Hi no Tori (1967)

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Alternative Titles

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

Japanese: 火の鳥

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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: 8.55¹ (scored by 4,512 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #115²

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

Popularity: #805

Members: 22,585

Favorites: 783

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8.55

Ranked #115Popularity #805Members 22,585

MangaManga ShounenTezuka, Osamu (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /16

Chapters: /19

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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.

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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 later on in March 30, 1979 in the United States.

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Reviews

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.

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Dec 10, 2020

unimportantuser

Recommended

This review will contain spoilers

Osamu Tezuka is a figure who I feel needs no introduction. Often labeled the god of manga, he’s made so much throughout his career, from Dororo, Astro Boy, Message to Adolf, Buddha & so many more. It’s safe to say this man created a legacy throughout his 60 year life. Today we’ll be looking at his manga called Phoenix. Phoenix was considered by Tezuka to be his life's work, originally beginning in 1956, getting cancelled shortly after, & rebooted in 1967. It ran for over 20 years but was tragically left unfinished due to Tezuka’s death in 1989. Without further ado, ...

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May 20, 2020

DarkSakuraVII

Recommended

While critics lavished this manga with praise, at the risk of being ostracized by the anime connoisseurs, I found this manga fairly dull, machinated and repetitive.

Art hasn't really aged well. The story is its main selling point, but while the premise is interesting, the story usually plays into the oldest cliché in history -- desiring immortality because of human greed. Maybe 80% of the stories begin this way and doesn't change much in the process. There's always a character that wants to live forever because they want to become god or something similar. Worst is the Sun chapter that's basically a historical retell of ...

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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)

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Poll: Hi no Tori (1967) Chapter 2 Discussion St0rmblade - Sep 22, 2019	3 replies	by Dumb »» May 19, 1:36 AM
Poll: Hi no Tori (1967) Chapter 1 Discussion St0rmblade - Sep 21, 2019	3 replies	by Dumb »» May 18, 3:04 AM
Scanlations VongolaXEspada - Jan 21, 2013	17 replies	by Never_Know_Best »» Feb 3, 11:50 PM
Poll: Hi no Tori (1967) Chapter 4 Discussion St0rmblade - Sep 27, 2019	3 replies	by zech »» Jan 25, 2:14 AM
Arcs, Chapters and Volumes alucinotronic - Jan 14	2 replies	by alucinotronic »» Jan 14, 6:08 PM

Hi no Tori (1967)
Phoenix
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Phoenix
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