Hi no Tori (1967)

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Hi no Tori: Reimei-hen, Phoenix: Dawn

Japanese: 火の鳥

More titles

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 16

Chapters: 19

Status: Finished

Published: Dec 20, 1966 to Feb 1988

Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Supernatural

Themes: Historical, Psychological, Space

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Manga Shounen

Authors: Tezuka, Osamu (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.54¹ (scored by 5,024 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #128²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #799

Members: 25,878

Favorites: 734

Available At

Official Site

Resources

Wikipedia

8.54

Ranked #128Popularity #799Members 25,878

MangaManga ShounenTezuka, Osamu (Story & Art)

Add to My List

Volumes: /16

Chapters: /19

Edit
Synopsis

From time immemorial to the age of space colonization, there is one legend that has stayed unchanged in every history book—the tale of the immortal bird Phoenix. A being whose blood is said to grant eternal life or wisdom, the radiant figure ensures the continuation of sentient life in the universe as it oversees human civilizations and their development.

Yet, mankind remains a slave to its habits; from happiness and sorrow, to wrath and love, a myriad of emotions continue to play an integral part of human life. Simultaneously, time and time again, certain beliefs and agendas persist over the centuries to disturb the fragile equilibrium of the world's preordained nature and principles. It appears that fate, with its dynamic variables, can manifest itself in many ways—and oftentimes exhibits a bizarre sense of humor.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Note: This is an incomplete series due to Tezuka's death.

Edit
Background

Hi no Tori was published over the course of 21 years from 1967 to 1988, but was left incomplete due to Tezuka's death in 1989. The first seven chapters were serialized by COM magazine between 1967 to 1971; the remaining chapters were published by Manga Shounen and Yasei Jidai.

Hi no Tori was published in English as Phoenix in 11 volumes by VIZ Media under the VIZ Signature imprint from March 12, 2003, to September 18, 2007. Previous to this, it had had a brief run in the educational publication Mangajin, from May to July, 1992 (issues #17 - #19).

A live-action film following the Dawn storyline directed by Kon Ichikawa was released on August 12, 1978, in Japan and on March 30, 1979, in the United States.

Edit

Related Entries

More characters
Characters

The Phoenix

Main

Gaou

Main

Makimura

Main

Harima

Main

Sakonnosuke

Main

Oguna

Main

Leona

Main

Masato

Main

Holmes, Rock

Supporting

Honma, Joutarou

Supporting

Reviews

Sep 19, 2025

NapoTheGuy

Recommended

The following review is in Spanish and English (translated with the support of DeepL).

The version read is the English license by “VIZ Media.”

As an author with one of the most prolific, varied, and influential catalogs in the medium (if not the most), Osamu Tezuka referred to “Hi no Tori” as his Magnus Opus, the masterpiece of his life. Published over 22 years (1966-1988) in various magazines, it is divided into 12 stories with an “annex,” an earlier manga that can be described as a prototype published during the 1950s.

It is called this precisely because it deals with the themes that would later appear in his ...

Open

Gift

Aug 3, 2025

dy10120911

Recommended

Osamu Tezuka's phoenix cover a vast range of topics: life, death, religions, history, technology and more, all covered in one long manga series. Each chapter tells a unique story set in a different period of human history, yet all are connected by a mythical creature, the phoenix. What makes this manga great is Tezuka’s ability to approach each story with creativity and unpredictability: when the story is set in the past, he offer a different perspectives on a historical event, when the story is set in the future, his imaginations go wild, re-create the universe itself. Beyond just telling the interesting stories, Tezuka consistently explore ...

Open

Gift

Jul 27, 2021

nephilimK

Recommended

Deleted my old MAL account Kaushik17

Phoenix. It’s a 10. Let’s get that out of the way first. Moving on, Phoenix is a work written by the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka, over a span of 20+ years. It was regarded by him as his life’s work. And having read it, I can attest to it. I have had the privilege of reading many mangas from the master over his nearly 40 year career and was eagerly anticipating to have a go at this one. And boy it sure delivered. From start to finish, it was one of the most ambitious works I have had the ... pleasure to experience.

Set in a timeframe between the 3rd Century AD to the 35th century, the story consists of self-contained events in different periods of the timeframe. All of them are linked to each other through the Phoenix, a bird whose blood grants immortality. Several individuals over the years have tried to acquire the blood of this legendary bird to escape the cycle of life and death. An interesting premise, as we get to see different individuals trying to obtain the blood for different reasons. And this journey transforms them in ways they did not anticipate at the start.

