Between List of upcoming Netflix anime It was a brilliant new movie aimed at the streamer, The hero of the film. “New” is the key word because the movie is actually inspired by Osamu TezukaThe classic manga princess knightalthough judging by his appearance, it would be difficult to recognize him. However, rather than recoil in fear of how different the two works look, I’m actually pretty excited about it.
If you read the above and think, “Who is Osamu Tezuka?” I’m going to go ahead and rip the rug out from under you by saying that if you have even a fleeting appreciation for animation, manga, and anime, you’re already predisposed to it, whether you know its name or not. Known as “The Godfather of Manga”, Tezuka is the creator. of astro boy, black cat, Kimba the white lionand so a lot more. he is your favorite mangaka’s favorite mangakainspiring entire generations of creatives, including dragon ballAkira Toriyama, ghost in the shellMasamune Shirowand even Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli.
As we get closer to what would have been Tezuka’s centenary, Its lasting influence on the anime industry is being reintroduced to a new generation of anime fans through OUTLINE of the studyThe aforementioned anime film, inspired by its 1953 manga. knight princessthat is released on Netflix this August.
The hero of the film follows the journey of a “cursed” princess named Sapphire who takes up arms not only to overcome the trauma of her past, but also to protect her citizens from savage creatures who wish them harm. In doing so, Sapphire transforms into a cute magical girl, makes lifelong friends, and fights a group of bad guys using the power of her magic ribbon. Sounds like your typical great anime. It also looks very different from its source material, which makes some die-hard fans feel a little conflicted.
For comparison, the princess knight the manga looks like this:
And these are the character designs for The hero of the film:
So yes, a very different aesthetic. So much so that it seemed to ruffle the feathers of fans of Tezuka’s classic manga in the responses to Ribbon Hero official X/Twitter accountwhich posted a key image from the film, and many people had mixed feelings about how modern and different the anime’s images look compared to the manga. Much of the aesthetic difference between The hero of the film and knight princess It is due to the creatives at the helm of the OUTLINE film. Among them, the most important are the character designers. Kei Mochizuki (Fate/Grand Order) and Mai Yoneyama (Cyberpunk: Vanguard Runners, Lazarus). The film also serves as the directorial debut of Yuki Igarashi (Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX), who is well aware of the expectations placed on OUTLINE’s modern treatment of a beloved classic.
“For this film, I paid my respect to Osamu Tezuka, the creator of knight princess; for Ichizo Kobayashi of Takarazuka Revue, who is at the root of the work; and for the supreme classical entertainment they brought to the world,” Igarashi told Netflix. “They also created their works while overcoming hardships like infectious diseases and wars, and those works became the very foundation of our culture. To everyone living in this era, I hope you enjoy this moving and moving piece of what I believe to be ‘true’ mainstream entertainment.”
So what is the difference between princess knightthe history and The hero of the film beyond their artistic styles? Well, after purchasing the Kodansha bus from knight princess, Reading the manga and comparing it to what we’ve seen in the Netflix trailers, Venn Diagram style, I can say quite a bit, actually. But not in the way other Netflix adaptations go a little off the rails in an attempt to be different or serious. From what I have analyzed, The hero of the film He seems keen to maintain the spirit of Tezuka’s work while doing his own thing, and honestly, I’m a little excited about that.
Unlike what appears to be the OUTLINE anime setup, Tezuka’s manga is old fairy tale material, focusing less on the selling point of a warrior princess, although that’s certainly there, and more on the genre. The setting has angels in heaven assigning hearts to babies who are about to be born. An angel named Tink gives baby Sapphire a blue boy’s heart moments before Sapphire is given a red girl’s heart. This oopsie causes Tink to be cast out of heaven to find Sapphire and take away her girlish heart, a problem made even worse by the fortune of her birth as the progeny of a Kingdom whose risk lies in her being born a man instead of a woman.
After a mistake in which a servant with a lisp confuses the kingdom by calling Sapphire “prinshesh,” the king and queen continue a ridiculous ruse, raising their daughter as a boy while those who wish to usurp their power attempt to expose Sapphire as a boy. Throughout Sapphire’s journey there is a story of slapstick that seems like a pastiche of Cinderella, sleeping beauty of the forestand The Little Mermaidand all of Tezuka’s titular fantasies. The manga even had an anime adaptation in 1967 by Mushi productionso any loyalists who are concerned about a faithful adaptation can nip those complaints in the bud.
Princess Knight is as silly and fun as they come. Looking back at Tezuka’s manga, it’s surprising how ahead of its time it is narratively, considering a manga from the ’50s explores the genre in earlier ways. Rumiko Takahashi‘s Rank 1/2. Of course, its exploration of the genre is still a bit dated as a read in the big 2026 (you can fall on either side of being progressive and a bit misogynistic on Sapphire’s journey). However, she gets there in the end, and Sapphire’s youthful, feminine nature is seen as a strength rather than a contradiction. That’s great.
While The hero of the film doesn’t appear to be exploring gender as its main theme, fans have deduced from its trailers that the film may focus on queer themes between Sapphire and her friend. Given that princess knight Inspired old-school queer manga/anime works like MAPPA’s anime adaptation of The Rose of VersaillesIt’s also likely where the film will go as a reimagining of its story. Either that, or the fans (including the current company) are about to do it. lose chess with the dogso to speak, when The hero of the film releases this August. Either way, the adaptations should seem bolder in Leaving the confines of old myths. they retell, as long as they have kept their core spirit intact, and Tezuka’s works are no different.
This is not the first time Netflix has gotten a reinvention of Tezuka classics. In fact, back in 2023, Studio M2 released the anime adaptation of Naoki Urasawa (Monster) and Takashi Nagasaki‘s Pluto. PlutoIMHO, it was the best sci-fi anime of that year. And a lot of that wasn’t just down to seeing what Atom and his titular villain look like in motion, but also how he used the leverage points of his story to attack something deeper. That is, Urasawa uses the robot manga to Criticize the US invasion of Iraq.. And that’s just one of the hot topics Pluto touchedweaving new life and perspective, building on Tezuka’s foundation. astro boy.
All that to say, despite their aesthetic and historical differences, I’m going to get into The hero of the film with an open mind to see how another group of creatives will remodel and reinvent a classic like knight princess and keep Tezuka’s stories in the minds of a new generation of anime fans.
The hero of the film premieres on Netflix on August 8.
Want more io9 news? See when to expect the latest Wonder, star warsand trip to the stars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and televisionand everything you need to know about the future of doctor who.
