Adventure · Science

Phoenix (manga)

Phoenix (火の鳥, Hi no Tori; "Bird of Fire") is Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka considered Phoenix his "life's work"; it consists of 12 parts, each of which tells a separate, self-contained story and takes place in a different era. The plots go back and forth from the remote future to prehistoric times. The story was never completed, having been cut short by Tezuka's death in 1989.

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Genres: Adventure Science
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Country: Japan

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Reception

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.