Saint☆Oniisan

Ok, so pretty much everyone here knows or even heard of Hataraku Maou-sama right? The one where the Demon Lord is transported the the human world and forced to live among the society of humans. Well, Saint☆Onii-san is pretty similar to HM, only that instead of a demon lord, we've got religious icons living their daily lives in the human world (disguising as ordinary citizens as part of their two-month vacation from their holy duty), and those figures are Jesus and Buddha.

Yes, you've heard right. That Jesus. And that Buddha.

Kinda sounds like a scene coming from the song One of Us by Joan Osborne if ... I say so myself. And upon seeing this OVA (2 episodes, one episode for now), it made me laugh so hard and said to myself, those religious zealots screaming blasphemy will be having a field day upon seeing these, and that could be annoying. Well, sorry for them, but this anime preaches nothing but pure fun and hilarity.

In fact, this anime basically answers: What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us, Just a stranger on the bus, Trying to make His way ho - er, damn, I just sang that song. Funny thing is, they are roommates in an apartment managed by Matsuda-san the strict landlady. Even more funnier is the fact that two of the most revered religious figures in history are scared shitless of her! The scenes usually shift from Matsuda-san's perspective to the two 'foreign men', but usually most of the screentime is allocated to Matsuda-san, who in all honesty, suspects the two as anything but ordinary foreigners renting and sharing a room. Its understandable, because since they boarded there, strange things have happened. Like Jesus' unintentional miracles (levitating much?) and Buddha's godly charisma (it literally glows!). Hilarity ensues when she scolds them afterwards!

That said, this light-hearted anime should not be taken seriously and in all honesty, parodying the daily lives of religious figures is quite novel in itself, if not daring. So enjoy this nice addition to this season's to be watched anime, and at the end of the day, you'll be wondering if Joan Osbourne's song influenced the author into writing this funny piece of a series.

Welp, looks like I just made my first ever review, lol. Thanks for reading!

I'm not really a religious person but this show is hilarious!
It's just like any normal slice of life but with a more lighter plot.
Highly recommended for those who are christian or buddhist so they can understand the reference more xD

I really wanted to like this anime, but sadly, the comedy mostly fell flat and the VAs didn’t do a great job. There’s not much to write about an anime with just 2 short episodes, so I’ll keep my review brief.

The reason I gave it a 6 (and nothing lower) is because even though I didn’t like the anime, I didn’t dislike it either – it was pretty average. The setting is quite unique, of course, and more power to animators who can go through concepts on anime without involving high school children, nudity or violence. It’s a nice and sweet comedy, suitable even for ... children, although if I’m being honest, a lot of jokes went over my head. I mean, I’m someone who has a fair amount of knowledge about Christianity, and unlike most other people, I know quite a lot about Buddhism (seeing how Gautam Buddh was born in my country) so I was surprised at how many references I didn’t understand. And if I didn’t get them, then how is it those people who gave this anime such a high rating, get them? Did they study Buddhism in college or something?
Elitists. SMH.

Speaking of, Buddhism was all about peace and ahinsa, so the concept of wearing silk shirts (leave alone decorating them) would have been out of the question for Buddh, so the animators fuked up there. Same for the negative stereotype “the water is dirty” comment for India – it wasn’t really funny, it was outright offensive, something that would *never* be uttered by Buddh for his motherland. And before you tell me to “laugh it off”, let me know how you’d feel if, for example, you’re a religious American who sees Jesus calling all Americans fat, ugly and stupid?

The art, animation and sounds - everything is average. Anyway, give it a watch. Who knows? You might enjoy it more than I did!

PS. Just for kicks, just *imagine* the uproar that this anime would have been created if it where Mohammed in place of Buddh!

Well, as is obvious from the synopsis, this show is about Buddha and Jesus Christ holidaying on Earth.Most of the jokes have to do with miracles ascribed to either Jesus or Buddha reproduced in a modern setting.More often than not, they are very short and you have to be acquainted with some religious stories to fully enjoy them.The bromance between Jesus and Buddha is awesome, seriously.

