Saint Young Men Explained

Ja Kanji:聖☆おにいさん
Ja Romaji:Seinto Oniisan
Type:manga
Author:Hikaru Nakamura
Publisher:Kodansha
Demographic:
First:September 22, 2006
Volumes:21
Type:OAD
Director:Noriko Takao
Studio:A-1 Pictures
First:December 3, 2012
Last:August 23, 2013
Episodes:2
Runtime:15–26 minutes
Type:film
Studio:A-1 Pictures
Runtime:90 minutes
Portal:yes

is a Japanese slice of life comedy manga series written and illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura. Its plot involves Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, who are living as roommates in an apartment in Tokyo. It has been serialized by Kodansha in the monthly manga magazine since September 2006, with chapters collected in twenty-one volumes as of March 2024. Kodansha USA has been publishing the series in English in an omnibus edition since December 2019. A-1 Pictures adapted the manga series into two original animation DVDs (OADs) and an anime film which was released on May 10, 2013. It also inspired a ten-episode live-action web series in 2018.

In Japan, the Saint Young Men manga has sold over 16 million copies. Individual volumes of the series have frequently appeared on lists of the weekly and annual best-seller manga in Japan. It received a Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2009 and was nominated for a Manga Taishō Award in the same year. It was also nominated for Best Comic at the 2012 Angoulême International Comics Festival. Its film adaptation has been well received by the Japanese public.

Overview

and, the central figures of Christianity and Buddhism respectively, are living together as roommates in an apartment in Tachikawa, part of the suburbs of Tokyo. While taking a vacation on Earth, they attempt to hide their identities and understand modern Japanese society. Each chapter shows their lives during an average day, when they are sightseeing, drinking beer, blogging, or playing video games.

While Jesus is portrayed as an impassioned person for his love for all (even for shopping), Buddha tends to be calm and thrifty, and also likes manga. The comedy often involves visual gags and puns, as well as jokes in reference to elements of Christianity and Buddhism; for example, Jesus creates wine from water in a public bath and Buddha shines when excited.

Production

Before writing Saint Young Men, Hikaru Nakamura was working on Arakawa Under the Bridge, which began serialization on December 3, 2004, in the first issue of Square Enix's manga magazine Young Gangan.[1] It attracted the attention of an editor of the magazine Weekly Morning, who wanted Nakamura to publish a series for the magazine. She accepted the offer because of her admiration for Kaiji Kawaguchi's works, such as Zipang and The Silent Service, that were serialized in Weekly Morning. The series' title is derived from a song by Denki Groove and Scha Dara Parr called .[2] Starting from sketches of two friends wearing casual shirts, she conceived the idea of portraying Jesus and Buddha as average people.[3]

Nakamura envisioned a comedy manga in which the protagonist would be a "very very powerful character", and realized a divine character would fit this premise. She first planned Jesus to be a character in the series, but to make the gags work well, Buddha was added to the series. Their opposing personalities were inspired by Nakamura's sister and her sister's husband; by observing their relationship, she saw some amusing situations.[4] She also saw a resemblance between her version of Buddha and Osamu Tezuka's version.[5]

Despite the religious references in the series, Nakamura stated she used only her personal knowledge and some aspects of modern society, such as yakuza and blogging, which were not intended to be critical but were added because they fit the story.[4] Similarly, secondary characters were only introduced in the series if a chapter needed a new character to introduce a topic. The themes of the chapters were created before the situations and jokes. However, if Nakamura had a specific theme, she created several jokes and then connected them to form a story. When creating a simpler chapter as compared to the more elaborate, thematic ones, she wrote without worrying about creating jokes and situations in advance. With the help of her four assistants, on average she took between ten days and two weeks to make a complete chapter.[4]

Media

Manga

Saint Young Men, written and illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura, began its serialization in Kodansha's manga magazine on September 26, 2006.[6] The series was put on hiatus between September 22, 2011, and March 22, 2012, because of Nakamura's pregnancy.[7] [8] The magazine ceased print publication and moved to a digital release starting on August 4, 2022.[9] [10] Its first (collected volume) was released by Kodansha on January 23, 2008, and the twenty-second volume was published on March 22, 2024. A guidebook was released on April 23, 2013.[11]

In 2010, Jason Thompson reported that Ed Chavez, editor of the American publisher Vertical, contacted the Japanese licensor of the series to request its publishing in North America. The Japanese licensor of the series refused to allow it to be published in North America, because it was thought that Americans might take offense to it.[12] However, in April 2019 Kodansha Comics announced that it acquired the rights to publish the manga digitally.[13] After two volumes were released digitally between April and June 2019,[14] [15] the publisher announced in July its plans to publish the manga in print.[16] Nevertheless, a third digital volume was released in October[17] before the first 2-in-1 omnibus hardcover volume was released on December 17, 2019.

