My main qualm qith this series is that there are only 13 episodes, and only 5 of Osamu Tezuka's amazing stories are told through the course of the series. For fans of the manga, this may be a little disappointing. On the other hand, they may be impressed by the fluid animation, music and history used in the story arcs set in the past. The art for some can be trying. Tezuka's art style was largely inspired by old American cartoons, such as those produced by Disney, as well as Betty Boop among others, and the character designs reflect this.The 'futuristic' robots, computers and clothes may also seem very dated (think 'Lost in Space' dated). The art however does pay a lot of attention to detail, specifically medical diagrams, and the Ainu style designs on the clothes in one of the arcs particularly caught my attention.

Story is hard to describe, since the series is made up of five distinct, but loosely conected stories. Elements found in all of the stories are the Phoenix, a mythical bird tied closely to the mysteries of life and it's blood is rumoured to grant immortality. Saruta is also present in all stories, leaving it up to the reader to decide whether the various Sarutas are decendants or reincarnations of the original Saruta from the first story. The stories also take place in many different eras, from the begining of time until the end of time. The stories also do not follow a specific formula, and while each involves the Phoenix, the Phoenix is not always centric to the action. Most if not all the stories contain themes of life, religion, death, love and nature to varying degrees, some of them focusing more on one theme than the others. As mentioned before, fans of the series may be disappointed that all of the stories from the manga were not animatied.

The music in my own oppinion is amazing, particularly the opening theme, which is very flowing and uses orchestral arrangements. As great as it is, it does not overshodow the story, but rather ehnances it, and never seems awkward or clashes with the story or animation at any point. All music is appropriate to the scene.

In some stories characters must develop quickly. Stories can take 1-5 episodes to complete, so some characters must develop faster than those in previous arcs. While some characters do follow old archetypes and are unfailably good while others are unredeemably evil, there are some who blur the lines, switching sides, or having morally complex motives. Props are also given to this retro anime for having female characters who fight alongside male characters. Again, female characters can fall into stereotypes, such as the damsel in distress and evil queen, quite a few are equal with their male counterparts in terms of strength, speed and intelligence. Child characters are often confined to minor roles, making these stories that focus on adults, but a few fiesty, strong and lovable kids manage to weasle their way into the limelight.

I would recomend this particular title to a 13+ age group, especially for North American viewing. This is not because North American audiences are stupid, but there are references to Eastern Religions that young children may not understand, references to Japanese history, violence (such as a man being shot by arrows Boromier-style) and character death that may be upsetting to younger viewers. This is certainly a series recommended for Tezuka fans, fans of retro anime, fans of sci-fi anime and fans of historic anime.