Buddha
Buddha Statue at Dawn (2009). In the public domain. Accessed from Wikimedia Commons. Given my interest in reading manga, I was excited to know that we would have the chance to read and discuss Buddha, a work by the famed manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Although I knew the work would be touching on themes much […]
Buddha (vol. 1) and Pop Culture
One of the things that I found most striking about Buddha (Vol. 1) by Osamu Tezuka is the juxtaposition between the story itself and the frequent popular/modern culture references that are made throughout, including the way in which the art … Continue reading →
Comical Conjectures on the Art of Comics
According to my father, there is a play out there titled simply Art. The main issue in this play is apparently that one character buys a canvas painted white for an exorbitant price, which leads to a series of jokes/conjectures regarding the state … Continue reading →
Visual Language in Tezuka’s Buddha Vol. 1
In Arts One this week we read Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha: Kapilavastu, which is the first volume in Tezuka’s Buddha series. As usual for Arts One, there was so much to talk about and I wanted to raise some issues and questions that we didn’t get time to discuss. The problem is that I left my […]
The power of castes
Hi all, For today’s presentation I wanted to focus on castes in the book. Throughout the whole book most of the characters suffer from their caste and the way the have to live because of it. Chapra’s main goal is to escape his slave condition and become a general, or a king. I was a bit surprised […]
Visual context
The context in which art in placed can completely change the meaning that we interpret from it. When reading and examining Buddha we are more concerned with the relationship between each image than with than we are with each image alone. This then brings attention to the traditions and shots being used on each page […]
Tatta: Comic Relief or Substance?
In Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha (Volume 1) involves the character of Tatta, a boy of the lowest class in society to the point of being barely considered apart of it. It is revealed throughout the story that Tatta has some extraordinary powers and morals. His ability to transfer his soul into the bodies of animals, and his […]
“Sons and Lovers”? No, “[Mothers] and Sons”
Hello all! Further to our discussion last day, I’d like to summarize and flesh out my points a little bit regarding the relationship between Chapra and his mother – I think my discussion was a bit too hasty, and I apologize. The three main points I had wanted to discuss were: The suggested nature of […]
Reading Buddha = Oedipus Flashbacks
I don’t know if it was just me, but didn’t some concepts in Tezuka’s Buddha remind anyone of anything? Because for me, I got little glimpses of flashbacks back to Oedipus Rex. Yeah, THAT far back. The main aspect I picked up on was that both texts explore the themes of fate in a sense.…
Mirror Images
Looking at the picture of the manga-filled bookshelf that Dr. Lieblang featured in his lecture slides, I laughed a quiet and somewhat embarrassed laugh, for my bookshelf at home was very similar in appearance. Sandwiched between a battered copy of Katherine Stockett’s The Help and Margret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake sits volumes 54 to 72 of Masashi Kishimoto’s ninja manga Naruto. … Continue reading “Mirror Images”