The series has also been translated in other languages, including Chinese by Tong Li Publishing,[18] French by Kurokawa,[19] German by Egmont Manga,[20] Italian by J-Pop,[21] and Spanish by Norma Editorial.[22]

Volumes

Anime

The production of an anime film was first announced in issue 44 of Weekly Morning.[23] Before the film release, a guidebook to the film was published on April 30, 2013.[24] The film was directed by Noriko Takao and written by Rika Nezu. Its characters were designed by Naoyuki Asano and the music was composed by Keiichi Suzuki and Ryomei Shirai.[25] The film was produced by Aniplex, Kodansha and Toho, was animated by A-1 Pictures, and distributed by Toho.[25] It premiered in Japan on May 10, 2013.[26] On May 8, 2013, its soundtrack was published by Aniplex and the main theme "Gag" was released on Speedstar Records.[27] Later, on October 23, 2013, it was released in DVD and Blu-ray formats.[28] In addition to the film, the same staff produced an original animation DVD (OAD) that was released along with the eighth manga volume.[25] A second OAD was released along with the ninth volume.[29]

In an interview with NHK World, the staff for the anime noted that they wanted to stay loyal to the artwork of the manga while creating the movie.[30] They decided to focus more on the art and character designs, and decided to give it a "sketched" look, instead of the traditional "bold, dark lines" typically used. All the shadows were colored by pencils, sometimes even scribbled to make sure that the "sketched" look came through. Like the manga, the anime film also recreates various attractions of Tachikawa, including the Showa Memorial Park.[30]

Live-action

In November 2016, a live-action drama series adaptation of the manga was announced with no further details.[31] The following month, Yūichi Fukuda was revealed to be the director and screenwriter, while Takayuki Yamada was announced as the producer.[32] Only in February 2018, the main actors were unveiled; Ken'ichi Matsuyama playing Jesus and Shōta Sometani playing Buddha.[33] In April, it was set to debut in the summer of that year on Kakao Japan's streaming service Piccoma TV,[34] but, by June, it changed to fall.[35] Starting on October 12, 2018, the web series received a two-week limited screening in over 40 AEON theaters.[36] It was followed by the premiere on Piccoma TV on October 18;[36] the same day a special screening with staff and cast was also held in Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills.[37] The first six-minute episode out of ten was also made available through YouTube.[36]

In February 2019, a second and a third season were announced through the Monthly Morning Two magazine.[38] A teaser and a poster for the second season were released in April, when it was also announced that the ten-episode season would stream online on Piccoma TV on June 1 and in theaters starting on June 6.[39] [40] NHK General TV rebroadcast the first season between June and July 2019,[41] and planned to show the second season on October 5 and 12, 2019.[42] Only the first half of the second season was broadcast in October because of the Typhoon Hagibis and it had to be rescheduled to January 25, 2020.[43] The ten-episode third season premiered and finished before it on NHK, on January 11 and 18, 2020 respectively.[43]

A live-action movie, called Sei ☆ onīsan THE movie ~ holymen VS akuma gundan ~ is set to be released in theaters on December 20, 2024. Matsuyama and Sometani are to reprise their roles from the series.[44]

Reception

Manga

Saint Young Men received the 2009 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Short Work Manga.[45] The 2009 edition of Takarajimasha's guidebook Kono Manga ga Sugoi!, which surveys people in the manga and publishing industry, named it the best manga series for male readers.[46] It was nominated for the 2009 Manga Taishō Award[47] and for the category "Best Comic" at the 2012 Angoulême International Comics Festival.[23] As the result of its popularity, issues of Monthly Morning Two started selling out on newsstands; because of this, in May 2009 Kodansha began making the magazine available online the day it is published.[48] It has been among the top 20 of best-selling manga series in Japan in 2009, 2011, and 2013.[49] [50] [51] All the first eleven individual volumes appeared on lists of the 50 best-selling manga of their respective year in Japan, while the 12th featured in the top 100;[52] volume 15 was also among the top 50 best-selling manga of the year,[53] and volume 16 was the 35th best-selling manga in the first half of 2019.[54] By June 2018, the manga had sold about 16 million copies in Japan.[55] The manga was also displayed at the British Museum in 2011.[30] In 2014, The Daily Dot reported a growing Western fandom that spread various Tumblr GIFs of the series.[56]