Moving on to the world itself, most of the historical stories take place in Japan, with other parts of East Asia shown time and again. Stories have some historical or mythological references to it and having a basic understanding of them might give you a clear sense of what is happening. This however is not a mandatory requirement and is only meant to help with getting a sense of the political and social makeup of Japanese society at that point in time. His futuristic stories on the other hand take place in the vast canvas of space. And it is here that we are fully exposed to the creative genius of Tezuka. Although, I am not a big fan of the Sci-Fi genre, his stories were some of the best I’ve experienced, from what I’ve read. The ease with which he weaves back and forth between the future and past is truly phenomenal, with certain reincarnations of characters serving as guideposts in our journey.

The characters of Tezuka, while definitely not his greatest strength, are perfect for the world and themes he tries to bring out in his stories. You will not be blown over by the personality of his characters, but rather learn to empathise with their struggles to find meaning in their lives. And although it does suffer from one dimensional characters at times, Tezuka invests sufficient time to help us understand their motivations. Also, hat’s off to Saruta and his reincarnations. Seeing his reincarnations' different personalities and their struggles were a treat for the eyes. And I am not meaning it in a sadistic way.

The art of the series might put off potential readers due to its very dated style. Character designs at the start often remind you of the influence Disney had on him. But the fact that this was written over a 25 year span, enables us to see the growth he underwent as an artist. Some of his background art in later years were great to behold and really enhanced the immersion in the story. Another interesting thing that I noticed, was how the approach to panelling evolved over the years. It really gives you a sense of what worked in the industry at that time and how it adapted to demographic situation in Japan.

Now, to the juiciest part of the work, the themes. At its most fundamental level, Phoenix deals with themes of life, death and immortality. Characters try to break from the cycle of life and death through obtaining the blood of the Phoenix, only to realise the futility of it. Armed with this knowledge, they try to ensure their immortality’s through their deeds. This reminded me of the EPIC OF GILGAMESH (another fabulous work of fiction), which drives in the same themes. As in Buddha, Tezuka’s projection of the Karmic way of life and death struck a chord with me, as it is something that I find interesting to think about. Other dharmic concepts such as time and space, the illusion of the world only enhanced my immersion and love work this already great work. The statement, “In all ages, the deeds of men remain the same.”, reminded me of another one of my favourites. His handling of time and space especially is absolutely mind-boggling. People more used to linear progression of time might find themselves overwhelmed by his absolute disregard for it in Phoenix. Due to the fact that this does take over a large timeframe, we also get to observe Tezuka’s mastery of several genres like horror, sci-fi, history, romance, etc. His endings are appropriate for the stories, once again driving in the themes, rather than focusing on happy endings for his characters. I could keep on talking about this on and on, but that would end up sacrificing readability of this review.

It is also a great shame that the work was unfinished. Tezuka died before completing this work and therefore we have no idea how a potential ending might have been. But judging from what we got, it is possible to assume the ending being somewhere in the 20th century AD. Despite this, it doesn’t take anything away from the work, due to the fact that his stories are are self-contained.

I highly recommend this work. It is a display about what makes the Manga medium so great through the hands of one of its, if not biggest contributor. If you are looking for a work which combines the themes of the EPIC OF GILGAMESH, with MUSHISHI’s atmosphere and GINGA EIYUU DENSETSU’s ambitions, look no further.

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Mythical Past

by tzippurah

14 Entries · 30 Restacks

Aluminum Christmas Trees

by stefanoiulli1999

25 Entries · 8 Restacks

Manga published by Fibra

by JanVlovski

20 Entries · 8 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

Osamu Tezuka's 'Hi no Tori' Manga Gets Anime in 2023

The official Twitter of Disney+ Japan announced an anime adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Hi no Tori (1967) (Phoenix) manga on Wednesday, revealing the studio and ...read more

Nov 30, 2022 9:20 AM by Hyperion_PS | Discuss (15 comments)

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Arcs, Chapters and Volumes alucinotronic - Jan 14, 2024	12 replies	by Lucifrost »» Yesterday, 7:02 AM
Poll: Hi no Tori (1967) Chapter 1 Discussion St0rmblade - Sep 21, 2019	4 replies	by Catalano »» Sep 24, 3:47 PM
Poll: Hi no Tori (1967) Chapter 7 Discussion St0rmblade - Oct 7, 2019	2 replies	by Dumb »» Feb 2, 1:25 PM
Poll: Hi no Tori (1967) Chapter 6 Discussion St0rmblade - Oct 4, 2019	2 replies	by Dumb »» Dec 2, 2024 12:56 AM
Poll: Hi no Tori (1967) Chapter 5 Discussion St0rmblade - Sep 29, 2019	2 replies	by Dumb »» Nov 30, 2024 9:33 PM

Hi no Tori (1967)
Phoenix
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Hi no Tori (1967)Phoenix Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

EditSynopsis

EditBackground

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More charactersCharacters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Hi no Tori (1967)
Phoenix
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion