20th Century Boys

I normally don't invest time in writing reviews or analyzing manga and anime in-depth, however, 20th Century Boys was such a dragged experience that I felt the need to leave a few words behind as a note to myself for the future.

Overall this manga certainly seemed like an enthralling experience at least based on the first 10 volumes. A profound story about the relationships between children who dream big and strongly adhere to their beliefs. The drama that ensnares those who cannot achieve their needs, the true meaning of justice in the world, an individual's role in it, and the not so black and white choices we make on a daily basis. While the story draws with the mysterious plot that ensues ridden with plenty of backstories I can't help but feel the story was really stretched out. At one point I thought to myself that the different arcs are almost the same story but repeated again and again in an increasingly incoherent way.

Just for a moment can you tell how it is that so many people can be brainwashed into believing in some dreamt up plan made by children. The conspiracies involved in these series are mostly underdeveloped and hardly explain the reasoning behind any of the people behind who look like mentally handicapped fools who have yet to come out of age from the point of the reader.

The game of cat and mouse quickly loses traction and appeal halfway through the story. Any meaningfulness is hardly conveyed while huge worldwide catastrophes are happening off-screen.

In all honesty, I don't feel the need to thoroughly explore the story in this review as it is bogged down in the end anyways and any attempt from my side to uncover any hidden meaning will be lost by the sheer stupidity this unfinished narrative radiates.

I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth after finishing a series which at the beginning I thought deserved a 9/10. I hope the incomprehensiveness of this quickly made review is as close to the one in the storyline in the second half of the series.

This manga is clearly overrated like so many others and suffers from being a conveniently unfinished mess. I rest my case.

P.S. Everyone is saying how good the art is. While by itself it's not half bad I must insist that compared to some of the more legendary manga this art style barely conveys any emotion and is rather inconsistent and bland (especially when it comes to expressions of characters).

I wanted to talk about this manga as I am reading it. I am up to chapter 19 and let me just say, "Wow" what a page turner! You can get the basics of the story from the bio above or the more well written reviews, but I just had to throw down a few words on here to let people like me know how good this is. I love being in the world this manga puts you on and look forward to finding out what the symbol and "friend" is all about. Back to it then.

Being a fan of T. Rex, I was immediately interested in a book that referenced him in the title. I was even more interested to find out it was by Naoki Urasawa, the genius behind Monster. I started reading it right away, and hardly put it done till I was finished with it, and also finished the sequel right after that. Well there's two things I want to say in the opening paragraph, first is that even though this is an amazing Manga series, I can't help but feel it isn't quite at that level of Monster, and that being said, neither is it the #1. Certainly it is amazing enough that I don't mind seeing there, but just wanted to say that. Second being a big fan of music, I found the references in this series to be rather shallow. I probably had to big expectations because it referenced T. Rex, the forgotten classic band of the late sixties and seventies, I was thinking it wouldn't carter to the typical references. I expected instead of seeing "just like The Beatles" I could see at least a couple of steps down on the popularity scale, something like "just like Van Morrison" or instead of "just like Bob Dylan" a "just like Leonard Cohen". Sure not as many people would get laughs, but they've already gotten their share of stuff. Basically the references, with the exception of T. Rex, is rather typical references to music giants like Hendrix, Stones, Beatles, Dylan, Mitchell, Doors, etc. That was just another thing I wanted to get out there, in case anyone was thinking something similar to what I was thinking. However, this series is certainly still worth reading, and is an amazing mystery series, filled with plot twists, references, and great characters.

The story in 20th Century Boy is a strange one, and can be quite self-contradicting at times. It revolves around a group of childhood friends (there grown up now) who used to hang out at there secret base, reading Manga, listening to the Radio, and just having fun. One day one of the boys called Kenji decided to start righting his own Manga plot, revolving around a hero who would have to save the world from a virus and a giant robot. A simple childish story at first, however in the future when the events starting happening in reality, and the symbol they used for their fort is being used by a strange cult-like leader called "Friend", Kenji quickly finds out that something is wrong. Being the ones who created it, Kenji and his group of friends that knew about the story (or the ones who he managed to gather), now are the only people who can save the world. A save the world plot, that quickly contradicts itself with characters referencing that they can't just be ride out there and be a hero, like in Shounen stories. It quickly moves itself into being an amazing plot, with one big question, who is Friend?

As much as I loved the series though, and Friend himself, Friend is one of the my major complaints about the series. I understand people like Kenji and his friends reason for going against Friend, but what about Friend? Is he just some freak that wants to have fun, so he starts killing of people and trying to put an end to the world. I wanted to feel more of a back-story from Friend than him just having a little fun by killing people and watching other people try to stop him. To me along with the shallow music references, it was one of the letdowns of an amazing story, and seemed rather a pointless villain, even though I can't help but love a crazy guy who makes people call him Friend. Some people might not care about a back-story, but I guess that just comes down to a matter of opinion.

