Phoenix [Manga Shonen] (Manga)

Also known as 火の鳥 [漫画少年] (Hi no Tori [Manga Shonen])

---

The earliest incarnation of what would eventually become Tezuka’s epic masterpiece, Phoenix [Manga Shonen] (1954-55) was Tezuka’s follow-up series to the popular Jungle Emperor (1950-54) in Manga Shonen. It began publication in July 1954 and ran until May 1955, unfortunately leaving the work unfinished after just eight installments.

What it’s about

In a mythical age of ancient Japan, Nagi Iza, a young boy living on one of the southern islands, is on a quest to find the legendary Phoenix and save his dying father.  Believing the magical healing properties of the blood of the mysterious bird is the only way to cure his father, Nagi sets off on a mission to climb up Fire Mountain, a local volcano and the home of the Phoenix.

Although he quickly finds the bird, he discovers that even a well-placed arrow is not enough to kill it.  Undeterred, he continues on and eventually stumbles across the Phoenix‘s nest.  Just then, the volcano begins to erupt and Nagi ends up saving the bird’s single egg from being buried in the ensuing lava flow.

The Phoenix is so grateful that, after hearing Nagi’s plight, she freely grants him a portion of her own blood.  Although he is too late to save his father, with his treasure in-hand, Nagi returns to his village.

Meanwhile, three animals, escaping from the volcano’s eruption, seek refuge in the same cave as the Phoenix and her egg.  Surprisingly, she calls each one by name and explains to the trio that though she’s lived 3,000 years, she will soon die so that her chick can be born.  And so, Yota, a monkey, Popo a rabbit, and a turtle named Noro witness the otherwise immortal mother Phoenix die in flames just as her chick hatches.  Left with a newborn baby on their hands, the trio decides to take responsibility for the chick and vow to act as its guardians.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the eruption that has decimated their land, the rest of their tribe makes preparations for a huge migration in search of new, more fertile, lands.  As the rest of the tribe works feverishly, Nagi shares the Phoenix‘s blood with his sister, Nani  – bestowing them both with 3,000-year lifespans.  When everything is finally complete, they set off in canoe-like boats, but the tribe soon runs afoul of a storm and Nagi and Nani wash ashore on the island of Onoroko.

Shortly after they arrive, the siblings come under attack from the island’s residents, but after Nani is struck by a normally fatal blow with an arrow and makes a miraculous recovery, the islanders proclaim the pair to be “Amaterasu O-mikami” and begin to worship them as deities.  However, one of the islanders, a man named Sunasoo, suspects the existence of the Phoenix.  At first he tries to capture it on his own, but ultimately fails and escapes to the neighboring country of Yamatai.

When Yamatai’s volatile Queen Himiko hears of the existence of the Phoenix, she orders her simian-looking general, known as Sarutahiko, to capture it and a regiment of troops is quickly dispatched.  Along the way Sarutahiko and his troops run across Nagi, who is now the leader of the Onoroko Islanders.  One thing leads to another, and Nagi convinces Tabiko to join in a revolt against Queen Himiko.  However, Sasori, a spy hidden among the troops, makes his escape and, while attempting to bring word of Sarutahiko‘s betrayal back to Queen Himiko, runs across the Phoenix.  Despite being injured, Sasori ends up trapping the bird and brings it back to Tamatai himself.

Yet, far from the hero’s return, Sasori is killed by Himiko’s henchman to ensure his silence.  However the Phoenix soon disappears, and an uproar ensues.  Just then a solar eclipse occurs and, as Himiko heads for the safety of the “Gate of the Heavenly Cave”, the people bow down in terror…

…and that’s it. The series ends on a cliffhanger.

What you should know

Phoenix is considered Tezuka’s life’s work for good reason, the core ideas and concepts of Phoenix were continuously re-explored by Tezuka almost from the very beginning of his career right up to his death in 1989.

Following the success of the manga serialization of Jungle Emperor (1950-54), Phoenix [Manga Shonen] (1954-55), the earliest incarnation of the Phoenix story was first published from July 1954 to May 1955 in Manga Shonen.  Unfortunately, this version of Phoenix was put on hold after the eighth installment. The magazine abruptly suspended publication in October 1955.  As such, it remained unfinished and Tezuka abandoned the project with the story incomplete.

Yet he did not abandon the concept.

In fact, exactly one year later, Tezuka decided to return to Phoenix as a follow-up project to Princess Knight [Shojo Club] (1953-56) in Shojo Club.

Phoenix [Shojo Club] (1956-57) was serialized in Shojo Club from May 1956 to December 1957.  Although the two series have no real connection in terms of story content, they do share (besides the Phoenix herself) some of the same concepts or elements, notably, the blood of eternal life, the young chick, and the trio of animal guardians – although Yota is recast as a fox instead of a monkey.  One interesting difference though, is the depiction of the cycle of death and resurrection of the Phoenix.  In Phoenix [Manga Shonen] (1954-55), the mother Phoenix is simply consumed by the flames of her baby’s hatching.  However, in Phoenix [Shojo Club] (1956-57), the mother Phoenix has been empowered to freely choose the moment of her own death by fire after ensuring her child will be well cared for.

Despite Phoenix [Shojo Club] (1956-57) coming to its natural conclusion, the ideas of resurrection, eternal life and how people could be caught up in a struggle over the blood of the Phoenix in order to gain them, would continue to intrigue Tezuka.  And so, when the opportunity arose to return to the concept with the publication, he jumped on it.

In the inaugural issue of COM – a new, and cutting edge, manga magazine showcasing avant-garde and experimental works – Tezuka decided to rework the original story from Phoenix [Manga Shōnen] (1954-55) into a brand new version of the original story – albeit one geared towards a more mature audience.  The result was ‘Dawn’ (1967), the first chapter of Phoenix (1967-88).