Stranded astronauts, cosmic loneliness, and Tezuka's bird watching humanity crumble — in 48 devastating minutes.
This is the third part of "The Phoenix" series of the Kadokawa Haruki Office Co., Ltd. version. It is an animation version of the original story by Tezuka Osamu that depicts the cruelty of love through the fate of spacemen destined to drift through the universe after losing their mother ship..
Direction
Kawajiri's suffocating claustrophobia meets infinite cosmic void.
Writing
Tezuka's cruel irony: the firebird grants immortality nobody wants.
Director
Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Tezuka's lifelong Phoenix cycle exploring reincarnation; this chapter adapts his 1980 manga arc that deliberately subverted the space opera optimism of the era.
Kawajiri's direction here influenced his later Wicked City and Ninja Scroll — note how the same sensual, body-focused horror began in this quiet chamber piece.
JP
