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Sep 19, 2007

Seth rated it:

At 3013 pages, Osamu Tezuka's Buddha was something of an investment in time. I received the last two hardcover volumes of the collection (vol. 7 and 8) for my birthday at the end of July and began reading from start to finish in mid-August. It's true that one could possibly read the entire collection - and a handsome collection it is - in a day (at perhaps two hours per volume), but I didn't feel compelled to rush things.

In Buddha, Tezuka presents a curious blend of themes and styles More...

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Jun 15, 2009

Christina Stind rated it:

This is the first volume of eight in Osamu Tezuka's version of Buddha's life. Osamu Tezuka is the father of modern manga and I'm so happy this was my introduction to manga.

The book's main characters are Chapra, his mother, another boy Tatta and a monk. It takes place in ancient India and I feel like it's kind of setting the mood and explaining the caste system of India and the belief system of that time for the rest of the series.
Chapra and his mother are slaves - Tatta is a pa More...

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Apr 29, 2008

Imogen rated it:

It feels like it's from the eighties, and when the weird meta-comicky jokes start in like the last quarter, it feels unfocused instead of inventive. Still though, everything else totally works, dude was a comic book master genius, lots of things *do* feel inventive and exciting, and the little peanut who runs around naked and peeing on everybody- because of empathy with animals?- is my favorite comic book character in a long time.

Isla is totally right and now I totally want to read More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Niek rated it:

Op de achterflap staat te lezen dat Osamu Tezuka de ongekroonde peetvader van de Japanse graphic novel is. Dit schept natuurlijk verwachtingen. Een boek dat daarnaast ook nog eens de titel Boeddha draagt, ontkomt niet aan een licht vooringenomen idee bij de komende lezer.[return]Dit boek heeft ondanks mijn gekleurde verwachtingen mij toch heel erg verrast en wel in de positieve zin. De verhaallijn van de geboorte van Boeddha is omgeven met allerlei verschillende bijpersonen die de lezer redelijk More...

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Aug 06, 2010

Newengland rated it:

I know two things about manga -- little and nothing. But I bought the first four books of this 7-paperback series because Buddhism is part of our Humanities curriculum. You can imagine my surprise when I found that the book is not just a graphic novel focusing on Siddhartha, but a strange melange of facts from the Buddha's life and fiction from author Osamu Tezuka's ample imagination.

Thus, in the Vol. 1 of the tale of the ultimate pacificist's life, we get cartoon scenes of swords More...

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Sep 26, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I have a basic knowledge of Buddhism, and know a very simplified story of Buddha's life. So when I finally decided to read the whole series I couldn't help but think "How did Tezuka manage to make 8 books out of this?"

To help convey the story AND teachings of Buddha, Tezuka has put many fictional characters into the story to put Buddha's teachings in action. In fact, most of the first book tells the story of Chapra and Tatta, fictional characters.

Chapra is a sla More...

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Jan 17, 2012

Colin rated it:

Kapilavastu is the first volume (of eight) from Osamu Tezuka's epic Buddha series, which is a manga retelling (re-imagining may be more accurate) of the life of Siddhartha Gautama. Not that you'd really be able to tell that Buddha was its focus just by reading it alone--Siddhartha himself isn't born until the end of the first volume draws close, just in time to have a few prophecies thrown his way.

The bulk of this first volume concerns itself instead (mostly) with characters entirely More...

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Nov 08, 2011

Amanda rated it:

The tale of the Buddha's life is told peripherally to those of fictional, central characters. There is Tatta, an untouchable who can inhabit the bodies of animals. He is joined by Chapra, a slave who wants to become a warrior. Also there is Chapra's mother and a young monk. Their lives are impacted by the birth of the Buddha.

I picked this up excitedly expecting it to be a graphic novel telling of the life of the Buddha, but instead it is the story of others alive during his lifet More...

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Jan 06, 2012

Fredrik rated it:

Semua kehidupan itu suci...
Hiks. T__T

Komik/manga ini berhasil mengaduk-aduk emosiku!
Banyak adegan-adegan konyol yang sangat komikal se-komikal-komikalnya sebuah komik (apa sih?! xD). Namun di sisi lain, banyak juga yang bikin miris dan menyayat pergelangan tangan... X_X

Lho kok tangan?
Karena tangan lebih penting daripada hati?
Gak gitu juga sih... tapi karena memang pada akhirnya perbuatan lah yang membawa dampak sebab akibat, bukan niat.

More...

