Starting this I was hoping for a love letter to Osamu Tezuka's works in the vein of "Astro Boy: Omega Factor" and this did not disappoint. I would say in some ways this is more balanced and even handed to his other works, as while the conflict of mechanical vs. biological is pure Astro Boy characters from other works are given a chance to shine.

Now for context, I'm familiar with many of Tezuka's works that have been translated into English (though I still have a massive backlog to read as well). Yet while this pleases me as a Tezuka fan, I do think it's an approachable space opera story for anyone who's unfamiliar with his works. Though I do think it helps to know what this manga is pulling from, and I confess that I'm not sure how many non Tezuka fans would pick this up anyway with nothing familiar to draw them in.

We hit the ground running with the first chapter, getting into the conflict that's devastated The universe and dealing with a harshly personal backstory for Sapphire. The plot moves at a rapid clip from there but I wouldn't say it's harried or difficult to follow, and the references to Tezuka's various works are plot relevant and explained as much as they need to be.

I say give it a read, and if it's not for you it's not for you. But I for one am picking up the next volumes.

What happens when you have teamup with Osamu Tezuka's most iconic characters? It is a massive action packed story. Personally, my only experience with Tezuka was actually through the Pluto manga so I was like aha it's this character randomly, but if you were a big Tezuka fan and read more stories, each introduction would be more impactful. I personally don't vibe with the art that much, but the art is done very skillfully and with Spanish artist Kenny Ruiz and his team. The localization is also very good.

Overall, this was a good release, but ultimately for an average reader like me, there needs to be more impact in the 1st volume for me to pick up the next volume. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to UDON Entertainment and Netgalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Action packed manga about a war between biological beings and sentient robots. I enjoyed the evermoving plot and detailed art, but all in all I found the story a bit confusing, chaotic, especially with all the time jumps, and characters not fleshed out enough, so I couldn't particularly care for them in any other way than from a moral standpoint.

At first I was lost, but then once I got into the story, I enjoyed it.
I personally liked the lion character.
I did get confused with the characters Fire and Sapphire, as their names sounded similar, but they also looked similar and for me had similar characteristics, so I did get confused who was on the page at the time.
Other than that, it was a decent read.

The art was beautiful and the edition looks excellent.
Very good translation of the works. Everything is very clear and easy to read, with an exciting story to booth.
This is a very good way of bringing classical manga stories to a modern audience.

This book combines all of the best parts of giant robot teams and dystopian fiction. Complex morality. Epic battles. While a little hard to follow it's absolutely worth the effort.

Such a great comic! I can't wait to read more of the adventures of princess Saphire and her crusade to, finally, tear apart the Robot Alliance. Her companions are interesting and there's even a little hint to a love interest that can be explored in the future. Having said that, I would love to have a comic from the POV of the Robot Alliance.

This was a lot of fun - liked the old school art that was a homage to Tezuka. The plot was a little unrealistic but I like we were just dropped in the story with no explanation. And I loved that the story ended with Black Jack - one of my favorite classic manga characters. On the whole an interesting remix and homage

Dnf. Not for me. Don't care for the naked scenes at the beginning. And don't how people think the girl gets away with pretending to be a boy. The face is way too feminine

Thanks To NetGalley and UDON Entertainment For The Opportunity To Review This Title.

The newest review has us taking a newer approach to an iconic legacy, one that doesn’t tarnish it like Tezuka Productions and Akita Shoten’s idea for a co-produced AI Manga based on Black Jack. Team Phoenix Vol. 1 introduces a grand crossover that is a Space Opera with a creative approach to classic characters, thanks to Comic Artist, Kenny Ruiz (Tezucomi, Malefic Time: Soum, Dos Espadas).
Team Phoenix brings together the legendary characters of Osamu Tezuka for a tale that brings a band of space pirates consisting of Sapphire, the Princess Knight of Silverland, Leo of the Planet Jungaly, and Sharaku, The Three-Eyed One to fight the Robot Alliance, which dominates 90 percent of the universe! Can Sapphire and the rebels save the biologicks (Organic Organisms) from this Deadly Alliance?!

Like most television pilots, certain first volumes (or comic book issues), the first volume of Team Phoenix feels a tad rushed in certain places of the story, but the plot is still intriguing and maintains a good pace. The idea of Organic Organisms fighting against an alien or robotic force has been a go-to formula for Science Fiction Tales, but when you have a crossover like this, it is a nostalgia-filled experience. Kenny Ruiz has a good grasp of how to portray Tezuka’s characters.

