Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 12 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)
December 17, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Volume 12 is a gripping, exciting, pulse-pounding volume of Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS”. It just gets better and better!
Image courtesy of © 2003 Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 12
STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
Available on December 21, 2010
Will 2015 bring an end to human history?! An urgent but mysterious messsage left by her mother Kiriko in 2002 finally reaches Kanna. But where is Kiriko, who developed the germ warfare weapons used on Bloody New Year’s Eve, and what is she doing now? Memories of New Years past flood the minds of Kenji’s friends and family. Will Yoshitsune’s clandestine actions eventually prove fruitful, or are they doomed to repeat the tragedies of the year 2000?
Meanwhile, Otcho and Kakuta are busily trying to track down Kiriko’s former colleague, Dr. Yamane. Unexpectedly, their search leads them to the very neighborhood that Otcho, Kenji, Maruo and the rest of their childhood pals grew up in. Can a visit to their old school shed new light on a bizarre incident that happened when they were all in the sixth grade?
For so long, readers of the Naoki Urasawa’s “20th Century Boys” have wondered about Kenji Endo’s sister Kiriko. Why she left her daughter behind? Why she went missing? But now we get some of those answers in the latest 11th volume!
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
The manga has been made into a live film, with the first film having been released as a part of a trilogy with a budget of 6 billion yen and will feature a cast of 300 people, it’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” will definitely be a manga classic. And now the the seventh volume of the popular manga series has been released by Viz Media.
Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” follows a group of friends when they were as children and the present time as adults. When these friends were children, they played a group of super heroes who would take down evildoers. But first, they needed to come up with their own storyline and scenarios of the bad things the evil side would do and how they, as superheroes would have to conquer the evil bad guys.
This plot of what the evil group would do was written down in a little guide which they called “The Prophecy”. As for the group, they devised a symbol of their group. But now many years later, this symbol has re-emerged as the symbol of a religious cult who may be behind terrorist activities.
Kenji and friends tried their best to stop the Friends but something happened on December 31, 2000 and fourteen years later, Kenji and friends are seen as the terrorists and the Friends have now further permeated into society worldwide.
What we know of December 31, 2000… Many lives were lost and although Kenji and his friends did what they can to stop the Friend’s giant robot from killing people in the city. They were blamed for it and since then have been reviled as the terrorists who massacred innocent people (when it was actually “the Friends” who were responsible). And 15 years later, the Friends have used the massacre to grow their cult and to take control of society, politics, law enforcement and have their foot in the door worldwide.
But for friends of Kenji who survived that fatal day, they will continue to do what they can to defeat their friends in the honor of their friend Kenji and save the world. The last volume featured Kanna, who is now a teenager who will never forget her uncle and is investigating any details or leads to her uncle Kenji but also her mother and possible father.
In Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” volume 12, we learn what has become of Kenji’s friend Maruo who has been missing since New Year’s Eve. Maruo has now become an assistant to Japan’s most popular singer Haru Namio who appears to know much about Maruo’s pain and plight of wanting to get back at “The Friends”.
Meanwhile, Otcho and his manga-artist friend Kakuta go to Otcho’s old high school to investigate the details on the night their friend Donkey saw something suspicious (a ghost?) at their school a long time ago. Meanwhile, Yoshitsune and Kiriko are hoping to get more details from Koizumi Kyoko who is being pursued by “The Friends” but also because she saw the true identity of “The Friend” while under their virtual machine.
But the biggest revelation is the identity of “The Friend” (or is it him?).
“20th CENTURY BOYS” features the following characters:
Kanna Endo: The daughter of Kenji’s missing sister. She is now a 17-year-old teenager who tries to keep her missing uncle Kenji in her memories by listening to his music (rather loudly) and works at a restaurant and is very protective over her friends and her living area. Has street smarts and adopted her guardian, Yukiji’s fighting spirit and not afraid of anything.
Yukiji: The only member of Kenji’s group who wasn’t part of the New Year’s Eve devastation as Kenji left young Kanna with her to raise in case if something went bad. Yukiji is the guardian of Kanna.
Chono Shohei – A freshman detective following his grandfather’s footsteps of being a great detective and to have the name “Cho-san”. Is always interested in Kanna but she and him are like fire and water and as he tries to get along with her, he now believes in Kanna that there is corruption in the police.
Mariah – A transvestite friend of Kanna who is trying to help her.
Ujiko Ujio – Manga artists who are neighbors of Kanna.
Kakuta - A manga artist who was friends with Ujiko and Ujio who has been given prison time for his manga work which goes against the rules by “the Friends”.
Kamisama - The homeless man who had visions of what Kenji should be doing and would relay it to him but 14 years later, somehow he has become a millionaire.
Kyoko Koizumi - A high school student who selects Japan’s notorious terrorist Kenji Endo as the historic figure for her homework. She finds herself in Friend Land.
Otcho – One of Kenji’s friends who escaped from prison to reunite and help Kanna.
Yoshitsune – A friend of Kenji who used his position as a cleaner at Friend Land to spy on the Friends.
Mon-Chan - One of Kenji’s friends who died while trying to gather information on the Friend’s conspiracy.
Sadakiyo – A childhood acquaintance of Kenji who always wore a mask. At first he is thought of as the Friend but he is a guy who is the director of the Friend museum and works with them.
Manjome Inshu – Top cadre of the Friends organization and head of the Friendship and Democracy Party.
Director Takasu – A Dream Navigator at Friend Land.
Here is a brief summary of each chapter of volume 12 (spoiler-less summaries):
Chapter 1: New Year’s Eve - It’s another New Year’s Eve, 15 years since Kenji and friends tried to prevent the Friend’s Armageddon and a time for those who survived the massacre to salute their fallen friends.
Chapter 2: Shrine Visit - We learn of what Maruo has been doing in the last 15 years and that he has been an assistant to the very popular singer Haru Namio.
Chapter 3: Suicide Bomber - Otcho and Kakuta do some investigating on Dr. Yamane.
Chapter 4: Secret Message - Otcho remembers a special message given to him by Yamane when they were children.
Chapter 5: Library - Otcho tells Kakuta about the day Donkey discovered something scary and alarming at school.
Chapter 6: Science Lab - Yukiji and Yoshitsune try to help Kyoko with her memory of what she saw in the virtual machine.
Chapter 7: By the Light of the Alcohol Lamp - Otcho and Kakuta discover someone waiting for them inside the classroom. Who is this mysterious man?
Chapter 8: The Men Who… - The mysterious man turns out to be Yamane who tells Otcho that he has been trying to escape the Friend’s for a very long time and what type of job he was doing.
Chapter 9: Gunshot (1) - Haru was able to meet the Friend and see his true identity which alarms Maruo.
Chapter 10: Gunshot (2) – Yoshitsune and Yukiji remember important details surrounding their past.
Chapter 11: Gunshot Explained – Could it be?…The Friend has come to kill Yamane, Otcho and Kakuta? Meanwhile, Kanna arrives to the school and has a memory from the past.
Chapter 12: Friendly Face – It’s January 1, 2015 and Maruo has just arrived to see Kana but both hear gunshots? Who dies?
The suspense continues to build with the latest volume of Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS”.
For so long, many have wondered what happened to Maruo and finally, this latest volume shows us that despite meeting financial success, since the massacre, Maruo continues to mourn for Kenji and friends.
Also, this latest volume gets down to business as we learn of what Yamane has been doing with “The Friend”, more details on Kanna’s mother Kiriko (who had been missing) and also, a major revelation when the man, who may be “The Friend” is unmasked. I’ll just say that I was surprised when the mask came off and who the person ended up being. Wow!
As always, Naoki Urasawa knows how to grab the attention of the reader. His artwork and how he is able to capture the sense of action and emotion through the pages is magnificent and so far, this series has been engrossing and highly enjoyable thus far.
Needless to say, readers are being setup for something huge and I definitely can’t wait for the next volume. There was some major revelations but you can tell that things are going to continue to build and eventually leading us to hopefully the storyline that we all have been waiting for… what happened to Kenji?
Volume 12 is a gripping, exciting, pulse-pounding volume of Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS”. It just gets better and better!
If you haven’t started already and you are looking for a deep, well-drawn, well-written manga series, Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” is highly recommended!
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 11 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)
September 9, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Engrossing and highly entertaining. Definitely one of the must-buy, must-own manga titles available right now! “Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys” is a manga series that continues to capture your attention and never feels like it’s getting old! Vol. 11 features major revelations of Kenji’s sister Kiriko but also what happened to Mon-chan. Highly recommended!
