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!

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!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

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!

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?

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:

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.

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!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

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!

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?

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:

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?

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!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

Naoki Urasawa’s 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 07 (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

May 13, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Gripping, addictive and a wonderful manga series thus far! Vol. 7 features Otcho and Kakuta doing all they can to escape from the high security prison. Highly recommended!

MANGA TITLE: 20th CENTURY BOYS vol. 07

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

Out in the middle of Tokyo Bay, a man called Shogun is trying to break out of Umihotaru Prison, a maximum-security island fortress, so he can save the world. Accompanied by a frightened young manga artist, these two men are prepared to risk everything as their daring escape plan grows deadlier by the minute. However, the prison authorities will do whatever it takes to return Shogun and his reluctant companion to custody.

Shogun’s ultimate goal: Tokyo, where a girl he calls the “final hope” lives, but a murder in Kabuki-cho has triggered a chain reaction of terror. Can Shogun reveal the truth about the false peace created by the Friends? And what are the facts behind the disaster that took place in the final moments of the 20th century?!

Volume 7 takes place 14 years later after the New Year’s Eve incident. Otcho is serving time in a prison and has repeatedly tried to escape with no success. But when he and manga artist Kakuta focus on escaping the prison, Kakuta wants to make sure Otcho’s story is told and the truth of what happened that New Year’s Day is featured in his manga if they managed to survive their escape. Meanwhile, we are introduced to high school student Kyoko Koizumi who has chosen to write about the well-known terrorist Kenji Endo for her homework and meets someone who actually knew Kenji quite well.

“20th CENTURY BOYS” features the following characters:

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.

Here is a brief summary of each chapter of volume 7 (spoiler-less summaries):

Chapter 1: Escape- Otcho and Kakuta try to escape from prison.

Chapter 2: Air - Otcho and Kakuta are close to escaping but notice that a heavy search is taking place throughout Japan.

Chapter 3: Landing - Otcho finds a way for he and Kakuta to escape. Otcho remembers a time when Kenji beat him in a competition.

Chapter 4: Expo of Dreams - Otcho talks about a story when he and Kenji were supposed to go to a Japan Expo in 1970.

Chapter 5: Koizumi - High school student Kyoko Koizumi chooses to write her assignment on Japan’s most notorious terrorist Kenji Endo.

Chapter 6: Kamisama’s Autograph - As Kyoko goes to learn more about Kenji, she meets someone who actually knew Kenji quite well.

Chapter 7: The Truth - Otcho explains to Kakuta and Kamisama to Kyoko about what really took place on New Year’s Eve.

Chapter 8: Control Room - Otcho continues his story of what happened on New Year’s Eve 2000.

Chapter 9: Face-Off - Kenji and Fukube discover a man who may be responsible for unleashing the robot attack in Tokyo.

Chapter 10: Fukube – Fukube takes on the assailant who may be responsible for the robotic destruction in Tokyo.

Chapter 11: Charge – Maruo and Kenji decide to go after the giant robot.

Volume 7 focuses on the present time (2014) and is a Otcho-driven storyline as he tries to escape from prison, meanwhile manga artist Kakuta learns more and more from Otcho of what took place on New Year’s Eve 2000. The seventh volume also introduces us to a new character named Kyoko Koizumi who chooses to write about Kenji and meets Kamisama who also tells her of what happened back then.

This latest volume continues where vol. 5 left off and gives us insight on what transpired on New Years Eve 2000 as Kenji and friends tried to put a stop to the Friends. Giving us insight to why Otcho and Kamisama look up to Kenji as a hero and how intent he was in stopping them but also a tragedy that hit Kenji and friends on that day.

If anything, the story of what took place on New Year’s Eve 2000 is just beginning and will continue in the vol. 8 but for the most part, this volume is action driven in the sense that the chapters focus on Otcho and Kakuta’s escape from prison.

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 seventh 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!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 008 by Naoki Urasawa (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

April 16, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The final volume of “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka” is here! From the very beginning to its final moments, this is one manga series that I can give a huge recommendation for its storyline and artwork. “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka” is highly recommended!

MANGA TITLE: PLUTO vol. 008: Urasawa x Tezuka

STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki and supervised by Makoto Tezuka with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions.

