Phoenix End

Last week I reread Phoenix Volume 10 by Osamu Tezuka (Viz, 2007) and followed it up with the newly arrived Phoenix Volume 11. These two volumes make up the last story in the series. Last not because it is the ending, but because Tezuka died before finishing (a twelth volume will be published by Viz that includes some other Phoenix related works). Is it the largest story in the series and is also a sort of microcosm of the series as a whole. This single story follows the story of a man in the past and a man in the future whose lives are intertwined, one the reincarnation of the other. The series as a whole jumps back and forth between the distant past and the distant future, each story moving closer to some unknown center point (unknown as Tezuka never finished the series to let us know). Throughout the series the same characters seem to reappear in different times and places, one assumes in a form of reincarnation like the Phoenix rising from its ashes. The whole work deals with repetitions and circles and this last volume is an apt final story as it brings that sense closer than ever by intermingling the past and future stories.

One of the most interesting things about Phoenix, and perhaps what makes it one of Tezuka’s greatest works (if not the greatest), is the way it seems to encompass all of his various genres and modes: science fiction, fantasy, history, thriller, romance, with explorations of sexuality, spirituality, and medicine, and a strong sense of morality.

I look forward to rereading the story as a whole. I’ll write more about it then.

Tags: tezuka

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