Graphic Novel Review: Osamu Tezuka's Buddha: Impressions

Do you know the meaning of the word Buddha? Of course you do. It means 'the enlightened one'. But do you remember when you learned this? Where exactly did you first hear it from? Who was it that explained to you the word's actual meaning?

You probably don't remember. And it doesn't matter either. What matters is the meaning, and you remember it.

History, all said and done, is little more than meaning. A lot happens all the time, but all we can (and probably should) take away from it, is the message. The characters and dates, like so many details in the background, don't matter in the long run.

Osamu Tezuka's epic 8-part graphic novel series Buddha is testimony to this truth.

Tezuka tells the story of the enlightened one's life and times in dazzling detail and with careless charm. He is not out to propose a faith. He doesn't seem to care a great deal for historical accuracy either. He just wants to tell a good story. And what a story he tells!

Buddha is no mere biography. It is a chronicle of entire generations. It is a map of life itself. Fates of actual and imagined characters intermingle in evermore imaginative ways as the story progresses from its beginnings years before the birth of Buddha to its conclusion in his last moments.

Tezuka's characters range from the richest to the poorest, from the noblest to the most vile, from the ordinary to the supernatural and yet, in many ways, they all seem to be one. They suffer, are happy and sad in turns, love and hate each other. After a while, they even start to look at each other.

There is a vengeful expression, a mournful and desolate one, a couple of determined and gritty ones, and some downright condescending ones. The characters share these between them as each of them goes through the same ups and downs in their lives.

They live, fear death and pain, worry about the future and fight their fates. All under the impression that they have it bad. The reader of Tezuka's epic however can't escape the all-too-obvious big picture. They are all connected and part of a greater whole.

Tezuka's version of Buddha's life story is a rendering of the artists own world view. One that he has served ers through his other works like Astroboy. Kindness is not a luxury for those who can afford it. It is an absolute necessity for the survival of the great big organism we all are part of.

The lesson is as valid today as it was in the days the story of Buddha is set in.