Nagi

Nagi is one of the main characters in the story which functions as a prologue to Phoenix, Tezuka’s lifework. The story takes place in Japan’s earliest days, before it was known to the rest of the world. He is a normal young boy, who lives in a village at the foot of a volcano, who bears witness to the destruction of his village at the hands of a traitor, and then is taken captive and enslaved by enemy general Sarutahiko (one of the many appearances of Saruta inPhoenix). He is taken back to Yamatai, Sarutahiko’s home country, where the two gradually develop first respect, then fondness for one another. Eventually Nagi becomes something like a son to Sarutahiko, who has trained him to hunt with the end goal of bringing down the Phoenix itself, whose lifeblood is said to grant immortality. The story continues to follow Nagi and Sarutahiko, and also Nagi’s sister and her husband, and the ruling queen of Yamatai, as they suffer great losses in the struggle over the Phoenix. For more on Nagi and the Phoenix, see our series page, coming soon.