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.

You ever have those times when you just breeze right through a manga volume...I mean when you really get into its flow and feel right there? 20th Century Boys made me cry, and it was every bit as awesome as I could've hoped for.

The thoughtful panelling and distinct comfort with which Urasawa allows his art style to unfold so naturally to give life to all the well-conceived/implemented characters was absolutely precious to experience. What a windingly wild tale, where interpersonal interactions are carried out so well you'd think the mangaka had lived multiple lives already. What some might describe as filler or derailment serves to grant more detailed textures to the overall plot deftly and in varied enough ways which never felt forced or repetitive. The characters are so unmistakably, themselves; Urasawa nails characterization and it's refreshing for such an older series.

Read 20th Century Boys if you like well-crafted manga. I'll maintain that anyone who didn't enjoy it just wasn't at a good time in there life where they could. There really isn't much to be critical of here. Unmistakably, a masterpiece

BEST MANGA I HAVE READ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!
what you waiting for ?
dude go to read it now!
only the author's name will make your read it >>
A MASTERPIECE !!!!!!!!
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Characters, story, flashbacks, art, and the mystery!
all of these are 10/10
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NOTE:
maybe the first ch. won't let you understand this story and you will drop it.
but try to read at least +15 ch. and then give a decision.
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MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS:
all of them but specially kenji and shogun
kenji is the badass mad crazy leader and the smartest one maybe!
after all he wrote the book.
and the second one is the badass bodyguard , strong, Patience, and madness !
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MADNESS IS THE MOST SIMILAR THING BETWEEN THESE TWO CHARACTER.
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That's it for my review , i hope i made you impetus about this masterpiece
and sorry for my bad grammar i am new at english language ^_^

There are times you just want a really good story that will take you on a wild ride. It helps if it also ends up being really, really well done.


This is another series that is just…like I can’t even cover half of it without explicitly giving parts away. There’s so much to it...

One thing to note: this series does flashback a lot, and does it extremely well, so you just need to hang on.


The basic plot is that Kenji and his friends have formed a club in their secret base, a grass hut that they built in a meadow. They meet there a lot in the summers of 69-70. Like all kids do, they make up adventures about how they’re going to save the world, to the point where they write down their stories in a book called The Book of Prophecy with their own secret symbol.


Fast forward to their thirties, and nothing has gone the way they planned. They all have grown up, some have families, some have great jobs, some have less than stellar jobs, one (Otcho), has gone missing. Kenji, himself has turned his father’s liquor store into a convenience store and is raising his niece, who was suddenly dropped off to him and his mother one night by his sister, who has also disappeared.

And then The Friends spring up. It’s a slow burn, but little by little Kenji starts recognizing things that he and his friends invented in their childhood stories…but The Friends are trying to do them for real to bring about the end of the world. So which one of them is actually The Friend and leader of the cult?


I just really love the concept of this. Plus, it never tries to like take the methods The Friends use too seriously. It’s stated numerous times that it’s unbelievable because those are things a kid would think up…because that’s exactly what happened. Would such a tactic play out in real life? Eh, I don’t know about that, but I do think the reactions to things happening are dead on. Just completely dead on. This is probably one of the more accurate looks at a post apocalyptic society that I’ve seen, partially because it’s only really focused on Japan (with some asides in the US, London, the Vatican, and Hong Kong, but those are brief). It also really tries to utilize each member of the cast. At one point I was a little concerned that Otcho was almost too strong of a character because he’s So. Damn. Cool. And I questioned the sanity of taking your main character out of the bulk of the series…but when the lead comes back, it’s in a way that I completely wouldn’t have thought to do. And it’s amazing. I also really like how Kanna is depicted – it’s a version of the teen girl trying to save the world that doesn’t make me want to punch myself in the face. All of the characters get a decent amount of screen time and all get a good amount to do. A lot of side characters come back in deft ways, and it really shows how random, typical people are impacted by events like germ warfare and like an actual giant robot trying to destroy cities. The Friends are suitably creepy and there’s a lot of intrigue trying to figure out who this "Friend" is and what’s going on with his followers, too.


The only thing I can say is at times the pacing feels a little slow, but honestly, I think that’s because there’s a lot going on, but this is a tight, tight series and the pieces make sense once you’re reading them. Some people may not want to invest the time/effort to read this long of a series, but it is completely worth it.