Only extreme fanatical believers will be offended by this show as its is not judgmental on any religion in any way, nor does it poke fun at it.

With that out of the way, i felt that the show was too ... short for it to be memorable for a viewer.It would been ideal if it had got 12 episodes.2 OVA's are too short to get into the show.There is a movie and i have'nt watched it yet, so i cant say whether it is good or not.There are just 3 characters in the show-Jesus, Buddha and their landlady-and i felt the show could probably use a few more characters.

English Version
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OBS: English is not my native language. this review may have grammatical errors.
OBS 2: This review has two versions, one in English and the other in Portuguese (BR), which is my native language.

My evaluation:
Plot: Scale from 0 to 3 points.
Characters: Scale from 0 to 2 points.
Animation: Scale from 0 to 2 points.
OST: Scale from 0 to 2 points.
... Personal Taste: Scale from 0 to 1 point.

Since the plot is irrelevant because it is totally a comedy, this criterion will be changed by comedy and how it is performed based on the premise.

This Review will have some spoilers:

Comedy (1 of 3): The premise is two religious icons living a normal life on Earth, it seems fun, but it's meh. The references to the two religions are difficult to pick up, the series instead of trying to win over all audiences and make everyone understand the references just makes their jokes and nothing more, the comedy and the series in general it's for a specific audience, that makes it difficult for people like me who do not understand much of Buddhist religion to find something funny or fun, the fault is not in the series, is mine, but if they try to focus on the general public and still do their references in a way for everyone could understand would be better.

Characters (1 of 2): Jesus and Buddha are entertaining characters who can bring the comedy to life, but they do not add much in the series besides who they are, most comedies use their characters in different ways for different situations, few times on Saint Oniisan this happens, the characteristics of the characters are badly used, in most situations it's just: "It's cool because he's Jesus" or "It's cool because he's Buddha" this could be more than that and the characters could use it more of them divine powers.

Art / Animation (1 of 2): The character design is very different and very characteristic, I like these different designs, but the background is strange and sometimes a bit poorly done, the direction is averrage, with exception of the scene with Buddha's dream playing there was nothing interesting about it.

OST (1 of 2): Hmmm ... there were some tracks that I liked, but it's pretty average too.

Personal Taste (1 of 1): The comedy is fun some times, but is nothing really funny, could be a little better, but it still entertained me.

Final Verdict: 5/10. It's not a series for everyone, but it's funny and fun, if production was a little better ... a bad anime, unfortunately.

Portuguese (BR) Version:
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Meus critérios de avaliação:
Enredo: Escala de 0 à 3 pontos
Personagens: Escala de 0 à 2 pontos
Animação: Escala de 0 à 2 pontos
OST: Escala de 0 à 2 pontos
Gosto Pessoal: Escala de 0 à 1 ponto

Como o Enredo é irrelevante por ser totalmente uma comédia, esse critério será troca pela comédia e como ela é executada com base na premissa.

Esse Review terá spoilers:

Comédia (1 de 3): A premissa é de dois icones religioso vivendo uma vida normal na Terra, parece divertido, mas é bem meh. As referências as duas religiões são difíceis de pegar, a obra ao invés de tentar conquistar todos os públicos e fazer todos entenderem as referências apenas faz as suas piadas e nada mais, a comédia e a obra no geral é bem para um público específico, o que dificulta pessoas como eu que não entendo muito de religião budista achar algo engraçado ou divertido, a culpa não é da obra e sim minha mesmo, porém se eles tentassem focar no público geral e ainda sim jogar suas referências de uma maneira para que todos entendessem seria bem melhor.

Personagens (1 de 2): Jesus e Buda são personagens divertidos e que conseguem dar vida a comédia da obra, mas eles não acrescentam muita coisa apesar de serem quem são, as obras de comédia utilizam de seus personagens de maneiras diferentes para situações diferentes, já nessa poucas vezes isso acontece, as características dos personagens são pouco utilizadas, na maioria das situações é apenas: "É legal pq ele é Jesus" ou "É legal pq ele é Buda", poderia ser bem mais que isso e os personagens poderiam utilizar bem mais seus poderes divinos.