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC

RATED: T for Older Teen

Atom is back, and the fate of the Earth is in his hands! Now that Atom has all the answers to the unsolved mysteries around Pluto, Bora and more, he’s prepared to put everything on the line. With the memory of his fallen brethren – Gesicht, Mont Blanc, North No. 2, Brando, Hercules and Epsilon – etched deeply into his heart, Atom is headed for one last battle to save the world!

“Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka”, a tale of the great robots on Earth which include Tetsuwan Atom (aka “Astro Boy”) and in the last seven volumes, we have read and seen how the world’s greatest robots and the scientists who have created them were killed/destroyed.

What began as a series focusing on the character of Gesicht, the great investigator robot, who worked on trying to solve the case on who was responsible for the destruction and murders have all ended with failure. Whoever this being is…Pluto… is too powerful.

And with the last great robot Epsilon defeated/destroyed in volume 7, Atom is reborn but this time with the memory chip of Gesicht. And now, all is revealed in this final volume of “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka”, a reimagining of “Astro Boy – The Greatest Robot on Earth” written by manga great Naoki Urasawa (“Yawara”, “Monster”, “20th Century Boys” and many more titles) and co-authored by Takashi Nagasaki. The Astro Boy or Tetsuwan Atom stories are based on the popular works of Osamu Tezuka and with cooperation from Tezuka Productions, this manga project is managed by Makoto Tezuka.

Here is a brief summary of each chapter in vol. 8 (short summaries, no spoilers):

ACT 56 – Formula for Destruction – Atom has been reborn but his first action was creating the formula of a photon bomb.
ACT 57 – Wither the Heart - Atom has been reborn but with the emotion of anger. Will Atom become a robot of great destruction or will he be able to control this new emotion.
ACT 58 – Old Friend – All is revealed on who is responsible for the destruction of the great robots.
ACT 59 – Various Reunions – Atom meets up with characters impacted by the destruction created by Pluto.
ACT 60- The Honest Truth - All is revealed on who is responsible for issuing the murders of the scientists.
ACT 61 – Doomsday - Atom vs. Pluto.
ACT 62 – Gesicht’s Legacy – The battle continues between Atom and Pluto.
ACT 63 – Wish Upon a Star – A flashback on Gesicht and the emotions he had developed.
Final Act – The Greatest Robot In History – The battle against Goji.
POSTCRIPT – Takashi Nagasaki (manga writer and editor.) writes about being enthralled by “Astro Boy”.

The final “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka” and overall, I was complete pleased with the finale and it helps that in the US, there was not much of a wait between each volume. Whereas in Japan, readers had to wait a year or two as Urasawa was busy working on other projects and thus, the anticipation for each volume was intense considering you have one of the greatest mangaka working on Osamu Tezuka’s beloved series albeit a reimagining of the Tetsuwan Atom storyline.

The manga series had primarily been focused on the great robot detective Gesicht and right up to the end, despite being destroyed by Pluto, he plays an instrumental part in Atom being reborn and to tell you the truth, the ending is what I was pretty much expecting. Atom may be quite powerful but yet he does possess a great heart and Urasawa makes sure that no matter how dark the series would get, he maintained the overall personality that Osamu Tezuka had created for Atom in the original series. But yet, it’s through the character of Gesicht that we realize how Atom is able to value life.

As for the artwork of “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka”, if you are familiar with Urasawa’s work with “20th Century Boys” and “Monster”, you can imagine his style in creating the characters. I’ve always felt that his work is just unique and solely his style that I really respect and appreciate and Naoki Urasawa knows how to bring together wonderful artwork and a well-written story. He has excelled in doing so with his previous series and manages to do it again with “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka”!

If you have not read any of the volumes of “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka”, the fact that there are only eight volumes as opposed to Urasawa’s other series which are longer, this manga series is definitely worth reading. A well-written story, beautiful artwork but most of all, Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki manage to create this whole new world, reimagining these characters, giving a dark vibe to the storyline and making it so enjoyable and addictive.

