Ranked #1

20th Century Boys (Manga)

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

Being a fan of T. Rex, I was immediately interested in a book that referenced him in the title. I was even more interested to find out it was by Naoki Urasawa, the genius behind Monster. I started reading it right away, and hardly put it done till I was finished with it, and also finished the sequel right after that. Well there's two things I want to say in the opening paragraph, first is that even though this is an amazing Manga series, I can't help but feel it isn't quite at that level of Monster, and that being said, neither is it the #1. Certainly it is amazing enough that I don't mind seeing there, but just wanted to say that. Second being a big fan of music, I found the references in this series to be rather shallow. I probably had to big expectations because it referenced T. Rex, the forgotten classic band of the late sixties and seventies, I was thinking it wouldn't carter to the typical references. I expected instead of seeing "just like The Beatles" I could see at least a couple of steps down on the popularity scale, something like "just like Van Morrison" or instead of "just like Bob Dylan" a "just like Leonard Cohen". Sure not as many people would get laughs, but they've already gotten their share of stuff. Basically the references, with the exception of T. Rex, is rather typical references to music giants like Hendrix, Stones, Beatles, Dylan, Mitchell, Doors, etc. That was just another thing I wanted to get out there, in case anyone was thinking something similar to what I was thinking. However, this series is certainly still worth reading, and is an amazing mystery series, filled with plot twists, references, and great characters.

The story in 20th Century Boy is a strange one, and can be quite self-contradicting at times. It revolves around a group of childhood friends (there grown up now) who used to hang out at there secret base, reading Manga, listening to the Radio, and just having fun. One day one of the boys called Kenji decided to start righting his own Manga plot, revolving around a hero who would have to save the world from a virus and a giant robot. A simple childish story at first, however in the future when the events starting happening in reality, and the symbol they used for their fort is being used by a strange cult-like leader called "Friend", Kenji quickly finds out that something is wrong. Being the ones who created it, Kenji and his group of friends that knew about the story (or the ones who he managed to gather), now are the only people who can save the world. A save the world plot, that quickly contradicts itself with characters referencing that they can't just be ride out there and be a hero, like in Shounen stories. It quickly moves itself into being an amazing plot, with one big question, who is Friend?

As much as I loved the series though, and Friend himself, Friend is one of the my major complaints about the series. I understand people like Kenji and his friends reason for going against Friend, but what about Friend? Is he just some freak that wants to have fun, so he starts killing of people and trying to put an end to the world. I wanted to feel more of a back-story from Friend than him just having a little fun by killing people and watching other people try to stop him. To me along with the shallow music references, it was one of the letdowns of an amazing story, and seemed rather a pointless villain, even though I can't help but love a crazy guy who makes people call him Friend. Some people might not care about a back-story, but I guess that just comes down to a matter of opinion.

The art was probably the best part of this series, if I base it off of my ratings that is. The art was wonderfully drawn, moments like the first two pages of Chapter 100, not only stand out in my mind for the amazing script, but the drawing was beautiful to behold. Most of the characters didn't even look that great, but I still found myself stopping the reading for a second to gaze upon the beautiful drawings in the Manga, and I never got tired of doing it. Even now I love going back and looking at Chapter 100, the mysterious aura, the music reference, and the great drawings all tied together, and it helped give it that feeling of greatness, and is one of my favorite things about it.

The characters are another one of my favorite parts of the story, though I seem to be saying that for everything. The main character, though absent for a good amount of the series, is a great lead. If there is one line that I remember in that show, it will be what he said to the young guitarist at the crossroads. The other character's also prove to be great characters, from the strange villain of Friend and his twisted and confused servants, the group of childhood friends, and most notably, the hobo called God. God is one of the best characters of the entire series, and his mix of humor and foresight, plus the name, makes him always entraining when he shows up. That's not to say we don't have problems, as I said sometimes the Villains can seem rather pointless, one of my biggest dislikes of the series. However even if they seem pointless, I can't deny that they have some great moments, and if they did have a reason, then I would probably have loved them.

