Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love the idea of this story, but the storytelling just wasn't for me.
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
Originally this manga ran for 17 volumes from 2006 to 2019 by Kodansha, it's been published slowly but steadily in English since December 2019 still by Kodansha. There's also a two episode animated series and an anime movie that came out in 2013.
Creator Hikaru Nakamura is apparently also known for "Arakawa Under the Bridge" and in 2011 she was listed as the ninth of fifty manga creators ranked by sales since 2010. Exciting!
A slice of life comedy series, the premise is what if young Jesus and Buddha came back to earth and were poor roommates in Tokyo. While the introduction discussed some trepidation about translating such a pun centred comedy series, I think the result was still pretty gosh darn funny. There are extensive explanatory notes, but I didn't really dig into them myself. They might have increased my enjoyment just a smidgen, but I like to hurdle through books with reckless although not particular great speed. And as I've previously discussed, I continue to be in a somewhat intense lifelong relationship with Christianity and I know a bit about Buddhism. Certainly not enough, but some.
This book is adorable. They keep accidentally performing miracles and/or start glowing or floating randomly. Jesus' crown of thorns starts blooming. Jesus dresses up as Jack Sparrow. They both go to an amusement park together and there's a door to door salesman who is a turkey? The one short coming I felt was that the volume itself was a bit too long. If it was broken down a bit further I feel like I would have gotten a more perfect dose of cuteness. As it stands, I don't think I'll be searching out volume two anytime soon. It's more the kind of thing I absorb over a couple of years. It's not like I'll have to remember anything.
Sexuality comes up in one particular short where somehow both of them manage to get through an entire game of life without getting married or having children. I might be completely missing it, but I don't think there's any intention to pair off Jesus and Buddha. These characters appear to be happy with their deeply meaningful platonic friendship and that is awesome! Gender isn't really discussed, although Jesus can come across as slightly girly at times and it's again, super cute.
I feel like there might have been a brief reference to Jesus' place of birth, but that was the closest thing to race that came up. And nothing for disability vs ability.
And while I'm not breaking down any doors to read more, I did really enjoy this book and it's existance appears to be a very NET positive. Plus it's a pretty creative premise. So four out of five stars it is.
Creator Hikaru Nakamura is apparently also known for "Arakawa Under the Bridge" and in 2011 she was listed as the ninth of fifty manga creators ranked by sales since 2010. Exciting!
A slice of life comedy series, the premise is what if young Jesus and Buddha came back to earth and were poor roommates in Tokyo. While the introduction discussed some trepidation about translating such a pun centred comedy series, I think the result was still pretty gosh darn funny. There are extensive explanatory notes, but I didn't really dig into them myself. They might have increased my enjoyment just a smidgen, but I like to hurdle through books with reckless although not particular great speed. And as I've previously discussed, I continue to be in a somewhat intense lifelong relationship with Christianity and I know a bit about Buddhism. Certainly not enough, but some.
This book is adorable. They keep accidentally performing miracles and/or start glowing or floating randomly. Jesus' crown of thorns starts blooming. Jesus dresses up as Jack Sparrow. They both go to an amusement park together and there's a door to door salesman who is a turkey? The one short coming I felt was that the volume itself was a bit too long. If it was broken down a bit further I feel like I would have gotten a more perfect dose of cuteness. As it stands, I don't think I'll be searching out volume two anytime soon. It's more the kind of thing I absorb over a couple of years. It's not like I'll have to remember anything.
Sexuality comes up in one particular short where somehow both of them manage to get through an entire game of life without getting married or having children. I might be completely missing it, but I don't think there's any intention to pair off Jesus and Buddha. These characters appear to be happy with their deeply meaningful platonic friendship and that is awesome! Gender isn't really discussed, although Jesus can come across as slightly girly at times and it's again, super cute.
I feel like there might have been a brief reference to Jesus' place of birth, but that was the closest thing to race that came up. And nothing for disability vs ability.
And while I'm not breaking down any doors to read more, I did really enjoy this book and it's existance appears to be a very NET positive. Plus it's a pretty creative premise. So four out of five stars it is.
Took me a bit to get into, given how specific some of the jokes are to Japanese culture and Buddhism/Christianity. But, once I got into the groove of it and got used to the translation notes, I enjoyed Nakamura's sense of humor and spending time with these characters.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
f my mother knew I was reading this…
This was my first manga, compared to just comics and graphic novels previously, so I did have to keep reminding myself of the rules of reading manga. But I would quickly remember the rules before I read much of the page. I enjoyed it being in black and white, though! I thought I wouldn’t as I’m so used to colour on the pages and thought: “Maybe the story wouldn’t be good in b&w as it would be in colour” – but that was not the case with Saint Young Men!