What I enjoy most about Team Phoenix aside from the story was the clever easter egg in the story’s name, a fitting nod to Osamu Tezuka’s greatest manga of all time, Phoenix, though I have to admit that I have not had the opportunity to read it (I will eventually!). As for the artwork, Ruiz’s work is a bonus in my opinion as a first-time reader of his work. His linework is clean, and crisp, with each sequence well-detailed both with action and emotional expression. Each of the character designs that have been presented so far stays true to what Osamu Tezuka has created.

Osamu Tezuka's characters were a big part of my childhood so I confess to coming into this prepared not to like it. Imagine my surprise when I was instantly pulled into a story that puts a very creative twist on classic characters. Their basic elements are still there but adapted into a sci-fi space opera full of twists and turns.
Even the art feels reminiscent of the great mangaka and his simple yet somehow detailed art style. With tons of clear lines and easily identifiable elements that sometimes give way to complex and detailed spreads that capture the eye and the imagination.
My one complaint here is that it feels very rushed. The first chapters feel more like snapshots of a full story. It gets a bit better towards the end, but I would have loved at least one chapter to tie the big jump between the first chapter and the second.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for the fantastic read!

This was fun! Osama Tezuka did a lot of varied manga series over his career and Team Phoenix does a nice job of capturing just how vast a crossover like this would be. There's Princess Knight, Dororo, Jungle Emperor Leo, Black Jack, and a good smattering of robots from of Astro Boy in this volume alone, and it more or less works when you smash their realities together! The art is a solid factor, too. It's reminiscent of Tezuka's style, but not fully tied to it. Give it a look if this kind of crossover is your jam!

TEAM PHOENIX GN VOL 01 (OF 5) brings #OsamuTezuka's iconic characters together in a dynamic and detailed space opera.
The story follows Sapphire, Princess Knight of Silverland, as she leads a band of space pirates to combat the Robot Alliance's tyranny in the universe. The plot maintains a good pace, and character development delves into intriguing conflicts between organics and synthetics.
It's a promising start, and I'm eager to see which other recognizable characters will join the adventure in future volumes.

Thank you NetGalley, for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Sapphire is a human princess but publicly she’s Sapphire the knight, prince and heir to Silverland’s throne.

She stands up for people who are being treated unfairly by robots.

A century before Sapphire’s birth, the biologicks (the organic organisms of the universe) waged war against the robot alliance. The biologicks suffered countless defeats. Ultimately the sentient robots and their robot alliance came to dominate 90 percent of the universe.

But some sought to defend humanity, their creators.

When the robots allow some humans to become knights of the robot alliance, Sapphire becomes one of them. But one day, she has to fight against her father and she should kill him as he is a traitorous monarch but she just can’t. It is her father who persuades her that it’s best to kill him and she eventually does but at what cost..

2 years later, she has become a space pirate captain!! She has a loyal crew I loved and I have to admit that I wasn’t really warming up to this manga until they met a mysterious and amazing character called Fire and they entered the underground safe haven. From that moment on, I really fell in love with this manga and it became a beautiful, interesting and exciting read with an incredible ending!! I need the sequel now!

Although I'm not a Tezuka purist (I read Pluto before Astro Boy), I was definitely apprehensive about how such a radical reimagining and combination of classic Tezuka characters would be pulled off; it seems like a tricky feat, to say the least. However, by the end of volume 1, I was totally engrossed in the story; I enjoyed seeing characters both familiar and less familiar, but the story was unique enough that the differences from the original didn't seem so jarring. Although having the robots as antagonists was a little strange to me (especially after Pluto), once I got into the story, I was able to enjoy the references without looking too closely for connection. I've mentioned Pluto a lot, probably because I think Urasawa is a genius, but I think it's a great example of how a new work can be inspired by something classic, but still take it in a new direction and make something really fantastic in its own right. I get the feeling that's the goal for Team Phoenix as well, and while it's too early to say whether they've fully succeeded from just one volume, it's certainly promising enough that I already want to read more.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I enjoyed ’Team Phoenix’ it was ok it. I think people who are more familiar with Osama Tezuka work would appreciate it a lot more but as a person who has not read any of Osama Tezuka work I found I wasn’t lost and I found it ok

Rating 4 stars