Image courtesy of © 2003 Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 11
STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
Is the Friend really Kanna’s father?! Will she still be able to stand up and fight, despite this anguishing news? Meanwhile, Koizumi Kyoko and Sadakiyo have gotten away from the Dream Navigators by the skin of their teeth, but as Yoshitsune once warned, these people will chase you to the ends of the earth… With Kanna in shock over the truth of her paternity, will she have the strength to go and rescue Koizumi?
Also, back in the summer of 2002, Mon-chan succeeded in tracking down Sadakiyo and got him to commit to paper the truth about the Friend’s identity and his actions. But to prove his loyalty to his trusted Friend, Sadakiyo took measures to ensure that the “Mon-chan Memo” stayed hidden. What exactly was “the Lie of 1970″ and how far will the Dream Navigators go to prevent it from being revealed?
For so long, readers of the Naoki Urasawa’s “20th Century Boys” have wondered about Kenji Endo’s sister Kiriko. Why she left her daughter behind? Why she went missing? But now we get some of those answers in the latest 11th volume!
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
The manga has been made into a live film, with the first film having been released as a part of a trilogy with a budget of 6 billion yen and will feature a cast of 300 people, it’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” will definitely be a manga classic. And now the the seventh volume of the popular manga series has been released by Viz Media.
Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” follows a group of friends when they were as children and the present time as adults. When these friends were children, they played a group of super heroes who would take down evildoers. But first, they needed to come up with their own storylines of the bad things the evil side would do and how they, as superheroes would have to conquer evil.
This plot of what the evil group would do was written down in a little guide which they called “The Prophecy”. As for the group, they devised a symbol of their group. But now many years later, this symbol has re-emerged as the symbol of a religious cult who may be behind terrorist activities.
Kenji and friends tried their best to stop the Friends but something happened on December 31, 2000 and fourteen years later, Kenji and friends are seen as the terrorists and the Friends have now further permeated into society worldwide.
As the stories from 2014 have focused on Kanna as a teenager who will never forget her uncle, a few of Kenji’s friends have turned up. Some missing, some alive and some dead. One of the friends, Otcho (Samurai), has been kept in a high level security prison and put into an area that is pitch black and where he will never escape or see sunlight.
The story now takes place 14 years later after the New Year’s Eve incident. A new prophecy has since emerged and the Friends are after Kanna and Kyoko. Both are on the run. Volume 11 focuses on Kanna and Kyoko’s plight. We also learn details on what happened to Mon-Chan and the discovery of what had happen to Kiriko all these years. This latest volume features major revelations of Kanna’s last moments with Kenji on New Year’s Eve but also Kiriko’s experiments and who she worked for.
“20th CENTURY BOYS” features the following characters:
Kanna Endo: The daughter of Kenji’s missing sister. She is now a 17-year-old teenager who tries to keep her missing uncle Kenji in her memories by listening to his music (rather loudly) and works at a restaurant and is very protective over her friends and her living area. Has street smarts and adopted her guardian, Yukiji’s fighting spirit and not afraid of anything.
Yukiji: The only member of Kenji’s group who wasn’t part of the New Year’s Eve devastation as Kenji left young Kanna with her to raise in case if something went bad. Yukiji is the guardian of Kanna.
Chono Shohei – A freshman detective following his grandfather’s footsteps of being a great detective and to have the name “Cho-san”. Is always interested in Kanna but she and him are like fire and water and as he tries to get along with her, he now believes in Kanna that there is corruption in the police.
Mariah – A transvestite friend of Kanna who is trying to help her.
Ujiko Ujio – Manga artists who are neighbors of Kanna.
Kakuta - A manga artist who was friends with Ujiko and Ujio who has been given prison time for his manga work which goes against the rules by “the Friends”.
Kamisama - The homeless man who had visions of what Kenji should be doing and would relay it to him but 14 years later, somehow he has become a millionaire.
Kyoko Koizumi - A high school student who selects Japan’s notorious terrorist Kenji Endo as the historic figure for her homework. She finds herself in Friend Land.
Otcho – One of Kenji’s friends who escaped from prison to reunite and help Kanna.
Yoshitsune – A friend of Kenji who used his position as a cleaner at Friend Land to spy on the Friends.
Mon-Chan - One of Kenji’s friends who died while trying to gather information on the Friend’s conspiracy.
Sadakiyo – A childhood acquaintance of Kenji who always wore a mask. At first he is thought of as the Friend but he is a guy who is the director of the Friend museum and works with them.
Manjome Inshu – Top cadre of the Friends organization and head of the Friendship and Democracy Party.
Director Takasu – A Dream Navigator at Friend Land.
Here is a brief summary of each chapter of volume 11 (spoiler-less summaries):
Chapter 1: Depths of Despair - Kanna reminisces of a discussion she had on New Year’s Eve 2000 with her Uncle Kenji.
Chapter 2: List of Ingredients - Continuing Kanna’s last day with her Uncle Kenji back in New Year’s Eve 2000.
Chapter 3: The Lie of 1970 - We learn that there was some interesting dealings behind-the-scenes that the Friend is not aware of and that others knew about “The Lie of 1970″.
Chapter 4: Old Aquaintance - Sadakiyo talks to Kyoko about the day Mon-Chan met up with him.
Chapter 5: Heart and Soul - Sadakiyo talks about what he did to Mon-Chan the night he was with him.
Chapter 6: Space Aliens - The Friends try to get Kyoko Koizumi, meanwhile Kanna and friends work quickly to save her.
Chapter 7: Sadakiyo’s Decision - Kanna reunites with her Uncle Yoshitsune and Sadakiyo gives them the final notes from Mon-chan.
Chapter 8: Ruins - Kanna heads to the location where her mother had supposedly stayed at.
Chapter 9: Godzilla - Kanna discovers information that relates to her mother.
Chapter 10: Mother’s Words – Kanna is shown film footage taken of her mother and a dire message she had given.
Chapter 11: Yamane-kun – Otcho tries to look for Dr. Yamane.
Chapter 12: Science Lab Memories – Otcho meets up with a colleague who knows Yamane and tries to get information on him.
Finally, we get to know a little bit about Kiriko Endo.
For so long, we were teased that the Kanna’s father is the leader of the Friends but we never knew what Kiriko had to do with this cult. We knew that she study microbiology and worked on bacteria, we knew that she left Kanna behind with Kenji and had not reappeared. So, no one knew if she is dead or alive but this latest volume does let us know that everything leading up to the New Year’s event, she had some involvement.
As like before when Kanna was younger and the friends were after her then, the more they want her and Kyoko now. Kyoko mainly for her virtual reality experience in unmasking the friend but unfortunately, she’s so bubbleheaded that you don’t know how she even will be able to help the rebellion.
If anything, what I enjoyed about this chapter is that we are starting to see all the original members return. Yoshitsune, Otcho, Yukiji and even a story about Mon-chan and also a return of Sadakiyo.
The 11th volume of “20th Century Boys” features more action and suspense and also new revelations that many people have been waiting for and definitely will have some major impact in the next volume.
As always, Naoki Urasawa knows how to grab the attention of the reader. His artwork and how he is able to capture the sense of action and emotion through the pages is magnificent and so far, this series has been engrossing and highly enjoyable thus far.
Needless to say, readers are being setup for something huge and I definitely can’t wait for the next volume. Overall, a gripping and exciting eleventh volume of Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS”. If you haven’t started already and you are looking for a deep, well-drawn, well-written manga series, Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” is highly recommended!
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 09 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)
September 7, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Engrossing and highly entertaining. “Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys” is a manga series that continues to capture your attention and never feels like it’s getting old! Vol. 9 is a Kanna-driven storyline and is definitely setting things up for an explosive volume 10. Highly recommended!
(C) Image courtesy of 20 SEIKI SHONEN 7 by Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 09
STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
The year is 2014, and Neo Tokyo is completely under the control of the Friend. Kanna has decided to stand up and avenge Kenji – will she be able to muster up enough support for her cause? Kanna makes her way to a mafia-operated casino and quickly finds herself at a high stakes table. Is she lucky (and smart) enough to turn the odds in her favor at the bizarre and fast-paced game of Rabbit Nabokov?
While Kanna marshals her forces, Koizumi Kyoko experiences true horror at the reeducation camp known as Friend Land. Going back in time in their “Virtual World,” she meets Kenji and his pals as boys in 1971 and sees something that is strictly taboo: the Friend’s childhood face! Will she live to report back on the Friend’s identity?
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
The manga has been made into a live film, with the first film having been released as a part of a trilogy with a budget of 6 billion yen and will feature a cast of 300 people, it’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” will definitely be a manga classic. And now the the seventh volume of the popular manga series has been released by Viz Media.
Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” follows a group of friends when they were as children and the present time as adults. When these friends were children, they played a group of super heroes who would take down evildoers. But first, they needed to come up with their own storylines of the bad things the evil side would do and how they, as superheroes would have to conquer evil.
This plot of what the evil group would do was written down in a little guide which they called “The Prophecy”. As for the group, they devised a symbol of their group. But now many years later, this symbol has re-emerged as the symbol of a religious cult who may be behind terrorist activities.
Kenji and friends tried their best to stop the Friends but something happened on December 31, 2000 and fourteen years later, Kenji and friends are seen as the terrorists and the Friends have now further permeated into society worldwide.
As the stories from 2014 have focused on Kanna as a teenager who will never forget her uncle, a few of Kenji’s friends have turned up. Some missing, some alive and some dead. One of the friends, Otcho (Samurai), has been kept in a high level security prison and put into an area that is pitch black and where he will never escape or see sunlight.
Volume 9 takes place 14 years later after the New Year’s Eve incident. A new prophecy has emerged and that a crowd will gather around and the savior will be assassinated. Meanwhile, for Kanna, she is not aware of this new prophecy but she is trying to get as many people gathered together in hopes to prevent an assassination as she believes the pope is the target. And the only way to stop it is by getting as many people to gather together and fight against the Friends. But how will Kanna manage to fill the area with hundreds of people?
Meanwhile, Kyoko is close to finding out the identity of the Friend…or does she?
“20th CENTURY BOYS” features the following characters:
Kanna Endo: The daughter of Kenji’s missing sister. She is now a 17-year-old teenager who tries to keep her missing uncle Kenji in her memories by listening to his music (rather loudly) and works at a restaurant and is very protective over her friends and her living area. Has street smarts and adopted her guardian, Yukiji’s fighting spirit and not afraid of anything.
Yukiji: The only member of Kenji’s group who wasn’t part of the New Year’s Eve devastation as Kenji left young Kanna with her to raise in case if something went bad. Yukiji is the guardian of Kanna.
Chono Shohei – A freshman detective following his grandfather’s footsteps of being a great detective and to have the name “Cho-san”. Is always interested in Kanna but she and him are like fire and water and as he tries to get along with her, he now believes in Kanna that there is corruption in the police.
Mariah – A transvestite friend of Kanna who is trying to help her.
Ujiko Ujio – Manga artists who are neighbors of Kanna.
Kakuta - A manga artist who was friends with Ujiko and Ujio who has been given prison time for his manga work which goes against the rules by “the Friends”.
Kamisama - The homeless man who had visions of what Kenji should be doing and would relay it to him but 14 years later, somehow he has become a millionaire.
Kyoko Koizumi - A high school student who selects Japan’s notorious terrorist Kenji Endo as the historic figure for her homework. She finds herself in Friend Land.
Here is a brief summary of each chapter of volume 9 (spoiler-less summaries):
Chapter 1: Don’t Look - Kyoko wants to find out the true identity of the Friend but Fukube must stop her before it’s too late.
Chapter 2: Nightmare - Kyoko finds herself in the past and about to come into contact with the Friend and find out his identity and Fukube must make a decision that may work or may kill Kyoko.
Chapter 3: Playing for Real - Kanna tries to win some money at the casino.
Chapter 4: Rabbit Nabokov - Kanna needs to raise more money and the only way she can is by playing the game, Rabbit Nabokov.
Chapter 5: ESP - Kanna makes a gamble to find out how she can bring masses of people to a location. Also, we learn about Kanna’s special abilities.
Chapter 6: Confession - Kanna goes to confession and the revelation of a second prophecy.
Chapter 7: The New Book of Prophecy - Mon-chan explains to Yukiji about the second prophecy and what he was able to dig up.
Chapter 8: Pulpit - A large number of people begin crowding around a church and Kanna asks for their help.
Chapter 9: Savior - Yukiji thinking that Kanna may be assassinated tries to get to the church in time to help her.
Chapter 10: Assassination – A Friend comes to assassinate Kanna but she gets help from a close friend of her Uncle Kenji.
Chapter 11: Fatal Bullet – Otcho finds out who made the final shot and a revelation from the New Prophecy of who is to show up.
Volume 9 is a Kanna-driven storyline that gives us an idea that she is a special person who has special abilities. Not only is she clairvoyant but she also has the similar ability of the Friend, that she can also bend spoons at will. But as she tries her best to create a crowd to protect the pope from assassination, a new prophecy is revealed and speculation of who will be the savior and who will be assassinated.
Although there are two chapters dedicated on Kyoko Koizumi and this virtual world that she was able to tap into, you are kind of left in the dark and hopefully we learn more in volume 10.
As always, Naoki Urasawa knows how to grab the attention of the reader. His artwork and how he is able to capture the sense of action and emotion through the pages is magnificent and so far, this series has been engrossing and highly enjoyable thus far.
Needless to say, readers are being setup for something huge and I definitely can’t wait for the next volume. Overall, a gripping and exciting ninth volume of Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS”. If you haven’t started already and you are looking for a deep, well-drawn, well-written manga series, Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” is highly recommended!
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 08 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)
June 23, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Engrossing and highly entertaining. “Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys” is a manga series that continues to capture your attention and never feels like it’s getting old! Vol. 8 features Kyoko Koizumi as she must survive “Friend Land”. Highly recommended!
(C) Image courtesy of 20 SEIKI SHONEN 7 by Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 08
STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
As boys, Kenji and his friends came up with a bunch of stories about an evil organization bent on world destruction. As adults, someone is now turning their fantasies into reality! What really happened on Bloody New Year’s Eve?
Kenji, Otcho and Maruo have just driven their dynamite-loaded truck under the robot… where they see what a poor relation to the giant robot they dreamed up in their childhoods it actually is: just two legs with caterpillar treads, held together by an enormous hot air balloon, with cloth hanging down to disguise the underside.
Meanwhile, at the meeting of the government’s crisis control committee, Manjome Inshu unveils the Friend’s benevolent plan to distribute worldwide a vaccine against the virus being spread by the robot. The Friends, he says, have been developing such a vaccine since the terrorist germ attacks of 1997. At the same time, the Friends will contribute a monument they were building for their headquarters to serve as a blockade against the robot. The Friends are saving the day! Or are they?
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
The manga has been made into a live film, with the first film having been released as a part of a trilogy with a budget of 6 billion yen and will feature a cast of 300 people, it’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” will definitely be a manga classic. And now the the seventh volume of the popular manga series has been released by Viz Media.
Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” follows a group of friends when they were as children and the present time as adults. When these friends were children, they played a group of super heroes who would take down evildoers. But first, they needed to come up with their own storylines of the bad things the evil side would do and how they, as superheroes would have to conquer evil.
This plot of what the evil group would do was written down in a little guide which they called “The Prophecy”. As for the group, they devised a symbol of their group. But now many years later, this symbol has re-emerged as the symbol of a religious cult who may be behind terrorist activities.
Kenji and friends tried their best to stop the Friends but something happened on December 31, 2000 and fourteen years later, Kenji and friends are seen as the terrorists and the Friends have now further permeated into society worldwide.
As the stories from 2014 have focused on Kanna as a teenager who will never forget her uncle, a few of Kenji’s friends have turned up. Some missing, some alive and some dead. One of the friends, Otcho (Samurai), has been kept in a high level security prison and put into an area that is pitch black and where he will never escape or see sunlight.
Volume 8 focuses on high school student Kyoko Koizumi who attends the same high school as Kanna and has decided to do her report on “Bloody New Year’s Eve”. What she is unaware is that any student who pries into what happened during that day are taken to the amusement park known as “Friend Land”, where many students are either killed or re-programmed.
Meanwhile, Otcho and Kakuta who have escaped prison discuss what happened on Bloody New Year’s Eve and what Otcho saw that day, the last day he saw Kenji.
“20th CENTURY BOYS” features the following characters:
Kanna Endo: The daughter of Kenji’s missing sister. She is now a 17-year-old teenager who tries to keep her missing uncle Kenji in her memories by listening to his music (rather loudly) and works at a restaurant and is very protective over her friends and her living area. Has street smarts and adopted her guardian, Yukiji’s fighting spirit and not afraid of anything.
Yukiji: The only member of Kenji’s group who wasn’t part of the New Year’s Eve devastation as Kenji left young Kanna with her to raise in case if something went bad. Yukiji is the guardian of Kanna.
