Osamu Tezuka
Buddha: Kapilavastu (2003)
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Genre: Graphic Novel (Biography/Historical Fiction)
Plot Summary:
The first volume of the Buddha series follows the story of several characters, some historical, some original, whose lives will later become intertwined with that of Buddha. The stories of several characters run parallel to one another. Master Asita, a famous Brahmin monk, feels the impending appearance of a great one. He sends Naradatta, one of his followers, to the south to investigate. During his travels, Naradatta hears of Tatta, a young pariah (the lowest class) child. Tatta is a mischievious little thief with the power to enter animals' bodies and control them. Tatta befriends Chapra, a shudra (slave) child, and uses his mysterious power to prevent Chapra's mother from being sold by inhabiting a tiger's body and attacking the slave traders. Soon after the rescue, soldiers from the neighboring kingdom of Kosala attack Kapilavastu. Tatta's mother and sister are killed in the attack, so Tatta and several other children from the pariah village retaliate by sneaking into the soldiers' headquarters and attacking the general of the Kosalan army. The group is caught and although Naradatta tries to intervene to save Tatta's life, all are about to be executed when a swarm of locusts descends on the town, allowing Chapra and his mother to free the little rebel group in the chaos that follows. Chapra laments the hard life of the under classes, who suffer not only from natural disasters but also the violence and inequality inherent in the caste system. SPOILER: He vows that he will break free of his caste and, by saving the life of the Kosalan general, he manages to get adopted by said general. Chapra asks Tatta to watch over his mother until that time, and so Tatta, Naradatta and Chapra's mother are left to follow Chapra's trail as he travels with the army. As he trains, Chapra becomes stronger, but his adoptive father (the only person to know of his heritage) worries he's only pushing himself to be a great warrior because he used to be a slave. Chapra is seriously injured in a fight and his mother can't help but inquire after him. Unfortunately, no slave would have the right to ask after someone from the warrior class, and no one believes a slave could be Chapra's mother, so she is imprisoned and condemned to death. Chapra tries to save her and both are taken to a cliff to be thrown off. Tatta is terribly angry by the injustice of it all and vows revenge in the future. Meanwhile, at the same time these later events have been happening in Kosala, in Kapilavastu, a little prince is born. He is named Siddhartha, and though his mother dies shortly after the birth, his father hopes to raise him as a happy, healthy child.
Geographical Setting: Kapilavastu, Kosala (present-day Nepal and India)
Time Period: circa 563 BC
Series: Buddha Volume 1
Appeal Characteristics:
The book has a measured pace, but not a particularly slow one. The book has a plot that is gradually unveiled as the story progresses. However, it is not a slow read because of the multiple plotlines that intertwine and how involved the characters are in the action. The graphic novel format also helps to speed up a storyline that would otherwise probably be very dense with description of the surroundings and characters' feelings, giving the book a moderate pace as a whole. The characters are vivid and complex, and the book takes a lot of time to develop several characters that will become secondary characters in later volumes. The characters are very human, and realistically portrayed. A reader may find herself unexpectedly sympathizing with a character she didn't like at first, or one that seemed to be one-dimensional in the beginning. The storyline is quite character centered, focusing on how they react to the events of the story, especially the violence and suffering they face. The storyline is complex, with multiple smaller plotlines that are woven together by the end of the book and has an overall epic quality about it. The frame gives the story a heavy, exotic feel, with enough historical detail regarding the caste system and inter-kingdom warring to give it that feeling without bogging the reader down with a lot of description. The author also inserted some comedy with references to his other manga or the modern world in addition to the occasional humorous event in the story, however, the story has a largely serious slant. The dialog of the story is mostly very frank and conversational, especially in the case of Tatta and Chapra. Some of the dialog between the monks and the narrator's descriptions, however, have a more flowery, poetic style. The art itself is simple, with a comic or cartoon type of style that, when contrasted with the exotic, historical feel of the story, gives the manga a unique feel.