Comics writer Paul Gravett chose it as one of the best comics of Japan in 2008,[57] while writers Shaenon Garrity and Jason Thompson elected it as one of the most wanted titles for licensing in 2010.[58] In 2014, writing for the newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, German critic Anne Maren Delseit elected it the third best comic book of the year.[59] Japanese manga critic Kaoru Nagayama has noted that the manga is "fun to read" and commended Nakamura for keeping Jesus and Buddha faithful to their real character—of kindness—even when confronted by evil.[30] Carlo Santos from Anime News Network criticized it for its art and questioned its capacity to evolve into something other than "Jesus and Buddha hanging out, while normal people do embarrassing things to them". Santos complained that Jesus' and Buddha's philosophical differences and personalities are not explored. However, Santos praised the series' comedy, noting its simplicity and saying, "its brilliance comes not from purposely trivializing two of the world's great religions, but by highlighting the quirks of the secular world when these famous religious figures are placed in it". According to him, the series does not lose its capacity of making readers laugh as it progresses, unlike other manga.[60] Jolyon Baraka Thomas of The Guardian praised the constancy of "visual gags and puns", and wrote: "Her story is not an introduction to abstruse religious doctrines, nor does it feature much overt commentary on the role of religions in contemporary society."[61]

Film

The anime film adaptation of Saint Young Men debuted at number nine in Japanese theaters, grossing ¥49,930,836 (US$491,369) on 75 screens.[62] In the subsequent weekends it decreased on its placement from nine to eleven,[63] and then to twelve,[64] closing its run with ¥300 million yen ($1,888,062) grossed.[65] [66] Its DVD release ranked seventh on its first week on the list of best-selling anime DVDs in Japan, dropping to twenty-ninth place on its second week on the list.[67] [68]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 創刊号【2004.12.17号】/ バックナンバー / ヤングガンガン. Square Enix. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20131213130052/http://www.square-enix.co.jp/magazine/yg/backnumber/backnumber001.shtml. dead. December 13, 2013.
  2. Rockin'On Japan. November 2008. Rockin'on inc.. Tokyo. none.
  3. Web site: Manga no Hi Part 1. https://archive.today/20080702002315/http://manganohi.jp/2008/05/12183.html. July 2, 2008. Also included: Part 2 (Archived from the original on May 27, 2008) and Part 3 (Archived from the original on July 2, 2008).
  4. Web site: Nakamura Hikaru - Interview. Manga-News. fr. July 5, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141210235826/http://www.manga-news.com/index.php/auteur/interview/NAKAMURA-Hikaru. December 10, 2014. live.
  5. Web site: Conférence d'Hikaru Nakamura. April 22, 2013. Manga-News. fr. January 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141210235036/http://www.manga-news.com/index.php/actus/2013/04/22/Conference-dHikaru-Nakamura. December 10, 2014. live.
  6. Web site: モーニング2 vol.1. https://web.archive.org/web/20070710144624/http://www.e-1day.jp/morning2/magazine/2006/09/22_1446.html. July 10, 2007. Morning. ja.
  7. Web site: Saint Young Men Manga Put on Hold Due to Pregnancy. Loo, Egan. August 22, 2011. Anime News Network. November 12, 2013.
  8. Web site: Saint Young Men Manga to Resume in March. February 21, 2012. Sherman, Jennifer. Anime News Network. November 12, 2013.
  9. Web site: ja:モーニング・ツーがWebマンガサイトとして再創刊、8月4日より毎週木曜日に更新. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/486459. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. January 23, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230320064958/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/486459. March 20, 2023. ja. July 22, 2022. live.
  10. Web site: Pineda. Rafael. Morning Two Magazine Moves to Digital Release in August. Anime News Network. January 23, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230926154721/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-07-23/morning-two-magazine-moves-to-digital-release-in-august/.187842. September 26, 2023. July 23, 2022. live.
  11. Web site: http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/product?isbn=9784063768152. ja:聖☆おにいさん コミックガイド. Saint Young Men Comic guide. Kodansha. August 5, 2014. ja.
  12. Web site: Jesus - Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga. October 14, 2010. Thompson, Jason. Anime News Network. November 12, 2013. Jason Thompson (writer).