What a wonderful manga series this one turned out to be from beginning to end. Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 007 by Naoki Urasawa (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

April 9, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

A fantastic seventh volume of “Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka”! It’s the final battle between the last great robot Epsilon as he takes on the nemesis Pluto! All is revealed in this seventh volume as it sets the final storyline for the upcoming final eighth volume.

MANGA TITLE: PLUTO vol. 007: Urasawa x Tezuka

STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki and supervised by Makoto Tezuka with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions.

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC

RATED: T for Older Teen

Pluto has destroyed six out of the seven great robots of the world, and the pacifist robot Epsilon is the only one that remains. Will Epsilon, who refused to participate in the 39th Central Asian War, leave behind his war-orphaned charges to step onto the battlefield? It just might be that kindly Epsilon, who wields the power of photon energy, will be Pluto’s greatest opponent of all!

And in the end, one great robot was left… Epsilon.

“Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka”, a tale of the great robots on Earth which include Tetsuwan Atom (aka “Astro Boy”) and in the last six volumes, we see how each of these great robots and the scientists that have created them are killed one by one. We don’t know too much of who’s reponsible but we know who ever the great robots have fought before perishing in battle, this nemesis known as Pluto is much more powerful than they are.

The manga series revolves around the great robot Gesicht, who is a detective. He is investigating the murders of professors who have supported the cause of the robots but has been taken aback by the elimination of other great robots and the numbers of those still alive are starting to dwindle.

And things do not look so great for the great robots as now the majority of them have been eliminated. Gesicht, who is among the few that still survives is deep into his case but this time around, as he looks deeper into the investigation, what he discovers can literally shake the foundation of the not only the investigation but him as a robot.

All great robots and many robotic scientists have been murdered with only a few who have managed to survive or are in hiding, one is left… the peaceful great robot known as Epsilon.

This is the basis of the story “PLUTO”, a reimagining of “Astro Boy – The Greatest Robot on Earth” written by manga great Naoki Urasawa (“Yawara”, “Monster”, “20th Century Boys” and many more titles) and co-authored by Takashi Nagasaki. The Astro Boy or Tetsuwan Atom stories are based on the popular works of Osamu Tezuka and with cooperation from Tezuka Productions, this manga project is managed by Makoto Tezuka.

Here is a brief summary of each chapter in vol. 7 (short summaries, no spoilers):

ACT 48 – SIX BILLION PERSONALITIES – We see a flashback with Professor Tenma (creator of Atom) and Professor Abdullah working on a robot, but this one programmed with six billion personalities and introduced with the emotion…anger.

ACT 49 – SURPRISE PARTY - Epsilon celebrates his birthday with the orphans and prepares to go in hiding in a safehouse.

ACT 50 – TO EAT THE EARTH – Epsilon is kept at a safehouse with military protecting him but it appears that Pluto has found a way to get him out of hiding, by attacking the young orphans.

ACT 51 – TWO SUNS – The race to rescue the orphans

ACT 52- WASSILY’S CHOICE - A flashback of how Epsilon met the young boy named Wassily.

ACT 53 – SHOWDOWN AT VIGELAND CASTLE - Epsilon vs. Pluto.

ACT 54 – BURGEONING GRIEF – The battle continues between Epsilon and Pluto.

ACT 55 – THE GREAT AWAKENING – A great robot is lost while another has awakened.

POSTCRIPT – Masao Maruyama (Chief Creative Officer of Mad House, Ltd.) writes about working with Urasawa and reflecting on Tezuka’s influence in making manga popular in Japan.

“PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka” vol. 007″ was fantastic. The great robot Epsilon is a powerful robot but he is also a caring robot who prefers the life of a pacifist than an aggressor which is his greatest strength but also his greatest flaw. With what we have seen in the previous volumes, we, as readers know how this seventh volume was going to end, especially with each volume showcasing the demise of each great robot and the only thing that we could hope for is that Epsilon gives his best during his fight and hopefully Urasawa has a great battle plan laid out.

Not only does Urasawa succeed in making this volume an action-driven storyline but he also makes major revelations of who has been involved in the murders and more shocking twists and turns that will get everyone pumped for the final volume. Needless to say, this build up with the seven issues has definitely have me anticipating for the finale. The suspense has been building and you can only wonder how the next volume will end.

