20th Century Boys

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20th Century Boys is about a group of men (and one woman) who, when they had been children, had been best friends, sharing a "secret base" in an overgrown field: a sanctuary where they could read manga, listen to music, and hide from the most evil twins in history, Yanbo and Mabo. One day, their "creative genius," Kenji suggested they bury a time capsule, fill it with their treasured possessions, and agree to unearth it only when the earth was in grave danger, for they would then save it.

Years later, they find themselves leading ordinary, unglamorous lives, their dreams of greatness long-buried under the dust ... of adult pragmatism. But then strange deaths caused by a mysterious virus begin occurring, and murders and disappearances occur one after another. Then one of their number becomes one of the dead, and all the clues point Kenji to a mysterious man who calls himself "Tomodachi (Friend)," who uses as his sign a symbol known only to Kenji's circle of friends.

As the scale of damage and the number of deaths rapidly increase, Kenji realizes that all the terrors are occurring as he had once set down on paper, in a story he and his friends had written, and buried in the time capsule they had sworn over.

20th Century Boys is difficult for me to summarize without giving too much away, but even if I were to divulge half of its secrets, we would still not be anywhere near solving the mystery of "Friend" and of his motives.

At first glance, 20thCB seems to be a crude shounen manga that would probably not appeal to everyone, judging by the artwork alone. But it is not. True, there are no pretty boys or girls to easily fangirl (or boy) over in this series, but this kind of story does not need exaggerated, surreal beauty in its artwork to survive. This truly is a graphic novel, where the plot moves with speed, certainty, and intelligence rather than rely on hundreds of feathers and cherry blossoms to depict angst and drama. The art is actually pretty polished as well, the inking clean and deliberate, and the panels arranged simply but effectively. Like movies these days, many manga artists tend to rely on "special effects" or glamorous art rather than plot to attract readers, but 20thCB has enough plot that any eye candy would just be a bonus.

Character development in 20thCB is also something I liked. Kenji grows and changes as the series progresses, and so do the other characters. The dynamics between the friends are believable, and their heroism so simple and understated.

I can't really find much to say about this manga, simply because it's so good and interesting and I probably wouldn't be able to do it much justice. But if you're looking for a fast-paced intelligent plot, masterfully created characters, and a mystery that can have you at the edge of your seat, then give this series a chance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

20th Century Boys is a Seinen, Sci-fi, Psychological manga that takes storytelling to a whole new level.

From the beginning of the manga it is already clear what already happened and so the story just basically reveals, bit by bit, explaining the events that took place. However you have to be prepared for some major plot twists. What is so interesting about the story, is that it is set in different timelines (Childhood Era, Adult Era and Friend Era), which gives more insight into the characters and events that took place. However it is very hard to follow these different timelines, because it feels like reading ... a story within a story. Yet after a while it is easy to get used to it and there are plenty of plot twist and unexpected surprises a long the way.

The characters of 20th Century Boys are an essential part of the story, because it is basically about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Even though the characters may not be well defined, in the beginning, they are incredibly well developed. The only problem is that there are a lot of characters to remember and a lot of different timelines to keep track of them in.

The artwork is pretty amazing as it has the same sketchy style as Urasawa’s other works. The environments have a lot of detail put into them and the only problem I just that the character designs can be too sketchy. This means that subtle changes in facial expressions can be unnoticed; on the other hand the characters have well defined facial features that allows you to tell them apart, once you get used to it.

Overall 20th Century Boys is a manga that brings a whole new meaning to regular people trying to save the world, from evil villains? As I started this manga I had no idea what to expect and I didn’t know why it was so popular, but I’m glad I found out. However from reading this manga I have learned the terrible truth; Good will not always prevail over Evil. That’s what made this manga so frustrating to read, at times, but very addicting at the same time. So if you’re a manga fan, then 20th Century Boys is a must read.

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

Art

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

Characters

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

Plot

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

What Conspiracy?

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

Love, Peace, & Rock'n'Roll

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

Social Commentary?

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

In Closing

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

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

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

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

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

It's not worth reading.

