manga04_jpg login_tab_left_jpg
Username:   Password:    Forgot Password?
App
Try out our new iPhone application!
App
Manga Poll
Comparing your anime consumption between now and 5 years ago...
I started watching anime in the last 5 years
I watch a lot more now
I watch just a little more now
About the same
Watch a little less now
Watch a lot less now
I stopped watching anime
 
See Old Polls

Manga is the Japanese equivalent of comics
with a unique style and following. Join the revolution! Read some manga today!



Coded in ConTEXT

Join #baka-updates @irc.irchighway.net

RSS Feed
 
center_left_tab Manga Info center_right_tab
 
ALL    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z   
20 Seiki Shounen  
Login to add items to your list, keep track of your progress, and rate series!
Description
Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

Won the 25th Kodansha Manga Award for Best General Manga.
Won the 6th Japan Media Arts Award Excellence Prize in the Manga division.
Won the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shounen category.

Type
Manga

Related Series
21 Seiki Shounen (Sequel)

Associated Names
Мальчики 20-ого века
20 Seiki Shōnen
20世纪少年
20세기 소년
20th Century Boys
20thCB
Nijuu Seiki Shounen
Twenty Century Boys

Groups Scanlating
Manga-Heaven
Mangascreener

Latest Release(s)
v.22 c.9-13 (end) by Manga-Heaven (2134d ago)
v.22 c.8 by Manga-Heaven (2203d ago)
v.22 c.7 by Manga-Heaven (2221d ago)
Search for all releases of this series

Status in Country of Origin
22 Volumes (Complete)

Completely Scanlated?
Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter
N/A

User Reviews
20th Century Boys by cryptic
20th Century Boys by Master_M2K

Forum
2 topics, 5 posts
Click here to view the forum

User Rating
Average: 8.9 / 10.0 (1018 votes)
Bayesian Average: 8.84 / 10.0
10
 43% (438 votes)
9+
 30% (309 votes)
8+
 15% (156 votes)
7+
 5% (53 votes)
6+
 2% (24 votes)
5+
 1% (6 votes)
4+
 0% (4 votes)
3+
 0% (2 votes)
2+
 0% (3 votes)
1+
 2% (23 votes)

Last Updated
June 10th 2013, 10:53pm PST

Sponsored Links
Game advertisements by <a href="http://www.game-advertising-online.com" target="_blank">Game Advertising Online</a> require iframes.

Image [Report Inappropriate Content]

Genre
Action  Drama  Mystery  Psychological  Sci-fi  Seinen  Tragedy 
Search for series of same genre(s)

Categories

Category Recommendations (beta!)
Kiichi!!
Pluto
Cassandra
Chihayafuru
Akatsuki no Yona

Recommendations

Author(s)
URASAWA Naoki

Artist(s)
URASAWA Naoki

Year
1999

Original Publisher
Shogakukan

Serialized In (magazine)
Big Comic Spirits (Shogakukan)

Licensed (in English)
Yes

English Publisher
Viz (22 Volumes - Complete)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)
Weekly Pos #423 increased(+90)
Monthly Pos #500 decreased(-75)
3 Month Pos #434 increased(+4)
6 Month Pos #404 increased(+105)

List Stats
On 623 reading lists
On 889 wish lists
On 1971 completed lists
On 83 unfinished lists
On 278 custom lists

Note: You must be logged in to update information on this page.

Forum Posts
20th Century boys questions (spoiler) 708 days, 20 hours, 3 minutes ago
"20th Century Boys" Live Action 1389 days, 21 hours, 15 minutes ago

Click to view the forum

tickmark preloadxmark preloadxmark preload
User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]
 

You must login to comment for this series! Register an account.

avatar
 Amazing!!!   
Rating: 10.0 / 10.0
by Ace-619
January 9th, 2010, 9:10am
wow i dont even know where to start ok i'll just say a few things the plot in this so well done that i couldn't believe what was happening this has to be the best plot i have ever seen there are lots of time skips but never once was i confused and by the end i was just completely satisfied, the art is done well and all the characters are like able if your looking for a serious read then this is definitely the one.
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 starts out strong, but...   
Rating: 4.0 / 10.0
by wait321
November 16th, 2009, 7:52am
This is a manga that starts out strong, with a lot of promise, but goes downhill as the story progresses. The first arc does an excellent job of developing the heroes and showing how their shared past is linked to the current world crisis. However, there's several problems that drag down this manga.