The artwork is solid and Naoki Urasawa knows how to bring together wonderful artwork and a well-written story. He has excelled in doing so with “20th Century Boys”, “Monster” and previous other series and “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka” is no exception. Again, another captivating, suspenseful and addictive volume of “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka”!

If you have not read any of the volumes of “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka” but are curious, this is one manga series that is worth owning, worth reading and trust me you won’t be disappointed.

Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 006 by Naoki Urasawa (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

March 7, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Major revelations are in store with this sixth volume of “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka”. If you are looking for a sci-fi manga series with suspense and action, this series is highly recommended! Another fantastic volume in the manga series!

MANGA TITLE: PLUTO vol. 006: Urasawa x Tezuka

STORY AND ART BY: Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki and supervised by Makoto Tezuka with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions.

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC

RATED: T for Older Teen

Pluto…Sahad…Goji…Abullah…Mysterious figures somehow involved with the serial murders of the great robots of the world. Europol’s to robot detective Gesicht has been put on the case, and he’s mere steps away from discovering the horrifying truth behind the killer and his motives…little does he realize that he’s also steps away from discovering a horrifying truth of his own… Masterfully crafted science fiction and suspense at it’s best.

In the first five volumes of “PLUTO”, we learned about a world where robots and humans work together alongside with each other. In this world, robots are treated (by most) like sentient beings comes a world where the planet has robotic heroes and even police squadrons of human and robot partners.

Of course, it’s not an all perfect world as there are humans who rather not co-exist with the robots. And someone makes their agenda known when someone has decided to disrupt that peaceful coexistence by destroying the seven great robots and possibly murdering those who protect the rights for robots.

We eventually learn that there are anti-robot hate groups who will do what they can to stop robots (including committing murder). And despite robots not having emotions, we are starting to see a few of them develop certain emotion(s) that they don’t understand why they are feeling it. And for the primary character, the great robot Gesicht, will the greatest detective be able to stop the murders of robots and humans and find out who is behind Pluto or will he discover something that can change the course of his investigation?

Here is a brief summary of each chapter in vol. 6 (short summaries, no spoilers):

ACT 40 – SAGE OF THE SANDS – Gesicht goes to Samarkand, Republic of Persia to investigate on a lead of who may be responsible for the murders.

ACT 41 – SAHAD - Gesicht heads to the Netherlands to look into this man named Sahad and about a special kind of tulip which he was working on.

ACT 42 – A HOME IN HADES – Gesicht has figured out the person that is responsible.

ACT 43 – ENCOUNTER WITH DEATH – An attempt is made on Professor Hoffman’s life.

ACT 44 – I AM PLUTO - Gesicht takes on Pluto.

ACT 45 – NEGOTIATION AND PREPARATION - Gesicht learns about the true identity of Pluto.

ACT 46 – END OF THE DREAM – Gesicht goes against his superiors and the police force go to destroy Pluto.

ACT 47 – REAL TEARS – Another great robot has been murdered.

“PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka” vol. 006 features major revelations into the storyline of who is behind the murders against the scientists and the destruction of the great robots. Also, Gesicht learns more about the truth of his superiors and uncovering a major secret that has affected his life.

Although, most robots do not have emotions, Gesicht has started to show a side of himself that is quite human. Sadness, compassion and even some anger. But the final chapter of volume 6 was unexpected, the murder of a great robot that could only make me wonder what Naoki Urasawa has planned (especially since nearly all great robots have been destroyed).

Needless to say, this build up from the first six issues has definitely have me anticipating the next two volumes and in some way, we are quite lucky that we don’t have to wait nearly a year for each volume to come out (in Japan, the first volume was released in 2004 and the eighth/final volume came out in 2009). The suspense is building and you can only wonder how the next volume which I’m guessing will feature Epsilon will be.

If you have not read any of the volumes of “PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka” but are curious, this is one manga series that is worth owning, worth reading and trust me you won’t be disappointed.

Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

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.

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!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

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!

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?

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.

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:

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!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

Naoki Urasawa’s Monster – Boxset 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

January 21, 2010 by Dennis Amith · 1 Comment

Thrilling, addictive and highly entertaining! Naoki Urasawa’s “Monster” is a series that should be on your must-see and must-own anime on DVD list! Highly recommended.