*This is my first review, so sorry >w< also, I'm sorry for bad English*
This contains spoilers

The story circulates around Kenji and his friends.Also their childhood. As an adult, Kenji comes across something he hasn't seen since he was little and begin blamed for a terrorist and he can't live his ordinary life any more. But in the end, he becomes the hero (I guess you could figure it by yourself)

Story - 9
The story is new is for me or at least, it's nothing I come across everyday. The story can get very messy but it usually gets explained later in the manga. Naoki is really good to make the story sad or badass at the right times, but sometimes, he drag out something, which can be a bit boring.

Art- 8
The art is very good. It's not like ordinary manga, where the males are hot or shotas, they are actually looking like real people. The same goes for the females. The surroundings mostly shows details and you mostly know where the characters are. (I Can't really say anything about art)

Characters- 7
They have all their own personality's, but it isn't really anything new in my opinion. They all have their "own" design, which I like. What I mean, they don't look the same but with different hairs for example. Naoki can also take characters and give them a good story that makes you cry.

Enjoyment- 9
This is one of my favourites. If you read it, you'll understand. Naoki can really make a story that keeps you marathon it. Sometimes you cry, sometimes you laugh and sometimes you'll go "AWESOME!"

Overall- 9
If you like mysteries and Psychological mangas, you will probably enjoy this one. I would definitely recommend this one to everyone. I like this one and I hope that this turns into a anime, because 20th Century Boys deserves it ^^b

The originality and success of 20th Century Boys owes itself to creator Urasawa Naoki's creativity and drawing talent. This is the kind of manga that you can get excited about and engross yourself in its story. Small boys in a little town dream big about saving the world and becoming defenders of justice, but the one thing they couldn't imagine is how their ideas will end up affecting the future.

Art

The art is great. The characters and environments have a consistent and interesting style, and the drawings are a pleasure to look at. Urasawa-sensei does a great job at keeping the physical look of the characters consistent and recognizable at different ages. If there are any complaints to be had, it's that a couple of the characters look rather cartoonish compared to the scenery they're placed against, and that some of the women are hard to tell apart.

Characters

While 20th Century Boys has a large menagerie of characters, they lack any real personality and are mostly defined by their physical characteristics (i.e. Yoshitsune is timid and has small eyes, Maruo is fat, Keroyon looks like a frog, etc). I fear that the creator was too focused on involving the characters with the plot that the audience is never given time to share in the experience of the characters and connect to them on an emotional level. Even the heroine of the story is never placed in a recognizable human situation (i.e. having a crush, being pressured by school or work, dealing with a friend in trouble). She's just a fearless, determined go-getter, and we can only guess at where her unbridled confidence comes from, since we're never shown. Koizumi is perhaps the only character who acts rationally, and she simply serves as comic relief. I must say that having "normal human behavior" be comical is telling of the story.

Plot

The story follows a cyclic pattern of A Revelation / We Save The Day (at least, for now). Since this is a mystery at its core, the Revelations concern clues as to the identity of friend or his next evil plot. The "Who's the culprit? Find out next week!" scenario can be interesting, but it's extended throughout the entire manga and soon becomes tedious. Since there aren't many characters to care about, their actions and speeches more or less pad out the long trip to the closing action of a conflict.

What Conspiracy?

I have a problem with accepting conspiracy theories. It's difficult to believe that so many people in different levels of the plot are "in on" the conspiracy. Even more difficult to explain is the motivations of the conspirators, and moreover, their reasons for not rebelling against the plot or spilling the beans. 20th Century Boys waves a hand over the issue of millions of people blindly following the evil "Friend". There are quite a few plot threads that are left hanging by the end, but ultimately all the audience wants to know the identity and motivations of Friend, and I must say that this is handled brilliantly.

Love, Peace, & Rock'n'Roll

20th Century Boys makes numerous reference to classic American rock bands and world events, such as the lunar landing and Woodstock. Rock reverberates through the story and gives it a unique style. The rock and hippie vibe exuded by 20th Century Boys is perhaps its most endearing trait.

Social Commentary?

It's hard to say whether the bands mentioned are reflective of Urasawa-sensei's own taste, but he does thrust three manga artists into the story who act as his mouthpiece for the hardships faced by manga artists. They exist to showcase "Friend"'s suppression and censoring of the arts, but for me the mangaka were a constant reminder that I was, in fact, reading a manga. I'm still not sure whether creating such blatantly autobiographical characters is appropriate or distracting, but I will note that the ratio of manga artist characters to main characters is about 1:5.

