28 February 2024

BUDDHA series by Osamu Tezuka - My view

by ramesh ramalingam

Kid buddha reading

Hey bookworms,

Though I love reading comics since I was a kid, my territory was limited to Italian and Franco-Belgian comics. I generally read comics translated into Tamil by Muthu Comics or Rani Comics. However, in recent days, I have been exposed to other comics through social media groups and by comics experts such as King Viswa. I was really astounded when I started discovering what I had been missing for so long. Since then, I have started reading Indian as well as those from other cultures. But manga was still an unexplored territory for me. I was afraid it would suit my taste. Also I really did not know where to start with manga as I was overwhelmed with the suggestions from internet. However, even after knowing master Tezuka from others, till the day I conviced myself to spend 3,800 rupees and face my wife’s reactions, Buddha (the book set) and myself were playing hide and seek in Amazon’s cart.

The day I received books in my hand, I realized that this is going to be an extraordinary journey. I cursed my hesitance for missing this for so long. Nope! I am not exaggerating. Its true. Okay, let me clarify. But before that, nothing beats the real experience. So if you are oscillating between whether to buy or not, just go ahead and order before you jump to the next para.

Story

Yes. As you guessed, it is the story of the Buddha’s life. But remember, this is not your history text book. Tezuka has taken the liberty of creative freedom for introducing fictional characters and events to the real plot. However, this is not done to make it a commercial masala. Tezuka played carefully with them to interrogate his philosophies & make it a memorable journey.

In fact, the story starts with two fictional characters, Chapra and Tatta. The Buddha enters the story as a newborn baby near the end of the first book only. Tezuka introduces fictional characters every now and then. Ananda, Yatala, Lata—the list goes on. Everyone of them brings new perceptions to the well-known story. This holds the curiosity of the reader and opens new doors for us to play with our beliefs and morals.

Let me pick two gems out of the pouch to discuss here. The first one is the way Tezuka depicted ancient India and its infamous caste system. He tried dipicting closer to the reality as we know it. Initially, I struggled to accept how most of the characters were accepting the oppression as normal. But I had to remove the lens of the 21st century and secularism to understand what would have been their reality.

The next one is about Ananda and his struggle to free himself from grief. He always given a chance to be immortal and conqour the world by the devil Mara. But he leaves them behind to join the Buddha and keeps fighting the devil of desires. Like in Ananda’s life, for us also, life gives us the chance to bet on our ethics to earn power. We had to fight it hard every single time to prove who we are.

Like I mentioned above it is pouch of gems, we can pick ours and play with it.

Characters

Despite having a lot of characters in this series, no one was treated less. Everyone has the space and scope to play their role. Everyone is unique, and justifies why they are here. If I talk about everyone, it will make this a big prologue, so I will take you closer to a few characters I liked most. Here goes.

Tatta - Innocent and pure soul. It is no surprise that he steals the show wherever he comes in. No one can hate his innocence. He is a childhood buddy and a disciple of the Buddha. He lives for his friendship throughout. He has the longest journey in the series compared to the Buddha.

Assaji - Initially, I found it hard to gel with Assaji like Siddhartha and Dhepa did. But this little slothy boy gets into our minds slowly and never leaves. The way he accepts life and its reality is phenomenal. Even at times, the Great Buddha struggles hard to get to the state of Assaji.

Prince Crystal - Prince of Kosala. Despite being a prince, others bully him because of the caste of his mother. Like most of us, he shows his hard face outside to hide the broken inside. Once he meets the Buddha and gets rid of his fear of facing the world, he becomes his follower.

Visuals

I am not the one to comment on the master’s work. It’s pure genius. You should experience it to understand why I get so excited when talking about the visuals. Pictures and frames are the soul of comics, and Tezuka is the king of that realm. No words do any justice. Even though I have read comics by other masters like Bonelli, Jean Giraud, Morris, Jean Van Hamme, and others from my childhood, Tezuka is from a different dimension.

Every single line counts. Most of the time, I forget to move my eyes to the next frame. So it ended up in me taking more time to complete reading than usual.

Paper & Print

I bought the box set, so I got an amazing box along with books that are made of feather light papers. The prints and texts are crisp and clear. On the whole, the production of the book taken the reading experience to the next level.

Summary

It is an extraordinary work from the master of manga. A wonderful, well-woven tale, spiced with interesting characters, discusses the philosophy of life and its meaning, supported by great visuals. What more do you expect? Trust me. The book will never disappoint you.

Why waiting? Buckle up. Tezuka is ready to take you on the ride of your lifetime.

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Experiences, Thoughts & Reviews