The most glaring problem is that the villains lack any appropriate motivation. There's hints that they suffered some trauma as children, but no flashback showed any trauma strong enough to cause them to destroy the world decades later. As the villains continuously execute crueler plans, it becomes impossible to ignore why these clearly rational villains would want to destroy the world.

A continuous parade of new characters, like the Italian priest, and subplots, like the Pope's sickness, are introduced to add twists to the story and then disappear completely. Scenes, like the UN introduction, are repeated numerous times to fill space. Major events that affect the world are followed by long jumps into the future with no explanation on the full consequences.

These problems aren't an issue for shorter stories, but they ruin a long series like this one. There's a clear sense that everything is happening purely to shock and entertain the reader for another chapter, with minimal effort to create a logical and coherent story.

... Last updated on December 20th, 2009, 10:30pm
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 It was OK, but not great   
Rating: 7.0 / 10.0
by lozanogo
June 11th, 2009, 11:54pm
To start with let me say that this manga has some very strong points, as well as some very weak points, therefore in my opinion it evens out.

I read the manga Monster by Urasawa, which is a masterpiece, and then found people recommending this series, 20th century boys (the series concludes in the manga 21st century boys, which basically are two volumes).

-In terms of artwork, this is a very good manga, although I prefered the art of Monster. Nevertheless the artwork outstands.
-If something else outstand more than the artwork is the storytelling: Urasawa knows how to write and keep hooked the audience, I have to recognize that.
-Character development: quite good but expected since the story takes in 20+ years.
-But, the biggest but, is the story itself: It isn't half bad and it is well convoluted (an non-linear in chronology), but it is so easy to see how Urasawa extended artificially the story by using cheap tricks: namely adding more plots after the 'final plot' and making 'new clues' of how is the supervillian. The problem is that it is so obvious, and in the way he created many loopholes he never took care of closing them (I guess he had no idea of what to do, because it cannot be blamed by length).

So overall this is an OK manga: great artwork and storytelling, fine character development, but bad story development given the how obvious it was extended and the loopholes he created.
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Urasawa at his finest   
Rating: 10.0 / 10.0
by AmishSamurai
February 17th, 2009, 4:57pm
For those who want to read this series, I suggest you read Monster first. I'd say that Urasawa easily topped that with 20th Century Boys. There are very similar themes in both (all-encompassing dubious organizations, enigmatic villains who are the focal points of the series and have large cults of personality around them, corrupt police, assassinations of high-profile figures, etc.) 20th Century Boys focuses on a large group of people whereas Monster was just unfolding events around Johan. However, "Friend" wasn't as disturbing of a villain as Johan, though he had his moments. The manga does well at pointing out Friend's
Spoiler (highlight to view)
rather petty
motives, the actual turning point isn't mentioned until 21st Century Boys.

... Last updated on February 24th, 2009, 5:02pm
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Truly great, but not perfect   
Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
by Telengard
November 17th, 2008, 10:50am
This is definitely one of the most compelling works I've ever read. Many plots and sub-plots are woven together so well that the whole is an intricate tapestry of mystery, intrigue, and suspense. Nothing is too confusing to understand, though the story is quite sophisticated.

The mangaka seems to have been heavily influenced by the works of Stephen King. Echoes of The Stand and Stand by Me haunt the reader throughout the series. Although somewhat unoriginal, these story elements are used expertly to keep the reader enthralled by the well paced revelations.

The only real weakness I can find is the lack of closure. As others have said before, it seemed like new plot twists were added only for the sake of extending the life of the series.