Chono Shohei – A freshman detective following his grandfather’s footsteps of being a great detective and to have the name “Cho-san”. Is always interested in Kanna but she and him are like fire and water and as he tries to get along with her, he now believes in Kanna that there is corruption in the police.
Mariah – A transvestite friend of Kanna who is trying to help her.
Ujiko Ujio – Manga artists who are neighbors of Kanna.
Kakuta - A manga artist who was friends with Ujiko and Ujio who has been given prison time for his manga work which goes against the rules by “the Friends”.
Kamisama - The homeless man who had visions of what Kenji should be doing and would relay it to him but 14 years later, somehow he has become a millionaire.
Kyoko Koizumi - A high school student who selects Japan’s notorious terrorist Kenji Endo as the historic figure for her homework. She finds herself in Friend Land.
Here is a brief summary of each chapter of volume 8 (spoiler-less summaries):
Chapter 1: Decision - Otcho tells Kakuta of what happened on “Bloody New Year’s Eve”.
Chapter 2: Robot - Otcho tells Kakuta about the robot that attacked the city
Chapter 3: Kenji’s Song - Kanna tell’s Chono about her uncle Kenji and his music.
Chapter 4: The Bus - Because Kyoko is writing a report on “Bloody New Year’s Eve”, she must go to Friend Land.
Chapter 5: Friend Land - Kyoko arrives in Friend Land and is afraid that the room is bugged.
Chapter 6: Escape - Kyoko tries to escape from Friend Land and is greeted by an older Yoshitsune who tries to help her.
Chapter 7: Request - Yoshitsune needs Kyoko’s help in trying to find the identity of the Friend.
Chapter 8: Score - Kyoko uses Yoshitsune’s training in order to help fool the Friend’s.
Chapter 9: Savior - Kyoko reaches the bonus stage which will bring her back to 1970 via the virtual world.
Chapter 10: Plan – Kyoko meets Kenji and friends when they were younger.
Chapter 11: Hanging Hill – Kyoko visits a haunted house with Kenji and friends.
Chapter 12: Voices – Yoshitsune fears that Kyoko’s life may be in danger and he may disconnect the virtual world which may hurt Kyoko.
With the latest volume 8 of “20th Century Boys”, the reader is given insight of what took place when Kenji and friends tried to enter the Friend’s giant robot. But the primary storyline centers around student Kyoko Koizumi who is brought to Friend Land and is paranoid that something bad will happen to her.
Fortunately, she finds the aging Yoshitsune who works at Friend Land but happens to have his faction staying underneath the park to monitor Friend activities. But hoping to use Kyoko in order to find out the identity of the Friend, while the other story arc features Kyoko reaching the bonus stage and going to the virtual world and find Kenji and friends.
Which makes people wonder, how can someone know so much about what had taken place with Kenji and friends at the time? Is the Friend, someone they know and hung out with?
As always, Naoki Urasawa knows how to grab the attention of the reader. His artwork and how he is able to capture the sense of action and emotion through the pages is magnificent and so far, this series has been engrossing and highly enjoyable thus far.
Needless to say, readers are being setup for something huge and I definitely can’t wait for the next volume. Overall, a wonderful eighth of Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS”. If you haven’t started already and you are looking for a deep, well-drawn, well-written manga series, Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” is highly recommended!
20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
March 3, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
The second “20th Century Boys” film in the trilogy tries its best to incorporate as much story from multiple volumes from the popular manga series in 140 minutes. Unfortunately, you can tell that there are a lot of details missing and sometimes certain storylines seem a bit out of place. But for the most part, I enjoyed how this film ended and had things set up for the final film in the trilogy.
Images courtesy of © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts/Shogakukan. 2009 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope
DURATION: 140 minutes
DVD INFORMATION: NTSC, Region 1, Anamorphic Widescreen 16×9
RATED: Not Rated: Parental Guidance Suggested
COMPANY: Viz Pictures
Released on February 16, 2010
Based on the manga “20-Seiki Shonen” by Naoki Urasawa
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Screenplay by Takashi Nagasaki, Yusuke Watanabe
Executive Producer: Seiji Okuda
Produced by Nobuyuki Iinuma, Morio Amagi, Ryuji Ichiyama
Music by Ryomei Shirai
Cinematography by Satoru Karasawa
Production Designer: Naoki Soma
Starring:
Airi Taira as Kanna (older)
Haruka Kinami as Kyoko Koizumi
Etsushi Toyokawa as Otcho
Takako Tokiwa as Yukiji
Toshiaki Karasawa as Kenji Endo
Teruyuki Kagawa as Yoshitsune
Hidehiko Ishizuka as Maruo
Takashi Ukaji as Mon-chan
Hiroyuki Miyasako as Keroyon
Katsuhisa Namase as Donkey
Fumiyo Kohinata as Yamane
Kuranosuke Sasaki asFukubê
Shirô Sano as Yan-bô / Mâ-bô
Mirai Moriyama as Comic Artist
Kanji Tsuda as Moroboshi
Takashi Fujii as Friendship Party Promotor
Hanako Yamada as Friendship Party Promotor
Arata as Masao Tamura
Nana Katase as Mika Shikishima
Chizuru Ikewaki as Convenience Store Clerk
Airi Taira as Kanna Endô
It is now 2015, and Friend rules a disturbing new world. Kenji has been missing since Bloody New Year’s Eve of 2000, and his niece Kanna is now in high school. Her history textbook contains a fabricated story about Kenji and his friends being the terrorists behind the horrific events of 2000. Kanna, knowing the truth, openly resents this, and as a result she is sent to Friend Land, a facility where people with rebellious anti-Friend behavior are re-educated.
The surviving secret base members have spent the last 15 years in various activities opposing Friend and his regime, trying to find out the truth about Friend. Soon they discover the shocking existence of The New Book of Prophecy, the sequel to The Book of Prophecy, describing an event: In 2015, at a church in Shinjuku, a savior will rise to uphold justice but will be assassinated. Who is the savior? Once again, Doomsday looms near…
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” (known in Japan as “20-seiki Shonen”) was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
In 2008, the manga received its adaptation and the trilogy is one of the most expensive Japanese films with a budget of 6 billion yen and featured a cast of over 300 people. It’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was quite epic as the manga was not just enjoyable but also complex with sci-fi elements but also action and suspense, so what would appear to be unlikely for a live action film, became reality and now the second “20th CENTIRY BOYS” film has been released stateside in the US titled “20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope”.
Taking on the reigns as director is Yukihiko Tsutsumi, known for directing popular Japanese dramas such as “Kindaichi Shonen no Jikemo”, “Ikebukuro West Gate Park” and the “Black Jack” and “Trick” films and cinematography by Satoru Karasawa (“Keizoku”, “Sairen”).
But in order to make this film work and go big, the film had to feature major talent and “20th Century Boys” features an all-star cast which includes Toshiaki Karasawa (“Imouto yo”, “Boku ga boku de aru tame ni”, “Oishinbo”); the reunion of actress Takako Tokiwa (“Beautiful Life”, “Meguriai”, “A Fighter’s Blues”) and actor Etsushi Toyokawa (“No Way Back, “Aoi Tori”, “Love Letter”) known for their romantic drama “Aishiteiru to ite kure”; Teruyuki Kagawa (“Tokyo Sonata”, “Tokyo!”, “Hero”); Hitomi Kuroki (“Shitsurakuen”, “Ring:Saishusho”, “Good Luck!!”), singer Fumiya Fujii and the visual kei band Nightmare.
“20th Century Boys” is a film that revolves around former rock musician Kenji Endo (Karasawa) who is now working at a convenience store which his parents once owned but was bought by a major company. Kenji’s older sister (Kuroki) left home and in the process, left her young baby Kanna to her brother without explaining why. Meanwhile, there are mysterious deaths happening around the world which stared in Africa with a violent virus which kills people and somehow are drained of their blood. Also, a cult known as the “Friends” that is growing in popularity in Japan. In Japan, the police find out that the missing Shikishima family, the professor missing is an adviser to the student that was found dead.
As Kenji tried to deliver milk to the home of Shikishima (before he found out that the professor is missing), he sees a logo with an eye with a hand pointing up. He seems to recall the logo but doesn’t remember. So, when he attends a reception for a friend, he meets up with current friends and some older ones which he doesn’t remember. But one friend asks if Kenji was “The Friend” because the logo that they used.
One day, a major attack virus attack happens in San Francisco and while his mother is reading the newspaper, Kenji sees that his old friend that knew as “Donkey” as a child is dead and then plans to go to the funeral. As he prepares for it on the morning of, he finds an envelope and it’s a letter from Donkey posted a week before he died. Inside it’s the logo and immediately Kenji shows his friends and they remind him of how the logo was a symbol of their club when they were younger.
