The story of a young prince and young princess from opposing tribes, as they struggle to deal with their lives and the hardship brought on by their position in their respective families.
Direction
Hirata squeezes epic scope into 48 minutes like a magician.
Writing
Osamu Tezuka's source material: dense, philosophical, devastating.
Director
Toshio Hirata
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Tezuka's unfinished 12-chapter Phoenix manga saga; he died before completing the final volume.
The 'Yamato' refers to ancient Japan's foundational myth—Tezuka's using sci-fi to interrogate national identity itself.