Read-alikes: Readers who enjoyed the cartoony art style that contrasts with a serious storyline and the realistically-human characters of Buddha will likely enjoy Epileptic, by David B. It is an autobiographical story portraying the author's experiences growing up with a brother who had epilepsy, and his family's struggle to deal with the disease. To Terra, by Keiko Takemiya, is a 3 volume manga series with an art style that is similar to Tezuka's, but a little less cartoony. As with Buddha, the plotline is character centered. This manga chronicles the story of two teenagers, Jomy and Keith. Jomy is a very powerful psychic who has escaped from a genetic and social engineering program and is trying to reach Earth. Keith is part of the military force designed to prevent psychics from getting to Earth, in the belief that they will destroy it, but he is starting to question whether he agrees with the system. Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships, by Eric Shanower, has a very different style of artwork, but it has a storyline that is as Epic as Buddha. It also has multiple character viewpoints and a similarly exotic and historically detailed frame and tone to that of Buddha. This manga series tells the story of the Illiad, with the first volume, A Thousand Ships, relating the events that lead up to the Trojan War. In this volume, Paris discovers that his farmer-father is not his real father, and that he is a previously unknown member of the Trojan royal house. He soon meets Helen of Sparta, and fate is set in motion. Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima, by Keiji Nakazawa, is the first of several volumes and has artwork that is Tezuka-inspired. Its characters are vivid and inspiring, and the storyline, like Buddha, is character-centered, portraying how they deal with hardship in a serious but humor-touched way. This manga is the story of Gen Nakaoka, a survivor of the atomic attack on Hiroshima. It details how he and his family members deal with the food shortages, radiation poisoning and destruction after the bomb struck. Maus: A Survivor's Tale, by Art Spiegelman, is similar to Buddha in that the almost cute style of art combined with the serious, historical narrative gives the graphic novel a feel that is unique and hard to classify. Maus, like Buddha, is character focused and has a similar pace. It is the first of two books. Maus is the story of the narrator's father, a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust. It relates his story as the Nazis occupy Poland and begin sending Jews away to the death camps. Readers who enjoyed this volume should, of course, try the next volume in the series, The Four Encounters. Tezuka's series Phoenix, which begins with Dawn, is also suggested, because this story also features Buddhist ideas and social injustice. In this volume, a patrolman in a post-apocalyptic future is given immortality after everyone, including the shape-shifting alien he loved, dies. Readers who enjoyed the historical and action aspects of Kapilavastu and would like something with humor that is slightly less goofy should try Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin, beginning with volume 1. This manga series is about a legendary warrior who, ten years after playing a bloody role in the end of the Bakumatsu era in Japan (so, 1878), has vowed never to kill again. Another Japanese manga readers may wish to try if it was the art style that attracted them to Kapilavastu is Shotaro Ishimori's Cyborg 009, which has similar simple and expressive character designs. This action-oriented series is about a group of cyborg soldiers who were created to be involved in eternal warfare for the profit of Black Ghost and who rebel against this. This series features mild swearing and bloodless violence, very similar to Kapilavastu. Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha is another series to try, if readers would like a Japanese manga with action, humor, and a greater number of fantasy elements. This series centers on the adventures of modern-day Kagome, who has traveled back in time and must find the shards of a magical jewel with a half-demon named Inuyasha and several other companions, including a Buddhist monk (who is a bit of a lech). Inuyasha shares several similarities with Chapra - he had a strong relationship with his mother, he is a strong fighter, and his status (as a half-demon, rather than a slave like Chapra) made his childhood lonely and difficult. Although readers should probably start with volume 1, those who are particularly interested in another story with strong mother-son relationships should try volume 2, which features more of Inuyasha's mother. Readers who don't mind reading a novel instead of a graphic novel and who would like something that is fast-paced and includes Buddhist ideas might want to try Kathe Koja's Buddha Boy, which explores Buddhist ideas through the unlikely friendship between two high school classmates. "Average" Justin can't understand the odd actions of Michael, who prefers going by Jinsen, his spiritual name, and gradually learns about the reasons behind those actions.
