One day while harvesting yams during a famine Daisuke Goko unearths the future Buddha. Upset about the Buddha trespassing into his yam garden Goko gets very upset and accuses the Buddha of never helping anyone. Goko tells the Buddha that religion has never helped feed people, and that without people like himself that toil and labor to harvest yams everyone would be dead. The Buddha is clearly upset about this and tells Goko that without spirituality the world would end.
During their argument, a televison producer invites them to have a debate on the air and share their views with the world. Buddha speaks on religious matters and all the elderly stand behind him, while Goko speaks on realistic matters and everyone else supports him. As the media continues to cover the argument they turn the Buddha and Goko into celebrities and their focus becomes selling products over their message. In the end, Goko and Buddha decide that best way is to team up (and secretly attempt to convert each other's sect). In the end a Buddha/Goko team-up is a poor ratings draw and the people in charge demand stand-up comedy rather than the answer to the apocalypse.
A comedic story with a deep message about our society to say the least...
Published In:
Shonen Sunday Zokan 1978 #8
1 or W
Publication Date: August 11, 1978
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation: None
Notes:
The Japanese title of the work is a pun, read phonetically it says "がんばれませ" (ganbaremase/Do your best). However, the final characters are changed to the kanji 末世 (masse) which is a Buddhist term for "the degenerate age". There is no easy way to make a workable English version of this pun, so a literal pun might be "Do Your Best in This Degenerate Age".
From an article on Medium, food security as a problem emerged in Japan during the 1960s rapid economic growth period. As the economy grew the per capita incomes of the people also increased and as a result, people’s dietary pattern changed from traditional to the western pattern as people had more income at their disposal to spend on food. A traditional Japanese meal consisted of rice, fish, soybeans and seasonal vegetables and western meal consisted of wheat, meat, dairy products, eggs and increasing amount of fats and oils. This change brought the decline in the demand for traditional food and particularly for rice in which Japan was self-sufficient. On the contradictory, it led to rise in demand for western style food and to meet the demand Japan began importing food. Due to the decline in agricultural productivity, and to meet the demands of the people whose dietary pattern had changed, Japan started importing food and within a short period of time, Japan became one of the largest importers of food in the world. However, initially, Japan felt that it could rely on the exports for its food but certain events that took place during the 1970s such as a rise in the price of food grains due to bad productivity in the USA, Nixon's embargo on soybean exports and the Arab oil crisis made Japan realize that its supply line for food is vulnerable to external forces. These incidents made Japan realize that the food security of the country was severely threatened.
Maitreya Bodhisattva is the Buddha of the future and the first Bodhisattva (one whose goal is awakening) to have a cult develop around him. He will descend to Earth when the teachings of Gautama Buddha have completely decayed, at which point he will offer a new dharma.
Sharp eyed fans will notice the 半魚人 (Hangyojin) from Those Selfish Aliens and Urusei Yatsura as well as the girl wearing a Star Wars shirt, which had been released in Japan on June 24, 1978.
"Two Buddha's walk into a bar..." - Sakyamuni was born in 563 BC as Prince Siddhartha. In his late twenties he began his path to enlightenment, giving up his kingdom and eventually becoming Buddha. Amida Buddha is also known as Amitabha and is the principal buddha in Pure Land Buddhism, which is most popular in East Asia. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is modeled on him.
Interior Chapter Comment
A: Thank you very much for your kind words about my debut work Those Selfish Aliens. I have also treasured the judges notes like a love letter.