Arte/Animação (1 de 2): O character design é bem diferente e muito característico, eu gosto desses designs diferentes, mas o background é estranho e as vezes um pouco mal feito, a direção é mediana, tirando a cena do sonho do Buda não teve mais nada de interessante.

OST (1 de 2): Hmmm... teve algumas músicas que eu gostei, mas é bem mediana tbm.

Gosto Pessoal (1 de 1):
A comédia é divertida algumas vezes, mas não é nada muito engraçado, poderia ser um pouco melhor, mas eu me diverti.

Veredito Final: 5/10. Não é uma obra para todo mundo, mas é engraçado e divertido, se a produção fosse um pouquinho melhor... um animê ruim, infelizmente.

An anime about Buddha and Jesus living together.. who would've thought of that? When I first heard about this, I was really excited but I put it aside to watch JoJo's.. And now I'm really glad that I did...

I really liked the concept. It had a lot of potential, it really did. My problems are with the execution. Mainly the fact that most of the jokes weren't very.. funny.

The jokes about Buddha and Jesus' powers were amusing and all, but there wasn't anything special done with them. In addition to being that being pretty much all this show had to offer in terms of ... comedy, most of the punchlines got stale and predictable halfway through the first episode.
Oh yeah, there were a few jabs at the main characters for their easygoing personalities and some misunderstandings about the way Earth works, but those were half-baked, minimal effort, and not a lot was done with them.
All in all, the jokes in this show did not feel well thought out.

I'll speedrun through the other categories since there isn't much to say about them.

The art is nothing special, but I felt like it suited the show so I gave it a 6. It's fair.
The sound is.. there. I felt like the voice actors could've done some more at some points. Like Asahi from Haikyuu has a very similar personality to Jesus, but with help from his VA, his character felt a lot more vibrant.
I felt that the characters were too similar to one another and maybe that's another reason the comedy fell a little flat. If one of them were more hot headed, I feel like there would be more of their dynamic to joke about, and their interactions would be more lively and interesting overall.

I still liked watching it since it was only two episodes and it kept me entertained while i ate dinner, so it's a 6 in terms of enjoyment. Nothing special, but it's fine.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a slice of Supernatural beings living in the modern world in your life, I would highly recommend Sore Dake Ga Neck or All Saints Street.

But if you've had your eye on this one, don't let my review discourage you; it's only two episodes after all.

As soon as I saw this show's description I knew I had to see it. I love religious humor, and I grew up in a semi-Christian religion, so I think I know enough to appreciate the Christian humor, at least.
The only part I ended up liking is the original premise. I didn't find this funny. At all. I think it might be because the show didn't go far enough in it's humor, so as to not offend religious anime watchers. Also, I don't know very much about Hinduism, so that could have affected my enjoyment. Still, I didn't find any of Jesus's humor funny. ... It's fairly slice-of-life, which might be holding it back some. If it showed more situations or things going on, I might have liked it more. As it stands, I thought the whole story was pretty shallow.
The art and sound are fine. People have different styles of comedy they like, so you might want to check this out anyways. It's short enough to not waste too much of your time.

This was the genesis of my fascination with truth and peace.

I have always been a strong believer in both Christianity and Buddhism, and I have to say that this new religious text is truly a must-watch.

I used to be lost; I had little faith in any religion. However, now I feel a true connection - I feel like I have truly connected with these two gods. If you think that Haruhi is a true religious text, wait till you see this!

Overall, the plot it quite good - my favourite parts was the book of Marx in the Jesus arc and the Africa part in the ... Buddha's fasting arc. This truly do fit in with the religious messages of "living in an flat and breaking the rules and trying to hide your identity is great". I also like the *physics* - the ear physics.

