Tezuka In English Discussion Forums

Princess Iron Fan is getting a nice DVD release:

This is the first ever Chinese feature length animated film, telling one of the stories from Journey to the West. It predates Japan's earliest feature length film, and apparently inspired both it and "a sixteen-year-old Japanese named Ozamu Tezuka (Astro Boy) to take up an animator's pen" after it was shown in Japan. I don't know the source for this fact, as I've only seen it repeated without citation, but I think the Anime Encyclopedia might have something on it.

It influenced Tezuka to write Son Goku the Monkey, and is supposed to be referenced quite heavily by him during the section that deals with the battle at Mt. Kaen. I can't say having never read the manga, but there are at least a few similarities between the Son Goku movie/Saiyuki/Alakazam the Great and Princess Iron Fan, so I wouldn't be surprised if the manga had even more.

I enjoyed it, as the animation style has a peculiar flavour to it, and I'm just a sucker for old animation. I think it's worth keeping an eye on.

Comparison scenes between Princess Iron Fan (first) and Saiyuki (second):




More info:

Good point.

I haven't watched it for a while, but I think it probably requires a strong interest in the historical aspects to really enjoy it - especially with the print that is generally available. The direct download was (and probably still is) linked to from the wikipedia page - I assume under some expiration of copyright type deal - but for all the amateur effort put in to restore it it's still pretty hard on the eyes.

I'm hoping the DVD will clear a lot of this up and allow a better appreciation of the film.