The art was probably the best part of this series, if I base it off of my ratings that is. The art was wonderfully drawn, moments like the first two pages of Chapter 100, not only stand out in my mind for the amazing script, but the drawing was beautiful to behold. Most of the characters didn't even look that great, but I still found myself stopping the reading for a second to gaze upon the beautiful drawings in the Manga, and I never got tired of doing it. Even now I love going back and looking at Chapter 100, the mysterious aura, the music reference, and the great drawings all tied together, and it helped give it that feeling of greatness, and is one of my favorite things about it.

The characters are another one of my favorite parts of the story, though I seem to be saying that for everything. The main character, though absent for a good amount of the series, is a great lead. If there is one line that I remember in that show, it will be what he said to the young guitarist at the crossroads. The other character's also prove to be great characters, from the strange villain of Friend and his twisted and confused servants, the group of childhood friends, and most notably, the hobo called God. God is one of the best characters of the entire series, and his mix of humor and foresight, plus the name, makes him always entraining when he shows up. That's not to say we don't have problems, as I said sometimes the Villains can seem rather pointless, one of my biggest dislikes of the series. However even if they seem pointless, I can't deny that they have some great moments, and if they did have a reason, then I would probably have loved them.

20th Century Boy is a story that has it all, great art, unique and great story, amazing scripting, great characters, amusing references, and most importantly, is just an extremely enjoyable read. As I stated before I can't say I agree with the #1 ranking that is given to on this site, but I don't mind, because Urasawa, once again, presented us with a great story filled with mystery, thrills, drama, and those little hints at other genres like Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, etc. It's all there, and 20th Century Boy is certainly worth reading.

Don't be fooled, this manga is full of flaws.
Don't get discouraged, this manga is full of epic moments.
Don't get too excited, you can write everything that happens in this manga in such a way that it becomes obvious how formulaic it was.

Infinitely better than Monster, though, and I say that really being objective.
20th Century Boys has a lot of nonsense that's there to lead to great payoffs. Monster has nonsense that leads nowhere.

I remember this manga especially because of this:
-You anounce what you are going to do
-You go ahead and do it
-Everybody who heard you the first time is still very surprised because you did it to perfection, or in such a way that you turned it on its head while remaining true to your initial announcement.

It's hard to put that in a better way without spoilers.
Bottomline, it's a nice manga with great moments that maybe didn't deserve the goosebumps I got when I read them, but goosebumps I got nontheless.

This manga is truly a masterpiece. The most beautiful thing about 20th Century Boys is in its telling of story. The basis of the story is "Saving the World" which is simple enough, however the author manages to make this deeper, much deeper. From the moment you pick up this manga and being reading you will be engrossed . The seamless flashbacks and general mysterious feel about the story will keep you wanting more, you'll wish it didn't have to end.

Aside from the story the art is magnificent. The author manages to capture emotion and set tone and mood not only in the dialogue but also in his drawings. You can see clearly the angst, sorrow, despair, or happiness drawn in, which in my opinion does a great deal to get emotionally involved with the characters.

The Characters themselves are probably the second best best thing about the 20th Century Boys. Urasawa Naoki manages to create 3 Dimensional characters which you can feel for. Each get their enough "screen time" for you to feel for every individual. These characters go through changes and arcs, their highs and lows, the character development in this manga is beautifully done.

I hope you'd enjoy this manga as much as I did. As I stated before, the 20th Century Boys is highly engrossing and somewhat addictive. The pace and constant new information will keep you guessing and will never supply a dull moment.

Overall I would have to say, in my humble opinion, that this is one of the greatest manga yet to be written. Ten out of ten stars. Do yourself a favor a read it.

First of all I will apologize for the mistakes I could make, I'm not a native speaker so it isn't always easy for me to speak in a foreign langage.

Story : 10/10

I know 10 isn't really objective but if I had to choose one manga for my entire life I think it is this one. I'm not going to explain the story, it isn't really useful. I just want to say that the author have developed perfectly the story, there isn't one mistake in it. There is a lot of suspense and it's not by accident that the author is called "the master of suspense". 20th Century Boys is passionating, I never have read à manga like this. It is not boring and the story doesn't stagnate.

Art : 8/10

Personally, when I saw for the first time the character design I was really doubtful. That's why I think an 8 is a good note. In fact, when you look more carefully you can notice the beauty of the art. There are so much details and the face of the characters approximates to the reality. I know this don't please to everybody but if the design stopped you just take time to look closely.

Character : 10/10

All the characters are interesting, they all have a story to tell. None is useless, none is a cliché of the traditional protagonists that you find everywhere else, and I think this is an important fact. You can easily identify you as one character, they are like anyone else, they are not superhumans, it could be you !You easily feel attached to each protagonist, even if you don't like one at first you discover something about him that show you that everybody is interessant and have a reason to be who he is. (I know that seems really optimist but it is real)

Overall : 10/10

I have already said it but you just can't be bored with this manga. For me, it is perfect, really. I have nothing bad to tell about it. If you hesitate, stop it now, read it ! If you like psychological thriller 20th Century Boys is perfect to you, you will like it, I promise ! I've never meet someone who don't like it.

