Manga like Jesus

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 , Male Protagonist , Slavery , Shounen , Gods , Revenge , Tragedy , Anachronism , Crime , Environmental , Nudity

Jeanne

Also known as Joan.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama

Set in Medieval France during the Hundred Years War, Joan is the story of Emil, a young woman raised as a man by Baudricourt, the same person who took Joan of Arc under his wing. Guided by visions of La Pucelle (the name given Joan by followers), Emil seeks to unite France under the divine fule of the King. In her quest, Emil goes to the same places Joan had traveled through, and gains her own followers in the process. However, Emil is opposed by the dauphin Lous, a brute enforcer who fears no divine power and wishes to make his own bid to rule the country.

Tags: Medieval , Historical , Gender Bending , Full Color , Female Protagonist , Seinen

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

Devilman

Also known as Devilman.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Horror

Hordes of demons, once thought entombed forever in the underworld, have now returned to Earth. Evil and corruption begin to seep into our world, as demons seize human hosts. Mankind’s only hope for salvation is to use the demons’ power against them–and only a pure-hearted man like Fudo Akira can do so without losing his humanity. Once little more than a crybaby, Akira now wields the terrible power of a devil, yet holds the innocent soul of a man–Devilman!



Tags: Cosmic Horror , Demons , Tragedy , War , Gore , Male Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Survival , Body Horror , Henshin , Angels , Kaiju , Nudity , Time Loop , Shounen , Amnesia , Heterosexual , LGBTQ+ Themes , Time Skip , Drugs , Boys' Love

Hokuto no Ken

Also known as Fist of the North Star.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi

One day, a wanderer appears out of the wasteland to bring justice to the guilty and hope to the people—a warrior named Ken, a man who bears seven scars upon his chest and holds the secret of a mysterious martial art known as Hokuto Shinken, the Divine Fist of the North Star!



Tags: Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , Post-Apocalyptic , Shounen , Tragedy , Gore , Gangs , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Magic , Philosophy , Disability , Time Skip

The Moon

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Mecha , Sci-Fi

"The Moon" is a giant robot created by the millionaire Baron, spending 2.5 trillion yen (at that time). Baron stated that the god is dead and created Moon as a replacement, to serve as a new power to bring justice in world of evil. He entrusts the operation to boys with a pure heart, those who can find true justice, as he believes he isn't pure of heart.

Tags: Crime , Terrorism , Shounen , Philosophy , Religion , Suicide

Hokuto no Ken: Toki Gaiden

Status: Finished
Genres: Action

Toki is a former Hokuto practitioner, and his incredible strength coped with his knowledge of the assassin art would be enough to call him devil.... But Toki's kindness and desire to help people prevent them from calling him devil, they instead can only whisper words akin to that of 'savior'.

Tags: Martial Arts , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Medicine

Dante Shinkyoku

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

Manga adaptation of Dante Alighieri's classic work, "The Divine Comedy."

Tags: Classic Literature , Historical , Religion , Body Horror , Gore , Afterlife , Philosophy , Angels , Demons , Torture , Nudity , Urban Fantasy , Amnesia

Chijou Saikyou no Otoko Ryu

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Supernatural

Karate fighter Raion Ryu is so unflinchingly powerful that, during a sanctioned match, his strikes accidentally explode his opponent into piles of steaming meat. As punishment he dons a sutra-infused mask to suppress his horrific might and goes into hiding with his psychic sister, but the two are eventually hunted down by his ex-master and the fiancé of the man Ryu killed. While their modus operandi would appear to be revenge, they follow divine instructions from up above—Destroy Ryu before he can awaken as the Antichrist! God himself has put out a hit on our masked hero.

Tags: Martial Arts , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Cosmic Horror , Philosophy , Demons , Gods , Religion , Shounen , Reincarnation