Manga like Buddha

What is Buddha about?

Status: Finished

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

Where to read?

No reading links available

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

Where to read?

Mangas.io

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

Where to read?

Viz

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Jesus

Also known as Jesus.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Jesus. Teacher, healer, savior. The story of one of the most revered figures in human history is revisited in this full-length graphic novel, featuring breathtaking full-color art by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the creator of ""Joan."" This faithful adaptation of the New Testament text follows Jesus from his days at Calvary to the time of the Crucifixion and beyond.

Tags: Religion , Historical , Full Color , Urban Fantasy

Where to read?

No reading links available

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Historie

Also known as Historie.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Psychological

After shocking the world with Parasyte, Hitoshi Iwaaki is back with a series he's been aching to tackle since even before his pro manga debut! A historical epic set in ancient times, Historie tells the story of Eumenes, a young man with quick wits and a vast destiny to fulfill. In time, he'll become a famed army commander and personal secretary to Alexander the Great—but the road to this glory is fraught with danger… "

Note: Won the 16th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize's Grand Prize in 2012. Won the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for Manga.

Tags: Historical , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Politics , Foreign , Slavery , War , Medieval , Time Skip , Nudity , Dissociative Identities , Gore , Body Horror

Where to read?

Comic Days

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Black Jack

Also known as Black Jack.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Among adult readers in Japan Black Jack is Osamu Tezuka’s most popular achievement, and perhaps the most close to the creator’s heart, as Tezuka considered entering the medical field—majoring in medicine in college—before devoting his life to comics. Black Jack is a genius surgeon who never acquired his license due to his clashes with the medical establishment. He is hired out by anyone willing to pay his exorbitant rates and is perceived as a heartless rogue because of his enigmatic nature and antisocial manner. But as readers will soon discover, that is not the whole story.

Note: Won the 1st Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen category in 1977.

Tags: Episodic , Male Protagonist , Medicine , Work , Ghost , Disability , Tragedy , Suicide , Shounen , Meta , Philosophy , Drugs , War

Where to read?

No reading links available

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Hidamari no Ki

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Edo, 1855, in the Hill of the Three Hundred district: Japan's isolationist foreign policy has been lifted, and the era of the Bakumatsu has begun. The samurai Ibuya Manjiro, 26 years old, has just begun his career as low-ranking retainer to the minor daimyo Lord Matsudaira. Tezuka Ryoan, 29, a disciple of Dutch medicine, has just been accepted as a student at Teki Academy in Osaka. Each has a temper to go with his talent, and in a time of brewing upheaval the two are not slow to find trouble, which brings them together in spite of their mutual dislike. Tezuka is called in one night to sew up Ibuya after an illicit duel; a few weeks later, Ibuya finds himself the only thing standing between Tezuka and a gang of swordsmen sent by the head of medicine for the Shogunate.

Note: Won the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga in 1984.

Tags: Seinen , Medicine , Historical , Swordplay , Samurai

Where to read?

No reading links available

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Dragon Ball

Also known as Dragon Ball.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Dragon Ball follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls for their own desires. Along the way becoming the strongest warrior in the universe.

Part II of Dragon Ball is also known as "Dragon Ball Z" in North America.

Note: Chapter count includes 519 regular chapters and 1 extra. (Volume 33's "Trunks: The Story").

Tags: Martial Arts , Shounen , Travel , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Cultivation , Time Skip , Aliens , Henshin , Coming of Age , Cyborg , Afterlife , Anachronism , Tragedy , Magic , Gods , Adoption , Military , Shapeshifting , Nudity , Robots , Rural , Dragons , Dissociative Identities

Where to read?

MANGA Plus

Viz

Viz MANGA Plus

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Akkanbe Ikkyu

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

This is a biography of the famous Buddhist monk Ikkyu from the late Hisashi Sakaguchi. Set in 14th century Japan, Ikkyu must learn to live and excel as a monk, despite the fact that his father is the emperor. His intelligence and purity help him succeed, but he continues to get the short end of the stick in life. Can Ikkyu perservere in his quest for spirituality in spite of everything that is set against him?

[Source: Omanga.net]

Tags: Historical , Philosophy , Religion , Seinen , Cult

Where to read?

No reading links available

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Tenmaku no Jaadugar

Also known as A Witch's Life in Mongol.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama

In the harem of the Khan, wisdom is beauty. The time: the thirteenth century. The place: Yeke Mongol Ulus, the greatest empire the world has ever known. The woman: Fatima, hailing from Persia, where medical technique and scientific knowledge have been perfected beyond all precedent. Fatima's desire for a stage where she can put all her knowledge to work has brought her to the palace of the Mongols, where she falls under the wing of Töregene, the sixth wife of Ögedei, the second Great Khan—a mighty woman with complicated feelings about the direction of the empire. These two women are the axle upon which the politics of the palace, and soon the very world, will turn... Note: Nominated for the Manga Taishou Award in 2023 and 2024.

Tags: Historical , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Josei , Revenge , Espionage , Biographical , Kingdom Management , Slavery , War , Desert , Educational , Royal Affairs , Military , Politics , Tragedy , Arranged Marriage , Orphan , Time Skip , Travel , Religion , Conspiracy

Where to read?

No reading links available

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Manga de Wakaru Buddha no Ikikata

Also known as The Story of Buddha: A Graphic Biography.

Status: Finished
Genres:

What is happiness? What's the point of living the way I do, day in and day out? Twenty-five hundred years ago, in his youth, Buddha (Shakyamuni) had the same nagging questions that we do today. He never avoided them or gave up the search for answers, but devoted himself earnestly to discovering the meaning of life. That search is the starting point of Buddhism. Precisely because he agonized more than others, Buddha also attained a happiness greater than that of anyone else. In our desire to live with strength and good cheer, the life of Buddha is sure to provide invaluable insight.

Tags: Historical

Where to read?

No reading links available

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