So, this doesn’t have much of a plot, okay? It’s mostly Buddha and Jesus walking around Japan and being friends and roommates – which I really liked, as you know what? It would be really cool for the deities/gods of different religions to be chilling with each other. The conversation and banter between the two main characters was great! I could tell they were friends and were comfortable with each other. It’s so humourous, all their experiences and adventures.
I can’t speak for how accurate Buddha was portrayed but Jesus was pretty accurately portrayed. Like He’s meant to be, not the person most ‘Christians’ make Him out to be. I didn’t want to read this in the first place, because I thought that He wouldn’t be shown correctly. But then He was! And I loved it! Aside from how accurate their portrayals were, I really enjoyed how their characters were written. And how they managed to fit in with the modern crowd and at the same time, struggled to not show their immortality and their giftings, or anything that’ll draw unneeded/unwanted attention to them. Which ended up in some hilarious experiences (I’m looking at you, Jesus).
All in all, great characters. Little actual plot but to be honest, I actually liked that. Do I recommend this: Yes! If you’re wanting a light-hearted chuckle of a manga.
Have you read this this? Or are you meaning to? If you were in their position (had powers of their magnitude, not being an actual god/deity), would you keep it to yourself or just show it? I’d go around and perform small miracles, you know – paying off a random student’s loan, giving a person the exact amount of money that they need at the exact time, allowing a pet shelter all that they ever need for the animals
It was fun and the personalities of Jesus and Buddha were the best.
A slice-of-life manga with a unique premise, Saint Young Men delivers a laugh-out-loud comedy that is good-natured and secular, despite centering two major religious figures. Jesus and Buddha are both taking a well-deserved vacation in Tokyo, living as roommates, hiding their divine selves behind the personas of Hippie and Man Perm respectively. With a clean artwork, and numerous gags on each of their presences, this one had some excellent jokes on Buddha's ascetic lifestyle or Jesus's miracles, while placing them in the 21st century. With Jesus being a impulsive spendthrift and Buddha being a cautious spender, their duo makes for an interesting living situation. Then there are also gags on mythological canon, like why Jesus walked on water instead of swimming, or how Buddha feels about roller coasters, or a yakuza member confusing Jesus for the scion of some major crime family, or just simple jokes about them being more than two millenia old. Their duo even does a comedy act, takes part in a shrine festival and engages in some new hobbies. And the best part is, you don't even need to be fully familiar with the religious references as there is a glossary at the end. Readers might even spot pop culture references like the one to Death Note, or about Jesus looking similar Johnny Depp. Overall, it is entertaining, refreshing and just adorable.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Kodansha Comics, via Netgalley.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Kodansha Comics, via Netgalley.
Saint ☆ Young Men (聖☆おにいさん) by Hikaru Nakamura is a seinen, comedy, slice-of-life manga series published by Kodansha (Kodansha USA in North America) about Jesus Christ and Siddhārtha Gautama, or Gautama Buddha, as they go on vacation from their divinely duties to travel among humans in the lovely country of Japan. They acquire a small apartment together and promptly begin their holy-hilarity trek to theme parks, Asakusa, festivals, and the beauty of blogging. This review shall centre on the first volume.
Saint ☆ Young Men is gloriously hilarious. The last time that I laughed this much (imagine Mount Fuji) while reading a manga was the very first time that I sat down and read through the Skip Beat! manga, approximately six to seven years ago. There have been some titles that were funny, but nothing that had me revelling in amusement consistently from page-to-page. It was brilliantly fantastic.
A huge chunk of my enjoyment comes from the knowledge that I have about who these individuals are in their respective religions, especially Gautama Buddha, being a Buddhist myself. My housemate is a Christian Pastor, so I’ve been learning a lot about Christianity and the Bible. The manga is jam-packed with tiny references to their individual histories that is then used to create this delightfully immersive aura of cheer and mirth. For example, when Jesus drags Buddha onto a roller coaster and explains that the scariness is part of the ride’s charm, and the best way to experience it is to scream loudly, Buddha begins to recite Sutras (equivalent to praying, essentially) due to his discomfort. While this probably doesn’t sound all that great in this review, trust me, in context it was fabulous. There is another scene in the manga where Buddha and Jesus are trying to decide who has better luck at winning a raffle competition, and they briefly compare how they died. It may seem morbid, but it was done tastefully and expressed in a vague enough manner to be a sanguine source of satire.
