Anime Version of Tezuka Osamu’s Buddha Released Today
The 28th of May saw the theatrical release of the anime version of Tezuka Osamu’s Buddha in Japan.
Five years in the making, the film is part of a trilogy based on Tezuka’s epic eight volume manga Buddha. It tells the life story of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian Prince in the 5th Century BC who became the supreme Buddha.
The first part is called Akai Sabaku yo! Utsukushiku (The Beautiful Red Desert) and X Japan have provided the theme song. The film was directed by Kozo Morishita (Air Gear, Dragon Ball Z), and features Hidetaka Yoshioka(The Hidden Blade) as Siddhartha, Masato Sakai (Sukiyaki Western Django) as Chapura, Sayuri Yoshinaga as the mother of Chapura narrator.
The running time is 1 hour 51 minutes and is a co-production between Toei Animation and Tezuka Productions.