Also, the sound and voices are great - Yesuu and Bu...da sound better than ever.

However, I did not like how the Jewish and Muslim messiahs were not here - Muhammad would've been a great desire. They should've had it so that it was an anime that was one with everything.

All that aside, I very much enjoyed turning my body into wine with this, but they should've had a night mode theme for when Buddha let out a lot of light. Then again, I am not worthy of criticising any religious scripture, as that is a mortal sin that shall surely be punished with longer life.

Jesus & Buddha come together in this light-hearted comedy full of funny incongruences between what they are taught to be and how they're represented in a more relatable and goofy way. Their characters draw on a rich mythology that everyone is already familiar with, but in a much different, modern setting.

The landowner is a very strict old lady who just wants no shenanigans.
After strange events and miracles occur centered around her new tenants, she grows suspicious that there is something odd about the duo. It's not easy to pass as normal when they've been out of touch with the world for thousand of years.

Threatened ... of eviction, they try to cover it up to the best they can. Just as the landowner is about to evict them, they prove themselves through kindness to not be so bad after all, until the next even stranger event happens. It's a formula that doesn't get old.

The premise was interesting enough to keep me hooked and guessing what'll happen next.
The art was nice to look at and has a nice level of details.

So, A-1 Pictures decided that one day they were tired of being stereotyped as otaku panderers that were well-known for drawing characters with chipmunk faces and wandered down the avant-garde path. I’m pretty sure that after a few too many huffs of crack, they decided to adapt a psychedelic adventure in which Jesus and Buddha are roommates, but are pretty much gay.

• The character designs are weird, Jesus looks like a praying mantis. And the cringe-worthy source material wrote these two formerly renowned religious saints as cute boys who update their blog and do tee shirt prints in their apartment as NEETs.

• I initially ... thought that the idea of it might be handled in an entertaining or enjoyable way, but it’s not funny. Just weird and uncomfortable, and occasionally, a heh, I know that story from Biblical or Buddhist lore. Oh, the bunny struck a match and threw itself on a plate. I know what that’s from. That kind of thing.

• I had hope for it at the beginning of the first OVA, because the landlady’s perspective of the two weirdos with no grasp on normal human behavior was pretty entertaining. But, after that first arc dissipates, it’s nothing but random monotony. Which goes to show that A-1 Pictures can’t even do artsy nonsense right.

• As someone who occasionally enjoys moe, I can’t even say that this has any merit in that regard. I didn’t so much feel like I watching two characters developing with cute quirks, as I felt like they were just insultingly stereotypical stoners. There was nothing endearing about either of them, unless you reside on Tumblr.

• There is no story. Like I said earlier, the first arc was the only one that was passable. The rest is full of cringy jokes and pretty-colored nonsense that makes absolutely no sense. A-1 Pictures should not become an auteur studio, end of story. I give the two episode OVA of Saint Young Men a 2/10, and I have no intention of watching the film.

This anime covers the story of Jesus and Buddha who come to Earth on a vacation. It's filled with all kinds of mischief and fun. If you're looking for something to cheer you up, look no further than this.

The story is just that, they're here for vacation. It might sound boring to some, but it's the funniest anime I've seen in a while.

It's filled with religious jokes and their roles and abilities as Gods are used in a clever and funny way. The sound is pretty good as well, there is quite a lot of "in mind" dialogue which is great as the dialogue itself.

The ... art is outstanding, with a lot of detail in characters and background. The faces that Jesus and Buddha pull are portrayed beautifully.

The characters, apart from Jesus and Buddha are great as well. They complement the main characters really well and create hilarious scenes themselves.

I would recommend this to everyone who is looking for a good laugh

Saint Oniisan (Saint Young Men) (Hikaru Nakamura, 2013) is a light hearted work serialized in Kodansha. Jesus and Buddha, in true NEET form, attempt to vacation in Japan by taking up residence in Tachikawa City’s apartment complex Matsuda Heights. As a light hearted work, it steers clear of the more worrisome and horrendous aspects of religion and focus more on the improbability of a god’s existence in the human sphere of life. Nakamura’s interpretations of the personalities of Jesus, his archangels, Buddha, Ananda, and so forth makes this text and its variations (manga, anime, and movie, all of which I have consumed) notable.

