Can I read Phoenix out of order?
That is the question.
My dilemma is that I recently ordered the first volume of Phoenix, and it arrived today - but it was the sixth volume. Must've made a mistake. Perhaps I shouldn'tve ordered it from Borders.
I could go show up there with the receipt and be like "hey, this isn't the right one," but first I want to find out if reading it out of order will mess things up. I mean, from what I have heard Phoenix is sort of like that Japanese SNES RPG Live-A-Live in that it's made up of different stories in different time periods that aren't tied together, so I would assume that it's fine to read it out of order. But...yeah. I'll ask for other opinions first.
Comments
Basically, each story is its own entity. Reading a later story won't spoil an earlier story. Also, you will be able to fully understand any of the stories on their own. The only thing you will miss reading them out of order is the experience of going back and forth in time approaching the present day that Tezuka was striving for.