At the funeral, his friends remind him that they buried a box in the ground which had items when they were children and part of the club. As they reminisce of the past, they find a flag and the symbol of their club which is the symbol that “The Friends” are using. Is it someone from their club that is in charge of this new cult?
Meanwhile, murders are happening in the city and we learn how The Friends have permeated into Japanese culture. From the police force to politics, their numbers are growing quickly. But life changes for Kenji one day when he meets the man who killed Donkey and has been gravely injured by trying to escape the cult and tells Kenji that the Friends are using his prophecy (which he wrote as a child) about how the evil forces would destroy the world but in the end, nine people would fight against the evil and win. Telling Kenji that is what’s happening right now and he is the only person that can save the world but chilling words when the man tells Kenji that he must protect his sisters young child Kanna.
So, someone in Kenji’s past has took the prophecy literally and has created a cult called The Friends and are enacting everything from “The Prophecy” which has led to many people being injured or killed. Since Kenji and friends created “The Prophecy”, they know that as adults, they are the heroes that must take on the Friends (who are the League of Evil) who are disguised as a savior of society. But they are just regular people, how can they even stand up against a religious cult that has grow so popular, let alone forces that have gone so deep into the police force and political system?
In “20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope”, takes place 14 years later after the New Year’s Eve incident. Not much is known of what happened to Kenji Endo and his friends but 14 years later, the future indicates that things did not go well. Kanna, Kenji’s niece is now a teenager who has lived with Yukiji but has kept the flame ongoing for her missing uncle. Working at a restaurant and has developed street smarts, she is very weary of the police, especially knowing that the influence of the religious cult known as “The Friends” has permeated into major society from politics to the police and has changed the world.
As Kanna tries to research on the disappearance of Kenji and his friends, Otcho (Shogun) is trying to break free from prison in order to protect Kanna. Meanwhile, lies are told of how Kenji the terrorist and his friends have hurt society and society has painted them as a satanic group who murdered countless people on “Bloody New Year’s Eve”.
The majority of the film focuses on Kanna and her friend Kyoko Koizumi as they manage to hook up with one of Kenji’s good friends Yoshitsune who works at the Friend theme park and has been monitoring “Friend” activities underground. But the Friend is up to something more sinister, especially since it is learned that he had created a “new prophecy” when he was a child after discovering Kenji’s “Prophecy” at the old clubhouse. And this new prophecy details of a major assassination. Who will be killed?
The main characters of “20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope” are:
Kenji Endo: The main protagonist of the book. A former rock musician who led the rebellion against the friend and has disappeared after “Bloody New Years Eve”. He is seen as the “satan” of society.
Maruo: Kenji’s chubby friend (played by Hidehiko Ishizuka) who is also missing since the “Bloody New Year’s Eve”.
Yoshitsune: Another close friend of Kenji (played by Teruyuki Kagawa). He has been secretly working in disguise at the Friend theme park and monitoring their activities underground.
Mon-Chan: A close childhood friend of Kenji (played by Takashi Ukaji) who has discovered pages of a “New Prophecy”.
Donkey: A childhood friend of the gang (played by Katsuhisa Namase) known as Donkey because he would chase after them on his bare feet and always had snot running down his nose. His death is what started Kenji’s investigation of “The Friend”.
Yukiji: The strongest girl (played by Tokiko Takawa) during Kenji’s childhood who promised Kenji that if anything happened on New Year’s Even, she would raise Kanna.
Otcho: A childhood friend of Kenji (played by Etsushi Toyokawa) who is fantastic with guns and fighting. He has been kept in prison for 14 years, trying to find a way to escape.
Kyoko Koizumi: A classmate of Kanna who wanted nothing to do with her because she is related to Kenji but due to circumstances, she ends up helping her and Yoshitsune.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope” for the film is quite entertaining as there are a variety of locations of where the film is shot and many shots are done during the outdoor scenes. But the film looks as good as it can on DVD, there are some compression artifacts and combing that can be seen at times.
Audio is presented in Japanese language in Dolby Digital with English subtitles. For those with modern receivers and a good home theater setup, “20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope” sounds much better with audio settings on stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundscape. The film is front and center channel driven and dialogue is clear.
I will say that if Viz Pictures decides to release the film on Blu-ray, I would be the first in line as I would love to see this movie in HD. I can imagine the lossless audio for this film to be awesome as well.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
I am reviewing a unfinalized screener copy of “20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope” with no special features.
As a big fan of Naoki Urasawa’s work and also a big fan of the “20th Century Boys” manga series, I couldn’t wait to watch “20th Century Boys”. But also as a big fan of Japanese cinema and dramas, what a pleasant surprise to see so many all-star talent featured in this film. But how did I feel about the film adaptation?
First, let’s discuss the manga and movie comparison. For the most part, there are fans who are dedicated to a popular series. May it be a comic book or an animated series and when you take a long series and have to make it to a long film, the results from many films that have done that are typically 50/50 when it comes to fans response.
For me, having known that film adaptations can only go so far and not capturing every detail, I was pretty much prepared for “20th Century Boys” to miss certain key storyline details. You have three films and there is only so much story to tell in these films from a long series. But I do give the screenwriters some acknowledgment because they had to waddle through as much storyline from the manga series and make it to a live action film.
The film incorporates what transpires from vol. 6 of the manga series and on. One thing that I noticed is that with the second film, things are more rushed and that pertinent details were omitted in order to include so much of the storyline into the movie. Where the first film did well in establishing Kenji and his friends, the second film felt it was trying to incorporate as much as it can from the manga series in movie format and there is only so much you can do when there is so much story. So, the character of Kyoko Koizumi comes off like a dingbat and for some reason, I’m not sure if she’s supposed to be a comic relief character because the way she acts is quite odd.
Even the characters of Chono Shohei, the manga artists Ujiko Ujio and the prison sequence from the manga featuring Kakuta and Shogun were cut down dramatically. So, with the film running at 140 minutes, not only does it seem quite long, you feel that there is something missing to the storyline and the truth is, there is a lot of detail from the manga series that did not make it to the final cut of the second film. This was a major criticism among the Japanese fans of the manga series who watched the film and I have only read the first six volumes of the manga series which comprises the first 20 minutes of the film and after that, I can tell there were details missing and some plot sequences seemed confusing.
As for the DVD, I can’t comment on the special features since my screener copy didn’t include them.
Overall, “20th Century Boys” was a film that was 50/50 in terms of fan appreciation towards the film. I expect the same with those who are familiar with the manga series in the US to feel that it is too difficult to capture Urasawa’s manga series in a film adaptation. But for me, I admit there was campiness, there was also some scenes that seem like they came out of left field. I absolutely enjoyed the first film but somehow things felt out of place for the second film. I did enjoy the final half of “20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope” (which I don’t want to spoil) but I can’t wait to see how the final film in trilogy completes the story.
For me, “20th Century Boys” like the manga series is a trilogy that you want to stay in for the long haul. I’m sure it was difficult for the writers to incorporate as much story from the manga series into the films but for the most part, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. So far, I really enjoyed the first film, while its sequel was OK but I hope the final film is enjoyable and I can’t wait to see it!
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 06 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)
February 25, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Gripping, addictive and a wonderful manga series thus far! Vol. 6 takes place 14 years in the future with a 17-year-old Kanna and some surprises to show how much the world has changed since that tragic New Year’s Eve day. Highly recommended!
(C) Image courtesy of 20 SEIKI SHONEN 1 by Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 06
STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
Fourteen years after “Bloody New Year’s Eve” brought the world to the brink of extinction, Neo Tokyo in the year 2014 has fully recovered and become a thriving, multi-ethnic metropolis. Kanna has survived the chaos and is now 17 years old – and has just stumbled upon a terrible truth that may change her destiny.
Meanwhile, at a maximum security prison ten kilometers out in the middle of Tokyo Bay, a young manga artist learns firsthand the chilling downsides of the world he now inhabits. Things go from bad to almost unbearable when he’s thrown into solitary confinement right near one of the prison’s most notorious inmates. Has all hope been lost, or will this mysterious prisoner offer the frightened artist his only true shot at escape?
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
The manga has been made into a live film, with the first film having been released as a part of a trilogy with a budget of 6 billion yen and will feature a cast of 300 people, it’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” will definitely be a bonafide classic. And now the the sixth volume of the popular manga series has been released by Viz Media.
Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” follows a group of friends when they were as children and the present time as adults. When these friends were children, they played a group of super heroes who would take down evildoers. But first, they needed to come up with their own storylines of the bad things the evil side would do and how they, as superheroes would have to conquer evil.
This plot of what the evil group would do was written down in a little guide which they called “The Prophecy”. As for the group, they devised a symbol of their group. But now many years later, this symbol has re-emerged as the symbol of a religious cult who may be behind terrorist activities.
Volume 6 takes place 14 years later after the New Year’s Eve incident. Not much is known of what happened to Kenji Endo and his friends but 14 years later, the future indicates that things did not go well. Kanna, Kenji’s niece is now a teenager who has lived with Yukiji but has kept the flame ongoing for her missing uncle. Working at a restaurant and has developed street smarts, she is very weary of the police, especially knowing that the influence of the religious cult known as “The Friends” has permeated into major society from politics to the police and has changed the world.
People who go against the rules made by “The Friends” have been given prison time and there are stories about a monster that lives in solitary confinement. Who is this “monster” and does it have anything to do with Kanna?
“20th CENTURY BOYS” Vol. 6 features the following characters:
Kanna Endo: The daughter of Kenji’s missing sister. She is now a 17-year-old teenager who tries to keep her missing uncle Kenji in her memories by listening to his music (rather loudly) and works at a restaurant and is very protective over her friends and her living area. Has street smarts and adopted her guardian, Yukiji’s fighting spirit and not afraid of anything.
Yukiji: The only member of Kenji’s group who wasn’t part of the New Year’s Eve devastation as Kenji left young Kanna with her to raise in case if something went bad. Yukiji is the guardian of Kanna.
Chono Shohei – A freshman detective following his grandfather’s footsteps of being a great detective and to have the name “Cho-san”. Is always interested in Kanna but she and him are like fire and water and as he tries to get along with her, Kanna’s distrust of the police pushes him away.
Ujiko Ujio – Manga artists who are neighbors of Kanna.
Kakuta - A manga artist who was friends with Ujiko and Ujio who has been given prison time for his manga work which goes against the rules by “the Friends”.
“20th Century Boys” takes a different path as the story progresses 14 years into the future. The whereabouts of Kenji and friends and who survived and who died are unknown but for 17-year-old Kanna, she wonders what has happened to her uncle and everyone. But for now, life is different in a world dominated by the Friends and finding people she can trust has become difficult.
Here is a brief summary of each chapter of volume 6 (spoiler-less summaries):
Chapter 1: Witness- Police are looking for a drag queen named Britney for some reason.
Chapter 2: The Killer - Chono goes to investigate murders but Kanna gives him some surprising news of who was the killer.
Chapter 3: Umihotaru - Manga artist Kakuta is being put in jail and hears stories of a monster in solitary confinement.
Chapter 4: The Monster - Kakuta is caught with a pencil and put in solitary confinement and starts a conversation with whoever can hear him.
Chapter 5: Tunnels - The so-called “monster” is revealed.
Chapter 6: On the Run - With Kanna helping out Britney, now she may be targeted by the police.
Chapter 7: Big Shot - With Chono receiving detail from the witness about possible assassination, he goes to a man, a higher up in the police force that he considers a friend of his grandfather.
Chapter 8: Amulets- Chono tells Kanna that he has helped Britney by going to his friend with the information.
Chapter 9: Final Hope - Kanna knew police can not be trusted and Chono now learns first hand that the police force is corrupted.
Chapter 10: The Great Escape – With Shogun (Otcho) now learning that something bad may happen to Kanna, he and Kakuta try to plan their escape from the prison.
Chapter 11: Test of Courage – Kakuta knows the longer he stays in prison, he will be killed.
Volume 6 definitely takes the storyline of “20th Century Boys” to a different direction. For the last five volumes, we have watched Kenji and friends try to find out who is the Friend and then grow their force to fight them. But with the New Year’s massacre evidently not going their way, 14 years later, the storyline focuses on Kanna.
We know that Kanna is the daughter of the Friend and Kenji’s sister and since the earlier volumes, The Friends have attempted to kidnap her when she was a child. But now that she has become so street savvy, she has managed to avoid being caught by them and using her street smarts to fight her way out. But obviously, trouble is growing and it appears that the Friends cult are up to something sinister, once again.
Although not an action driven volume, there is good character driven storylines featuring Kanna and Detective Chono who appears to have a bigger role in this storyline. Nothing is revealed to what happened to Kenji and friends but we do see Otcho (Shogun) and how he has been mistreated, chained and possibly tortured within these last 14 years. If anything, I enjoyed this volume as it shows how much the Friends have permeated into regular society and are now so powerful that they would be difficult to stop.
I have no idea where Urasawa is going to take the seventh volume of the series but from reading vol. 6, I can’t wait. Another excellent volume of “Naoki Ursawa’s 20th Century boys”! All six volumes thus far are highly recommended!
20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
January 10, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Exciting, enjoyable and highly entertaining. Naoki Urasawa’s wonderful manga series “20th Century Boys” receives a live-action film adaptation. The first film of the trilogy receives its US debut on DVD. Featuring an all-star cast and for the most part, trying to capture as much as they can from the first five volumes of the manga series, I enjoyed the film a lot. But I can also understand those who feel there is too much story and detail from Urasawa’s manga series to be made into a film. Overall, I felt the writers did the best they could considering the challenges for the film adaptation. “20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End” is still film worth giving a try!
Images courtesy of © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts/Shogakukan. 2008 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End
DURATION: 142 minutes
DVD INFORMATION: NTSC, Region 1, Anamorphic Widescreen 16×9
RATED: Not Rated: Parental Guidance Suggested
COMPANY: NTV, Viz Pictures
Released on December 15, 2009
Based on the manga “20-Seiki Shonen” by Naoki Urasawa
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Screenplay by Yasushi Fukuda, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa, Yusuke Watanabe
Executive Producer: Seiji Okuda
Music by Ryomei Shirai
Cinematography by Nobuyuki Ito
Starring:
Toshiaki Karasawa as Kenji Endo
Etsushi Toyokawa as Otcho
Takako Tokiwa as Yukiji
Teruyuki Kagawa as Yoshitsune
Hidehiko Ishizuka as Maruo
Takashi Ukaji as Mon-chan
Hiroyuki Miyasako as Keroyon
Katsuhisa Namase as Donkey
Fumiyo Kohinata as Yamane
Kuranosuke Sasaki asFukubê
Shirô Sano as Yan-bô / Mâ-bô
Mirai Moriyama as Comic Artist
Kanji Tsuda as Moroboshi
Takashi Fujii as Friendship Party Promotor
Hanako Yamada as Friendship Party Promotor
Arata as Masao Tamura
Nana Katase as Mika Shikishima
Chizuru Ikewaki as Convenience Store Clerk
Airi Taira as Kanna Endô
It all begins in 1969 when a young boy named Kenji and his friends write “The Book of Prophecy.” In their book, they write about a future where they fight against an evil organization trying to take over the world and bring about Doomsday.
Years later in 1997, a mysterious cult led by a man only known as “Friend” has emerged and gained strong influence over society. A series of catastrophic events begin to occur, mirroring the prophecies made up by the young Kenji. The greatest fear is that the climax of The Book of Prophecy will become a reality: on December 31st, 2000, a terrifying giant virus-spreading robot will attack the entire city of Tokyo, leading to the end of mankind.
The only people who know about The Book are Kenji and his childhood friends. Who is Friend? Will Kenji and his friends be able to stop Friend, save mankind, and live to see the 21st Century?
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” (known in Japan as “20-seiki Shonen”) was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
In 2008, the manga received its adaptation and the trilogy is one of the most expensive Japanese films with a budget of 6 billion yen and featured a cast of over 300 people. It’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was quite epic as the manga was not just enjoyable but also complex with sci-fi elements but also action and suspense, so what would appear to be unlikely for a live action film, became reality and now the first film has been released stateside in the US.
Taking on the reigns as director is Yukihiko Tsutsumi, known for directing popular Japanese dramas such as “Kindaichi Shonen no Jikemo”, “Ikebukuro West Gate Park” and the “Black Jack” and “Trick” films and cinematography by Satoru Karasawa (“Keizoku”, “Sairen”).
