Butsu Zone

Butsu Zone (仏ゾーン) is the first serialized manga by Hiroyuki Takei in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump of 1997. The term "Buddha Zone" refers to the concept by which a Buddha can appear on Earth using a Buddha statue.

The series highlights the adventures of Senju (The Thousand-Hand Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) who has to find and protect Sachi, an incarnation of the Buddha Miroku (Maitreya Bodhisattva). Miroku is said to appear on Earth at a time when the Dharma is no longer taught and is completely forgotten, achieve complete enlightenment and then re-teach the pure dharma, becoming a successor of Śākyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. It is thus Senju's job to aid Miroku (Sachi) in achieving enlightenment, enabling her to achieve Buddha.

Plot
The story begins in 1975 with a girl, Sachi, protesting about the planned destruction of the temple Saigan (her home) by the Minoura clan, who plans to build a hotel in its place. One of the gangsters notices the statue of the Thousand-Hand Kannon within the temple. Sachi then tells them that she will not allow anything to happen to the statue. The gangsters then laugh and threaten her, telling her that there is nothing the statue can do to save her. Just then, the Thousand-Hand Kannon comes to life, breaking the temple doors and attacking one of the gangsters. The statue then shatters into pieces and inside it is a boy who tells them to lay their hands off Sachi, sending fear amongst the gangsters who then flee, vowing revenge. The boy introduces himself as Senju, the Thousand-Hand Kannon.

Characters

 * Senju (センジュ)
 * Senju is also known as the Thousand-Hand Avalokitesvara). He is a Bodhisattva sent to protect the incarnation of the bodhisattva Miroku by Dainichi Nyorai (Mahavairocana). He wears garments called a tenne (天衣) and have an arm ring on his left arm.


 * Sachi (サチ)
 * A young orphan who was abandoned by her parents 10 years before the beginning of the story and raised by a poor priest. Sachi is an incarnation of the Buddha Miroku.


 * Jizō (ジゾウ)
 * (The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha) Senju's childhood friend. He had waited for 2500 years for Miroku's appearance. His primary attack is the Mudra Beam (印ビーム); he also has the Jizō Armor (地蔵天衣) which he used only once in the series.


 * Mike Minōra (マイク箕浦)
 * The leader of the Minoura clan, Minoura destroyed Sachi's temple, but was defeated by Senju. He and his clan later become Buddhist monks and help rebuild the temple. The origin of the character name is american comic book artist and writer Mike Mignola.

Manga
Shueisha's collected the nineteen individual chapters known as "Butsu" into three tankōbons. The first was published on July 4, 1997; the final was released on December 4, 1997. Kodansha re-released the series in two volumes on July 17, 2007.

Audio drama

 * "Butsu Zone - The chapter of Awakening" (仏ゾーン 悠久の章,)
 * "Butsu Zone - The chapter of Ordeal" (仏ゾーン 試練の章,)
 * "Butsu Zone - The chapter of Eternity" (仏ゾーン 悠久の章,)