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| Phoenix: Karma / Osamu Tezuka : 5 of 5 | |
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8.20.2004
9:24 PM | Link |
 This latest tale in the Phoenix series (actually the fifth story) is considered by many to be the best of the whole set, and I can definitely see why. The story is set in 8th century Japan and tells how the lives of Gao, a thief and murderer who becomes a Buddhist priest, and Akanemaru, the famous sculptor of the Great Buddha at Nara, intertwine and affect each other. The story is masterfully crafted (with almost no humorous interjections), with tons of emotion and fantastic pacing - it was tough for me to not read it all at once, but I wanted to make it last! The Phoenix herself only appears in visions to the two men, but she shows glimpses into other volumes of the story (both past and future). Since I've read a little bit about Buddhism (while studying Beat poetry), I was fascinated to see that this story explains Buddhist philosophy better than anything else I've read! The artwork is beautiful, featuring many of Tezuka's reproductions of ancient Japanese art and culture. I simply can't say enough about this book - it certainly blows away the last volume, which was already wonderful! I'm going to go crazy waiting for the next one.
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