Comedy about Buddha, Jesus sharing Tokyo apartment is slated for April 23

Kodansha Comics announced on Thursday that it will publish Hikaru Nakamura 's Saint Young Men ( Saint Oniisan ) manga digitally. Kodansha Comics will publish the first volume digitally on April 23, and is previewing the volume on its site.

The comedy manga imagines if Buddha and Jesus shared a low-rent Tokyo apartment. Nakamura launched the manga in Kodansha 's Morning two magazine in 2006, and Kodansha shipped the manga's 16th compiled volume in Japan on November 22.

The manga inspired an anime film that premiered in Japan in May 2013. The manga's eighth and ninth volumes both bundled original anime DVDs when they shipped in December 2012 and July 2013, respectively.

The manga also inspired a live-action series adaptation that premiered on Kakao Japan 's new Piccoma TV streaming service last October. The series will have a second and third season.

The manga won the Short Story award at the 13th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2009, and was also nominated for a Manga Taisho award in the same year.

Source: Press release