Cloud of Muses

Image taken from Google Images

If Jesus Christ and Buddha would descend on Earth, what would happen? Where would they live? How would they assimilate into the society? Saint Oniisan or Saint Young Men is the answer to that. Illustrated and written by Nakamura Hikaru, Saint Oniisan is not your typical shounen or shoujo manga. It is a slice of life comedy manga series which revolves around Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha who have decided to take a break and live as roommates in Tokyo, Japan.  Although the manga might sound a little controversial, it is surprisingly well-received by the Japanese and garnered positive reviews.

Image taken from Google Images

When I first stumbled upon Saint Oniisan, I was rather skeptical as I was worried that it was filled with many negative points about both religions, Christianity and Buddhism. Living in a society, where pinpointing on religious matters are considered a taboo, I was afraid that Saint Oniisan is simply a manga with horrible religious jokes.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. The jokes are on point. Normally, making jokes about religion especially on major religions are considered sensitive and create an uncomfortable atmosphere. However, in Saint Oniisan, the jokes are done perfectly and are on point with the scenes. For example, Jesus accidentally parts the water of the hot springs and pool, Buddha cries while reading Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha, a Yakuza getting the wrong idea when Jesus nonchalantly answer that it was the ‘government’ who wounded him.
What I love about Saint Oniisan is its happy Jesus concept. In contrary to every Jesus’s serious portrayal in Christian-related books, in this manga, Jesus is described as a cheerful, laid-back person who is actually just like us. He has a Vaio, a blog, and a weeaboo. Even Buddha is shown to be a relaxed person behind his ascetic like personality. He often visits the manga café, rushing to stores when there are cheap sales and draws his own manga. It is enjoyable to read about stories where two holiest beings are being humanized. It helps us to be able to relate to our own political and religious leaders better.

Image source taken from Google Images

In short, Saint Oniisan or Saint Young Men is a perfect manga to act as an ice breaker between Christian, Buddhist, and Shintoist. It shows us the possible of humans of varying beliefs to be able to get on good terms with each other as what we have seen Jesus and Buddha being roommates in their apartment in Tokyo, Japan.

Cloud of Muses Ratings
Story                 8.0/10
Art                    3.8/5
Characters        8.5/10
Total score       20.3/25 


Read the manga here! 


To read more reviews about the manga by other bloggers, click here!

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Watch the trailer of the anime here!