Now for a spoiler, something I almost never do.

Spoiler (highlight to view)
Sure, some main characters died, but their deaths didn't bring much satisfaction. Killing characters off isn't the same as closure. By the same token, resurrecting characters who have died is a very cheap way to explain a plot that's become hopelessly twisted!


The many flashbacks and flashforwards can be a bit confusing. Scenes from past, present, and future are sometimes depicted on the same page. Read carefully to avoid getting lost in time.

Overall, it's a truly great work, and I strongly recommend it to those who enjoy drama, mystery, and psychological. Fans of sci-fi and supernatural will not likely be satisfied.

... Last updated on November 17th, 2008, 11:06am
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Wow!   
Rating: 9.5 / 10.0
by luzzz
October 16th, 2008, 4:52am
This has got to be one of he most riveting manga I have ever read. It had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Both the art and storytelling are excellent, which is something I've come to expect from Urasawa. Unfortunately, I think the story was unnecessarily stretched out over the last story arc. I felt that those last chapters could have been used to effectively conclude the story and to explain any mysteries that were left. This might be why I found it strange that Urasawa had to utilise a sequel "21st Century Boys" to finish off the story.
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 brilliant   
Rating: N/A
by pandaslayer0
August 12th, 2008, 5:58pm
this... has got to be one of the best mangas i have ever read.
allright, i admit, this mangas has its few up and downs. its understandable, when one sets the bar so high in the first few volumes in his manga, its bound to be noticable when some suspense or extreme plot movement is missing from later volumes - but like i said, i get it.
and that is totally what you should not pay attention to.
becuase, my god, there are a couple of volumes that when you read it, you would kill to know what happens after. this guys storytelling is superb.
you find yourself cheering the good guys on. you find yourself thinking "ooooooooh yeah" when one of the original good guys hops back into the main storyline - but most shocking of all, you'll find yourself screaming "NO NO NO", when the BAD guy gets shot.

when that last one happened to me, i knew that this was a good manga.
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 a must read...   
Rating: 10.0 / 10.0
by o0James0o
July 25th, 2008, 4:22am
i must read!~... even tho i downloaded this manga and its been on my hard drive for like a year... i havnt start readin it yet..... thus i started 2 days ago... its just awesome.... i got hooked onto it and keep on goin for 2 days straight (tho i did skip some time to play some game and for sleepin and eatin and u know... natural stuff what humans do...)

the thing that i do not like about the manga is that (spoiler) "friend" #2 (i forgot his name tho its mentioned in 21st century boy) told the world what hes up to... ummm wtf?.... if only he did do that the manga would pretty much be perfect.... also.... i still didnt see his face yet :/... and the manga is already ended.... also... what did they do to kanna to give her that power... and theres still many mysteries left yet to solve.. but overall... this manga is a must read... one of the best manga out there in the world...

ps. if you like this, i bet you will like dystopian books like Animal Farm, 1984 and Brave New World...
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 ---   
Rating: 10.0 / 10.0
by RanmaHalved
June 8th, 2008, 10:38pm
Downloaded the first volume once before, read the first chapter and was turned off by it. Got bored and decided to give it another chance. Finished the first volume.. than the second.. than the third... finished it in 2 days bigrazz
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Amazing   
Rating: 10.0 / 10.0
by fabreeze
May 31st, 2008, 8:38pm
If you like George Orwell's "1984" or STYX's rock opera "Kilroy Was Here", you'll love this!
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
Previous Page Pages (6) [ 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last ] Next Page
Show  entries per page 

You must login to comment for this series! Register an account.
Manga Search
 
MANGA Fu
News
What's New!
Series Stats
Forums
Chat
Releases
Scanlators
Series Info
Mangaka
Publishers
Reviews
Genres
Categories
FAQ
Affiliates
Members
BU Forum
Baka-Updates
MEMBERS
Sign Up
TEAM-BU
Admin CP
About Us

footer