But in order to make this film work and go big, the film had to feature major talent and “20th Century Boys” features an all-star cast which includes Toshiaki Karasawa (“Imouto yo”, “Boku ga boku de aru tame ni”, “Oishinbo”); the reunion of actress Takako Tokiwa (“Beautiful Life”, “Meguriai”, “A Fighter’s Blues”) and actor Etsushi Toyokawa (“No Way Back, “Aoi Tori”, “Love Letter”) known for their romantic drama “Aishiteiru to ite kure”; Teruyuki Kagawa (“Tokyo Sonata”, “Tokyo!”, “Hero”); Hitomi Kuroki (“Shitsurakuen”, “Ring:Saishusho”, “Good Luck!!”), singer Fumiya Fujii and the visual kei band Nightmare.
“20th Century Boys” is a film that revolves around former rock musician Kenji Endo (Karasawa) who is now working at a convenience store which his parents once owned but was bought by a major company. Kenji’s older sister (Kuroki) left home and in the process, left her young baby Kanna to her brother without explaining why. Meanwhile, there are mysterious deaths happening around the world which stared in Africa with a violent virus which kills people and somehow are drained of their blood. Also, a cult known as the “Friends” that is growing in popularity in Japan. In Japan, the police find out that the missing Shikishima family, the professor missing is an adviser to the student that was found dead.
As Kenji tried to deliver milk to the home of Shikishima (before he found out that the professor is missing), he sees a logo with an eye with a hand pointing up. He seems to recall the logo but doesn’t remember. So, when he attends a reception for a friend, he meets up with current friends and some older ones which he doesn’t remember. But one friend asks if Kenji was “The Friend” because the logo that they used.
One day, a major attack virus attack happens in San Francisco and while his mother is reading the newspaper, Kenji sees that his old friend that knew as “Donkey” as a child is dead and then plans to go to the funeral. As he prepares for it on the morning of, he finds an envelope and it’s a letter from Donkey posted a week before he died. Inside it’s the logo and immediately Kenji shows his friends and they remind him of how the logo was a symbol of their club when they were younger.
At the funeral, his friends remind him that they buried a box in the ground which had items when they were children and part of the club. As they reminisce of the past, they find a flag and the symbol of their club which is the symbol that “The Friends” are using. Is it someone from their club that is in charge of this new cult?
Meanwhile, murders are happening in the city and we learn how The Friends have permeated into Japanese culture. From the police force to politics, their numbers are growing quickly. But life changes for Kenji one day when he meets the man who killed Donkey and has been gravely injured by trying to escape the cult and tells Kenji that the Friends are using his prophecy (which he wrote as a child) about how the evil forces would destroy the world but in the end, nine people would fight against the evil and win. Telling Kenji that is what’s happening right now and he is the only person that can save the world but chilling words when the man tells Kenji that he must protect his sisters young child Kanna.
So, someone in Kenji’s past has took the prophecy literally and has created a cult called The Friends and are enacting everything from “The Prophecy” which has led to many people being injured or killed. Since Kenji and friends created “The Prophecy”, they know that as adults, they are the heroes that must take on the Friends (who are the League of Evil) who are disguised as a savior of society. But they are just regular people, how can they even stand up against a religious cult that has grow so popular, let alone forces that have gone so deep into the police force and political system?
The main characters of “20th Century Boys” are:
Kenji Endo: The main protagonist of the book. An owner of a convenience store raising his missing sister’s baby daughter Kanna and a former rock musician.
Maruo: Kenji’s chubby friend (played by Hidehiko Ishizuka) who owns a fancy goods shop in the neighborhood. One of Kenji’s close friends.
Yoshitsune: Another close friend of Kenji (played by Teruyuki Kagawa). Known in adulthood with his eyeglasses and is a salary employee who always got picked on.
Keroyon: A Childhood friend known as Froggy (played by Keroyon). Lives in Kenji’s neighborhood and the first of the friends to get married.
Mon-Chan: A close childhood friend of Kenji (played by Takashi Ukaji) who now works overseas in Germany.
Donkey: A childhood friend of the gang (played by Katsuhisa Namase) known as Donkey because he would chase after them on his bare feet and always had snot running down his nose. The mystery begins when Donkey was reported dead.
Yukiji: The strongest girl in class (played by Tokiko Takawa) who is now a customs officer and works at the airport with her sniffer dog. She was the strongest of the group and was a tomboy.
Otcho: A childhood friend of Kenji (played by Etsushi Toyokawa) who was on business in South Asia and was not heard of after his plane went down. Now a guy who works for hire and an expert in fighting and guns.
Fukube: A childhood friend of Kenji (played by Kuranosuke Sasaki) and a member of the club.
Yan-bo/Ma-bo: Two big twins who were the enemies of the gang when they were younger. Now they are rich businessmen (played by Shiro Sano) who work with The Friends.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End” for the film is quite entertaining as there are a variety of locations of where the film is shot and many shots are done during the outdoor scenes. But the film looks as good as it can on DVD, there are some compression artifacts and combing that can be seen at times.
Audio is presented in Japanese language in Dolby Digital with English subtitles. For those with modern receivers and a good home theater setup, “20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End” sounds much better with audio settings on stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundscape. The film is front and center channel driven and dialogue is clear.
I will say that if Viz Pictures decides to release the film on Blu-ray, I would be the first in line as I would love to see this movie in HD. I can imagine the lossless audio for this film to be awesome as well.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End” comes with a few special features. Included are:
- 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope Trailer – (1:03) The trailer for the second film.
- 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End Trailer – (1:02) The original theatrical trailer in English
- Japanese Original Trailers – (1:35) Japanese trailers for the film
- Viz Pictures Presents - Trailers for upcoming or currently available Viz Pictures films.
As a big fan of Naoki Urasawa’s work and also a big fan of the “20th Century Boys” manga series, I couldn’t wait to watch “20th Century Boys”. But also as a big fan of Japanese cinema and dramas, what a pleasant surprise to see so many all-star talent featured in this film. But how did I feel about the film adaptation?
First, let’s discuss the manga and movie comparison. For the most part, there are fans who are dedicated to a popular series. May it be a comic book or an animated series and when you take a long series and have to make it to a long film, the results from many films that have done that are typically 50/50 when it comes to fans response.
For me, having known that film adaptations can only go so far and not capturing every detail, I was pretty much prepared for “20th Century Boys” to miss certain key storyline details. You have three films and there is only so much story to tell in these films from a long series. But I do give the screenwriters some acknowledgment because they had to waddle through as much storyline from the manga series and make it to a live action film.
The first film covers the first five volumes of the manga series (there are a total of 22 manga volumes released in Japan). There are major details for example that deal with the character of Otcho and Yukiji that are not focused on in the film as well as the supernatural abilities of The Friend. But there are other smaller details that were included in the film that relate to Donkey when he was a younger and many scenes when all the children were younger and forming their club. But the most apparent difference is the final 15 minutes of the film which are not shown in the manga series. Also, for those familiar with the manga, some scenes may seem a bit rushed because a lot of detail had to be cut out for the final cut from the film. But the fact is that the first film is 142 minutes long, It was evident that the screenwriters tried to incorporate as much as they can, knowing the film would run a bit long.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the film adaptation and sure, there are going to be differences from the manga series and some acting for some characters or extras tend to be B-film-like but and some may see the storyline to be a bit campy but I was pretty surprised of Toshiaki Karasawa’s role as Kenji. I felt he did a pretty good job, especially since most of the roles he has played are characters in business or a higher career profession. To seem him play Kenji was pretty enjoyable. I was overjoyed to see ToyoEtsu (Etsushi Toyokawa) and Takako Tokiwa together again since their popular mid-90′s drama “Aishiteiru to ite kure”. These two have also worked on international films as well, so it was good to see the two play Kenji’s friends. I do miss the hint of attraction between Kenji and Yukiji from the manga series but I’m guessing to keep the film’s pacing in check, those parts had to be eliminated. But there are so many talent in this film such as Teruyuki Kagawa, Hitomi Kuroki and many, many more in this film that Japanese drama and cinema fans will definitely enjoy seeing everyone in one film.
It will be interesting to see where the second film is going, especially reading how it will incorporated volumes 6-15, which I can imagine, made things even more difficult for the writers.
The film does have its share of bloody moments but I don’t think people will get to scared from it. There are some action scenes, especially in last half of the film. But as much as there is action in the series, the film is more about friendship and establishing Kenji and his friends from childhood from the 70′s, to adulthood in 2000 and then showing a glimpse of how life has changed in 2015. There are some scenes that utilize CG but some scenes that may look a bit too CG and not too realistic. Despite their big budget for the trilogy, I wasn’t expecting Michael Bay type of explosions of actual vehicles, especially of the nature of attacks the Friends carry out on various cities.
As for the DVD, I wish there were more special features included aside from the trailers. In Japan, people who purchased a special DVD or Blu-ray box set were able to get special features but even in Japan, the standard edition came with an 11-minute “Another Ending” and a 4 minute video award.
