U.S. on Hulu) on September 13, 2023. It was directed by Shōjirō Nishimi, with character designs and animations handled by Tatsuzou Nishida, Eiko Tanaka serving as producer, and Katsunari Mano and Saku Konohana writing the series' scripts. A film version with a different ending, Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower, premiered in Japanese theaters on November 3 of the same year.

Video games

In 1987, Konami adapted the Karma arc to the MSX2 computer and the Famicom game console. Despite being based on the same material, they are completely different games (a vertical shoot 'em up and a horizontal platformer, respectively) produced by separate teams.

The Phoenix also made a cameo appearance in the 2003 Astro Boy series and 2004 Astro Boy: Omega Factor game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, along with a number of other Tezuka characters.

Hi no Tori Hououhen (1987, MSX2)

Hi no Tori Hououhen: Gaou no Bouken (1987, Famicom)

Black Jack Hinotorihen (2006, Nintendo DS)

DS de Yomu Series: Tezuka Osamu Hi no Tori 1 (2008, Nintendo DS)

DS de Yomu Series: Tezuka Osamu Hi no Tori 2 (2008, Nintendo DS)

DS de Yomu Series: Tezuka Osamu Hi no Tori 3 (2008, Nintendo DS)

Reception and legacy

Phoenix is considered one of the greatest manga of all time, and is often ranked as one of Tezuka's greatest manga. In 2006, Phoenix ranked 1st in the Japan Media Arts Festival's special 'professionals' ranking (consisting of critics, editors, people working in the industry, etc.) for the greatest manga of all time, which it held to mark its 10th anniversary. In a 2009 poll held by Asahi Shimbun for 'Greatest Shōwa Manga', Phoenix ranked 12th, the 3rd highest Tezuka manga behind Astro Boy and Black Jack.

Mangaka Naoki Urasawa has spoken about how the first time he read Phoenix he was shocked that a work of this quality existed, and that since reading it, he has never been as significantly impacted by anything since, so much so that he would mark it as the moment he became an adult. Comic magazine editor Martin Skidmore called it a 'real contender for comics’ greatest work of any kind'. The Japan Times has referred to it as 'Japanese pop culture at its zenith', stating that it draws critical comparisons to 'everything from Shakespearean tragedy to early Walt Disney'. In an interview, mangaka Hitoshi Iwaaki named it among his favorite manga. In her book 'The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga', Helen McCarthy says it has 'a strong claim to be considered a contemporary equivalent of Wagner’s Ring cycle'. IGN, in their review of Vol. 10, stated 'You've read nothing like this, and it's doubtful you ever will again.' Video game designer Yuji Horii and manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo stated it to be among their favorite Tezuka manga.

Critic Andrew D. Arnold, writing for Time Magazine, in reviewing the 'Karma' arc stated that it was 'one of the few comix to go beyond supreme artistry into the sublime' and that 'one can barely touch upon the depths of this deeply sophisticated work in the confines of a review. It would take something more along the lines of an exegesis. Tezuka has created a book that combines the excitement, plotting, and characterization of the best novels with the philosophy of the best spiritual essays and the beauty of the graphical arts into a singular masterpiece of world fiction', and that while it is 'as entertaining as any comic can be, it miraculously also achieves what lesser religious comix strive for and fail at: enlightenment.'

The titular Phoenix is considered an icon of manga, and a sculpture of the character is featured as a prominent permanent exhibition in the Kyoto International Manga Museum. A statute of the Phoenix is also featured outside the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum.