Manga Review: Saint Young Men, vol. 1 by Hikaru Nakamura

*I voluntarily read and reviewed and ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Title: Saint Young Men, Vol. 1
Author: Hikaru Nakamura
ISBN: 9781642126693

Genre/Theme: Graphic novel, Humor
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Series: Yes

Publisher: Kodansha Comics 
Publication Date: April 23rd 2019 (150 pages)

★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

There are saints living in Tokyo, Japan: Buddha the Enlightened One and Jesus, Son of God. After successfully bringing the previous century to a close, the two share an apartment in Tachikawa while enjoying some well-earned time off down on Earth. Buddha pinches pennies like a typical neighborhood housewife, while Jesus is prone to making impulse buys. Read all about the saintliest duo’s carefree days in Tachikawa …

Volume 1 features a specially-penned afterword by British Museum curator Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, who helped acquire pages from Saint Young Men for the British Museum genga collection.

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Review:

I’ve been waiting to read this one since I heard there was an anime of it– because of course I still haven’t gotten around to watching the show.

Anyhow, it follows Jesus and Buddha as they vacation in Japan. Like… this is comedy gold. I want to mention how and give examples, but I’m worried I’d be ruining it. I will say there is some need to know background on the religious figures, but there are explanations to some of the words, situations, punchlines in the back of the book. For the most part, just basic knowledge is needed to understand the jokes and even then I don’t think it is always truly needed– just knowing these are religious figures getting into strange situations is great.

I don’t think any of the jokes are mean-spirited or snubbing either or any religion, so no need to worry there.

I’m going to leave my review there before I start trying to repeat jokes. I recommend this to people wanting to laugh and not looking for a plot.