It is normal for manga adapted into anime to have significant changes. Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix manga is not an exception, as Studio 4°C's Phoenix: Eden17 went in a different direction and changed some parts of the story, including its ending. In light of this, here’s Phoenix: Eden17’s ending explained.
Phoenix: Eden17 tells the story of a brave woman called Romi, who ventured into outer space with her beloved George to create a thriving society on a planet called Eden17.
The planet is a vast wasteland, and it is up to Romi to survive and fulfill her goal with some help from the legendary bird, the Phoenix.
Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers for Phoenix: Eden17 ahead!
What Is the Ending of Phoenix: Eden17?
The fourth episode of Phoenix: Eden17, entitled Romi, starts off with Romi, Com, and Makimura’s attempt to return to Earth, which is now covered with debris coming from migrant ships that have been destroyed by the police patrols.
Makimura tries to persuade Romi and Com to turn back, but the latter is adamant about bringing Romi back to her home.
Their stone ark successfully makes its descent to Earth, but Romi discovers that the planet she once knew is now gone.
The Earth Romi imagined no longer exists, but still, Com insists on roaming around the planet in hopes that they can still find beautiful plants and flowers growing in the area.
In Eden17, Zudarban gets an audience with Romi’s stand-in, following his bargain with Com. He was supposed to get the moopy from Eden17, but he was shunned instead.
In return, Zudarban contaminated the drinking water of the planet with suspicious pills that would make everyone greedy, gluttonous, lustful, and possessive.
As a result, chaos befell Eden17, and the civilization’s peace and harmony were destroyed.
Back on Earth, Romi and Com were imprisoned by the police patrols.
They eventually got out thanks to Chihiro, a robot who felt like she had to save Romi and Com before their body parts were preserved. Chihiro and Romi also used to hang out back in the day.
In response, the council ordered Makimura to capture Romi and Com, regardless of whether they were dead or alive, in exchange for his own safety.
Later, Chihiro guides Romi and Com to Heaven Island to get away from their captors and to help fulfill Romi and Com’s wish to see Earth’s beautiful and lush environment.
However, Heaven Island is about to be destroyed after Romi and Com contaminated it with their alleged extraterrestrial virus.
While Romi and Com wait for the stone ark to get them, Chihiro fights the mechanical robots that are going after them to buy time.
As this happens, Makimura goes to Heaven Island to accomplish his task of eliminating Romi and Com.
The Stone Ark lands by the shore, but before Romi and Com escape, they encounter Makimura, who is already in the area. He revealed that he has to eliminate Romi with a gun at hand.
They talked for a while, but Makimura ended up shooting Com in the chest instead of Romi.
Surprised, Makimura let Romi and an injured Com go inside their stone ark to flee Earth before Heaven Island was destroyed.
Romi thought that Com had passed away due to his injuries, but the latter was saved from Makimura’s bullet thanks to the seed container Chihiro gave them.
But what’s waiting for Romi and Com is an endless ruin caused by Zudarban’s devious plan on Eden17.
That’s when Romi took the mysterious seed from her pocket and planted it on Eden’s ground. This seed was given to her by Chihiro back on Earth. Chihiro also instructed Romi to nurture the seed with love and care in Eden.
How Did the Phoenix: Nostalgia Manga End?
The ending of Phoenix: Eden17 is different from the Phoenix: Nostalgia manga. Instead of going back to Eden17, Romi and Com stayed on Earth after Makimura stopped them from returning.
But before this incident happened, Romi was told that she had only three days to live due to the side effects of Zudarban’s rejuvenation machine.
If we can recall, Romi was electrocuted on a planet that resembled Earth, and Makimura had no choice but to avail himself of Zudarban’s illegal services to treat Romi.
True enough, Romi got better, and she even got younger. But the side effects will only give Romi a limited amount of time to roam around Earth.
Also, Heaven Island does not exist in the manga, and Chihiro was only a scrap robot that helped hide Romi and Com from their captors.
It was a compassionate biker gang that took Romi and Com to a beautiful lake surrounded by plants and flowers somewhere far from the industrial side of Earth.
There, Makimura chased Romi and Com to save himself from his own demise at the hands of the government. But before he could kill Romi, she had already died.
Com, on the other hand, shapeshifted as a lotus flower, and nothing has been heard about him since then.
What Is the Ending of Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower?
As of writing, the ending of Phoenix: Reminiscence of a Flower is still unknown. But it is certain that it will have a different ending from the ONA anime that Studio 4°C has worked on.
We can only assume that the movie will follow the same ending as the manga, but it’s also likely that they will create another storyline for Romi and Com on Earth.
If and when Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower's ending is revealed, this article will be updated!
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