Hi no tori: Eden no sora

I can't quite put my finger on it but somehow the style and storytelling of this mini series evokes childhood memories.

This is clearly a new show, but the colors and the themes and the scope and the sense of adventure unfolding makes me feel like a kid again.

It makes me think of the magic adventures of Mumfie, that I used to watch as a kid, and the sensation of trying to make sense of not only what you see but how you respond to it. And what it makes you feel.

The music is incredible, and there's plenty of beautiful animation artistry on display (except some brief 3D stuff that is, as most of the time, out of place).

Strong recommendations!

Not sure why the original is considered a masterpiece if this is any indication.

Whilst there are some themes that could have been interesting if properly tackled, they were not.

The entire series was very broad-brush with absolutely no depth, and with every idea treated in an exceptionally simplistic fashion.

It's hard to work out if the author had no emotional complexity themselves, or if they were trying to create a science fiction story that would be accessible to children, but in doing so were forced to remove so much of the original story that all that was left was a husk.

The graphics and sound was well done, but that's really the only thing to recommend.

This is a sweet gem of a mini-series, What is most amazing is the style of the series it reminded me of fantastic planet (1973), it breaths the same atmosphere of that cult-classic movie. Realizing the manga that was base for this series was from that era, the makers honored Tezuka's (also maker of astro-boy and message to Adolf) style in an excellent way

There is much story put in little time and that maybe the small weakness of the series, but it also means there is never a dull moment. (It may have been that the series was originally intended as feature movie, looking at the length of the total)

As Tezuka made several other publications in the Phoenix series, lets hope this the kick-off for more.

This short series is refreshing. It is fascinating how ideas are portray on this show, it allows you to picture a new world in such a generous fast pace. It's one of those stories you don't need to know what is going to happen, but rather what is happening at the moment. It's worth watching!

My recommendation is that you watch the first episode without any synopsis, trailer or idea. The animation is very nostalgic and so is the story, which is nice since it conserves the beauty of Japanese style animation with some CGI. I still need to write 50 more letters so I get my review posted. Thanks for reading :)

One of the better, more epic animes. Presents a saga over four short episodes. Likely meant to be a feature length movie, that turned into a miniseries, which helps to accelerate the story in episodic format.

If you're a fan of big picture sci-fi, that spans thousands of years, involves aliens, robots and space exploration, then you will enjoy this miniseries.

Some might find the narrative approach jarring, but I found it refreshing. It doesn't insult the viewer by dumbing down the subject matter or shying away from dealing with difficult characters and their actions. Overall excellent artwork, interesting story, and a well made anime.