Saint ☆ Young Men also doesn’t degrade the characters of Jesus and Buddha by having them participate in anything that would be construed as blasphemous in their relative faiths. There’re no sexual encounters. They don’t leer at women (or other gendered people) with wanton desire. Jesus drinks beer and wine, which usually happens when he’s so happy he begins to perform miracles causing his water to turn to wine, or his crown to blossom with roses. There is no cursing or vulgarity of any type. Yes, the manga does use religious bits to create a bouquet of laughter and wholesome, light-hearted anecdotes, but nothing is judged or used in a negative and accusatory manner. It’s radiantly respectful in its ludicrous mischief.
The illustrations further contribute to the manga’s overarching feeling of joviality. It’s simple and akin to four-panel manga that utilises a minimalistic approach with caricature-type drawings and very limited use of dark and heavy details. That doesn’t mean that the drawings aren’t thorough because they very much are. Yet, most of the work consists of soft grey or white spaces that are aesthetically pleasing, as well as a superb balance to the comedy that’s taking shape.
On the whole, Saint ☆ Young Men is a frolicking good-time through faith and culture told via the lens of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha as they make the most of their much-needed vacation from omnipresent obligations. There is so much fun and vigour to the series that I cannot wait to add it to my personal collection. If you’re a reader of slice-of-life manga and you don’t mind satirical works, particularly ones where you can have a spot of honest and warm-hearted entertainment with religious figures, then I highly recommend that you read Saint ☆ Young Men
5 snow cones outta 5!
Saint ☆ Young Men is gloriously hilarious. The last time that I laughed this much (imagine Mount Fuji) while reading a manga was the very first time that I sat down and read through the Skip Beat! manga, approximately six to seven years ago. There have been some titles that were funny, but nothing that had me revelling in amusement consistently from page-to-page. It was brilliantly fantastic.
A huge chunk of my enjoyment comes from the knowledge that I have about who these individuals are in their respective religions, especially Gautama Buddha, being a Buddhist myself. My housemate is a Christian Pastor, so I’ve been learning a lot about Christianity and the Bible. The manga is jam-packed with tiny references to their individual histories that is then used to create this delightfully immersive aura of cheer and mirth. For example, when Jesus drags Buddha onto a roller coaster and explains that the scariness is part of the ride’s charm, and the best way to experience it is to scream loudly, Buddha begins to recite Sutras (equivalent to praying, essentially) due to his discomfort. While this probably doesn’t sound all that great in this review, trust me, in context it was fabulous. There is another scene in the manga where Buddha and Jesus are trying to decide who has better luck at winning a raffle competition, and they briefly compare how they died. It may seem morbid, but it was done tastefully and expressed in a vague enough manner to be a sanguine source of satire.
Saint ☆ Young Men also doesn’t degrade the characters of Jesus and Buddha by having them participate in anything that would be construed as blasphemous in their relative faiths. There’re no sexual encounters. They don’t leer at women (or other gendered people) with wanton desire. Jesus drinks beer and wine, which usually happens when he’s so happy he begins to perform miracles causing his water to turn to wine, or his crown to blossom with roses. There is no cursing or vulgarity of any type. Yes, the manga does use religious bits to create a bouquet of laughter and wholesome, light-hearted anecdotes, but nothing is judged or used in a negative and accusatory manner. It’s radiantly respectful in its ludicrous mischief.
The illustrations further contribute to the manga’s overarching feeling of joviality. It’s simple and akin to four-panel manga that utilises a minimalistic approach with caricature-type drawings and very limited use of dark and heavy details. That doesn’t mean that the drawings aren’t thorough because they very much are. Yet, most of the work consists of soft grey or white spaces that are aesthetically pleasing, as well as a superb balance to the comedy that’s taking shape.
On the whole, Saint ☆ Young Men is a frolicking good-time through faith and culture told via the lens of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha as they make the most of their much-needed vacation from omnipresent obligations. There is so much fun and vigour to the series that I cannot wait to add it to my personal collection. If you’re a reader of slice-of-life manga and you don’t mind satirical works, particularly ones where you can have a spot of honest and warm-hearted entertainment with religious figures, then I highly recommend that you read Saint ☆ Young Men
5 snow cones outta 5!
I received a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Kodansha USA & NetGalley.