Year: 1980
Runtime: 122 mins
Language: Japanese
Directors: Osamu Tezuka, Taku Sugiyama
In 2772 a cadet named Godo is tasked with capturing a universal Phoenix whose flame can restore the depleted Earth. The film opens with twelve minutes of near‑silent visual storytelling, showing his birth in a test‑tube nursery and upbringing by computers and robots. Trained by the robotic companion Olga, he becomes a skilled pilot, only to discover that the seemingly perfect technocratic world hides unexpected truths.
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Godo grows up in a distant future where Earth is dying of energy shortages and a rigid, computer-ruled society assigns every role—from pilot to politician—based on cold calculations. Raised by a graceful robot-maid named Olga, he stands out for his exceptional gifts and his deep, compassionate regard for all living beings. The regime’s power-broker, Rock, selects him as the instrument to seize the legendary Phoenix, a creature whose blood could supposedly heal the planet. But Rock’s true aim is darker: to drink the Phoenix’s blood and use its powers to crown himself prime minister and achieve immortality. This mission pits duty against mercy, ambition against empathy, and forces [Godo] to confront the cost of a life spent chasing a power he does not believe in.
Godo’s growing conscience is tested by his forbidden romance with Rena, the daughter of the aloof elite figure Lord Eat and Betrothed to Rock. He loves all living beings and recoils at the idea of becoming a ruthless space hunter, a fate he fears will separate him from Olga and all he values. When his feelings and his romantic entanglement with Rena collide with his duties, he finds himself drawn toward a path that might save the Earth even as it sacrifices his place in society.
The story thickens as an impulsive act of defiance costs Godo his citizenship, and he is shipped off to a brutal labour camp in Iceland, where energy from Earth’s mantle is being exploited in a desperate bid to avert disaster. The mantle project destabilizes the planet’s crust and threatens long-term harm, making escape an urgent, life-or-death matter. There he crosses paths with Dr. Saruta, a prison professor who pretends to tutor the young pilot but secretly plots to free him so they can search for the Phoenix together. The man they call Ban, a hermit ally, becomes a key ally as the plan to flee grows clearer.
A catastrophic earthquake shakes the facility, throwing the escape into chaos. Olga and Pincho, a small creature loyal to Rena, uncover Godo’s whereabouts and help him break free. They commandeer a “Space Shark” ship, a vessel that would have carried him on his fated mission to capture the Phoenix, and set off into the unknown. Their journey leads them to a distant planet where Ban’s hermit friend lives and where the Phoenix first appears as an almost unimaginable force.
Tracking the Phoenix proves far from easy. The creature proves to be incredibly powerful, transforming into a succession of monstrous forms—dragons, tentacular leeches, even a shape that mimics a tiny planet. The revelation hits hard: Rena has already married Rock, and the revelation wounds Godo deeply, straining his bond with Olga and stirring jealousy in her when she shows genuine love for him. One by one, the crew are slain by the Phoenix, and the knowledge of its weakness slips away with Dr. Saruta’s final words. In the crucible of battle, the Phoenix turns its fury on Olga, burning her and leaving Godo shattered.
Godo’s heartbreak intensifies as he witnesses Olga’s fall, and he briefly withdraws from the life around him. Yet the Phoenix cannot fully erase the warmth of his love for living beings, and it initially tests him by attacking the ship again. The power of his feelings acts as a shield; the Phoenix’s most fearsome attacks fail as his compassion holds steady. In a crucial twist, the Phoenix inhabits Olga’s form and speaks to Godo through telepathy, admitting she is too strong to grant his wish in the usual way. She offers a bargain: she will grant his wish to revive Olga only if he gives her something she desires in return—an exchange meant to be secret, and one that underscores the Phoenix’s own cunning.
Reunited with Olga, Godo is offered a paradisiacal world to live in when the Phoenix agrees to restore Olga. Yet the Earth’s agony is not over. His pursuit of a better future invites further conflict as Rock and a newly restored Rena reappear, and Godo is arrested once more. A chain of cataclysmic earthquakes devastates the planet, Rena dies in an attempted escape aboard Godo’s ship, and Rock is blinded by a lava eruption. In the wake of these catastrophes, Godo gives Rock his last rites and stands with Olga on a tranquil beach as the world spirals toward its final demise.
Then, in a final act of hope, the Phoenix reveals itself to Godo through Olga. It offers a way to live forever if he drinks the Firebird’s blood, but Godo refuses this path and instead sacrifices his own life for the Earth’s revival. The Phoenix admires his selflessness and, after their farewell, returns Olga to a new, compassionate life. As the Earth begins to heal, Olga and the Phoenix cooperate to revive the world—an act that also reshapes their own fates. Godo dies in Olga’s arms, and the Phoenix departs to observe the renewal.
In the moment of rebirth, a miraculous transformation occurs: Godo becomes a newborn baby again, while Olga becomes a human woman who cradles the child as her own son. The phoenix’s haunting influence fades as mother and child begin a new life, the Earth’s revival underway, and the possibility of a kinder future taking root among the ruins of the old world.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:59
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