The comical elements ... are largely that of the improbability that a god could exist fully as a human without reincarnation or birth as one. Descended directly from the heavens or something of the sort, Jesus and Buddha still carry a divine air and command over nature. When Buddha is confronted by the landowner lady, his stomach rumbles from hunger, prompting the dry peach tree to suddenly sprout enticingly plump peaches in a soft hue offset by smooth green tones of the background. “Don’t be so concerned!” he tells the peach tree in mortification as the neighbors look on, baffled, since the peach tree was only attempting to offer something to appease Buddha’s hunger. Jesus, in moments he finds utterly hilarious, is subject to rose blossoms bursting forth from his stigmata, resulting in a flower crown of sorts, which he then has to pluck out.

Little interpretations of such nature make the OVA, only 2 episodes, and the movie, an hour and a half, quite entertaining. It has very little depth to it, in terms of narrative and content. “I wouldn’t suspect you of it, but you’re not doing anything a god would be ashamed of, right?” is about as complex as it gets in terms of true religious material. Upon nearly being arrested, Buddha “[…] locked himself in the restroom for three hours” is yet another one. Aside from rare instances like this, Jesus and Buddha are guileless young adults (early 20 somethings) living a NEET life, Jesus with his drama review blog and Buddha with his t-shirt prints.

What is brilliant, aside from the unique interpretation of Jesus and Buddha, is the art style of the OVA and movie. The animation is brilliant in terms of formal elements and style. Stylistically, it resembles the older cel works and is nothing like digital anime. The colors are soft and smooth, with light, particularly divine light (the blinding whitish-yellow) standing out. In depicting contemporary Japan, the art uses broad color strokes and thick single color, unshaded elements which are shadowed or given depth using the traditional consecutive black lines. It is this style that stood out and prompted a watching of both OVA and movie, it is also this that made it worthwhile to stay and see several of the scenes outlined in the animation. As a lighthearted animation, this is stylistically a good one, though perhaps not so much in terms of narrative complexity. Nevertheless, if the interpretation is intriguing, it is worth a watch.

Saint Oniisan is a short, funny anime with a hilarious concept, but it's so short that it doesn't really go much further than that. Interestingly enough, I watched this show before I began keeping track of and cataloging my anime, so when I ran into it I finally decided to rate it. Beginning with the story, there's not really much to say other than the concept is very funny, and the two get up to hijinks around Japan, often relating to their divinity. It is what it advertises itself to be, a very brief and consistently funny gag comedy. The art is very unique, and ... I feel its general style of colorful whimsy fits the show very well. The character designs of the two protagonists are also excellent fits, and their general emotionality and expressiveness lend themselves well to a down-to-earth comedy like this one. The sound design is excellent, all the way from the voice actors to the largely upbeat soundtrack, it's all very natural and even relaxing at points. The characters are very good, even including many of the people in the background which populate the world. However, I do feel like the motivations of these two are largely based on Japanese cultural assumptions about them and not very accurate, but who cares about that in an anime like this? Overall, while this show is a delightful little romp, it's nothing more than that, and if the show had been longer than 2 episodes there's some question as to whether the overall score would go up or down. Regardless, give it a watch, as it's more than worth the minuscule time investment, and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face at least once.

This 2 episode OVA series is honestly one of my faves. I like the concept of Jesus and Buddha living together, bein besties in Japan. I think it's just so wholesome and enjoyable even though it is so short. The characters are all lovable, even their landlord lady XD I think she's just a dandy woman even when she's all cranky. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a quick watch or something you can watch with or around family. It IS only available subbed but it's worth it 100%. Sound quality is good but i found it sounds almost slightly ?muffled? idk maybe it was ... my headphones lol. The colors and the scenery are all just beautiful.