Phoenix, Volume 2: A Tale of the Future Book

Phoenix: A Tale of the Future first popped up on my radar as a young undergrad while browsing the campus library. This was before I was willing to admit that graphic novels are not just comics for babies, and honestly, I was a bit embarrassed to be seen with it, so I only read snatches of plot once in a while. About four years later, I finally requested it from the library, sat down, and was amazed about how much I had been missing.

This was probably one of the best manga I've read, period. And I read a lot of manga. I read a lot of everything, in fact, and I would say it's easily made its way into my favorites. The story was great! It was imaginative, and it was so different from Phoenix, Vol. 1: Dawn. It was an amazing story that drew me in, made me smile, made me cry, and made me think about life for a good long while before I finally drifted off to sleep. One of my measures of a good book is how much sleep it causes me to lose. Judging by how tired I was when my alarm finally went off this morning, I'd say it was exceptional.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and I encourage readers to pick up the books in order. However, I would also agree that since this particular volume can also read as a stand-alone story, this would still be worth a go. Either way, read it. It will break your heart, and make you really think about the world. It's deep, but it's also simple. It's pretty much an amazing story, and one that deserves to be read and reread. It comes with my highest recommendation for a manga.