First of all, i apologize if i made any English mistake, Unfortunately, I'm not native speaker, It's also my first. hope it helps you

- 20 Century Boys -
The best manga I've read, I really can't describe the legendary of this manga by words..

Story: 10/10
It's about a group got involved in a disaster include the whole world. I've read/watched a lot of psychological/drama works, and this is the best one, Also the author of this manga is Monster author too

Art:9/10
Naoki's art style is not shounen style, his art is distinct, not like the author, he made a new art style, Personally i prefer his art ... than the other. "MOE" fans never would like it, so "MOE" fans don't read it.

Character: 10/10
The character here is pretty great. all of them even the enemy, all of them have a specified story, especially the psychological of their personalities

Enjoyment: 10/10
i enjoyed this manga a lot, Even i complete it in 3 days, the beginning is little boring, but when you continue it will be great

Overall: 10/10
It's such a legend, Really, as long as you read it you will know what i mean. It's also ranked as sixth, I haven't seen someone read it and dislike it, just give it a chance and read it, I'm sure you'll like it!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I don't usually binge anything, I like to take my time with things, but when I was reading 20CB, the power in my house happened to go out for the entire day so with nothing better to do I read the final 130ish chapters of the manga in that one day, and honestly I think it served to better my experience with it.

Personally, I seem to prefer the scenes when the boys are young, rather than the more important adult moments. The flashbacks, I guess you could call them, seem to have this whimsical wonder to them. The whole, making secret bases and hiding ... in them with your close group of friends, away from mom's watchful eye is extremely nostalgic for me since, even though I am only 20, those are things that me and my friends did.

When we look at the other side of the story, the adults combating this unknown presence that is 'Friend' is an incredibly written mystery, as is pretty much everything by Urasawa. I get great satisfaction from watching/reading/experiencing seemingly invincible forces that dictate everyone's lives be taken down. It's a special kind of freedom that you get from that that just makes me feel good, I love it. I don't like a force that controls fate of others, I like to see them fall. The whole theme of rock music also adds to the feeling of freedom you get by defeating 'Friend', as one of the core ideas in rock is freedom and anarchy.

Naoki Urasawa's art is really nothing too special. He has a very recognizable art style, you know, I could look at anything drawn by him and immediately point to it, which is important for art, but it is still kind of basic. The characters tend to look fairly similar. One thing I also noticed is that he rarely draws a character with a straight nose, a lot of his characters just have big, curved noses, it's not a downside, a lot of people in real life are like that, it's just something that I noticed. He goes for realism but it tends to be lacking in variety.

I enjoyed 20CB more than both Monster and Pluto, just because I could relate more to the characters than in the other two, and while the story might not be as quality as Monsters, or the pacing might not be as good as the much more, compact to say, Pluto, but the overall experience just surpasses those two in my eyes, and by a decent bit at that.

I see 20th Century Boys as Urasawa at his best. It combines his masterful story writing, with a good mystery that surprises you with unexpected plot twists and a core theme that fits incredibly well with the premise of the story. A masterpiece in my books.

More like 22 (+2) volumes of blue balls.
20th Century Boys promises a lot, shows the most exciting teases and engrossing demonstrations but all the build up is hardly worth a damn when nothing comes after.
I held off from reviewing this until reading 21st Century Boys since that seemed to be the real conclusion to the story and while is does a better job of giving some closure it's still awful.