DVD TITLE: Naoki Urasawa’s Monster – Boxset 1

DURATION: 330 Minutes (15 episodes)

DVD INFORMATION: Language: Japanese 2.0 and English 2.0 Stereo, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Viz Signature/Viz Media

RATED: M for Mature

Release Date: December 8, 2009

Based on the manga series “Monster” by Naoki Urasawa

Directed by Masayuki Kojima

Series Composition by Tatsuhiko Urahata

Script by Kazuo Watanabe, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Kurasumi Sunayama, Masahiro Hayashi, Masatoshi Hakada, Namiko Abe, Ryosuke Nakamura, Ryū Nakamura, Tatsuhiko Urahata, Tomomi Yoshino, Tomonori Saitō

Music by Kuniaki Haishima

Character Design by Shigeru Fujita

Art Director: Yuji Ikeda

Character Conceptual Design by Kitaro Kousaka

Sound Director by Yasunori Honda

Director of Photography: Ryu Takizawa

Producer: Hiroshi Yamashita, Manabu Tamura, Masao Maruyama, Takuya Yui

Anime Production by Madhouse Studios

Featuring the following voice talent:

Hidenobu Kiuchi/Liam O’Brien as Kenzou Tenma

Mamiko Noto/Karen Strassman as Nina Fortner/Anna Lieert

Nozomu Sasaki/Keith Silverstein as Johan Liebert

Hideyuki Tanaka as Mr. Wolfgang Grimmer

Ichiro Nagai/Paul St. Peter as Dr. Reichwein

Junko Takeuchi/Laura Bailey as Dieter

Mami Koyama/Tara Platt as Eva Heinemann

Tsutomu Isobe/Richard Epcar as Inspector Runge (Lunge)

What would you do if a child you saved grew up to be a monster?

An ice-cold killer is on the loose, and Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon with a promising future, risks his career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy named Johan. When the boy, now a coldhearted and charismatic young man, reappears nine years later in the midst of a string of unusual serial murders, Tenma must go on the run from the police, who suspect him to be the killer, to find Johan and stop the monster he set loose upon the world.

In 1994, mangaka Naoki Urasawa (known for his works “Pineapple Army”, “Master Keaton”, “Yawara” and later for “Pluto” and “20th Century Boys”) began the series “Monster” which would be featured in Shogakukan’s “Big Comic Original” from 1994 through 2001 (later reprinted in 18 tankobon volumes). The series has won several awards including the “Excellence Prize” at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival and the “Shogakukan Manga Award” in 2001.

And in 2004, the manga series received an anime adaptation courtesy of Madhouse Studios (“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”, “Summer Wars”, “Death Note”, etc.) and was directed by Masayuki Kojima (who worked on the series “Samurai Champloo”, “Trinity Blood”, “Master Keaton”, “Gunslinger Girl”) and series composition by Tatsuhiko Urahata (“Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino”, “Vampire Hunter”, “Saki” “Mermaid’s scar”, etc.). The series was 74-episodes long and lasted until Sept. 2005.

Because Kojima wanted to capture Urasawa’s character designs and the fact that the series was quite long and longer television series may have quality differences, it was important for him to have a number of people working on the artwork and getting familiar with Urasawa’s work and thus there were two directors responsible for the look of the series: character designer and chief animation director Shigeru Fujita (“Nana”, “Summer Wars”, etc.) and character conceptual design by Kitaro Kousaka (“Spirited Away”, “Ponyo on the Cliff”, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, “Howl’s Moving Castle”, etc.).

The story of “Monster” is about a talented neurosurgeon from Japan named Kenzou Tenma. Dr. Tenma works at the Eisler Memorial Hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany and he was given that chance to work in the country by Director Heinemann. Kenzou happens to be engaged to Heinemann’s daughter Eva and with Tenma doing so well at the hospital, he has a chance to become the department director which makes Eva happy.

