Kapilavastu (Buddha, Vol. 1) (original 1974; edition 2003)

The beginning of a great series. (Full review to come after volume 8.) ( )

Kapilavastu is a funny and exciting book that begins Tezuka's epic saga of the life of the Buddha. The two Tezuka-interpreted Buddhist themes in this volume are interestingly told and tastefully depicted: the treatment of animals as equals are and the injustices of the Hindu caste system of ancient India, i.e. if you are born a slave or Shudra, regardless of your merits or how good or kind you are in life, you be discriminated by the state and you will die a hated slave. In this story, (everybody) who is a Shudra, from a devoted mother and her courageous son, to an entire village of slaves, are betrayed and murdered outright for the whims of the higher castes. When Buddha reaches adulthood, as the old stories told, he will preach for a casteless society. Anywho, I'm wondering how this volume and its characters will play into the overall saga for at this moment they seem tangential to the Buddha. Also, Tezuka has a way, esp. at the end, to subdue and submerge tragedy and vengeance in humour. The cameos from Astro Boy's Professor Ochanomizu and from the author himself were hilarious.

The tale of the Buddha's life is told peripherally to those of fictional, central characters. There is Tatta, an untouchable who can inhabit the bodies of animals. He is joined by Chapra, a slave who wants to become a warrior. Also there is Chapra's mother and a young monk. Their lives are impacted by the birth of the Buddha.

I picked this up excitedly expecting it to be a graphic novel telling of the life of the Buddha, but instead it is the story of others alive during his lifetime and how their lives intertwine a bit with that of a great man. The art style is interesting. Somewhere between manga and more western-style animation with easy to tell apart characters. Buddhist ideals and morals trickle in throughout the story, which is fun to see in a work of fiction. The main story itself fell flat for me though. It mostly focuses in on Chapra attempting to become a great warrior and save his mother from being a slave, which I fail to see how that relates to the Buddha. As I said, though, this book was not what I was expecting, and I don't tend to really go for warrior/mother tales. Except Oedipus.

Overall, the art is an interesting style and some of the ideas contained within the book are fun to see in fiction, but the main storyline separate from Buddha's life simply did not resonate with me. Perhaps it will with you.

Check out my full review: http://wp.me/pp7vL-C0 (Link will be live on November 9, 2011). ( )

After reading MW and Ode to Kirihito earlier this year I wanted to read more by Osama Tezuka, and I’ve seen his Buddha series in the stores I finally started reading it. This book, part one of eight, is just the introduction to the story. Siddharta is not featured in many pages, and only as a new born. Instead we are introduced to other characters, also very special. They make this a great book, with fantastic stories, all while explaining the setting and back story.
I loved Tezuka’s style even better in this book. There are some great inside jokes, including cameos, references to modern culture. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series. ( )

It is horrific and mystical. It has love, death, and a lot of adventure.
5Q, 5P; Cover Art: Awesome!
This book is best suited for highschoolers and adults.
It was selected because it just looked interesting.
Grade (of reviewer): 11th
(MK-AHS-NC)