Round two with Tezuka (father of manga, creator of Astro Boy) is done. The first go was Umi no Triton, which was a total disaster. Going into this, thoughts were not high from his work turned to animation, and maybe his creations were a thing of the past (60s Astro Boy). However, this is not the case. Firebird 2772 is an animation masterpiece to say the least. If anybody has seen Disney’s Snow White, know of Betty Boop 20’s animation, Fantasia; then put all the best aspects of those films and shows, put a little sci-fi anime twist, and you got yourself Hi no Tori2772.

The animation brings back the pure simplistic art with creative character designs reminiscent of the 1920’s. Sound is accompanied by full a full symphonic orchestra leading every scene to epic proportions. Even when the two cartoon comic-relief characters have their own music performances to give an ever intense movie a break from the action.

2772 starts out very much like a silent movie, with only the screen and music telling the story of how our main protagonist, Godo, is created, grows, and assigned his job in the dystopian society that the world is in. What is Godo’s job, but to train in order to find and catch something? That something happens to be a firebird somewhere out in space. What is the firebird and why? One of the best aspects of this film is not just the animation, but learning as Godo learns. The struggle of Godo throughout all points in his life and the journey he must take along the way.

The one major shortcoming is the lack of character reasoning. If you were raised from birth like a robot, wouldn’t you act like a robot? We never really grasp why Godo turns out the way he does as well as some of the other characters, which is only nitpicking at this point. 2772 is a fantastic work in animations, music, and story always making the anime fan want more. So go out and watch it.