Art: one of the few things that are absolutely impeccable about this manga. Urasawa is good or nearly perfect at everything that comprises the visual aspect of the manga. His characters fit right ... into the world with their appearance, with normal and grounded deisgns they appear extremely human. It accomplishes two things, first if all it makes the story appear more realistic and second it ascribes depth to characters without even writing anything. Now I wouldn't call most characters in 20CB particularly multi-layered or well developed but their appearance is a lot of the time enough to assume their personality. Some faces show wear and tear after decades of hard or just miserable living while others give away that everyone is cranium department is on paid leave for the foreseeable future. You look at these characters and you can already assume who they are and how they act just cause you can likely find someone to compare them to in real life unless your flat is your universe and venturing outside seems like too dangerous of an idea. This description might make it seem like Urasawa is some genius of photorealism but while his backgrounds and inanimate objects look very realistic, his characters are anything but. They are cartoony and often exaggerated to highlight their defining features yet the range of emotion and human expressions on character faces is incredibly lifelike.
Also worth mentioning is fluidity with which everything moves. Urasawa is amazing at depicting movement, force and momentum so every time any of that is involved it's a joy to see. This talent also bleeds into paneling and helps pacing tremendously. Panels are done is such a way that scenes and particular actions never stay on page longer than they should, making the viewer to over pages with speed that a relative match to what happens in the story. Even dring drawn out dialogues he usually never overloads any page with too much dialogue, spreading it out so that the flow is always consistent.

Story: 20CB is the worst thing I've read by Urasawa and a massive disappointed overall. It's a mystery with build up and suspense of unparalleled intensity but what was the point of it? The actual mystery and resolution to it sucked. I'm gonna assume here you've read 21CB cause if you haven't then you didn't actually finish this manga.
I will make a note of how brilliantly done the perpetual cycle of reveal and further mystery is done. Every other chapter we learn something new while also getting to ask new and intriguing questions. Questions so interesting that they make thousands upon thousands greedily go through chapter after chapter just so that their curiosity is satisfied. This means Urasawa succeeds . He made you care for characters and care for what happens to them and their world. He made a mystery so interesting that no matter how drown out and repetitive his very formulaic plot progression is the readers still ask for more.
I will also note that while this all sounds amazing, it all falls apart in the end. Me and many other people will probably agree that despite all his flaws, Urasawa is an excellent writer, meticulously introducing new plot threads and having them carefully tie into overarching story which makes this manga all the more peculiar.
So many characters are introduced simply as convenient plot tools that push things forward and then fall dead or fade from relevance. This relates not only to some minor characters either. The circle of Kenji's gang seems to grow bigger and bigger all the time. Other group of children related to antagonists gain a new member just before the end and that (from this description) seemingly minor character is actually the big bad himself.
Think this is appropriate time to say that the Friend, the main driving point of this mystery is simply awful. I can't go in much depth without spoilers but I'll generalise my problem with them is that not only their motivation is rediculous but they're not even an actual character with nothing, absolutely nothing else.
I saw the point how the childish reason behind a huge chunk of planet bleeding to death is a brilliant thematic tie in of how children tend to overdramatize things, how they take silly things seriously and don't know how to finish stories but I think that's trash. Even if this was more than a theory sparked by hard to process gap between terrible writing of the last stretch of the manga and Urasawa's talent, even if it was more than that, what's the point to it? This virtually non-existent theme is not doing any favors to the story so why bother, what's there to praise? Nothing.
Another thing is paranormal and psychological elements of the manga.
First of all everything related to precognition, telekinesis and everything else supernatural is just there to make sense of the plot without bothering to make Friend's plan make sense in a real word. How did he gather so much power and people devoted to him to an extent that they will kill heretics or give birth to his children? "Charisma" and other "esp" garbage, it's never actually explained or used outside of convenient situations so why bother. There are two events that make more sense of his popularity but even then, the entire humanity here is a supremely impressionable bunch. I think if they heard war of the worlds radio it would end with mobilizing military and launching nukes into space instead of a mere "panic".
Finally my last point is that it just drags on too long, much like this review at this point Urasawa just keeps coming up with the new "real" threat until reaching some arbitrary goal.
The result: jumbled mess of a story with screw all instead of conclusion.

Fun factor: if you're into mysteries for the ride alone, give this a shot, you'll love it more than you might expect. If you prefer the ride had a point and went towards a certain destination I'm not sure there's anything here for you. While most of this manga was a thrill, the ending is so bad that if I knew beforehand I probably wouldn't bother reading it.

This will be my review for 20th Century Boy, not including the mess that was 21st Century Boys.

!!-Slight spoilers included-!!