In Closing

I don't recommend 20th Century Boys to the passing manga fan. The concept is very interesting and the events of the story are a fun ride, but ultimately it's stretched out to a tedious length. However, if you want to buckle down and enjoy a manga for a while, 20th Century Boys is worth it.

for all the manga lover out there, this manga is a must read. after many year, finally there are original story. The story about some kid with the ideal about the world future and try to be the hero that save the world in that ideal and after many decades, without knowing anything, one of their friends make the ideal into action. naoki urasawa very clever when plotting the whole story, how he make the flashback, present and the future without confusing the reader is very praise worthy. All the flashback, present and future is connected and you need to read all the chapter to know who is the villain in this story. The final action in this story is continued in another story that is 21st century boys.

I think that for some reason I'm not like most people who go wild for Urusawa's work. I feel the same way about 20CB that I did about Monster, too long, average art, average characters. So I'm not trying to offend anybody, this is just a review from a different perspective.

Story: First of all just like Monster, the story is far too long for its own good. There are 2 or 3 points where it could have been ended satisfactorily, but it lurched back to its feet and kept plodding along for many more volumes.

The contents of the story are very simple. Man is trying to destroy the world, people try to stop man from destroying the world. To be fair, the fact that I read all the way to the end tells you that Urusawa keeps you wondering what happens next, but god it's such a waste of time. You keep anticipating something mind-blowing, but the only really interesting revelation in the whole story is Friend's identity.

Basically, what we have here is and endlessly drug-out story like Bleach or Naruto without any of the flashy bits or fanservice that make them popular. The moments that make you stand up in your chair and go "hell yeah!" are few and far between. The second half in particular is very blatantly milking it for all it's worth.

Art: Urusawa's art style is unique, but it's not for everybody. Personally I find it very bland and uninteresting. He is particularly good at drawing facial expressions, and he really conveys they characters' emotions well, but as far as manga artists go, he's pretty mediocre.

Character: A symptom of the story being too long, there are too many characters. Because of Urusawa's semi-realistic art style, some of them end up looking really similar and it becomes very confusing by the end. Since there are so many, their personalities are somewhat shallow. The main cast is fairly solid and there are a few likeable characters in there, but I feel like the story would have been served better by a smaller, more interesting cast.

Enjoyment/Overall: I was disappointed, considering how highly-rated this series is. If you're looking for something to kill time, you could do much worse, but I wouldn't recommend putting this very high on your priority list.

This is hands-down one of the best stories I have ever read, manga or otherwise. From the very first few chapters, it gripped me and never let go. Once I began, I did my best to binge-read it, not because it called for that, but because I wanted to.

Naoki Urasawa is a master of storytelling, and with 20th Century Boys, you can easily see why. The story evolved into something I couldn't have imagined when beginning it, embracing all different types of genres, be it comedy, paranormal, or outright horror. It takes a look at the silly dreams of children, and the terror those dreams could have. It sheds light on the horror and the beauty of humanity at the same time. It's a story about heroes and villains, justice and evil, and so much more.

This review might already be too long, so I'll wrap things up. The story, artwork, and characters are all nearly perfect. Urasawa did an amazing job crafting characters who feel like real people. If you're looking for a thrilling story to get absorbed in, I couldn't recommend 20th Century Boys more.

P.S. - While I maintain that the story is amazing, the ending is rather... oddly done. You'll probably want to read 21st Century Boys (a 16-chapter continuation of the story) afterward.

“The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives”- Chuck Palahniuk, Choke

Coming from the same mangaka as Monster, expectations from 20th Century Boys were sky high. And boy oh boy it did hit the marks well enough. Keeping his distinctive style of webbing up an apparently abstruse mystery, bathing us in captivating rays of bewildering thrill from time to time, he narrates a compelling storyline with quintessential skill. Not to forget how the substantial amount of references were used to good effect from time to time. Stretching from the ever evolving world of music to world events and swooping down occasionally into the world of well known names in Japanese anime/manga entertainment(like Ashita no Joe, Cyborg 009, Planet Mask, Tetsujin 28-go, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures, etc.), the list goes on to show the amount of work that was put in the 249 chapters spanning a time period of roughly 46 years. And the supernatural elements. This is the first time I’ve come across a Japanese anime/manga that neither uses it as a base to crawl upwards, or use it casually or inadvertently just for the cheap entertainment value.

