Phoenix: Yamato Chapter

火の鳥 ヤマト編

Aired: 1987

An installment of the OVA series based on Osamu Tezuka's lifework 'Hi no Tori' (Phoenix). Produced by Madhouse and Kadokawa Haruki Jimusho. Set in the ancient Yamato dynasty of Japan, the story revolves around young Prince Oguna, who defies the custom of forced ritual suicide upon the king's death, and his tragic love affair with a girl from the enemy nation of Kumaso. As the Phoenix, symbol of eternal life, watches over the ages, the tale poignantly depicts human karma and the fragility of love. This acclaimed episode from the original manga was brought to life as a dense 48-minute work. Director Toshio Hirata's refined direction and Fumio Miyashita's music sculpt a phantasmal ancient world. A literary anime representing the dawn of the 1980s OVA era, carefully drawing out the weighty themes of Tezuka's manga.