Saint Oniisan is slice-of-life, or divine-life, tale of Jesus and Buddha
as they try to experience the modern world: in this case, Japan. The
manga places a funny twist on religion, attitudes, culture and customs
in Japan through the eyes of Jesus and Buddha.
You see Jesus and
Buddha experiencing Asakusa, public baths, theme parks, and the
internet. Throughout the manga, we get a little history of their divine
greatness only to see their apparent insignificance in modern Japanese
society. Suffice to say, before people can recognize that they’re
actually Jesus and Buddha, people think of them as someone who looks
like Johnny Depp or a guy with a button on his forehead. For real.
Note: Won the Tezuka Osamu Short story Award in 2009 and it was nominated for the 2nd Manga Taisho Award in 2009.
