[Phoenix: Future Chapter] Read it before you die! A masterpiece of human manga! Humans are on the same level as slugs!
This time, we have the second half of the Future Chapter.
Please enjoy this part after reading the previous article.
Last time, I narrowed down the points for understanding the "Future Chapter" to two.
1. The source of life (What is the Cosmo Zone?)
2. The folly of war
This time, we will look at the second point.
Now, let's start the second half.
2. The folly of war
"The tragedy of war must be passed on."
This anti-war theme is a consistent message that Tezuka-sensei, who experienced war himself, always embedded in his works, and that sentiment is prominently displayed in the "Future Chapter."
In the year 3404, the setting of this story, humans have stopped thinking, and the way humanity lives is left to the judgment of electronic brains (AI). The story depicts a fierce worldview where humanity is destroyed by the
rational choices pursued by these electronic brains.
While a doomsday world where civilization has advanced too far is intense, the tragedy of not making decisions with one's own head is even more poignant.
The depiction of the folly of humanity blindly following electronic brains, or rather, losing their humanity, is brilliant.
In the story, a society is depicted where even the bread eaten for breakfast is determined by the instructions of an electronic brain.
Such a society is impossible!
one might think, but aren't we currently eating as if prompted by the instructions of "Gurunavi" or internet searches? We fall into the sensation that
"food with a high rating is correct"
as if searching online, and rational judgment has become a daily routine. In fact, we are steadily approaching the world we thought was impossible.
Isn't this unconscious change the most terrifying thing of all?
And the words of the mayor who resists the electronic brain in the story:
"To be regulated by machines made by humans... such a thing must never happen again."
The deep meaning of this makes one go, "Aha!"
In reality, there is a world where we are made to make choices according to the instructions of algorithms.
What on earth is rational?
A society that has abandoned thinking for itself in favor of data-driven decisions is comfortable.
It is certainly convenient.
But will the day ever come when humanity realizes its mistake?
Dr. Saruta says this:
"Why did you listen to the machine?"
"Why didn't humans use their own heads to make decisions, huh?"
Even as he asks this, for Rock, it is common sense, and he feels no sense of discomfort.
The fear is that once something becomes common sense, one becomes insensitive to its abnormality.
This is a scene that can truly be applied to modern society as well.
And then, one of the most iconic scenes in "Phoenix" where Rock screams.
Simple yet piercing.
No matter how much we come to entrust our decisions to electronic brains,
war is absolutely unacceptable.He says.
This mocks the process leading to war as a decision made by electronic brains, but
it is a powerful message from Tezuka-sensei to foolish humanity.
This famous scene, which directly captures the folly of war, is"Phoenix"not the only place where this can be seen,
as it appears in many of Tezuka's works, but among them all, it has become one of the most memorable scenes in his entire body of work.
Even such screams are in vain, and eventually...
Humanity is wiped out by nuclear war.
However, the "Future Chapter" does not end there...
Rather, it starts from here.
And it goes on for a long, long time (lol).
What is happiness...
From the extinction of humanity tothe birth of new life,the depiction of the mind-boggling passage of time,
the sense of despair, loneliness, and apocalypse that defies imagination,
the off-the-charts development is so otherworldly that
both nuclear war and humanity ruled by electronic brains
all start to look so tiny in this transcendent sequence.
Because of that, the depiction of how wonderful the mystery of life is
is truly masterful.
Through Masato, the last human left,
the terror of being unable to die,the message conveying the nature of life and the tragedy of war resonates powerfully.
All of humanity is wiped out by war,
and Masato isin despair at being the only one left in the world.
In a world where there is no one but himself,
the annoyance of being irritated or swayed by others disappears completely, but
he suffers from an even more maddeningloneliness.
Having no one to empathize withis a reality that hits you hard, showing just how painful it can be.
Ultimately, the happiness humans seekis born within human relationships—this implication, and the flip side that excluding it is an act of robbing oneself of happiness, serves as an anti-war message about how foolish it is to fight.
The structure that conveys the tragedy of war in such layered ways is simply brilliant.
And then, something new
A creature appears to rule the Earth in place of humanity.
Here it is.The arrival of the slugis here.
Slugs that have gained intelligence reign over the Earth as the new rulers.
However,
in the end, even after gaining intelligence and building a civilization,
they start fighting among themselves, and the slugs, too, meet their demise.
"We are the lords of creation", Masato thinks to the slugs who are getting carried away.
"Do not be arrogant".
Slugs and humans following the same path to extinction...
What is this manga...?
How cruel can it be?
What on earth is intelligence?I was scared when I was in elementary school. Seriously.
The message, which started with "the foolishness of war" and went on to address the nature of intelligence,
was, frankly, impossible for me as an elementary schooler to understand,
but it has stayed with me ever since I became an adult.
It’s not a superficial stimulus, so it’s like it keeps smoldering subconsciously,
anyway, it was scary. I was scared of the adult named Osamu Tezuka.
I seriously wondered, who is this guy? (laughs)
But you know, there comes a time. Suddenly.
That Osamu Tezuka is amazing. His off-the-charts potential.
Anyway, the foolishness of war and the foolishness of arrogant intelligence
really sink into your heart.
Along with1. The Source of Life (What is the Cosmo Zone?)introduced in the first part,
2. "The Foolishness of War"
please use these two points
as a reference for enjoying the "Future Chapter".
A story of a cycle
Actually, I intended to end it here. I thought I would wrap it up now because if I write at length, it will get messy, but I will write just a little bit more (laughs).
(Warning: spoilers ahead for those who haven't read it)
This "Future Chapter" depicts the final era of the Phoenix, the end of humanity, but
while it seems to depict the final chapter,it is actually depicting the very beginning.
The moment the "Dawn Chapter," which I thought was the past,
suddenly appeared, I was shaken as an elementary schooler.
I truly experienced a shock that blew my common sense and values to the outer reaches of the universe.
In fact, the timeline that I thought was a straight line is connected like a ring,
repeating past events.
The infinite chain of life, in other words, reincarnation.
It means that "eternity" is not something that continues infinitely,
but an "eternity" created by the repetition of perishing and being reborn. that is.
Death and resurrection are "Phoenix" the symbols of.
And the ending of the "Future Chapter" is concluded like this.
"But this time for sure" the Phoenix thinks.
"This time for sure, I want to believe."
"This time, humanity will surely realize their mistakes somewhere..."
"And will come to use life correctly." it says...
The way the phrase "this time for sure" is used, you know.
It's irresistible.
Because just from these few words, you can tell how much time has passed.
It's amazing.
It's a phrase that contains all of Tezuka-sensei's own thoughts, isn't it?
Man, it gives me chills.
Well, how was it? My introduction to the "Future Chapter".
A worldview that only Osamu Tezuka could draw.
A worldview that only works with Osamu Tezuka.
It is a work with a level of potential that is simply on a different scale.
It's so overwhelming that it can't even be described by a cheap word like overwhelming.
Anyway,
the "Future Chapter" is something you can never finish talking about.
Seriously, it has such overwhelming volume that I could easily talk about it for 5 or 6 hours,
but I'd like to wrap things up here for now.
"Phoenix" fans, please try reading it again in this day and age.
You will definitely make new discoveries.
If you've never read it, it's a must-read, a must-read!
I really want you to experience the worldview that this work exudes.
Well then...
Next time is the "Yamato Chapter".
I hope you will look forward to that as well.
Thank you for watching until the end.