  13. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Kodansha USA Publishes Saint Young Men Manga Digitally. Anime News Network. April 5, 2019. April 4, 2019.
  14. Web site: North American Anime, Manga Releases, April 21–27. Sherman, Jennifer. April 25, 2019. Anime News Network. October 7, 2019.
  15. Web site: North American Anime, Manga Releases, June 16–22. Sherman, Jennifer. June 19, 2019. Anime News Network. October 7, 2019.
  16. Web site: Kodansha Licenses 6 New Manga, Acquires Saiyuki, Chobits, Clover. Pineda, Rafael Antonio. July 6, 2019. Anime News Network. October 7, 2019.
  17. Web site: North American Anime, Manga Releases, June 16–22. Sherman, Jennifer. October 15, 2019. Anime News Network. December 24, 2019.
  18. Web site: http://www.tongli.com.tw/BooksList.aspx?B=KD0342. zh:《聖哥傳》中村光. Tong Li Publishing. zh. https://web.archive.org/web/20160813090953/http://www.tongli.com.tw/BooksList.aspx?B=KD0342. August 13, 2016.
  19. Web site: Les Vacances de Jésus et Bouddha - T1. Kurokawa. fr. https://web.archive.org/web/20141211002042/http://www.kurokawa.fr/site/les_vacances_de_jesus_et_bouddha_t1_&100&9782351425879.html. live. December 11, 2014.
  20. Web site: Saint Young Men 01. Egmont Manga. January 17, 2021. de.
  21. Web site: Saint Young Men 001. J-Pop. it. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192820/http://www.j-pop.it/saint-young-men/3078-saint-young-men-001.html. March 4, 2016.
  22. Book: Las vacaciones de Jesús y Buda. Norma Editorial. January 22, 2014. es. https://web.archive.org/web/20140726164214/http://normaeditorial.com/ficha.asp?0/0/012630001/0/las_vacaciones_de_jesus_y_buda_01. July 26, 2014. live.
  23. Web site: Saint Young Men Comedy Manga Gets Anime Film. September 26, 2012. Loo, Egan. September 26, 2012. Anime News Network.
  24. Web site: http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/product?isbn=9784063768473. ja:アニメ映画『聖☆おにいさん』公式ガイド. Anime Film "Saint Young Men" Official guide. Kodansha. August 5, 2014. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20141108013031/http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/product?isbn=9784063768473. November 8, 2014. live.
  25. Web site: Saint Young Men Manga's Anime DVD, Film Staff Revealed. Loo, Egan. September 26, 2012. Anime News Network. November 13, 2013.
  26. Web site: Saint Young Men Anime Film Slated for May 10. November 17, 2012. November 18, 2012. Anime News Network.
  27. Web site: ミュージック / 聖おにいさん. Saint023.com. December 21, 2023. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20140823185139/http://www.saint023.com/music/. August 23, 2014. live.
  28. Web site: https://www.aniplexplus.com/itemkXnvVeet. ja:聖☆おにいさん. Saint Young Men. Aniplex. November 13, 2013. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20140805042142/https://www.aniplexplus.com/itemkXnvVeet. August 5, 2014. live.
  29. Web site: 聖☆おにいさん9巻、映画のその後描いたアニメDVD付きも. Saint Young Men Vol. 9, also anime DVD drawn after the film. August 23, 2013. Natasha. Comic Natalie. November 13, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20141108014551/http://natalie.mu/comic/news/97799. November 8, 2014. live.
  30. Saint Young Men! Creator's Interview. Imagine-Nation. NHK World. May 21, 2013. 10. 11:30 AM (EDT). ja.
  31. Web site: Morning Two Magazine Teases Live-Action Adaptation For Saint Young Men Manga. November 20, 2016. Anime News Network. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. December 23, 2018.
  32. Web site: Takayuki Yamada, Yūichi Fukuda Involved in Live-Action Saint Young Men. December 21, 2016. Anime News Network. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. February 17, 2021.
  33. Web site: Live-Action Saint Young Men Casts Ken'ichi Matsuyama as Jesus, Shōta Sometani as Buddha. February 19, 2018. Anime News Network. Ressler, Karen. December 23, 2018.
  34. Web site: Live-Action Saint Young Men Show Debuts This Summer. Sherman, Jennifer. April 17, 2018. Anime News Network. 25 July 2018.
  35. Web site: Live-Action Saint Young Men Show Reveals Visual, VR Video. Sherman, Jennifer. June 20, 2018. Anime News Network. 25 July 2018.
  36. Web site: 1st Episode of Live-Action Saint Young Men Series Streams on YouTube. October 21, 2018. Anime News Network. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. December 23, 2018.
  37. Web site: Live-Action Saint Young Men Net Series Debuts on October 18. September 29, 2018. Anime News Network. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. December 23, 2018.
  38. Web site: Live-Action Saint Young Men Series Listed With 2nd, 3rd Seasons. February 19, 2019. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. Anime News Network. December 24, 2019.
