Manga like Akkanbe Ikkyu

Vagabond

Also known as Vagabond.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

At seventeen years of age, Miyamoto Musashi--still known by his childhood name, Shinmen Takezo--was a wild young brute just setting out along the way of the sword.

In the aftermath of the epic Battle of Sekigahara, Takezo finds himself a fugitive survivor on the losing side of the war. Takezo's vicious nature has made him an outcast even in his own village, and he is hunted down like an animal. At this crucial crossroads in Takezo's life, an eccentric monk and a childhood friend are the only ones who can help him find his way.



Tags: Samurai , Seinen , Swordplay , Historical , Travel , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , Disability , Tragedy , Survival , Cultivation , Biographical , Gore , Rural , Heterosexual , War , Agriculture , Ghost , Outdoor Activities , Classic Literature , Language Barrier , Fugitive , Nudity , Afterlife ,

Buddha

Also known as Buddha.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Supernatural

Osamu Tezuka’s vaunted storytelling genius, consummate skill at visual expression, and warm humanity blossom fully in his epic volumes on Siddhartha’s life and times. Tezuka evidences his profound grasp of the subject by contextualizing the Buddha’s ideas; the emphasis is on movement, action, emotion, and conflict as the prince Siddhartha runs away from home, travels across India, and questions Hindu practices such as ascetic self-mutilation and caste oppression. Rather than recommend resignation and impassivity, Tezuka’s Buddha predicates enlightenment upon recognizing the interconnectedness of life, having compassion for the suffering, and ordering one’s life sensibly. Philosophical segments are threaded into interpersonal situations with ground-breaking visual dynamism by an artist who makes sure never to lose his readers’ attention.



Note: Won the Bungei Shunju Manga Award in 1975 and the Best U.S. Edition of International Material for the Eisner Award in 2004 and 2005.

Tags: Philosophy , Historical , Religion , Foreign , War , Rehabilitation , Biographical , Slavery , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Gods , Tragedy , Environmental , Crime , Anachronism , Nudity , Meta , Slapstick

Hi no Tori

Also known as Phoenix.

Status: Cancelled
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Sci-Fi

"All things are born and all things die. That is the law of heaven." According to legend, the Bird of Fire called the Phoenix is the eternal spirit of life, death and rebirth. She oversees the cycle of reincarnation and the rising and falling of civilizations and species. Those who can obtain her blood will be granted eternal life, while to others she can grant infinite wisdom, or eternal suffering. Throughout history, from the dawn of civilization to the extinction of the human race, those human souls touched by the Phoenix have hunted her over and over in multiple reincarnations, and their actions in one life determine or reflect the sins and sufferings of other lifetimes.



Note: This is an incomplete series due to Tezuka's death.

Tags: Philosophy , Reincarnation , War , Episodic , Historical , Achronological Order , Environmental , Time Skip , Mythology , Space , Dystopian , Anachronism , Gods , Coming of Age , Artificial Intelligence , Robots , Primarily Adult Cast , Shounen , Tragedy , Cyberpunk , Male Protagonist , Body Swapping , Fugitive , Revenge , Incest , Anti-Hero , Aliens , Post-Apocalyptic , Satire , Love Triangle , Amnesia , Age Regression , Ensemble Cast , Swordplay , Clone

Planetes

Also known as Planetes.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Haunted by a space flight accident that claimed the life of his beloved wife, Yuri finds himself six years later as part of a team of debris cleaners on a vessel called the Toy Box charged with clearing space junk from space flight paths. The team consists of Hachimaki, a hot shot debris-man with a sailor's affinity for the orbital ocean; Fee, a chain-smoking tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge; and Pops, a veteran orbital mechanic whose avuncular presence soothes the stress of the job.



Tags: Work , Space , Philosophy , Environmental , Seinen , Politics , Family Life , Terrorism , Educational , Tragedy , Iyashikei , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Episodic , Nudity , Time Skip