21st Century Boys

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Gives a more adecuate end to the story started in the previous manga. I feel more comfortable and at easy having this kind of conclusion instead of having nothing at all. You can understand better some interactions and relationships in the story. If you read 20th Century Boys you MUST read this.

If you want to know more about the whole, please read the reviews on 20th Century Boys. Because the major story happens there. All the features like art, dialogues and characters mantain the same vibe as in the first part.

I just wanted to give a small review of this part that includes only the ... ending of the story. I don't quite understand why they didn't include this part on the original manga. Maybe it has to do something with the new generation of kids from the 20th that are living on the 21st because of the thing that was made to make it possible? I didn't want to spoil so I'm not being clear on this part.

As the follow-up and conclusion to 20th Century Boys, this manga wraps up the story in a way that feels like a proper send-off. It dives deeper into who "Friend" really is and why he did what he did, which adds some satisfying answers to the long-standing questions. That said, the plot gets pretty wild with the introduction of time machine elements, making things a bit confusing at times. Still, even with all the twists and turns, I think the ending works well enough for such a complex tale. It might not resolve every single detail, but it brings the main threads to a close ... and feels like a natural end to the epic journey Urasawa created. It’s not perfect, but it’s an ending that fits the series' ambitious and layered storytelling.

*Spoiler free - Rapid Review*

*(My 20th century boys review for context)
Perhaps the most over-rated manga ever.

It may be Gigguk's favourite manga, but 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.*

(My review for 21st century boys)

This was a pointless sequel.

Why this couldn't have been part of the original manga is beyond me, particularly because the story did not end in the last manga. It's really odd. It's like watching a movie, the movie ends, then having to take out the DVD and put another entirely separate DVD just to watch the ending.

Alas, onto the manga itself.

This was the most disappointing ending to a manga I have ever read. Two weeks of reading, and many years when it was releases, for a horrible conclusion that answers nothing, with nothing set-up or paid off, with the usual 20th CB nonsense. Once again, I'm baffled that this manga is rated so highly. But I appreciate the fact that people are able to enjoy things I don't, and vice-versa.

I'm NOT a contrarian, and if your opinion differs, be civil. Your opinion is as valid as mine. Don't rate this as "confusing" just because you disagree with my view, instead, criticise the actual writing of the review. That's what it's there for. Don't be a child. Thank you for reading my rapid review, have a nice day/night!