Art: 9.5/10
Let's knock this off first. Urasawa's art isn't breathtakingly amazing. It's simple and straightforward. It wavers between realism and cartoonish, which surprisingly fits the world and his storytelling method perfectly. However, the best aspect of his art style is- emotions. No matter the situation, Uraswa will convey a characters' subtle feelings, be it isolation, depression, anger, or pure joy, through his art alone.

Story: 10/10
I'm gonna keep this short. 20th-century boys starts off with a bang. The air of mystery and suspense hooks the ... reader immediately. In the first couple of chapters itself, you are introduced to a ton of characters both from the past, present, and the future. There is no plot set-up, back story, or guide, the reader is thrown into this world. A sense of uneasiness creeps up slowly, even though everyone is seemingly happy and leads a normal life. The introduction of the symbol and Friend kicks off the story. What follows is an unending search for the identity of Friend and a plot for his downfall, spanning decades. Where the story shines is in its realism and the indisputable effect it has on the world. The sense of fear and despair that the thought - 'this could really happen' never leaves you till the manga ends. And this feeling won't go away easily, it takes a long time for the characters and for the reader to reach a point where they are no longer bound by the shackles of the world that Friend built.

Characters: 10/10
This is it. The core, heart, and soul of the manga. Right from the get-go, we are introduced to an array of interesting characters. It might be a lot at first, but the constant shift between their past childhood and the present "grown-up" selves provides contrast and depth to these characters. The crux of the story deals with how the cast reacts and is affected by the plans of Friend. Every action they take against him has a massive consequence that defines their life for decades at a time.
Kenji in particular goes through one of the best character arcs ever written in any form of fiction. Seeing him go through his carefree rebellious attitude to realizing his undeniable loss to finding redemption and success through his own way left me in awe. Another character that resonated with me to a great extent was Yoshitsune. His hopelessness and grief of losing his friends were beautifully expressed. His awkward yet resolute leadership proved to be a nice polarity to his character.

Overall: 29.5/30
Despite leaving many plot holes unexplained and dragging on the story for a bit too far, 20th Century Boys ends up as a solid 10/10 reading experience. Urasawa proves once again, that few can even rival his style of storytelling, world-building, and character writing.

This is one of the most engrossing and enjoyable works of fiction I have been lucky enough to experience. Across the mediums of film, literature, or graphic fiction, "20th Century Boys" stands tall as a true joy.

The story will capture your imagination, refusing to let go until you finish. (I read it twice in as many years; both occasions barely allowed me to complete the neccessary tasks of my life for those couple weeks I spent reading.) "20th Century Boys" does not attempt to transcend its melodramatic model, but it is an all-the-more-praiseworthy effort as a result. Simply put, Naoki Urasawa is a master ... of melodrama and plays the reader like a puppet. You root for the good guys and hiss at the seamingly unbeatable evils they face.

The great scope of the story lends itself to the enjoyment. It combines the summer antics of school children with twist-and-turn mystery and against-all-odds action that span from the nostalgic '60s to present times and even into the future.You will sink into this massive, expansive, epic world and feel every triumph, loss, joy, and tragedy beset upon its many characters.

On the technical side, Naoki Urasawa's phenomenal cartooning skills lend themselves to every emotional and dramatic turn of his story. Every location and scene distinctly communicates the appropriate tone to ensnare the reader. Even more impressive is the mangaka's character renderings; in a story with too many characters to count, you will know exactly who's who by their distinct features and gestures.

