Phoenix Vol.9 - First thoughts

[strobe_z]

I just got my copy of Phoenix vol. 9 in the mail today. It was a bit of a pleasant surprise because I'd pre-ordered Phoenix vol. 9, vol.10 and Apollo's Song... and I kinda forgot it was on its way.

Anyway, first impression is that it's quite a bit thinner than any of the other volumes. That surprised me a bit because there's two stories in the same volume. It is nice that one of the stories is a 'past' story and the other is a 'future' story. In a way it's a Tezuka sampler. I flipped through it and it seems like it's a bit more similar to the earlier Phoenix stories.

I might have to re-read Civil War, but I thought that one was a bit bogged down by the politics... that and the fact that the Phoenix doesn't actually show up in either of the volumes.

[cmoon]

This one also slipped past me. Thanks for mentioning it!

Is it just me, or are English language Tezuka publications (ELTPs???) starting to come out pretty quick now?

[strobe_z]

ya.. like I said it was a nice surprise to find it waiting for me when I got home. I think that lately there has been a steady stream of Tezuka manga being released, but that largely stems from Viz putting Phoenix on an actual schedule... and that's only gonna last for one more volume. It was nice that Viz decided to put out the last 5 Phoenix volumes on a 3 month rotation - but I'll reserve judgement until I see them follow up with something (like Black Jack).

I'm beginning to get the impression that Vertical will release Tezuka books twice a year, which when you consider is quite a bit because they're really releasing 3-4 volumes at one shot. Given the fact that I'd probably wait to get the whole series before reading it anyway, that means Vertical will, in fact, have released 7 volumes in a year.

[cmoon]

Just finished this volume. Both stories are intriguing and quite enjoyable, but also won't be too surprising to anyone who has made it this far through the series. The endings of both are not terribly surprising, but each have some remarkable moments.

Strange beings actually reminds me of Ichii the Earless (no, not Ichii the killer) from the movie Kwaidan. Namely, the conviction of the blind monk who finally comes to ignore all the requests of his fellow monks and even play for the likes of ghosts and demons or anyone who's remorse might be reconciled by his performances.

Life however reintroduces Saruta and a character who feels quite a bit like Rock. It is hard to believe that no connection with Rock was intended given the use of the glasses and the character's (Aoi) overall disposition (even when he has shifted toward a more compassionate view, he still seems to be (as he admits) 'not as nice.') Assuming this is at least a Rock-esque character, it is interesting to see the transformation here, because he never becomes the innocent character that we see at the beginning of Future World. His final resolution to the problems he has created never really seems to bring him full circle, which suggests to me the 'Rock-delimma' is one that Tezuka did not see Rock (or any Rock-a-likes) escaping from. In fact, here is another parallel to Phoenix 2112, since it is his genetic clone (the main character) who tries to save him. In 'Life', Aoi is surrounded by his much more innocent clones, one of which tries to save him, yet it seems Aoi's fate is forever corrupted.

[putrocca]

[Hekima]

[F-Man]