What could go wrong when the two major religious figures decided to take a vacation in Japan and became roommates?

Saint Young Men is a slice-of-life manga which centers the misadventures of Jesus and Buddha who are both having a vacation in Japan. Living with humans, they have to hide their divine selves to enjoy the things that ordinary men do for entertainment. Filled with good-natured jokes and distinct art style, each chapter narrates the everyday-life of the duo in the 21st century. Here, Jesus, known as Hippie Man, is an impulsive spender, while Buddha, known as Man Perm, is frugal in every penny that he has.

The whole concept is truly unique and interesting. It also has a lot of information about Japanese culture as well as religion. Mostly, the jokes refer to Buddha’s lifestyle and Jesus’s miracles such as the time when Buddha did fasting and when Jesus walked on the river. However, these jokes are not mean or offensive in any kind, and everyone who has an open mind and a sense of humor will enjoy it. Also, one doesn’t have to be very familiar with both two figures. Basic knowledge will suffice to get the jokes. Seeing the two in different, strange situations, which even some of us can relate, is lightheartedly hilarious.

Overall, Saint Young Men is a light, laugh-out-loud manga which can be read in a very short time.

4/5 stars!

Saint Young Men is a fun and humorous manga. It's great to finally have a solid translation available, as it's a fascinating title. Part of me does wish it was being published physically, although I'd never be able to purchase it for my school library. American sensibilities about religion and depictions of Christ make this kind, pacifistic, silly Jesus controversial. That said, I still highly recommend this to adult manga readers.

Ah, this book was refreshing. I loved this concept of Buddha and Jesus coming to Earth for some "much needed time off." They share an apartment together and they have some awesome one-liners that had be giggling. It wasn't my favorite GN style but that's ok, I liked the content well enough.

My rating: 5/5

I really like this series! I've read this before, and picked it up so I could have another read. It's a slice-of-life type of manga about Jesus and Buddha living together as roommates in Japan... it's so silly, but enjoyable to see them in stereotypical manga situations with the additional twist of them being religious icons. I'd suggest this to anyone who wants something more light hearted to read.

This is a very entertaining manga about Jesus and Buddha living in modern day Japan. A lot of the jokes are slapstick and I think if you have some basic knowledge about Jesus, it makes the jokes even funnier. One of the highlights is when Jesus vaguely talks about his past with a gangster in a sauna, who somehow thinks he's an important yakuza's family member. There are a lot of references that you might have to flip back to the glossary to look over if you want to understand some jokes.

Overall, I was fairly pleased with this release and hope to that the rest of the series will be released quickly!

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book!

I didn't get any of the jokes or how this was supposed to be funny. The idea is original and the references were okay, I like those, but it just made me smile a couple of times. Wrong book for the wrong reader, I guess.

Jesus and Buddha are on sabbatical in 21st-century Tokyo, sharing a rental apartment, wearing ironic t-shirts, and generally having wacky adventures. It's as delightful as it sounds (even if some of the satire was lost in translation/cultural differences). The e-book version I read was in black and white; not sure if the printed one is in color, but that would make it even better.

I love a creative religious interpretation and much like Christopher Moore's "Lamb" I really appreciated Saint Young Men. It was funny, wry, and the artwork was fantastic.

A very fun and lighthearted manga, but it's best suited for readers already familiar with Japanese culture and with the respective religions of Jesus and Buddha. There are so many little jokes, especially their t-shirts, throughout. The translation notes at the back do their best to give a brief explanation of many of the things seen in the comic, but they can only do so much.

Otherwise, this is a fun read for someone who enjoys parodies and light religious jokes. The paneling is easy to follow and the art is very clean. Honestly, it's hard to talk much about the manga in general; it's modeled after serial comics, so there's episodic storylines that somewhat overlap, and the end isn't so much an end as it is just a pause. Because of the religious basis, I'm not sure if this manga might be a bit niche for an American audience.

This was really interesting and almost funny to read. I would never have expected something like this to exist!

A fun slice of life manga about Jesus and Buddha living together in Japan. While overall it was very enjoyable to read, one needs to have at least some knowledge of Japanese culture and cultural events in order to understand what is happening. There are explanatory notes in the back that help with the cultural plus religious references in the text. The concept is unique and the stories are fun. I would describe it more as mildly amusing rather than laugh out loud but sometimes that is what one needs.

Nah. Absolutely no story makes for a very unengaging read. Nothing the characters did was interesting, nothing they said was compelling, they themselves were very dull. Not at all for me.

I knew this manga has an anime. My friend watched it and found it funny. I was happy to see the manga here. I like the slice of life aspect of it. It's a light read with a lot of relatable scenes. The humor is a hit or miss.

I heard about this manga series a while back and was sad it wasn't published officially in English. So glad to see it here on NetGalley. It was everything I was expecting. A gently humorous look at Christianity and Buddhism in Japanese culture. Very religious people will probably take offense at some of the jokes or just the situation in general but if you can have a little sacrilegious fun it's well worth it to read. Some of the jokes don't land if you don't know a bit about Christianity and Buddhism (and Japanese culture), but the translator and/or the author has provided explanations in the back for most of them. The art style is great and complements the story ideas. Overall a book just right up my alley.

An appreciation of meta, if not a like for religious philosophy with a pinch of salt is suggested if you're getting into Saint Young Men. It's a wonderful slice of life manga, but the lead characters happen to be Jesus and Buddha who for all their heavenly powers still have to worry about paying rent or getting chewed out by their landlord. Earthly problems for heavenly figures make this a highly enjoyable read.

In this answer to the question "What if Jesus and Buddha went on vacation" we have a thoroughly enjoyable and hilarious set of stories about these two powerhouses of the heavens living a normal(ish) life in Japan. If you're not into 'slice of life' stories, this will bore you but I found it endearing and fun! Both religions are treated with respect and the translation notes are exceedingly helpful for some of the side humor. It wanders a little but that comes with slice of life stories. I had a lot of fun reading this volume but it's hard to see where this would keep going for multiple volumes without getting repetitive. 4.8 out of 5.

This is a sweet and fantastic manga about Jesus and Buddha living and hanging out together. I think that it is respectful to religion but also very funny. Reading this made me wish I knew more about religion so I got all of the references, fortunately I found a guide to the references elsewhere.

I've been hearing about this manga for ages so it's nice that there's finally an official English translation. Overall I thought it was pretty interesting and funny, but it's definitely a bit more cutesy than most stuff I read. Definitely a cool concept and I think there is a lot good information here about religion and also Japanese culture, although I think some of it went over my head. There are translation notes at the back that help give cultural context for some of the duo's adventures, but I'm just not really a person who likes reading footnotes in general. I'm not religious myself, but I don't think the author had Jesus or Buddha do anything that was really 'offensive' so I think that Christians an Buddhists would probably enjoy this if they have an open mind and a sense of humor. I probably won't continue with the series because it seems a bit too aimless for me personally but it's definitely a unique idea.

I heard about this series first as an anime in one of my college classes. Someone did a PowerPoint presentation on it, and my interest was piqued. I didn't get around to watching it, but when I saw it on NetGalley I decided to request it and I'm very glad I did! The art is great and I found myself cracking up throughout the whole book! I can't wait to purchase it for our library and read the next volume when it comes out! (Maybe I'll finally check out the anime as well...)

I enjoyed the book and really liked it. Didn't have any idea that I would like reading graphics novel Waiting to hear more from the author. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.