‘I hated shoujo manga, so I only read shounen manga. In real life, there were no perfect boys who always pop up in shoujo manga. In real life, there were no princes riding on white horses.’- Yukiji

Story- Storytelling is reminiscent of Stephen King’s style in ‘IT’ in the first quarter and goes on to encompass several timelines centering around the same set of major characters. Each timeline however has it’s own set of riveting characters that adds to the charm of this sporadic swapping narrative. Beginning with simple childhood fancies of a certain friends circle in the 60s it takes us to the rising fascism with glimpses of a near post-apocalyptic world from time to time. flutters from nostalgia to hype, drops a few doses of simple but enjoyable humour, then goes back to presage a disaster. An aberrant form of delish amusement. This guy has mastered the art of believable ridiculousness and complementing it with keeping us guessing upto the final chapters. There were few arcs that leave you disappointed cause you realise it was all so simple and predictable, and the next moment you are back to wracking your brains to figure it all out. Waves of childhood dreams, ambition, hopes crash against the darker elements of regrets, disappointments and failures.

‘So this is what it looks like… when our fantasy became reality…’- Kenji and Otcho

Characters- Each of the major protagonists goes from well defined simple tetrahedrons in the beginning; to a more varied and quirky forms as more edges added to them, consummating the development that drives at a desultory pace. On the antagonists side, an esoteric philosophical doctrine monitored by the sibylline and enigmatic leader. As the story gives out plausible hints to the identity and purpose of the oracular events and the conspiracy plaguing the time, the readers are encouraged to scrutinize the interpersonal relations between the old childhood group of associates at several time periods to come up with their own theories. Revisiting the characters, especially at indispensable times, makes way to see deeper into their psychology. Not to overlook the side characters: Each of them distinctive and individualistic, some of them with a mesmeric backstory supplementing the desire and motivating impulse in relation to the event at hand.

‘People should walk the way they want to. Wouldn’t that be the right kind of world for everyone?’ - Tamura Masao/ #13

Art- Although readers may feel skeptical of the artstyle earlier, you’ve gotta admit- it does it’s job well. It manages to draw out the requisite expressions apart from sending out the menacing or creepy vibe when needed. Quite often, it flips from being hilarious to eldritch in a single page, maintaining the convincing surrealism. Going through the manga incites such a wide variety of emotions- you’ll be smiling one moment, biting your nails the next, praying after a few seconds, hyping the next panel and so on. As far as backgrounds are concerned, they are top notch in trying to maintain a rational view of the future rather than going overboard with the few sci-fi and supernatural elements.

‘Becoming adults means forgetting and moving on to the next thing.’ - Kami-sama

And let’s not forget the laid-back OST accompanying the manga, pretty much intensifies the overall experience, other than the theme song of the manga itself: 20th Century Boy by T.Rex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6fMWguYVME

‘I’m singing a song. I said, I’m singing a song. And when someone is singing a song… don’t shoot them.’- Kenji

If one does go pedantic on the manga, it is easy to see that the ending was a bit rushed and does fall out of place compared to the rest of epic tale. And dragging on the major entrancing factors to the sequel, the denouement feels a bit incomplete and a low quality bait to read the horrible sequel of 21st Century Boys(Note: Don’t give into the temptation. Nope).

Apart from that, it is such an unputdownable page turner. Talk about harmonized chaos. The characters go a long way from being happy-go-lucky to reach the peak of human determination and keep pushing forward, crawling through the dirt oppressed but never faltering. Old comrades separate, go their own ways, only to come back together as their fates entwine once again. By the end of it, you may eventually add to the chorus of-
‘Guta La La
Suda La La’-
Kenji
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xdY10RhB0s)

Overall rating- 8.7/10

As I read through the manga, a feeling of nostalgia flooded throughout my body. Every chapter you read leaves you with a craving for reading the next chapter. Naoki Urasawa has taken suspense to its peak level. It has the perfect time leap, with no confusing parts. He surely has revived the childhood of many people with his manga.
The characters have a perfect development as they meet with each other with no bit of hurdle between their friendship.
The art style is perfect for a manga with some mistakes which can be overlooked very easily.
With this to be said, it is a perfect manga for any mystery lover.