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Nov 16, 2011

Michael rated it:

Tezuka's liberal adaptation of the Buddha story is both riveting and kitschy in its use of 80s lingo and Manga humor and silliness. In the end, Tezuka's ability to tell a fast-paced, well-oiled tale outshines all these cartoonish trappings.

Notes:

The mix of Manga humor and action with the gravitas of a spiritual text is discriminating and quite original. Tatta's use of 80s lingo takes away from the any of the period believability in the story. Chapra and Tatta's storie More...

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Mar 15, 2009

JD added it

This is really my first foray into what might be considered Manga, and Tezuka's reputation is peerless, so I thought it would be a good place to start, and I don't really know anything about Buddha so I figured that could be interesting.

It was a pretty quick read, and enjoyable, overall. I thought the way he drew action was engaging, there was a real sense of motion, I thought. I didn't care for the anachronistic language and references(i.e. "dude" and referring to New York More...

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Nov 30, 2011

Justyn rated it:

Overall, I really enjoyed this first volume and would actually love to read the remaining seven volumes as some point. That point may not be right away, but at some point. This first volume follows three main characters: Tatta (a boy with special powers), Narradatta (a monk), and Chapra (a slave who wants to be a noble). Also, the groundwork is laid for the birth of Buddha, which does occur in this book.

The illustrations are classic Tezuka and work very well despite the serious subjec More...

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Mar 08, 2009

Barky rated it:

This is another graphic novel that was much more interesting than I thought it would be. The first of a series about the life of the Buddha, this starts back before the Buddha was born and explains the caste systems and some of the important figures and how they came to power in the Buddha’s world. It’s really fascinating, and well-paced. The story takes place in India and as it’s a warm climated place there’s lots of nudity – females from the waist up and males often completely naked, though More...

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Jan 15, 2011

Sweetdhee rated it:

Setiap Kehidupan itu Suci

Hmmm...Komik/novel grafis (dddoooooh, masih bingung bedainnyaaa) Buddha ini keren..
Walaupun banyak banyolnya, ampe ada guest starnya- si professornya Astroboy-, tapi falsafah yang disampaikan juga dalam..

Paling suka waktu Naradatta disemprot sama Guru Asitta setelah memanfaatkan beberapa bintang sampai binatang-binatang itu mati..
Guru Asitta menanamkan pada Naradatta bahwa setiap kehidupan itu suci, entah itu binatang, tumbuhan ataupun More...

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Mar 27, 2009

Sarah rated it:

This is the first book in a series of 8 by the "godfather" of manga -- Osamu Tezuka. They were originally published in Japan in the 80's and are now available in English.

Set in ancient India, near the Himalayas, Tezuka introduces Siddhartha Gautama, born into a ruthless society based on tradition and the caste system. Basic Buddhist principles are explained through storytelling, and he weaves historical facts into this graphic tale.

I liked it, but I didn't lov More...

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Mar 22, 2011

Rolando rated it:

Only the first part of an eight-volume epic about the life and death of Siddhartha Gautama.

Much like Episode III of Star Wars, this book ends with the birth of the hero. The plot of the book focuses on three heroes, two of them poor young men, Chapra and Tatta, who struggle their way through the harshness of the Indian caste system; and an Indian monk who reaches a tragic destiny for attempting to save a young man's life.

And, of course, in the midst of such crisis, seeing th More...

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Oct 23, 2009

Carol rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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May 02, 2010

Rosalia rated it:

This was an interesting graphic novel. It tells the story of the Siddhartha in a manga format. I haven't read Siddhartha since high school so I am not sure how accurate it is, but Tezuka has chosen to try and infuse some humor into the beginning of the story which I can't decide if it's a good think cause it keeps the story from getting too heavy or if it might be slightly disrespectful (he cameos himself and a character from Astroboy.) Truthfully I am not sure if the reason I wasn't into thi More...

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Mar 26, 2011

Jami rated it:

An odd subject of a graphic novel, this is the first volume in a series that tells the life of the Buddha. Since Buddhism is the only religion I would ever consider following, I thought it would be an interesting read. This first book was interesting, but quite odd at times. Some of the illustrations have a strong manga flavor, but not so much that it deterred me from enjoying the story of Chapra, Tatta and all the other characters. Siddhartha's role is brief as he is only just born in this, yet More...

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Jul 05, 2011

Ami rated it:

Part 1 of a 7-part graphic novel series about the life of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. This introductory book provides a context for the world into which Buddha is born: violent, with a strict caste system in place that is characterized by its stifling immobility. We meet Chapra, a slave, and his mother, who somehow befriend both a pariah ("Untouchable", the lowest caste, treated as non-human) and a Brahman monk. Both Tatta the pariah & Naradatta the monk have connections to the More...