Overall, “20th Century Boys” was a film that was 50/50 in terms of fan appreciation towards the film. I expect the same with those who are familiar with the manga series in the US to feel that it is too difficult to capture Urasawa’s manga series in a film adaptation. But for me, I admit there was campiness, there was also some scenes that seem like they came out of left field but for the most part, I actually enjoyed this film quite a bit especially knowing the differences from the manga series. As fan of Urasawa and many of the talent who took part in the film, I enjoyed “20th Century Boys” and feel it’s a Japanese film worth giving a try!
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 05 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)
November 14, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Gripping and addictive! The fifth volume of “20th Century Boys” features the group reuniting and preparing for the war against the Friend and also a flash forward storyline featuring a teenage Kanna. If you enjoy or are curious about Naoki Urasawa’s work, you definitely have to check this series out! Highly recommended!
(C) Image courtesy of 20 SEIKI SHONEN 1 by Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 05
STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
The giant robot has already been built and now awaits the Great Awakening… With the Friend’s identity still a mystery, the countdown to the apocalypse continues, day by day, minute by minute – for on December 31, 2000, humanity will meet its final hour.
Hoping to get as many people who knew about their group’s emblem involved in their clandestine efforts, Kenji’s crew reaches out to their childhood antagonists: The twins Yanbo and Mabo. Back when they were kids, Yanbo and Mabo terrorized Kenji and company to no end. As adults, and with a crisis looming, will the evilest brothers in history now fight on the side of good?
Naoki Urasawa is well-known in the manga industry. Having created excellent titles such as “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl”, “Pineapple ARMY”, “Master Keaton” and “Monster”, his manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” was the winner of the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award, Winner of the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award and Urasawa was the recipient of the “Excellence Price at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival”.
The manga has been made into a live film, with the first film having been released as a part of a trilogy with a budget of 6 billion yen and will feature a cast of 300 people, it’s natural to say that the manga series “20th CENTURY BOYS” will definitely be a bonafide classic. And now the the fifth volume of the popular manga series has been released by Viz Media.
Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS” follows a group of friends when they were as children and the present time as adults. When these friends were children, they played a group of super heroes who would take down evildoers. But first, they needed to come up with their own storylines of the bad things the evil side would do and how they, as superheroes would have to conquer evil.
This plot of what the evil group would do was written down in a little guide which they called “The Prophecy”. As for the group, they devised a symbol of their group. But now many years later, this symbol has re-emerged as the symbol of a religious cult who may be behind terrorist activities.
Volume 5 takes place before December 31, 2000. When Kenji and his friends were young, they created a group where they would play heroes who would take on “The League of Evil”. In the book, they Kenji and friends set scenarios for the League of Evil such as the group would use deadly biological weapons to attack San Francisco and London, germ warfare used in Osaka, Haneda Airport would be attacked and destroyed and on December 31, 2000, a huge giant atomic robot would scatter deadly microbes and wreak havoc and destruction. And these kids as heroes would take on the League of Evil.
The problem is that someone took the prophecy literally and has created a group called The Friends and are enacting everything from “The Prophecy” which led to many friends and many people being killed. Since Kenji and friends created “The Prophecy”, they know that as adults, they are the heroes that must take on the Friends (who are the League of Evil) who are disguised as a savior of society.
So, Kenji and his many of his friends from his childhood must reunite quickly as the prophecy tells him that there must be nine members. With terrorist attacks by the Friend being blamed on Kenji and his supporters, and December 31st looming near, the war between the two sides has now begun!
“20th CENTURY BOYS” features the following characters:
Kenji Endo: The main protagonist of the book. Raising his missing sister’s young daughter Kana and once worked as a convenience store clerk and also once pursued life as a guitarist. As the primary person as a child who help develop the plan of superheroes vs. villains, he is now looked as the person to counter the evil created by “The Friend”.
Maruo: Kenji’s chubby friend (as a child and as an adult) who owns a fancy goods shop in the neighborhood and raises his chubby child who always wants to eat. One of Kenji’s close friends.
Yoshitsune: Another close friend of Kenji and always down on himself. Known in adulthood with his eyeglasses and low self-confidence.
Keroyon: A Childhood friend known as Froggy. Lives in Kenji’s neighborhood and the first of the friends to get married.
Mon-Chan: A childhood friend who now works overseas.
Donkey: A childhood friend of the gang who died and reunited the friends many years later. But with mysterious notes written to Kenji, Kenji has realized that his old friend was murdered by the group led by “The Friend”.
Yukiji: The strongest girl in class (a tomboy) who is now a customs officer and works at the airport with her sniffer dog. Can’t stand how Kenji had become a slacker and always had to defend him when he was a child. In the future, she has become the guardian of Kanna and has raised her.
Kanna Endo: The daughter of Kenji’s missing sister. She is now a young girl who loves her uncle Kenji (who literally raised her along with his mother). Older Kanna is featured or the first time in vol. 5.
Otcho: One of the leaders of Kenji’s group of friends who went missing overseas when he was working for a corporation. Now a fighting machine who is an expert at guns.
Yanbo and Mabo: The two big, twin bullies who would try to hurt Kenji and his friends.
The first three volumes of “Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS”, has established the characters as children, as teenagers and now as adults. “The Friend” which was seen as a religious cult in the past, has now infiltrated the infrastructure of politics and the group are now in a position of power. With Kenji confronting “The Friend” is volume 3 for the first time, the lines were drawn. Good vs. evil and “The Friend” has done all he can to have his cult kidnap Kenji’s niece, Kana and nearly murdering Kenji and his mother in the process.
The fourth volume featured Kenji recruiting some of his old friends such as Shogun and now with Kenji managing to recruit some of his friends, he needs two more. The only two that comes to mind is his enemies when he was a child, the bullies Yanbo and Mabo. But are they like the way there were when they were children or are they much better now as adults? With time approaching for December 31, 2000 and the giant robot attack which would kill many and cause massive destruction, Kenji and friends must act fast in recruiting their members.
Here is a brief summary of each chapter of volume 5 (spoiler-less summaries):
Chapter 1: Call to Arms - Kenji’s friends decide to join him but who decides to join and who doesn’t?
Chapter 2: Not Alone - As Kenji is desperate to get two more members, he must decide whether or not he should let his childhood enemies join. Yoshitsune tries to recruit them but can the two be trusted?
Chapter 3: Uncle Kenji - With the prophecy of the giant robot attack coming soon, Kenji has to make a tough decision.
Chapter 4: The Book of Prophecy - With the Friend and his minions being quiet for months, was Kenji wrong about the prophecy?
Chapter 5: December 31 - The Giant Robot unleashed.
Chapter 6: Final Round - People all over the world are dying. How will Kenji and friends stop the Giant Robot and the Friend’s attack?
Chapter 7: Reunion - Flash forward a decade later and Kanna Endo is looking for a new place to live.
Chapter 8: Memorial – Kanna goes to remember someone close to her.
Chapter 9: Detective Chono - The grandson of Cho-san (the original detective from earlier in the series who was investigating the Friends) is now a detective and confronts Kanna.
Chapter 10: Chocho – Chono and Kanna have a heart-to-heart talk.
Chapter 11: The Ambitious Duo – Kanna’s guardian, Yukiji and Kanna get into a heated discussion. Meanwhile, we learn what has happened to the Friends.
Volume 5, takes a step back from the violence that was shown in the last volume. For the first half, we see Kenji trying to recruit his friends and the second half a decade or more later with Kanna now an older teenager. For the most part, these are character driven chapters as the book tries to reintroduce Kenji’s friends into the mix but also show how his group has been used by the Friends power in making him look like a terrorist. There is a bit of violence as we see the Friends initiate their December 31st attack as was mentioned on the prophecy.
And interesting how the earlier chapters go back-and-forth with the past and present. This time it goes from the present to the future and if anything, giving us a glimpse that things may have not gone too well for Kenji and friends. If anything, no one knows what has happened yet as this volume does a major switch to older Kanna and thus teasing the reader of the bloody war but also a teaser of what happens in the future. Needless to say, I was captivated by the storyline once again and it goes to show how Naoki Urasawa is just wonderful as a writer and an artist and knows how to capture your attention.
Needless to say, readers are being setup for something huge and I definitely can’t wait for the next volume. Overall, a gripping and exhilarating fifth volume of Naoki Urasawa’s “20th CENTURY BOYS”. If you haven’t started already, if you are looking for a deep, well-drawn, well-written manga series, this manga series is highly recommended!