But Dr. Tenma is shocked when one emergency patient who came in to the hospital, a patient he would have worked on, until he was called in by the Director to work on a more important patient. We learn that the Director Heinemann values Dr. Tenma’s work but the priority is the hospital and its business. So, saving those that are beneficial to the hospital comes first. This shocks Dr. Tenma because he looks at all patients and values them all the same, he wants to help them.

One day while working, two young twins are rushed into the hospital. Their parents have been murdered and the girl is in shock, while the boy has a bullet lodged into his head. Dr. Tenma is prepared to work on the boy but immediately, the director gives him an order to not work on him but on the mayor. Dr. Tenma is angered by this and talks to the director and learns that the Mayor is very helpful to the hospital and its the hospital’s best interest to have him alive, so Dr. Tenma is the best surgeon and he must do it. But Dr. Tenma doesn’t.

Tenma let’s other doctors work on the mayor while he works on the child, disobeying the director’s orders. Afterwards, he manages to save the boy but the mayor dies and there are repercussions. Tenma is no longer considered for director of the department and Eva dumps him for the man who does become director. For Dr. Tenma, he doesn’t understand why these band things are happening and all he wanted to do is save lives and while sitting next to the boy he saved (who is sleeping), out of anger, Dr. Tenma screams that he wishes they were dead.

The following day, the director is found dead by his daughter. As well as a few others. And the twins that were rushed into the hospital, have disappeared.

Fast forward nine years later and Dr. Tenma is the director of the hospital, investigators are working hard on a case as more people are being found dead. For Inspector Runge, he suspects Dr. Tenma maybe involved. As for Dr. Tenma, he has no idea what’s going on until he meets a patient who reveals to him that he and his partners have killed people but they were instructed to and now the person who has hired them is out to kill them. Dr. Tenma is shocked and confused and then he learns the truth.

The boy he saved nine years ago, Johan Liebert is not only the mastermind of the deaths that are happening around the area. Johan is a cold, intelligent, methodica, manipulative individual and is responsible for so many deaths.

This includes the deaths of Tenma’s director and colleagues. Johan tells Tenma that he made his wish come true on the day he was complaining about his colleagues and said “they were better off dead”, he made it happen. Shocked about his reunion with the boy, now a man, Tenma realizes that the boy who inspired him as a doctor has turned out to be a monster.

Now Dr. Tenma leaves his job and his life in order to find this monster and also to find out what has happened to his twin sister Anna. Anna is now living with the name Nina Fortner, a teenage college student living with her step-parents and has forgotten everything about her past including her brother. Thinking that she has been living this normal life but for some reason, has memories of something dark from her past which she can’t yet figure out and is seeing a psychiatrist to help her understand what is going on in her head.

Dr. Tenma now knows that she may be in danger and must do what he can to find her and try to stop Johan.

“Monster – Boxset 1″ comes with a total of 15 episodes, five episodes on each of the three discs. Here is a basic, spoilerless summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

CHAPTER 1: Herr Dr. Tenma – Dr. Tenma works on an opera singer but a mother and her child blames him for not working on her husband who came into the emergency room much earlier.
CHAPTER 2: Downfall – Dr. Tenma decides to disobey the director’s order by working on Johan Liebert’s life instead of the mayor.
CHAPTER 3: A Murder – The director and several doctors have been poisoned and killed. The storyline then shifts to nine years later.
CHAPTER 4: A Night of the Execution – A man named Junkers is being held in police custody for homicides in the area. The mastermind is revealed
CHAPTER 5: The Girl of Heidelberg – The storyline then showcases Nina Fortner (Anna Liebert) who is studying law in Heidelberg.

DISC 2:

CHAPTER 6: The Missing – Dr. Tenma works with a journalist to track down Nina Fortner.
CHAPTER 7: House of Tragedy – Dr. Tenma finds Nina (Anna) but when they arrive back to her home, they discover only tragedy.
CHAPTER 8: Pursued – Dr. Tenma returns to Dusseldorf and we see how his ex-fiance, Eva’s life has changed for the worst.
CHAPTER 9: The Girl and the Seasoned Soldier – Dr. Tenma learns how to use firearms.
CHAPTER 10: A Past Erased – Dr. Tenma starts working with a criminal named Otto.

