20th Century Boys

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

The GOAT is back at it again with an almost flawless piece of art that will change your perspective on life.

Every character in this manga just has an inexplicably strong grip on you, making you feel for them and their story very strongly.

There are some panels and moments in this manga that will stick with you for the rest of your days, whether they do so in a good or bad way will depend on the kind of person you are.

Admitedlly, I did not love the ending, hence why this is not a 10/10 for me. But any of Urasawa's works are and ... always will be must reads for anybody who enjoys reading, no matter the medium.

If I had to sum up this manga in one word, it would be "childish". Yes, the main theme of the story is about turning childhood fantasies into reality, but it could have been approached in a "realistic" way, at least showing how some parts of the bizarre plans made by a bunch of kids have to be changed or adapted because they don't make any sense / are unrealizable...

Instead, they are implemented word by word, and the author warps the world itself to make those plans "work", which causes many problems in the plot: lots of grown adults thinking or acting like children, ... over-dramatization of relatively small events, a government class that does not seem to care about its own well-being when implementing its "evil schemes", etc...

Luckily, the mystery plot is really engaging, and the story is told in a rather clever way, with continuous time jumps that are masterfully placed and keep key points of the plot hidden but without confusing the reader too much. This, along with a pretty good ending, makes this manga a good read overall if you are able to turn off your common sense and just enjoy the ride...

*Spoiler free - Rapid Review*

Perhaps the most over-rated manga ever.

This manga is *extremely* over-rated. Despite having good characters that are properly characterised and play off each other well, the manga fails to support the plot with a paper-thin mystery that should have only lasted 100 chapters. It's a hodgepodge of many ideas that don't support each other and the resolutions of plot points are really boring. Which, is exactly what this manga is, boring. The art is decent and certain scenes look great, the actual story is so random and bad that I really cannot recommend this manga to anyone. It's a shame this manga ... is heralded as a "rite of passage" to be a "proper manga fan", because this is such elementary writing. And the entirety of the mystery plots are a joke. It's like, 10 different genres stuffed into a single story and it just doesn't work. Period. Trying to be so many things at once is a detriment.

I'd say 3-4 out of 10, but the admittedly novel, albeit failed, approach and some scenes jump it to a 5/10.