Hi no Tori 2772: Ai no Cosmozone

Title:Hi no Tori 2772: Ai no Cosmozone
Phoenix 2772
Phoenix 2772: Space Firebird
Space Firebird
Space Firebird 2772
火の鳥2772 愛のコスモゾーン
Overall:Watch
Keywords: , , , , ,
Notables: Original Concept - TEZUKA Osamu
Phoenix 2772 starts with twelve minutes without dialogue, much like a silent film, recalling the birth and education of Godo. In this brave new world, children are born in test tubes and are raised by computers and robots. Godo learns the skills that will make him into a great pilot, assisted by the robotic wonder Olga. Everything that Godo needs is provided for him until he eventually goes for training with his automaton companion. He soon realizes that the world is not what he expected...
(Summary Courtesy of Anime News Network)


122 minute film released on March 15, 1980.
Animated by Tezuka Production
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 7 7 6 6 6 Ggultra2764 [series:2872#1552]
Phoenix 2772 appears to be adapted from Tezuka's "Phoenix" manga series that told stories from various points of time about people seeking out the whereabouts of the mythical fire bird to drink its blood and gain immortality. Here, the movie is focused on a young man named Godo being raised in a future where a tyrannical dictatorship has power, man's greed for the planet's resources is slowly leading to its destruction and the corrupt leader of the planet seeks out the whereabouts of the phoenix to obtain its immortality for himself. The movie follows a traditional black and white moral mold for the most part in depicting Godo's struggles within the future world of this series with his kind nature towards all living and sentient beings clashing with the merciless and cruel intentions expected of those serving as fighters for the regime's military, with the characters that Godo meets throughout his struggles serving to aid or hinder him. The movie mostly serves as a moral tale to explain how man's consumption of the planet's resources could lead to its destruction without learning to value what we have.

The storytelling has its issues with the means that the society raised people before forcing them out on the world feeling contradictory and some characters changing personalities on the drop of a dime without any real reason. Beyond Godo, other characters don't get much in the way of fleshing out, as they merely exist to fulfill roles to aid or hinder our male lead.

The visuals for the movie are outdated in their drawing styles and designs compared to modern offerings of sci-fi, though have their moments of highlights such as Godo's fight with the phoenix in his spaceship and the destruction of the Earth's surface.

Otherwise, Phoenix 2772 feels more like a product of its time in terms of the style of storytelling it depicts with Godo's struggles. While it might have been reasonable then, its structure is a bit too simple and uneven to appeal to many modern audiences with the sci-fi tale it tries to depict.

Last updated Saturday, April 05 2014. Created Saturday, April 05 2014.

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