DISC 3:

CHAPTER 11: 511 Kinderheim – While Tenma investigates Johan’s past, he learns about the atrocities created on the children of 511 Kinderheim.
CHAPTER 12: A Little Experiment – Tenma goes to learn more about 511 Kinderheim and meets a boy named Dieter.
CHAPTER 13: Petra and Schumann – Tenma and Dieter are in a village and help out a doctor in town.
CHAPTER 14: Left Behind – We learn how Eva has tried to move on with her personal life until something happens.
CHAPTER 15: Be My Baby – Nina goes undercover as a prostitute in order to find Johan.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Monster” is an anime series that features a lot of talent trying to capture Naoki Urasawa’s work. Urasawa has a distinct character design and for the most part, Madhouse Studios did a wonderful job in recreating his designs for the anime series. It is important to note that the anime series came out back in 2004 and it is a television series. For those not familiar with anime, need to know that in Japan, anime studios work on these series one week at a time and are working on other series within the same time frame. So, because of deadlines, an anime series must be prepared and ready to the network for airing on television. With that being said, “Monster” is a series that looks absolutely beautiful when it comes to its artistic background and character designs. This is a series that both Masayuki Kojima and Tatsuhiko Urahata knew would be long and thus prepared themselves by aligning with talented staff.

But at the same time, although capturing the essence of Urasawa, there is mild compression and aliasing that can be seen. But granted, this is more visible with those with a larger viewing area. Also, various areas of Germany are captured quite well in the series and for the most part, the staff did a great job of adapting the manga series for anime and keeping Urasawa’s look but also capturing that feel of Germany.

Audio is featured in Japanese and English 2.0 stereo. Dialogue is clear and understandable, music was also clear and I must say that I enjoyed both audio soundtracks. The English dub work was very well done and well-cast. Japanese dialogue was also solid.

Optional English subtitles are included.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Monster Boxset 1” comes with the following special features:

Creators Special Interview - A 16-page text interview with director Masayuki Kojima and what he wanted to accomplish with the series.
World Report - Text information about Germany and the areas where the story of “Monster” takes place thus far.
Characters - Text information on the characters who have appeared from episodes 1-15.
Story of Monster – A text summary of each episode from 1-15.
Trailers - Trailers for Naoki Urasawa’s “PLUTO”.
Manga - Promotional screen of Naoki Urasawa’s “MONSTER” manga series.

As for packaging, “Monster – Box Set 1″ comes in three DVD cases which fits into a box. There is no artwork on the spine itself, so there is no image connect each box together when the future volumes are released.

“Monster” is a fantastic anime series that is thrilling, suspenseful and very addicting!

Naoki Urasawa has literally become one my top mangaka’s in Japan. His stories and his character designs are so captivating, thrilling and he literally knows how to capture your attention through the storyline’s pacing and makes you want even more after its done.

The character Tenma is a good-hearted individual and his top priority as a doctor is saving lives. So, it’s very interesting to see his character being put through so much and having to harbor this guilt that the decision to save a boy’s life has ended with so many people being killed. The boy that he saved was and is a monster and now with so much weight on his shoulders, Tenma feels he must kill the monster he helped revive.

What Urasawa is exceptional at is developing his characters (definitely give his other manga series such as “Master Keaton”, “20th Century Boys” and “Pluto” a chance) and in this case, although the series focuses on Dr. Tenma, we get to see these other characters coming to play in the storyline. May it be the twins Johan and Anna, Inspector Runge, the boy Dieter or his ex-fiance Eva, he knows when to utilize the other characters so well that you wonder how these characters will fare in the end. Will they survive? Will they die?

It’s one thing to capture it in the manga series but definitely exciting to see how director Masayuki Kojima and Tatsuhiko Urahata was able to bring the manga to animation. Urasawa’s character designs are well-captured, voice acting for both Japanese and English are very well done and each episode is just captivating one after the other.

The series is rated M for mature because there is killing, their is blood and their are people being shot and executed. It’s not visually violent, as we don’t necessarily see it happening but more of it taking place before and then seeing the aftermath. So, this is not a series parents should buy for their children. It’s a dark series but definitely a smart, serious, fun anime series that I have seen thus far. I definitely look forward to volume 2!

“Monster Boxset 1″ is highly recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

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