Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2011

Osamu Tezuka (1929-1989) revolutionized the genre of manga and was the “godfather” of anime, pushing it into the mainstream of Japanese pop culture during his seminal career. He had a number of serialized epic stories for manga and among them was Buddha, on which this film—the first in a trilogy—is based. Simply put, the story follows the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical man who became the Buddha. In order to draw the work out into three parts, the first installment starts long before his birth and depicts characters who will later come to bear on his life. Though this is supposed to be a Buddhist (or perhaps, Buddhistic) story, there is much violence, faux drama and action, and Siddhartha’s spiritual interest, or even his human sensibilities, express themselves only at the end. Worse, the work falls between the stools. Children will find it complicated and confusing, while adults may think it childish and unengaging. The producers are trying to make the flick into a huge cultural event, getting the legendary band X Japan to contribute a new song and lining up the film opening with the 750-year anniversary of the death of Shinran Shonin, founder of the Japanese Buddhist Jodo Shinshu sect. This seems to push it further from anything remotely spiritual and the pic misses the mark—both as entertainment and as a Buddhist work. (111 min)