Story:
While the whole "saving the world" kind of storyline isn't anything new, it does it so well that it makes the reader so engrossed in the story and not want to stop reading. The switch between timelines are done so well that it hardly leaves you confused on what is going on. There are so many twist and turns in the story which makes nearly every chapter such an enjoyable read.

Art:
The art is quite detailed and even as the art was already quite good from the start, as it goes on it steadily improves. I have to say Urusawa's distinct art style definitely is growing on me as it's such a refreshing treat compared to the sea of "Moe" that is pretty common in anime and manga.

Character:
My favourite aspect of 20th Century Boys has to be the cast of characters and their development through out the story. All of them have interesting traits and everyone was given a time to shine.

There isn't much cliched character archetypes here, most of the characters act mostly realistically so no annoying tsunderes etc. One example would be Yoshitsune as at the beginning he would seem like one of those stereotypical anime characters with glasses which are usually really weak and cowardly but it turns out he was the one that really stood up for his friends and always tried to do everything to help them.

The main character, Kenji seemed like the most "normal" out of all the characters, while some people would find him boring and they'd probably like Otcho (Kenji's best friend) more but honestly there isn't anyone more suited that him to be the main character since he's the most normal and easiest to relate to.

Final Thoughts:
I saw 20th Century Boys ranked quite highly here in MAL and I'm glad I gave it a chance. It's truly a masterpiece in my eyes. It's highly recommendable and I can't even say it enough you HAVE to check this manga out. After finishing it I literally just took my time thinking about what an amazing manga I just read.

Also how can you not want to read a manga that has a villian called Friend and a homeless guy called God.

THIS IS THE SIGN YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR..... stop scrolling through the reviews and read this masterpiece there is nothing more to say.

One of the best suspense thriller manga written by none other than Naoki Urusawa, this manga moves like a movie and not a book that's all thanks to Urusawa's panel composition and art style and story telling.
an absolute ride to say the least.
the characters are well developed, there are great moments which will either have you laughing or crying.

Every decision a character makes in the story their motives make sense as there is a sense of development shown throughout and it doesn't feel like its all being done just to get to conclusion.

There is a lot of revisiting done for each story in this manga with which will help you unravel more of the plot..

What could be the consequences from a child game ? What could be created by the imagination of children which are craving for adventures.20 Century Boys is a kind of manga which is shining with it's own brilliance and marvelous idea.Created from Naoki Urasawa it really absorbs every reader with it's story.Again the mangaka show us his unique story telling and proves that he is like a "prodigy" in the manga world.He shows us that every memory we have during our years of living is very precious and remembering it we feel like we at the same place where we were as children,when we were playing with friends,fighting with each other,laughed and most importantly we spent our careless days during our childhood.

The Story of the manga isn't something new,but really it's something special even it the 21 century ;) It's about Kenji and a group of his friends which create their own "shelter" in which they go when they feel anxious or have their own problems.They have a lot of fights with other children,but there they feel protected from everything doesn't matter what is it.While Kenji is there with his friends they are talking to each other a lot and are thinking a lot of stories which they write in a notebook.Even at that time when they are together they don't know that every their action will really change their live sooner or later.Every their word,action or decision really changes their lives.At the beginning of the manga the story is based on Kenji who is has a lot of work and he is having a hard live.His sister gives a birth to a child and leaves.So Kenji have to take care of his niece and turn her into a good person ,who will have a normal life.While struggling with his position in life he notices a number of events that remind him of his childhood and not after a while he gets involved in a great adventure with a lot of plot twists.

The art of the manga is fantastic.It's the well known style of the manga artist.The characters are drawn simply,but in the same time they are very detailed.The artwork is really on a very high level and not even for a moment there is something even at the background that is drawn bad.Really the consistency of the art is breathtaking.The main characters aren't made with gigantic breasts or big muscles,but after a few chapters you couldn't see them drawn in another way they are so well chosen and well based.

The Characters is making one of the differences with the other mangas in the same genre.Their character development is despite their role in the story isn't slowed up even for a moment in the whole manga.At first glance the main characters don't have the superpowers which could help them with their fight with the "evil",but their have something even better - Charisma.Kenji is one of the best leading characters in the mangas,but he is not the best in the manga the thing that really catches the eyes is the Kanna character.She is one of the most complete woman/girl characters in the whole manga history.She isn't made the kind of girl that could not live without help from somewhere.She is strong and in the same time she's having the brain.She isn't doing something stupid without thinking.Every her action is very well thought before that.

20 century boys is really something you should really have to read.Despite that the volumes are 22 you wouldn't feel for a minute how you are reading chapter after chapter just to understand what is going to happen at the end.

Easily one of the most overrated manga I've read in a while.

From reading the first 20 chapters which do a good job of getting you interested you might think this compares to monster but it doesn't.

The story is all over the place, there's so much filler, too many irrelevant side characters which you're supposed to like, an enjoyable twist or turn or progress in the plot is far in between - the majority of the manga is just cheesy dialogue and random things. There's so little substance for a manga with this many chapters.

The villain isn't well written and the way he's defeated is just unsatisfying and felt stupid. The main character just isn't good or interesting (same with the side characters) and if anything only makes the series worse.

It's not worth reading.