entertainment

So Buddha and Jesus walk into a real estate office in Tokyo…

15 Comments
By Casey Baseel

Since 2007, Hikaru Nakamura’s "Saint Young Men" manga comic series has followed the daily lives of two young men who just happen to be the revered central figures of Christianity and Buddhism. The divine figures have reincarnated, not so save the souls of humanity, but to spend some time enjoying a low-key lifestyle while sharing an apartment in the comparatively sleepy town of Tachikawa in west Tokyo. The story follows their day-to-day lives, including Buddha’s fascination with the manga based on himself and Jesus’ long locks and wispy beard getting him mistaken for Johnny Depp by schoolgirls at a local convenience store.

To celebrate the upcoming theatrical animated adaptation of "Saint Young Men," publisher Kodansha is allowing the free reproduction and use of a portion of the series.

The editorial staff of Kodansha’s Morning comic anthology offering a creative commons license for the first four pages of the series’ opening chapter, "Buddha’s Day Off."

Under the license (classified as a CC BY-ND 2.1 JP agreement), the images may be freely reproduced provided there are unaltered and the original creator is credited. The license is valid not just for personal-use websites and blogs, but for commercial sites, newspapers, and magazines as well. The license stipulates that all four pages must be presented in their entirety, and is applicable only to the four pages expressly mentioned.

The images are available here on Kodansha’s Morning website, in both JPEG and TIFF formats. The idea to offer the license came directly from Nakamura, in hopes of making as many people as possible familiar with the story’s premise before the animated movie’s theatrical release. In the meantime, you can check out the film’s trailer, and the first four pages of the manga, below. "Saint Young Men" opens on May 10.

Source: IT Media

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Japan’s First Missionary Flustered as Christianity Did Not Compute with the Locals -- Hilarious Comic About Room-Sharing Jesus and Buddha -- Cute and Sexy Manga is Helping Rejuvinate Rice in Japan

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©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


15 Comments
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I love the manga, but only read the first few chapters. very excited about the animated movie.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

....and Jesus was told he couldn't rent from them because he's a foreigner

7 ( +10 / -4 )

Buddha just isn't believable without the big gut - a skinny buddha just isn't gonna cut it!

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Imagine if the author had included the Prophet Mohammed in the story.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

That soil be awesome !

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sorry would be *

0 ( +0 / -0 )

That publication is a non-event. Now, if the cartoonist had added Mohammed, then we could have some exciting happenings to talk about. But Jesus and Buddha....yawn...

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Buddha just isn't believable without the big gut - a skinny buddha just isn't gonna cut it!

Heh heh. A skinny Buddha is more accurate though - he tried to live on 1 grain of rice a day for quite a while until he realized that starvation is not the same as enlightnement, and changed tack.

Love the idea of this though, love the lighthearted irreverence.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

At the local real estate office -

Buddha: Hi. Jesus here and I would like to see some apartments in this area, preferably within a 10 minute walk of the station, and -

Real estate agent: Do you have a guarantor?

Buddha and Jesus: A guarantor?

Real estate agent: Yes, someone who will vouch for you and make your rent payments if you renege on them or pay damages if you damage the place.

Buddha and Jesus: ....

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Real estate agent: Yes, someone who will vouch for you and make your rent payments if you renege on them or pay damages if you damage the place.

Jesus: Sure. I'll just call my dad.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Imagine if the author had included the Prophet Mohammed in the story.

With just Jeez and Buddy in the comic, there's no risk of a fatwa.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who managed to get the most out of his computer. This had been going on for days and God, was tired of hearing all of the bickering. God said, “Cool it. I am going to set up a test that will run two hours and I will judge who does the better job.” So down they sat at the keyboards and typed away. They moused away. They did spreadsheets, they wrote reports, they sent faxes, they sent out e-mail, they sent out e-mail with attachments, they downloaded, they did some genealogy reports, they made cards, they did every known job. But just a few minutes before the two hours were up, a lightening flashed across the sky. The thunder rolled and the rains came down hard. And of course the electricity went off. Satan was upset. He fumed and fussed and he ranted and raved, all to no avail. The electricity stayed off. But after a bit, the rains stopped and the electricity came back on. Satan screamed, “I lost it all when the power went off. What am I going to do? What happened to Jesus’ work?” Jesus just sat and smiled. Again Satan asked about the work that Jesus had done. As Jesus turned his computer back on the screen glowed and when he pushed “print it”, it was all there. “How did he do it.” Satan asked? God smiled and said, “Jesus Saves.”

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Heh heh. A skinny Buddha is more accurate though - he tried to live on 1 grain of rice a day for quite a while until he realized that starvation is not the same as enlightnement, and changed tack.

I always wondered why Buddha was portrayed as having a beer belly, on his diet He could hide behind a toothpick!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Look at how tolerant we can be. Just try and add Muhammed as a third flatmate and see the outrage that will ensue.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Well, they not put Muhammad and Allah in Comic because the publisher knows they will be subject of Fatwa from Muslim world. Why don't they do the same precaution apply for other religions? Every one need to be sensitive and respect for religion. Japanese entertainment does not have moral and ethical standard for that. Their only standard is money.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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