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Aug 11, 2007

Roos rated it:

Baru baca satu, tidak lebih dari 1 jam....lucu juga... pake guest star segala... kayaknya memang harus lanjut kedua dan seterusnya deh... 8 yak?

14 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2009

Schuyler rated it:

I read this whole series and was kind of disappointed. I didn't like the parts that Tezuka just made up and wished there was some annotation letting you know. I'm not a big fan of Tezuka's drawing style (astro-boy) but was lured in by the covers. The cover drawings are taken from the pages of the book but are so heavily cropped and blown up that they aren't a very good indication of the general style. A compositional version of opening a comic to discover that the inside is in black and white. More...

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Apr 15, 2010

Emilia rated it:

Sigh, Tezuka. You are so amazing at drawing groups of animals moving I could sometimes give you five stars just for that. This series I think is going to be as Ben-Hur: A Story of the Christ is to the Gospels, and that's cool. Interesting, lovely of course, but I guess I'm going to need to see where its going. Also apparently all ladies in the Indian olden days were topless all the time? It's cool, somehow Tezuka makes it seem like not a racy choice, even if its slightly sexual -- he does that e More...

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Jan 11, 2010

Tana rated it:

Fun and easy retelling of the events that preceded the birth of the Buddha, as told by the grandfather of Manga, Osamu Tezuka, Buddha, Volume 1: Kapilavastu
is the first of eight volumes of the graphic novel adaptation of the Buddha's life. More...

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Sep 30, 2011

Kaion rated it:

Graphic novel telling the story of Buddha's life (though he doesn't appear much at all in Vol 1) and the climate in India of that time. Don't know what to think of it yet. Lots of unexpected nudity. Not sure how close it is to historic fact (for example, many of the characters in volume one are completely non-canon creations). Just wanted to try the talents of the godfather of manga. And see if I could finally understand Buddhism. (Though I am actually pretty familiar to his life, thanks to Sund More...

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Nov 06, 2008

Tyas rated it:

The full review was published in Animonster. This review has been abridged.

Osamu Tezuka. Siapa tak kenal nama ini? Meskipun kita tak pernah membaca ataupun menonton karya-karyanya, kita pasti ingat bahwa ialah yang dikenal sebagai ‘dewa manga’ dan ‘bapak anime’. Pendidikan formalnya memang kedokteran. Namun, Tezuka tak berniat menjadi dokter karena sebenarnya ia takut melihat darah. Yang ia bidani justru ‘kelahiran kembali’ manga dan anime sehingga dapat bertumbuh-kembang menjadi sep More...

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Jun 11, 2008

Alexis rated it:

this series is pretty great. with the incredibly pop-culture medium of Manga and the incredibly ancient story of Siddhartha, it makes for an incongruent ride. not to mention that all the women are hot and topless (you can practically hear their gaspy-moans) which is weird for a story essentially about the man who tried to eradicate world suffering thru teaching non-attachment. there is a ton of slapstick comedy and great visual pranks – there’s a great sequence where Master Asita says “I feel More...

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Jan 27, 2008

Fairdkun rated it:

this one, i must say, is a must read. better, a must have. i always have some kind of admiration to eastern sects [or religion, if anyone prefers to call hindu, buddha, or confusianism so] + this manga series is a nod towards that admiration, changing it to approval.
vol. 2 p. 8:
‘what is a human life compared to the eternal time + space? not more than a drop of snow, glimmering golden under the beam of sunlight a moment before disappearing to oblivion while time flows.’ [trans. by moi.] More...

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Nov 03, 2007

Jason rated it:

I have been thoroughly pleased and surprised by Osamu Tezuka's entire Buddha series. Surprised, not because I didn’t expect them to be good but because I had no way of knowing they would be this good. This work really is an achievement.

These would be a wonderful introduction to the life of the Buddha for young, old, Buddhist, non-Buddhist, comic book fans and everyone else. While it is not 100% historically accurate (and doesn’t claim to be), most of what I’ve learned about the life More...

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Oct 21, 2007

Nicholas added it

http://nhw.livejournal.com/688098.html[return][return]Originally published in 1974, this is the first of eight volumes retelling the life of the Buddha by one of Japan's greatest manga artists, known as the "Walt Disney of Japan" because of his involvement in anime (he invented the "large eyes" style).[return][return]I'm therefore rather sorry to report that this didn't do much for me. The Buddha himself barely appears in this first volume (born about two-thirds of the way th More...

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