Red Flags: nudity (nipples, since many of the women spend the whole story topless, and male genetalia, but nothing detailed and no one in the story makes a big deal out of it); some swearing; violence, but not much blood; several deaths of animals and people; the humor can occasionally be a bit jarring and over-the-top
Ode to Kirihito (1970-1971)
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Genre: Manga (Medical Thriller)
Plot Summary:
Kirihito Osanai belongs to a team of doctors working on a newly discovered illness called Monmows. The disease slowly devolves its victims, transforming bone structure and other physical characteristics, making the sufferer look like a lower form of mammal--almost dog-like. The disease is fatal, changing the shape of the victim's body so drastically that respiration is disrupted. Kirihito and his partner Dr. Urabe are working hard to prove that the disease is not infectious but their boss, Dr. Tatsugara, insists that Monmows is caused by a virus and intends to make an international reputation for himself by being the first to correctly diagnose the disease. In order to interrupt Kirihito's research he sends the young doctor to the remote village where most of the victims have been found and conspires to make sure Kirihito contracts Monmows. Once he is infected Kirihito learns that he and Urabe were correct about Monmows. He even discovers how to stop the disease's deadly progress. However, Kirihito finds himself unable to return to Tokyo and resume his old life while looking like a dog-man. He is caught up in a years long odyssey that takes him through rural Japan, China, and the Middle East before he can finally make it home and find retribution. SPOILER: Monmows disease is actually caused by certain rare metals only found in very old geological strata. All the victims of Monmows had consumed drinking water that at some point ran through these strata. In the end, Dr. Tatsugara is undone by faith in his own faulty diagnosis. He drinks a tonic made from exposed water and contracts the disease himself.
Geographical Setting: Japan, China, the Middle-East, South Africa
Time Period: Contemporary (1970's)
Appeal Characteristics:
By making his devolved dog-man protagonist neither stronger nor more violent than anyone else in the novel Tezuka turns the traditional themes of a werewolf story on their head, making the animalistic side of humanity into something not powerful, but frail and weak. The tone therefore is even darker, more ominous than an average horror tale. The eclectic story line saves the novel from wallowing in this darkness though. As the plot rockets along at its dizzying pace, from one weird twist to another and yet another, so the tone shifts slightly as well: at times darkly philosophical at other times darkly humorous, or suspenseful, or spiritual, or even darkly romantic. Tezuka's style, thankfully, is up to the challenge of such diverse material. Simple picture boxes move us quickly through the necessities of the plot but when the twist or the action sequence comes the story is dashed across the page in diagonals or spirals and when the contemplative moments come we are treated to full or double page images that make our eyes linger. Tezuka's seemingly simple line drawings also shift style as needed, from brazenly cartoonish, to noirish chiaroscuro, to trippy surrealism. Surprisingly, the characters manage to break through all this helter skelter. The main characters are fully explored, and even some of the supremely odd minor characters that Kirihito encounters on his journey are portrayed with sensitivity and thoroughness. There is a very real sense of place too. Tezuka manages to make a hospital room in Japan feel different from one in South Africa, and he uses beautiful landscape drawings to establish the changes of setting. Overall, a dark and complicated tale of retribution that is told in a fitting style by a remarkable artist.
Read-alikes: Anyone who enjoyed Tezuka's deceptively simple drawing style might like Keiko Takemiya's To Terra (3 volumes). A contemporary of Tezuka's, Takemiya's dystopian story about genetic engineering and telepathic powers is full of similarly arresting page layouts and similarly heavy themes. Another SF story with a bleak outlook on human nature is Taiyo Matsumoto's Tekkon Kinkreet (originally released in three volumes called Black & White, but collected in 1 volume in 2007), in which two young hoodlums struggle to stay alive in rough and tumble Treasure Town. Like Tezuka, Matsumoto's art work, though heavily influenced by European graphic albums, is noted for changing style from cute to rough as the plot dictates. Anyone who simply enjoyed the kind of bonkers plot twists and odd characters of Ode to Kirihito might enjoy the recent anthology of Fletcher Hanks cartoons from the 30's and 40's called I Will Destroy All Civilized Planets. Although Hanks' artwork is undeniably crude there is a willingness to take risks and an appealing kind of gonzo spirit in these fantastical stories of violence and revenge. Like Ode to Kirihito, Naoki Urasawa's Monster (18 volumes) is a medical thriller manga. It is about a young doctor whose ethical decision to do a difficult surgery to save a boy's life goes horribly wrong. Not only does it get him fired, he also discovers that the boy he saved is a serial killer. Another twisting tale of retribution, but with a slower pace and less dynamic artwork. Those who might prefer a more consistent and less expressive drawing style and a lot more emphasis on dark humor might want to look at Eiji Ohtsuka's Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (8 volumes), a tale of five college students who team up to help stranded souls move on to the afterlife, mostly by digging up the corpses and then reburying them in the proper place.
Red Flags: A good deal of both sex and violence.
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