Buddha by Tezuka Osamu

Tezuka Osamu was a mangaka most well known for being prolific figure in the manga genre, having been dubbed the father of manga for his pioneering methods and starting an artistic revolution after World War II. His most well known works that I have been aware of has been Astroboy and Kimba the Lion. Buddha is a more adult oriented manga, depicting the life of the great founder of Buddhism. The content is brutally honest in execution, mercilessly depicting the lifestyle of the caste system and the brahmin in India. It is rather explicit, with Chapra even getting pissed on by a gang family. It depicts the ambiguity of society in all forms, where all people are capable of doing good and evil acts, and doesn't hesitate to show the gritty side of life. I thought the flow of the manga was rather confusing, and often didn't know which panel was the next one to be reading, but it is genuinely a more interesting and intriguing interpretation of Gautama Buddha's life and ascension. Tezuka achieves this firstly by beginning the story from the perspective of a lowly slave, bringing an already unique perspective to society and life in India during this time period. The art style is very rubbery and simple, and brings a lot of reminiscence to the Astroboy manga, showcasing the rubberhose-y arms and very organic lines of action, making actions and intentions by characters perfectly clear and visually appealing. The panels, while sometimes confusing to understand the story, individually the panels are easy to understand physically what is happening. Overall, the manga is very fun to read, and the dynamic poses make up for the confusing structure of the story pages.