Hi no tori 2772: Ai no kosumozon (1980)

FYI: This movie's Japanese title is shown above. It was released on VHS in the US back in the 1990s with the title Phoenix 2772.

Try to find this movie.

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Yeesh... I haaate to say this about an Osamu Tezuka film but, for me, it was not a positive experience. I LOVE Tezuka's stuff, normally.


Technically any good? The animation is definitely stunning by 1980-standards. Obviously, it's looks dated by today's standards. But that's not even what bothers me about this movie. The plot is incredibly thin and the goals are achieved with amazing ease. What's worse is that there are big, long sequences of "humor" where "cartoon" characters dance around and act silly doing nothing to move the plot forward. These scenes seemed inserted to please international audiences since, at the time, most folks outside of Japan would have trouble wrapping their heads around an adult storyline told in animation, so we see what I can only describe as a Jar-Jar Binks prototype and some of his friends who are equally annoying.


How did it leave me feeling? Disappointed and longing for Tetsuwan Atomu (aka Astroboy) or Black Jack, two of Tezuka's other creations.

Read a longer review of Hi no tori 2772: ai no kosumozon that I wrote for Otaku-Complex.com here.

Sadly, for fans of this movie, it's hard to find anywhere and hasn't been released on DVD in the US. If you find a US distributor, please let me know. It's Tezuka, so I want people to have access to it.

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Orignal From: Hi no tori 2772: Ai no kosumozon (1980)