20th Century Boy is a story that has it all, great art, unique and great story, amazing scripting, great characters, amusing references, and most importantly, is just an extremely enjoyable read. As I stated before I can't say I agree with the #1 ranking that is given to on this site, but I don't mind, because Urasawa, once again, presented us with a great story filled with mystery, thrills, drama, and those little hints at other genres like Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, etc. It's all there, and 20th Century Boy is certainly worth reading. read more

Ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce you to one of the greatest manga I have ever read and also by the one of the most innovative mangaka in recent history. Yes I'm talking about '20th century boy' by Naoki Urasawa. Now before I review you this great piece of art I must mention that before reading this manga I was a sucker for shounen-type mangas, I used to be crazy about them and thought that no manga could ever overwhelm them but shounen mangas like naruto,bleach are never-ending so I gave 20th century boy a chance cause it was short and I read alot of great reviews about it and boy oh boy was I surprised.

Not only did this manga went beyond my expectations it soon became my favourite manga beating naruto and bleach by a long shot. Frankly speaking I was a bit skeptical judging this manga by the character art and the story. The main character was NOT a charming or an attractive young man or woman no the main character was a normal average joe and even the female characters weren't that attractive but soon after reading the first few chapters I realised that the art,background of the story is what makes this manga so damn good. The biggest factor which pulled me towards this manga was the story and the way Naoki Urasawa portrays it, its just outstanding,fascinating and simply breath-taking. The unpredictability of this manga is one of its stronger points and frankly speaking I read the chapters back to back and I didn't find any part boring, I was completely engrossed in this series. Readers would keep guessing who is 'friend' (the main antagonist) till the end and won't be disappointed. I wont ruin the story for you guys, I just wrote this review to encourage people to read this manga.

I ahve no idea why a manga like this one hasn't been turned into an anime series. If you like 'Monster' which is also by the same author then 20th Century Boy won't disappoint you at all!

Final Score:- Perfect 10 read more

First off i would like to say that this is my 1st review ever so don't expect anything very informing.
Now a little about the manga itself....
1st i would like to say that this is something u don't see often:originality.
This manga does not only take quite a new step in the terms of the storyline but also the writing.
The characters really talk,they don't simply exchange lines.When ur reading it u can actually feel that the characters are communicating.
The characters,the character building is just great:most of the characters like Kenji have a very interesting history together and a somewhat dramatic 1 aswell.And by dramatic i don't mean this cliche about some1 losing a family or something like that.The characters have great personalities which do a great part in making u either like or hate them.
The Story...
the story itself may seem kind of like a cliche...
u know?
the old "we're going to save the world" theme?
well lol,yes it's exactly like that but it's the kind of a world saving story which really makes u want to continue reading.
The story constantly switches between present and past,in the present it focuses on Kenji trying to get answers to his questions while the past events are greatly connected to those answers.
The story also contains a suprise or 2 but for the sake of not spoiling i won't mention any right now ; ].
Overall,if ur looking for a manga with a deep story,likeable characters and more than the usual writing style then the 20th Century Boys is definetly ur cup of tea : ]. read more

20th century boys may seem as a standard manga in the beginning. Saving the world doesn't sound as the most outstanding theme for a manga. But the mangaka of this series, which wrote 'monster' too, is a genius and it seems that everything he touches turns gold.

Perhaps the manga is so good because the story is not really about saving the world, but about friendship and youth memories. Bonds with old friends and how every person has his own qualities. The many side-characters are all like real people, with real lives and etc.And what makes this maga very special are all the 'memories'. In these flashbacks you see the characters when they were young. This really makes you understand and love them more.

About the story: As I said it is about saving the world. Someone in Kenji's (Kenji is the main character) youth has become a psycopath. Who is it? Who is this bad guy who calls himself 'friend'? That question really keeps you reading and reading. Untill you finally'll know who it is. And after that moment, the time skips fifteen years further. I don't want to spoil anything, but after a certain moment when the story is about the future, the whole serie loses his power. There isn't any tension anymore. Some characters who were lost get found and that is really fun to read, but the stoy just loses his tension. The mystery seems solved and there isn't anything you want to know anymore. It still was a good read, but compared to rest of the manga it is just worse.

The art was really realistic and not fantasy-like. I didn't bother because this was a serious manga. There were some nice pictures and everything was drawn realistic. Not very special, the artist didn't made an own world for this manga. But it was still very nice drawn and o.k.


The Characters were outstanding and the best part of this manga. It were the characters that made this manga so fantastic. You'll love them and nearly cry when someone is about to die or whatever. After reading this, I feel like I've made new friends, no matter how lifeless that may sound.

I enjoyed reading this, altough the story in the last part of the manga is little worse than the rest. But still worth a 9, certainly!!!!! read more