If any complaint about "20th Century Boys" exists, it must be the ending. After such an engrossing, roller coaster of a story, the end seems more like a crashing hault. However, this criticism is unfair; for such a great, epic story, any conclusion would fail to suffice. The real dissappointment is that the story ends at all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just when I thought there couldn't exist something better than Monster, I was surprised by how far superior Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys is. Sadly no anime adaptation exists for this manga yet. And I could only hope that in the current era where old works are being revived , this may get an anime adaptation soon.
The Plot : 10/10
Just Perfect ! Multi-layered stories with a switch back and forth through timelines without ever feeling out of place , This is a story that is perfectly executed with lots of suspense and intense to the fullest. The childish cover may dismiss a lot of people ... from reading it , but the content is very very mature. I have never seen such a perfectly executed story in a manga before, I am still quite surprised that this is a manga not a story in 3-part book for example, also another thing that I adored is the variety this manga offered , which I think is the key to success to any long running manga. It is true that the last third is a little weaker than the the first two thirds , but let me say that these first two thirds are just way out of league .
The Characters 10/10:
Loads of characters have been introduced and all of them made an impact in this manga, also about 95% of these characters have been fleshed out fully. It's very easy to relate to them and their characters. and I liked them all . Kenji , Kanna , Yoshitsune , Otcho , Fukubei , Mon-chan , Yukiji , Kami , Manjoume, Donkey , Keroyon . just a few off my mind right now but I didn't really hate any characters. I also liked how he introduced a lot of characters and he made it work and gave them their own personalities with their own way of thinking.
The Art 9/10
Naoki Urasawa's distinctive art strikes again , which is very useful in drawing the facial expressions and unlike with Monster this time character designs do not look recycled at all. And there is a big improvement in the art style in this manga over Monster.

Also check out the Reception this manga got.

Reception :
20th Century Boys has 36 million tankōbon copies in circulation, was the third top-selling manga series of 2008, and the ninth top-selling of 2009. The series has also won numerous awards, including the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award in the General category, an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival, the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category, and the first ever Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for a Series in 2004. It also won the Grand Prize at the 37th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards, and the Seiun Award in the Comic category at the 46th Japan Science Fiction Convention, both in 2008. The series won the 2011 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material in the Asia category for Viz Media's English releases, and won the same award again in 2013. It was nominated twice, 2010 and 2013, for the Harvey Award in the Best American Edition of Foreign Material category, and three years in a row, 2010-2012, for the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series.
Manga critic Jason Thompson called 20th Century Boys "an epic saga of nostalgia, middle age, rock n' roll, and a struggle against an evil conspiracy." He compared the story to several novels by Stephen King, such as It, where "a group of childhood friends who reunite as adults to deal with leftover issues from their childhood manifested in monstrous form." Thompson wrote that despite being a seinen manga aimed at an older audience, the series gained fans of all ages for its great premise, storytelling and the mystery behind Friend.
Carlo Santos of Anime News Network felt the pacing of the series should have been quicker, but praised the intricate and interconnecting plot and its twists, as well as the well-developed characters. He also noted Urasawa's art and dialogue, saying "it takes real skill to build a story as multi-layered as this one and still have it make sense as the characters explain things".
Overall 9.7 /10
Ceiling 9.7 is 10
So it is a 10/10(Masterpiece)

20th century boys is very different for all I ever saw, you have a couple of guys living in a "adult world", but is the type of a children mind, the capacity of the "friend" persuade people is very high, but in fact, the people are easiest persuaded, like ONU, the first minister of Japan. The world is to idiot, the people don't think and follow a crazy man who didn't show his face, who convinced them just making a couple of magic tricks.
The minority part of people, who have a behavior like a real adult, it's the "resistance?" part of that world, ... and we have the main characters of the history fighting the "friend", they think like a real "adult" they try to fight like a real "adult, but they never won.
So, in the end of history we have this part of the real "adult" making a change, they start to act like adult of the mind of children, and the "friend" start losing the war. So, what's the deal of that??

I think the manga 20th century boys it's a tribute to the manga industry, who made part of the life of much of the children, mostly in Japan. The good guys of history just starting won the fight when they enter in play, like a prank evening in a Sunday.
We have many "Easter eggs" of the other titles, like the "master" who trains Ochiai, like the mostly part of the action histories, always have a mysterious master who trains the good guy.
I recommend the history, it's very different, but it's made incredible good, you start to believe, "that" world it's possible, can happen, you enter in that crazy "prank evening", and you going to leave very satisfied.

*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.

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

Story : 10/10

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

Art : 8/10

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

Character : 10/10

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

Overall : 10/10

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