  39. Web site: 2nd Live-Action Saint Young Men Season's Teaser Video Reveals June 1 Premiere. April 19, 2019. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. Anime News Network. December 24, 2019.
  40. Web site: Live-Action Saint Young Men II Show's Trailer Teases Jesus, Buddha's Akiba Pilgrimage. May 12, 2019. Loo, Egan. Anime News Network. December 24, 2019.
  41. Web site: 聖☆おにいさん:制作総指揮・山田孝之が地上波初放送と同時にコメンタリ…. https://web.archive.org/web/20190705122520/https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20190622-847224/. July 5, 2019. June 22, 2019. MyNavi News. December 24, 2019. ja.
  42. Web site: 「聖☆おにいさん 第II紀」NHKで地上波初放送、山田裕貴もゲスト出演. September 19, 2019. MyNavi News. December 24, 2019. ja.
  43. Web site: Live-Action Saint Young Men III Season Slated for January 11, 18. November 19, 2019. Anime News Network. Pineda, Rafael Antonio. January 17, 2021.
  44. Web site: 9 May 2024 . 松山ケンイチ×染谷将太『聖☆おにいさん』初の実写映画化 監督は福田雄一 中村光氏が長編エピソード描き下ろし【コメントあり】 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240510121446/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2326198/full/ . 10 May 2024 . 10 May 2024 . Oricon . Japanese.
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  46. Web site: http://mantan-web.jp/2013/05/11/20130511dog00m200012000c.html. ja:注目映画紹介 :「聖☆おにいさん」 イエスとブッダが“奇跡”的な笑いを繰り広げる. May 11, 2013. Mainichi Shimbun Digital. ja. February 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20140817120240/http://mantan-web.jp/2013/05/11/20130511dog00m200012000c.html. August 17, 2014. dead.
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  48. Web site: Morning 2 Mag Posted Online for Free on Shipping Date. Anime News Network. Loo, Egan. May 21, 2009. December 10, 2013.
  49. Web site: 2009's Top-Selling Manga in Japan, by Series. Loo, Egan. Anime News Network. December 4, 2009. December 10, 2013.
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  52. References for the best-selling manga from 2008 to 2015:
  53. Web site: Manga Tops Amazon Japan's Best-Selling Kindle Book Ranking for 2018. Ressler, Karen. December 6, 2018. Anime News Network. December 23, 2018.
  54. Web site: Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Volume: 2019 (First Half). Loo, Egan. May 29, 2019. Anime News Network. January 17, 2021.
  55. Web site: 実写「聖☆おにいさん」松山ケンイチ&染谷将太のビジュアル・映像初公開. June 20, 2018. Cinema Today. September 27, 2018. ja.
  56. Web site: The Internet is obsessed with an anime about Jesus and Buddha as roommates. Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia. The Daily Dot. January 10, 2014. December 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20151210182651/http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/saint-young-men-jesus-buddha-roommates-anime/. December 10, 2015. live.
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  58. Web site: 2010 Comic-Con Best and Worst Manga Panel. Aoki, Deb. 2010. About.com. August 5, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20170331231351/http://manga.about.com/od/recommendedreading/tp/2010-Comic-Con-Best-And-Worst-Manga-Panel.03.htm. March 31, 2017. dead.
  59. Web site: Die besten Comics 2014 - Anne Delseits Favoriten. December 3, 2014. Der Tagesspiegel. January 17, 2021. de.
  60. Web site: Little Twin Stars - Right Turn Only!!. Santos, Carlo. April 27, 2010. Anime News Network. November 13, 2013.
  61. Web site: What would Jesus and Buddha do … on holiday?. December 22, 2010. Thomas, Jolyon Baraka. The Guardian. August 5, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141108013216/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/dec/22/jesus-buddha-japan-manga-novel. November 8, 2014. live.
  62. Web site: Japanese Box Office, May 11–12. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. May 19, 2013. Anime News Network. November 13, 2013.
  63. Web site: Japanese Box Office, May 18–19. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. June 2, 2013. Anime News Network. November 13, 2013.
  64. Web site: Japanese Box Office, May 25–26. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. June 9, 2013. Anime News Network. November 13, 2013.
  65. 2013年 日本映画・外国映画業界総決算. February 2014. Kinema Junpo. 1656. 198.
  66. Web site: 2013 Japan Yearly Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. November 13, 2013.
  67. Web site: Japan's Animation DVD Ranking, October 21–27. October 29, 2013. Loo, Egan. Anime News Network. November 25, 2013.
  68. Web site: Japan's Animation DVD Ranking, October 28 - November 3. November 5, 2013. Loo, Egan. Anime News Network. November 25, 2013.