Buddha

Buddha is a controversial manga that was created by Dr. Osamu Tezuka. Dr. Tezuka is a very well-known manga artist, or mangaka, and was actually the creator of the popular manga, Astro Boy. He has been compared to Walt Disney, and has, in fact, been called the Walt Disney of Japan. He is also known as the father of Anime. Budda has become a highly acclaimed series, albeit a controversial one. It is a portrayal of the life of Buddha, going further than some stories ever do.

Synopsis

There is no one real plot to Buddha. The manga stays true to his stories, but expands upon it. It also introduces quite a few fictional characters that were not present in Buddha’s time. It is about Buddha, also known as “The Enlightened One”, who attempts to bring peace and harmony to ancient India. It is a time when famine and warfare rule the world. Buddha is actually the prince, Siddhartha, who tries his best to learn and to grow and to help his people.

Characters

There are a number of characters in this series. These are some of the main ones.

• Siddhartha Gautama/Buddha – The series starts with the birth of Buddha. He grows up as a prince and ends up leaving his palace to live the life of a monk. He ends up struggling through the process, but finally reaches enlightenment in book four of the series. Book eight is the final chapter, showing Buddha’s death.

• Princess Yashodara – Princess Yashodara was a princess who fell in love with Prince Siddhartha. He married her, even though he did not want to, and ended up fathering a son named Rahula.

• Chapra – Chapra is not a real person. He is a fictional person who ended up becoming the adopted son of a general. He acts as a rich man, but is, in fact, a poor orphan.

• Prince Ajasattu – He tries to kill Buddha, and ends up falling in love with a slave. He ends up having a tumor, that gets cured by Buddha.

• Tatta – Tatta is a fictional character, and a thief. He ends up becoming a trusted disciple of Buddha, dying at the end of the series.

• Migaila – Migaila is a bandit. She is extremely sexy and Buddha ends up falling in love with her. She tries to marry him, and gets her eyes burnt out as a result. She ends up marrying Tatta and having children.

• Asaji – Asaji ends up becoming a part of the band when his father, a huntsman, asks Buddha to take Asaji along with their band. Buddha refuses, and Asaji ends up following him. He ends up becoming ill because he followed him, and Buddha becomes his savior. He ends up sucking pus from his body and Asaji becomes able to predict the future.

• Devadatta – Devadatta is one of Buddha’s first followers. He gets upset when he learns that he will not be Buddha’s successor, and eventually plots to kill him.